Christmas: a Matter of Life and Death
December 18, 2016
Scripture: Esther 7
I. You receive death if you identify with God’s enemies.
A. In Esther 7 it is the evil Haman who finally receives justice and dies. Esther tells the king in vs. 3, “Let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.” She was saying, “I want life and not death.” And she was also saying that her life and the life of her people are one and the same. Her destiny is one with her people. The good news for Esther was that the king was so personally offended that someone would dare to attack his wife that he seemed to forget all about the fact that he himself had approved this law that would kill his own wife.
B. Just when the king walks back into his palace (vs. 8) he notices Haman on the same couch as his wife begging for his life. Even though the king must have known that Haman was not assaulting his wife, it looked like that might be happening. So the king thought, “Problem solved! I can have Haman killed for assaulting the queen.” And that is exactly what happened. In an ironic measure, the king had Haman executed in vs. 10 on the gallows that Haman intended to use to kill Mordecai. Haman then received death at the hands of the Persian king.
C. Haman was an Agagite (Esther 3:1) of the tribe of the Amalekites. Exodus 17:9, 13-14, “Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim… And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” Who does God say will utterly blot out the memory of the Amalekites? God says, “I will.” What God is saying then is that if you become the enemy of God’s people, you also become the enemy of God.
II. You receive life if you identify with God’s people.
A. In Esther 7:3 Esther finally asked the king for what she wanted: “Let my life be granted me, and my people for my request.” By virtue of identifying with God’s people, Esther shared in their destiny of receiving life. God keeps His promises to His people. One promise that Jesus made to His people is found in Matthew 16:18: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” If you are identified with Jesus, you are part of a church that cannot fail. The church cannot be stopped as it deals with its enemy.
B. How do unbelievers receive life? It is found by identifying with God’s people. And the way that we identify with God’s people is to identify with the representative of God’s people: Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 15:22, “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” John 14:19: “Because I live, you also will live.” If you identify with Jesus, you will receive the same eternal life that He has. You also will receive His righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus was born on Christmas to give you life and righteousness.
Application:
Choose life. Choose Jesus. Identify yourself with God’s people and with Jesus.
Sources:
The book of Esther
Commentaries on Esther by Iain Duguid, Karen Jobes, and Frederic Bush.