CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO LESSONS
LASTING LAUGHTER! 1
Esther is one of the most unusual books in the
entire Bible. For one thing the name of God, the king of Kings, is never
mentioned in the book. While King Ahasuerus, better known as King Xerxes,
is cited so often it's easy to lose count of how many times his name is mentioned. In
addition to God's name never being mention- ed, the book is never referred to
in the New Testament; not even indirectly.
Then there is the obvious observation that it
is one of the two books named for a woman. The other one, of course, is
Ruth. But these two books stand in contrast to each to each other in the
sense that Ruth was a gentile woman who was brought into a covenant relationship
with God and married an Israelite. Esther, as you know, is the story of
an Israelite woman who married a pagan king.
On the other hand both stories have a lot to do
with food. In Ruth, the girl and her mother-in-law are just trying to figure
out how to scrape enough food together to survive. In Esther, well in Esther
the story goes from one feast to another, and another, and another, and then
another one. In fact, the story begins by looking in on a banquet that
would make one of our get-togethers look like a hastily prepared potluck. Beginning
in v. 4 of Esther 1, we read:
For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth
of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5 When these
days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed
garden of the king's palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest,
who were in the citadel of Susa. 6 The garden had hangings of white and
blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver
rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement
of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. 7 Wine was
served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine
was abundant, in keeping with the king's liberality. 8 By the king's command
each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the
wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.
It is not unusual for good times to be centered
around food and these men, for the most part, we're having a great time. But
it wasn't the only banquet taking place on the premises. For Queen Vashti,
former Miss Universe, was having a banquet with all the women in the royal palace
as seen in v. 9. We read:
Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
Now you might think that this was simply a quiet
tea-party befitting women in high places. You'd be wrong for the
Hebrew word for "banquet" used in vv. 5 and 9 literally means "a
drinking feast." So we can assume that in the banquet for the women
the wine was flowing as freely for them as for the men. In short, everyone
was laughing and having a good time. That is, they were having a good time
until the alcohol started doing the talking for them. We see this in vv.
10 - 12. We read:
On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high
spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him-Mehuman, Biztha,
Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas- 11 to bring before him Queen
Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people
and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But when the attendants delivered
the king's command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious
and burned with anger.
Suddenly, the good times, the laughter, came to
a screeching halt. Or more accurately, the king's laughter came to a screaming
halt. The king was angry, very angry, for like dogs women were to come
to their master when called to come and obey. But it wasn't just the outright
disobedience of Queen Vashti that prompted the king to "burn with
anger," although that was enough in itself, it was the fact that in the
presence of his peers and friends he had been humiliated, embarrassed, degraded,
demeaned, and mortified.
This turn of events led to the search for a new
queen. A search for a queen that was as beautiful as the former Queen Vashti
and one that knew her place in the home, or rather palace. In the end,
this led to a girl by the name of Esther which, in turn, led to another banquet. In
Esther 2:17 - 18 we read:
Now the king was attracted to Esther more than
to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of
the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead
of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for
all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces
and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
Well over a year had past since Queen Vashti had
been banished but at long last order had been restored. The women had been
put in their rightful place, the king had found the girl of his dreams, and once
again the wine flowed freely. Everyone, from the least to the greatest
was happy. Well, almost everyone.
Meanwhile, politics went on as usual. Esther
kept her background a secret as her uncle advised and her uncle, a fellow by
the name of Mordecai kept his ears open. It wasn't long before he learned
of a plot to kill the king. This didn't bode well for the king, and wasn't
going to do Esther any good either. And so Mordecai did the only
thing an uncle who was dedicated to looking out for his cousin could do, he foiled
the plot by spilling the beans.
After the assassination plot was foiled, the king
elevated a dastardly man by the name of Haman. In fact, he elevated
him above all the other nobles making him his prime minister, a post just short
of being king. At this point in the story, chapter 3, we're not told where-in-the-world
Haman came from other than the fact that he was the son of Hammedatha the Agagite. But
it isn't too long into his new career that we find out that he is from hell.
In Esther's day, Mordecai, made a bold statement
that got him in a lot of hot water. By his actions he declared he would
not bow before anyone other than God. When Haman saw that Mordecai wasn't
bowing before him like everyone else he reacted, actually he over-reacted. He
over-reacted by coming up with a self-funded plan to destroy every single Jew
in every single province.2
In response, Mordecai convinced Esther to intercede
on behalf of her people, which meant, in part, revealing her true identity to
the king. But to her credit, she interceded and this brings us to the first
of two banquets. In Esther 5:4 - 8 we read:
"If it pleases the king," replied Esther, "let
the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him."
"Bring Haman at once," the king said, "so
that we may do what Esther asks."
So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther
had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, "Now
what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up
to half the kingdom, it will be granted."
Esther replied, "My petition and my request
is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king
to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow
to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king's question."
Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits.
But when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate and observed that he neither rose
nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. 10
Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.
Happy Haman! The only person who put a damper
on this whole day was a mosquito by the name of Mordecai. But it was such
a glorious day Haman went home, called together his family and friends, and boasted
of the fact that he was the only one who had been invited to dine with Queen
Esther and the King. Furthermore, he was invited back to again dine with
the two the next day. It was the best of all days except for the fact that
pesky Mordecai still refused to honor Haman.
His wife and friends suggested he build a gallows
75 feet high and, with the King's easy-to-get permission, hang Mordecai on it
in the morning. That way, he could dine with the King and Queen without
this pesky mosquito bothering him. If today was nearly perfect, and it
was, tomorrow would be absolutely perfect and Happy Haman would be the happiest
man in the world.3
The suggestion delighted Haman and he had the
gallows built. Now if you can have a 75 foot gallows built overnight, and
that is exactly what Haman did, you've got clout! You have money,
power, and the know-how to get things done when and how you want them done.
But that same night, probably because of all the
construction going on in Suza, the king couldn't sleep. The insomnia of
this Persian King, Esther 6:1, marks the turning point of this whole story. As
a result of his tossing and turning the King had some reading material brought
to him and he discovered that what's-his-name, Mordecai, had never been rewarded
for foiling the assassination plot by the Big Thug and Teresh the Terrible.
This bothered the King and he determined to set
matters straight first thing in the morning. Though Happy Haman didn't
know it at the time, this was the beginning of a very bad day for him.
Bright and early the next morning, Haman bounced
out of bed, skipped all the way to the palace, and looked forward to obtaining
the King's easy-to-get permission to hang Mordecai. But before he could
make his request the King asked him "What should he done for the man the
king delights to honor?" Haman, filled with pride, naturally thought
the king was talking about him. And so in Esther 6:7 - 9 he replied,
"For the man the king delights to honor, 8
have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden,
one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse
be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes. Let them robe the man the
king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming
before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!'"
The King was delighted with this idea and said,
"Go at once," the king commanded Haman. "Get
the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew,
who sits at the king's gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended."
Well, you'd think nothing could be worse than
the humiliation that Haman suffered that bright and glorious morning. But
he still had the second banquet to attend, a banquet he couldn't avoid even if
he wanted to avoid it. In Esther 7 we read:
So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen
Esther, 2 and as they were drinking wine on that second day, the king again
asked, "Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What
is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted."
Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have found
favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life-this
is my petition. And spare my people-this is my request. 4 For I and my
people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had
merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because
no such distress would justify disturbing the king."
King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, "Who is he?
Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?"
Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is
this vile Haman."
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7
The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden.
But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind
to beg Queen Esther for his life.
Just as the king returned from the palace garden
to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, "Will he even molest
the queen while she is with me in the house?"
As soon as the word left the king's mouth, they
covered Haman's face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the
king, said, "A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman's house. He
had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king."
The king said, "Hang him on it!" 10
So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's
fury subsided.
Haman, of course, had started hanging himself
long before he was officially hung on the gallows of his own making. In
his place Mordecai became prime minister and a new edict was sent throughout
the 127 provinces giving the Jews the right to assemble and protect themselves
on the day they were to be annihilated. This brings us to another banquet,
or rather the first of many banquets for the Jews who were delivered from the
hand of Hateful Haman. In Esther 8:15 - 17 we read:
Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal
garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen.
And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. 16 For the Jews it was
a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. 17 In every province and
in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness
among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities
became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.
Throughout this amazing story good food and plenty
of laughter was had by all. But I want you to notice that there was a
big difference between this last recorded banquet and some of the others. The
others, for the most part, started out with laughter and ended up with hangovers
and regrets. This last one was preceded by fasting, tears, and sleepless
nights in which God's people faced the certainty of annihilation.
But through the providence of God's hand they
were delivered from the shadow of death. As a result they held a joyous
celebration. A feast where the laughter was a lasting laughter. It
was a laughter that allowed them to step away from events that they had no control
over. It was a laughter that helped them get past the pain of being discounted
by others. It was a laughter that allowed them to blot out the awfulness
of the world and to bask in the sunshine of God's providential care.6
1 In this lesson I want to distinguish between the laughter
found in the world and the laughter found among God's people. The former
is short-lived, the latter is lasting and, assuming that we have handled ourselves
correctly in the midst of turmoil, it is a laughter that has no regrets.
2 We've seen this happen in our own day. Pope Benedict
XVI quoted a 14th century conversation which basically said that conversion
by the use of violence was contrary to God's nature. This sparked an
outbreak of violence among some Muslims in our day that simply affirmed that
violence is not an attractive selling point for any religion.
3 The walls around Susa were 60' high. Hence, Haman
didn't simply want to hang Mordecai, he wanted everyone to witness his humiliation.
4 These Jews in Persia had not returned to Israel when they
had the opportunity to do so. So in a sense they were corporately out
of God's will. But, they were not out of God's care!
5 Like others, Christians laugh more readily when things
are going well for them. But unlike the world, they count it all joy
when things are not going well. This doesn't mean they are laughing when
times are tough and trials are bearing down on them. It means they chalk
it up as "joy" knowing, by faith, that one day they will be able
to look back on the tough times and laugh. Why? Because even during
the darkest days God continues to work on our behalf.
6 I believe that we are called to live in such a manner
that others are attracted to Christ by our laughter, our good works, and our
words - in that order. I believe this because lasting laughter
is attractive and it demonstrates to the world, though they can't explain it,
that our spirits are in tune with the Holy Spirit. So my our lives,
I believe we are to attract others by our laughter, serve others by our good
deeds, and then tell others of the good news in Christ Jesus.
THE JOY OF LAUGHTER 10/08/06 1
CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO LESSONS