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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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Today, we're going to
be looking at lesson 12.
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This is lesson 12 of 13.
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We are very near
the end of the quarter,
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but we are not
there yet. We're looking
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at a very significant story
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and some lessons that
we can learn from it today;
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but before we
begin, let's have prayer.
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Father, we ask that You will
be with us and bless us today
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as we look at
this incredible story,
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a story of how You are
very much at work in the world,
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and we ask that
You will bless us
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with encouragement from it.
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We thank You, in
Jesus' name, amen.
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Well, we're grateful to have
back with us again this week
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Jeff Scoggins. Jeff, thanks
for coming back with us again.
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>>Jeff Scoggins: Thank you.
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>>Eric: So last
time we came together,
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we were looking at
reaching the unreached
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or mission to the unreached.
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This week, we're looking at
a little bit different story.
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We're looking at
Esther and Mordecai.
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It's a story that
I think most of us
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are somewhat familiar with
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and maybe even
very familiar with,
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but perhaps we're gonna
learn a few new things about
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this story this week as we
go through the lesson study
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and as we kind of look
at this story in a whole.
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So give us a little summary
of what we're looking at here.
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Where does this story take us,
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and what do you think
we could learn from it?
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>>Jeff: Okay, maybe
one of the first questions
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that we might ask in a
study about mission is,
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how is this a mission story?
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There's voluntary mission,
and there's involuntary mission,
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right? And so,
Esther and Mordecai,
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they were
missionaries, not by choice,
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but that's how
they had ended up.
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And so that's kind
of where we're going,
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the perspective
we're going to be taking,
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a look at this here.
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One of the key things that
probably most of your listeners
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have heard is that this
is the one book in the Bible,
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Esther, that never
mentions God's name at all.
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The closest we get is to
some prayer, and that's it,
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and God simply--in fact,
this bothers people so much
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that there are
sometimes that people suggest
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that Esther
shouldn't even be in the Bible.
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So, but it is, and
I think it should be,
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and I think there's
actually a very profound thing
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that's happening
here in the story,
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but let's just kind of
quickly go through the story,
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kind of
summarizing the story overall
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in this first part of it.
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And what I would like us
to do is to kind of pull out
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everything that is--that
seems like a coincidence.
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What just happened?
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And at first, you know,
something just happening
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seems normal,
because things do happen.
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But when it starts
building, you start to think,
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"Wait a minute. Could
this really just happen?"
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All right, so we
start off, King Ahasuerus--
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King Xerxes--is
the king of Persia.
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Persia is at the
pinnacle of its power.
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They are the empire that reigns
over the known world, really.
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And they're fabulously wealthy,
and the king is--how to say--
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he is all-powerful, as
far as a human being can be.
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Anything he
wants, he gets, okay?
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So, the story
starts off describing
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how this little girl
is born named Hadassah,
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and her parents die.
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And she's an orphan,
and her uncle Mordecai comes
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and gets her.
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Mordecai is in the
service of the king,
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this king,
Ahasuerus-- or Ahasuerus in--
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what is it, Greek?
No, it's Xerxes in Greek.
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And he comes and
takes her. He raises her.
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And the king decides that
he wants to attack Greece,
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'cause he's never
been able to subdue Greece,
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and so he calls
this council of war.
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It's described as a
banquet; but really,
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what's happening is
it's a council of war,
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because the Persians
had this weird idea (laughs)
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that all councils of war
had to take place in two phases.
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You would make a
decision when you were sober,
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and then you had to get drunk
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and see if it was still
a good decision, and then--
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or you would make a
decision while you were drunk,
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and then you would
get sober to make sure
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it was a good decision.
(laughing) So they're--
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so they have 180
days of this partying,
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and drinking is the big thing.
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And so they're just
getting smashed and not--
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and they decide to
go and attack Greece,
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which turns out to
be a massive failure.
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They lose, and this is
really kind of the decline
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of the empire,
the Persian Empire.
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But the king comes back;
and, of course, he's depressed.
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And so his counselors suggest,
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"Hey, you had to
get rid of your wife."
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I skipped that
part of the story.
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He calls his wife in
during this banquet, the queen,
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to be gawked at by all the men.
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And she refuses,
and so he kicks her out.
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And his advisors then come
after this disastrous campaign
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and say, "Why don't you
just start testing young ladies
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"from around the empire?
And we'll bring 'em to ya.
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"And when you find one
you like, make a new queen,
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you know, and this
will make you feel better."
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And it gives you a
little bit of an insight
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into the shallow
character of this king
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because he goes for it.
"Oh, great, let's do it."
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Okay, and so they go
around kidnapping young ladies,
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and that's what this was.
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I mean, the storybooks
sometimes make it sound like
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this is a beauty
pageant, and the ladies
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were just overwhelmed
and happy to be chosen.
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That's not the way it
was. That's not what happened.
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So they come in.
They bring in these girls,
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they spend a
night with the king,
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and they can never go
back to life as normal.
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They go into a harem,
very like--never to marry--
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very likely to never
even see the king again.
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It was almost worse than
a death sentence, really,
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for a young lady to do this.
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And so, Esther is one of
these that happens to be taken.
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Long story short,
she pleases the king.
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We won't get into the ethics.
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We won't get into
any of that stuff.
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That's not the point.
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God works with
us where we're at.
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She gains the king's favor,
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happens to gain the king's
favor. Okay, so far so good.
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Then the story switches,
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and there's this guy
named Mordecai, Esther's uncle.
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They don't know the
connection-- the Persians don't.
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And then there's Haman.
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Haman is the
assistant to the president.
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He's the king's advisor.
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He's the second-hand man,
and he owns the ring of power.
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Okay, the king
gives him his signet ring,
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signet signature. You know,
I mean, he is king, basically.
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Anything that he wants to
do, he puts that signet ring on,
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and the king's name
is on it-- powerful dude.
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And he doesn't like Mordecai
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because Mordecai
won't bow to him.
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And so Haman is upset.
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Now, Haman-- we
sometimes miss this--
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Haman was an Agagite.
Where does that come from?
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Most of us just
read right over that
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and don't even think about it,
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but it comes from Agag,
the king of the Amalekites,
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back from Saul's
time, when God said,
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"Go and wipe out the
Amalekites. Their cup is full."
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And Saul spared
Agag, if you remember that.
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Now, apparently,
some other people got away
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or whatever it was
because this is a descendant
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of that person or that king.
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And the story
also hints at the idea
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that Esther and Mordecai
descend from Saul's line.
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It's all in there in the story.
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So, anyway, so
you've got all this history.
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For anybody that recognizes
what's happening here,
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they're going,
"Agagite, Kish"--you know,
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for that was Saul's descendants.
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There's something more going
on underneath the story here.
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So all of this
background is alluded to;
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and you can just, if
you know the stories,
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you can just
incorporate it into the story.
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So Mordecai won't bow.
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Haman gets upset, he
goes to the king, and he says,
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"I'd like to wipe out
this whole bunch of people,
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because they're different."
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And the king, we
already have some insight
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into his personality,
says, "Yeah, whatever.
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Here's the ring."
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And so they go, and then
they toss some dice, pick a day.
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And this, of course,
sends this ripple effect
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through the Jewish people.
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They're all gonna
die in a single day.
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There's lots of eschatological
Revelation stuff going on
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in here, too, that we won't have
time to get into, but anyway...
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this, of course, makes a crisis.
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Mordecai goes around weeping.
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Esther hears about it,
finds out what's going on,
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and she's scared to death
because Mordecai suggests,
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"You need to go
in and see the king."
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And Esther says,
"I can't do that,
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"Because as soon as
you do that, I'm dead.
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You don't go in to
the king uninvited."
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(chuckles) So she finally
says-- he says, you know,
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"You're not gonna
get away with this.
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You'll be found out, and you're
not going to get away with it."
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And so she says, "All
right, pray three days,
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no food, no water."
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Pretty extreme prayer,
and she said, "I'll go."
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She goes. She happens to
gain the favor of the king.
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He doesn't kill her.
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She invites him to a
banquet-- two banquets.
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The Persians have
this flair for drama.
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And if she had said what
she wanted, the first one,
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it would have been a
kind of a letdown. She says,
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"Come back for another one."
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In the meantime, Haman
goes home, brags to his wife,
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builds a gallows for
Haman-- I mean for Mordecai,
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that he's going
to hang Mordecai on,
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comes back, and
Esther drops the bomb.
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She says, "My request
is that you spare my life."
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And the king--
(strangled sound) "What?"
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He says, "Who's doing
this?" And she points at Haman.
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The king runs out
angry, comes back to find Haman
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falling on the queen's
couch, which is a big no-no.
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We'll develop that
in the second part.
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And so, he just
kind of nods his head,
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and Haman is taken out.
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They cover his head. He's dead.
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And all of this happens through
one chance after another.
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Oh, I forgot one critical part,
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and that is the night
the king couldn't sleep,
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and he asks for the
history to be read to him.
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He finds out that Mordecai
saved his life one time,
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and he asks, "What
reward was given to him?"
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And they say,
"Nothing, nothing."
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And so, that's when he
says, "We need to do something.
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Who's in the court?"
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Haman comes in
just at that time,
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just happens to come in
at that time. And he says,
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"What should be done for the man
who the king desires to honor?"
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And Haman thinks, "Well, who
could that be but me, right?"
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And he makes this extreme
thing, that announcing and going
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before them on a horse,
and all of this kind of stuff.
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And the king says,
"Go do it for Mordecai."
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And, of course,
Haman then is just
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absolutely embarrassed and
shamed through all of this.
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All this stuff happens,
happens, happens, happens
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and makes it to where the point,
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where you start to think, "Wow,
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there's more
really going on here."
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Sorry, I
dominated this entire thing.
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>>Eric: No, you hit on
so many points in there,
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and then I want to
kind of pull them out
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and just run through them.
00:11:38.83\00:11:40.13
Okay, so these coincidences
are what we might be tempted
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to call
coincidences. >>Jeff: Right.
00:11:42.03\00:11:43.90
>>Eric: Esther is kidnapped.
00:11:43.93\00:11:45.60
It could have been
anybody. Esther is kidnapped.
00:11:45.63\00:11:47.94
Mordecai overhears
the plot against the king.
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>>Jeff: Yeah.
00:11:50.14\00:11:51.61
>>Eric: An Agagite who
plots for the Jews' destruction,
00:11:51.64\00:11:54.74
Esther gains the
king's favor a second time.
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We've got Haman building
the gallows the day before
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he himself is gonna hang on.
>>Jeff: (chuckles) Yeah, yeah.
00:12:00.15\00:12:02.62
>>Eric: The king has insomnia.
00:12:02.65\00:12:04.35
Haman enters the
court at a crucial moment.
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Haman honors Mordecai.
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Haman falls on Esther's couch.
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Haman gets the exact punishment
he had intended for Mordecai.
00:12:09.26\00:12:12.16
Mordecai ends up
with the ring of power.
00:12:12.19\00:12:14.10
>>Jeff: Yeah.
>>Eric: "Coincidences."
00:12:14.10\00:12:16.40
>>Jeff: Over and over and over.
00:12:16.43\00:12:17.73
>>Eric: Or not, or not, but
that's kind of what we're gonna
00:12:17.77\00:12:20.44
look at in the second part,
00:12:20.47\00:12:22.70
and we're going to
dive deeply into this.
00:12:22.74\00:12:25.41
So the story of
Esther and Mordecai,
00:12:25.44\00:12:28.74
maybe some things that you
haven't seen or heard before,
00:12:28.78\00:12:33.11
but we're digging
into that and looking at it
00:12:33.15\00:12:35.32
from the perspective of
sharing the gospel with others.
00:12:35.35\00:12:40.22
I wanna encourage you, if
you haven't already done so,
00:12:40.26\00:12:42.72
now would be an excellent time
to pick up the companion book
00:12:42.76\00:12:46.19
to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson.
00:12:46.23\00:12:48.10
It is "God's Mission My
Mission" by Gary Krause.
00:12:48.13\00:12:51.60
You can find that
at itiswritten.shop.
00:12:51.63\00:12:54.70
Again, itiswritten.shop.
00:12:54.74\00:12:57.11
And it adds so much more to
what you're already learning
00:12:57.14\00:13:00.38
in this quarter's Adult
Bible Study Guide lesson.
00:13:00.41\00:13:04.35
We're going to come
back in just a moment
00:13:04.38\00:13:06.08
as Jeff and I continue to take
a look at the story of Esther
00:13:06.11\00:13:09.22
and Mordecai, and we're going
to see God very much at work,
00:13:09.25\00:13:13.05
even if His name
isn't found in the book.
00:13:13.09\00:13:15.96
We'll be right back.
00:13:15.99\00:13:17.29
¤¤¤
00:13:17.33\00:13:20.33
>>John Bradshaw:
Among Jesus' final words
00:13:21.30\00:13:23.10
to His closest
friends was a commission
00:13:23.13\00:13:25.17
to take the gospel to the world.
00:13:25.20\00:13:27.27
What would He say
to His friends today?
00:13:27.30\00:13:31.04
Don't miss "To
Seek and to Save."
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00:13:34.08\00:13:37.71
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the lost with the good news.
00:13:37.75\00:13:40.82
We'll visit It Is
Written mission projects
00:13:40.85\00:13:43.25
around the planet, and you'll
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in growing the kingdom of God.
00:13:46.52\00:13:48.62
Of the 8 billion
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00:13:48.66\00:13:50.89
almost 6 billion
are not Christian,
00:13:50.93\00:13:53.56
and it's said that 3
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00:13:53.60\00:13:57.20
have never had the
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00:13:57.23\00:14:00.40
It's time. "To
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00:14:08.48\00:14:12.51
"To Seek and to Save,"
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brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:14.82\00:14:17.99
>>John: You know
that at It Is Written,
00:14:22.32\00:14:24.39
we are serious about the
study of the Word of God,
00:14:24.43\00:14:27.60
and we encourage you to be
serious about God's Word also.
00:14:27.66\00:14:31.97
Well, I wanna share
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00:14:32.00\00:14:34.00
that you can dig
deeper into the Word of God.
00:14:34.04\00:14:36.60
And here it is:
itiswritten.study.
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Go online to itiswritten.study,
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Study Guides, 25 in-depth
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00:14:50.62\00:14:54.06
It's gonna be good for
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00:14:54.09\00:14:57.06
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00:14:57.09\00:15:00.33
so that they can dig
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00:15:00.36\00:15:02.96
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itiswritten.study,
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itiswritten.study.
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¤¤¤
00:15:21.65\00:15:26.62
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:15:26.65\00:15:27.96
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:27.99\00:15:29.89
Jeff and I are
taking a look at the story
00:15:29.92\00:15:32.26
of Esther and Mordecai,
00:15:32.29\00:15:34.13
and we are taking a
look at some of these,
00:15:34.20\00:15:36.23
well, supposed coincidences
that happen in this story.
00:15:36.26\00:15:39.43
But as you mentioned,
00:15:39.47\00:15:40.77
it's an awful
lot of coincidences.
00:15:40.80\00:15:43.44
You mentioned
before that this story--
00:15:43.47\00:15:45.67
and it's been observed
by a number of people--
00:15:45.71\00:15:47.94
this story is lacking
something significant.
00:15:47.98\00:15:50.28
>>Jeff: Exactly.
>>Eric: But in its lack,
00:15:50.31\00:15:52.11
it's almost as if it's
screaming something significant.
00:15:52.15\00:15:55.12
So talk about
that a little bit more.
00:15:55.15\00:15:57.49
>>Jeff: Okay, yeah, this
is the one book of the Bible
00:15:57.52\00:16:00.39
where God's name, His
name is never, never mentioned;
00:16:00.42\00:16:05.66
and yet by the time we get
done looking at all the things
00:16:05.69\00:16:10.10
that just happened, we
can't help but recognize--
00:16:10.13\00:16:14.50
at least I can't,
can't help but recognize
00:16:14.54\00:16:16.74
that God is the entire
point of the whole story.
00:16:16.77\00:16:20.98
But as much as we feel
like God is absent today,
00:16:21.01\00:16:25.41
this story is
just all about that.
00:16:25.45\00:16:28.12
It's, this is reality; and
if we know what to look for,
00:16:28.15\00:16:33.12
we can see God at
work all over the place.
00:16:33.15\00:16:36.29
>>Jeff: So if you and I
were to read another book,
00:16:36.32\00:16:41.10
a work of fiction, if
you will-- >>Jeff: Yeah.
00:16:41.13\00:16:43.23
>>Eric: ...authors
of works of fiction
00:16:43.26\00:16:46.60
don't rely on coincidences.
>>Jeff: On coincidences.
00:16:46.63\00:16:49.40
>>Eric: There are things
that happen. Otherwise, I mean,
00:16:49.44\00:16:51.94
the book would be--
>>Jeff: Unbelievable.
00:16:51.97\00:16:53.44
>>Eric:
...completely unbelievable.
00:16:53.48\00:16:55.28
But this, again, it
seems like coincidences,
00:16:55.31\00:16:58.85
a ridiculously long
stream of coincidences.
00:16:58.88\00:17:01.78
So either that's a coincidence,
00:17:01.82\00:17:05.45
or there's actually
something going on here.
00:17:05.49\00:17:08.29
Help us look at this string of
supposed apparent coincidences
00:17:08.32\00:17:13.56
and see if we can
pull something together.
00:17:13.60\00:17:16.93
Walk us through some of
these. >>Jeff: Okay, sure.
00:17:16.97\00:17:19.60
We'll just take a smattering
of them. There's a lot more
00:17:19.63\00:17:21.94
that we could look
at. But first of all,
00:17:21.97\00:17:23.61
it's Esther who's
kidnapped, all right?
00:17:23.64\00:17:25.17
This is kind of like
when Joseph is kidnapped.
00:17:25.21\00:17:27.78
Was that a coincidence?
00:17:27.81\00:17:29.78
No, God had a whole plan.
So we start off with this.
00:17:29.81\00:17:34.28
Now, to start off
with one big coincidence,
00:17:34.32\00:17:36.28
that's normal; that's
fine. That's not a problem.
00:17:36.32\00:17:38.29
Okay, but this is an
absolute tragedy for Esther.
00:17:38.32\00:17:44.29
And like Joseph, sold
into slavery, absolute tragedy.
00:17:44.33\00:17:47.76
And the question
they might ask is,
00:17:47.76\00:17:49.90
"Where is God?"
00:17:49.93\00:17:51.63
And it's almost like
the entire rest of the story
00:17:51.67\00:17:53.57
is answering that question
without ever mentioning God
00:17:53.60\00:17:57.14
and without her
maybe even understanding
00:17:57.17\00:17:58.94
or recognizing
that God is moving here.
00:17:58.97\00:18:01.41
And this is what I
really like so much
00:18:01.44\00:18:03.11
about the story of Esther,
because when I put myself
00:18:03.14\00:18:05.31
into that kind of
life, saying, "Okay,
00:18:05.35\00:18:06.95
"maybe I don't
see God everywhere.
00:18:06.98\00:18:08.85
"But let's take a look
at what's been happening.
00:18:08.88\00:18:11.15
Look back at how He's
led in the past, all right?"
00:18:11.19\00:18:13.72
Then Mordecai overhears
a plot against the king.
00:18:13.76\00:18:18.46
Now, plots against the
king in this day and age
00:18:18.49\00:18:20.66
were not surprising, so,
but the fact that he overheard,
00:18:20.70\00:18:25.33
this is
something of a coincidence.
00:18:25.37\00:18:27.07
But what maybe is
even bigger coincidence
00:18:27.10\00:18:29.74
is that he was not rewarded.
00:18:29.77\00:18:32.11
Persian kings or
kings of all sorts
00:18:32.14\00:18:34.51
who lived in
fear for their lives,
00:18:34.54\00:18:37.01
there were people lurking around
every corner ready to kill them.
00:18:37.05\00:18:40.25
And so, when
someone showed loyalty,
00:18:40.28\00:18:43.22
the rewards were
extravagant. Extravagant.
00:18:43.25\00:18:48.09
The fact that Mordecai was
overlooked is just unheard of,
00:18:48.12\00:18:54.10
absolutely
unheard of. Coincidence?
00:18:54.10\00:18:57.17
Okay, so let's just
(laughs) keep going.
00:18:57.20\00:19:00.64
We mentioned
Haman, who's an Agagite.
00:19:00.67\00:19:03.10
All right, number
one, there was no reason
00:19:03.14\00:19:05.11
for the story to include that
little piece of information,
00:19:05.14\00:19:08.54
unless it was significant.
00:19:08.58\00:19:10.31
And so then, like I mentioned
at the first part of the thing,
00:19:10.35\00:19:13.78
we have to bring in
all of that story with it,
00:19:13.82\00:19:17.95
plus the fact that it mentions
that Esther and Mordecai
00:19:17.99\00:19:22.12
were descendants of Kish,
who was Saul's father, okay?
00:19:22.16\00:19:25.29
So all of this stuff
comes in. Coincidence?
00:19:25.33\00:19:28.26
You know, as it builds, the more
and more you start to think,
00:19:28.30\00:19:30.60
"Okay, this is
just unrealistic."
00:19:30.63\00:19:32.60
Well, first of all, Esther gains
the king's favor the first time.
00:19:32.63\00:19:36.27
Coincidence? Well, maybe.
00:19:36.30\00:19:37.77
She was the most
beautiful and all of that,
00:19:37.81\00:19:39.41
but then she gains the
king's favor a second time.
00:19:39.44\00:19:42.91
This becomes more unrealistic,
00:19:42.94\00:19:45.61
because she's now just another
woman in a harem of thousands,
00:19:45.65\00:19:53.12
right? She was made
queen. Yes, that helps.
00:19:53.15\00:19:56.46
But the story
points out, significantly,
00:19:56.49\00:19:59.59
that she's concerned
when Mordecai asks her
00:19:59.63\00:20:02.93
to intervene in this situation
of Haman, that she says,
00:20:02.96\00:20:10.11
"The king hasn't called
for me in more than a month."
00:20:10.14\00:20:13.41
You know, so she's
either falling out of favor,
00:20:13.44\00:20:15.58
or he's just out
of sight, out of mind;
00:20:15.61\00:20:17.45
he hasn't thought about her.
00:20:17.48\00:20:19.11
She's not at the level that it
seemed like she was for a while.
00:20:19.15\00:20:24.02
And so, she's really
putting her life in her hands
00:20:24.05\00:20:27.49
to go before the king.
00:20:27.52\00:20:30.73
And then you insert
this bit of prayer in there.
00:20:30.76\00:20:36.13
And so, when the king holds
out his scepter and accepts her
00:20:36.16\00:20:42.10
and doesn't order her
killed instantly, which is
00:20:42.14\00:20:44.44
what happened, usually, when
someone would come in like that.
00:20:44.47\00:20:48.34
Is it a coincidence?
00:20:48.38\00:20:50.95
Okay, so, God here has
been inserted in really
00:20:50.98\00:20:54.28
quite a powerful way, even
though He's never mentioned.
00:20:54.32\00:20:56.79
She comes into there. Now,
00:20:56.82\00:20:58.29
Haman has this
grudge against Mordecai.
00:20:58.32\00:21:01.92
He is invited to
the queen's banquet.
00:21:01.96\00:21:05.13
The first day
is great for Haman.
00:21:05.16\00:21:07.46
He goes home,
and he's so pleased.
00:21:07.50\00:21:09.60
He's telling his wife
about how everything is great.
00:21:09.63\00:21:12.60
He's the only one
that has been invited
00:21:12.63\00:21:15.17
to Queen Esther's banquet,
00:21:15.20\00:21:18.01
how his sons-- he
has these 10 sons.
00:21:18.04\00:21:21.94
"But I still have
this guy Mordecai."
00:21:21.98\00:21:24.61
And his wife says,
"Well, build him a gallows.
00:21:24.65\00:21:26.61
Hang him on it tomorrow."
00:21:26.65\00:21:29.52
And when you know
the rest of the story,
00:21:29.55\00:21:30.95
coincidence?
Right? >>Eric: Yeah.
00:21:30.99\00:21:33.22
>>Jeff: Okay, so then
00:21:33.25\00:21:35.52
she invites them
back the second time.
00:21:35.56\00:21:38.16
And there's this flair
for drama. They love this.
00:21:38.19\00:21:41.10
I had a class in this particular
book of the Bible at seminary,
00:21:41.13\00:21:45.27
and they kind of really
dug deep into some of this.
00:21:45.30\00:21:47.94
This is the way
the Persians worked,
00:21:47.97\00:21:49.27
this flair for drama
and postponing the request
00:21:49.30\00:21:52.57
and all of this. And so
when-- this is fascinating--
00:21:52.61\00:21:55.98
when Esther points to
Haman, the king is angry.
00:21:56.98\00:22:05.79
He jumps up and
runs out into the garden.
00:22:05.82\00:22:07.69
Why? Because he
now has a problem.
00:22:07.72\00:22:10.59
You see, whose
signature was on the law?
00:22:10.63\00:22:15.90
It was his.
>>Eric: His own, yep.
00:22:15.93\00:22:17.30
>>Jeff: It was his signature.
00:22:17.33\00:22:18.93
Can he come back and
execute Haman for a law
00:22:18.97\00:22:21.24
that's
something that he did? No.
00:22:21.27\00:22:24.47
So what happens? (chuckles)
00:22:25.97\00:22:30.45
He comes back in.
00:22:30.48\00:22:32.95
And...at that moment, Haman
is falling on the queen's couch.
00:22:32.98\00:22:39.95
Now, there's something you
need to understand about the way
00:22:39.99\00:22:43.39
that the Persians worked,
with the king and his wives.
00:22:43.43\00:22:47.46
There was a 7-foot
buffer zone around the queen
00:22:47.50\00:22:52.13
that no male was
allowed to enter.
00:22:52.17\00:22:55.47
Instant death if
that were to happen, okay?
00:22:55.50\00:23:00.64
Coincidence?
00:23:00.68\00:23:03.78
If Haman wanted
to secure his fate,
00:23:03.81\00:23:08.62
it would be to cross that line.
00:23:08.65\00:23:10.62
In fact, the rabbis
writing the commentary,
00:23:10.65\00:23:14.12
the Mishna on this,
said him actually falling
00:23:14.16\00:23:18.89
on the queen's
couch is so impossible
00:23:18.93\00:23:22.20
that they say the
angel Gabriel pushed him.
00:23:22.23\00:23:24.93
>>Eric: The what? (laughs)
>>Jeff: That's what they say.
00:23:24.97\00:23:27.60
You know, we, of
course, have no hint
00:23:27.64\00:23:29.44
that that's actually
reality. >>Eric: Sure, sure.
00:23:29.47\00:23:31.61
>>Jeff: But that's how
unrealistic this coincidence is.
00:23:31.64\00:23:35.41
And coincidence?
00:23:35.44\00:23:36.75
The king just happens to
walk back in at that moment?
00:23:36.78\00:23:40.12
And he instantly has the excuse
that he needs to execute Haman.
00:23:40.15\00:23:47.56
"He's even going to molest
the queen in my presence?"
00:23:47.59\00:23:50.66
And he doesn't even
have to say, "Kill him."
00:23:50.69\00:23:52.33
At that moment,
they put something
00:23:52.36\00:23:54.00
over his head and take him out.
00:23:54.00\00:23:55.96
And once again, I skipped
over one of the most key parts
00:23:56.00\00:23:59.73
of this--because I talked
about him building the gallows--
00:23:59.77\00:24:03.00
but in between that
night, the king couldn't sleep.
00:24:03.04\00:24:06.37
And so, what does he do?
00:24:06.41\00:24:11.58
Coincidentally says,
"Hey, read me history.
00:24:11.61\00:24:14.75
Go through the books."
00:24:14.78\00:24:16.48
Okay, maybe he's weird that way.
00:24:16.52\00:24:17.82
I don't know, but,
00:24:17.85\00:24:19.15
you know, to me, it's just
like, why would he do that?
00:24:19.19\00:24:22.62
But they dutifully
come in, and they sit down,
00:24:22.66\00:24:25.13
and they start reading through,
00:24:25.16\00:24:26.29
and they just happen to
read this part about Mordecai?
00:24:26.33\00:24:30.43
And he just happens to say,
00:24:30.47\00:24:33.10
"Well, how was Mordecai
rewarded for saving my life?"
00:24:33.13\00:24:36.24
And it just happens
that they overlooked
00:24:36.27\00:24:38.24
this most
important and credible thing.
00:24:38.27\00:24:41.74
And it just
happens that he says,
00:24:41.78\00:24:43.85
"Well, we need to fix that,"
00:24:43.88\00:24:45.11
and it just happens that
Haman shows up right then
00:24:45.15\00:24:49.02
in the court?
00:24:49.05\00:24:50.95
And just happens to be
there to ask to kill Mordecai
00:24:50.99\00:24:54.92
on a gallows that he
built? I mean, come on.
00:24:54.96\00:24:58.49
By this time, it's just crazy.
00:24:58.53\00:25:00.30
It's ridiculous,
the coincidences.
00:25:00.33\00:25:03.73
>>Eric: If they
were indeed coincidences.
00:25:03.77\00:25:05.60
>>Jeff: If they were
indeed coincidence, but you just
00:25:05.63\00:25:07.17
kind of think,
no, it's not possible.
00:25:07.20\00:25:09.34
>>Eric: But
you've got God working
00:25:09.37\00:25:11.17
through all of these things and
bringing these things to happen
00:25:11.21\00:25:15.04
and causing the king to say,
00:25:15.08\00:25:18.78
"Hey, read me the
record of things."
00:25:18.81\00:25:20.78
And they chose to read
a portion of the records
00:25:20.82\00:25:23.28
that included
Mordecai. >>Jeff: Yeah.
00:25:23.32\00:25:25.79
>>Eric: So many things
that God allowed to happen,
00:25:25.82\00:25:31.13
brought to happen
just at the right time,
00:25:31.16\00:25:32.96
at the right
place, in the right way.
00:25:32.99\00:25:36.33
So, and we didn't even
hit on all the coincidences.
00:25:36.36\00:25:39.27
>>Jeff: No,
there's more, there's more.
00:25:39.30\00:25:40.94
>>Eric: So many more.
What do we learn from these?
00:25:40.97\00:25:45.87
I mean, this--we
read through, and we go,
00:25:45.91\00:25:47.71
"Wow, what are the
chances?" >>Jeff: Yeah.
00:25:47.74\00:25:50.05
>>Eric: And taken alone,
zero would be the chances.
00:25:50.08\00:25:54.08
But if God's involved,
00:25:54.12\00:25:55.98
all of a sudden
that changes everything.
00:25:56.02\00:25:57.95
So talk a little bit about that.
00:25:57.99\00:26:00.62
>>Jeff: For me, I just
apply this to my life today.
00:26:00.66\00:26:03.96
Really, the first
question so many people ask
00:26:03.99\00:26:06.96
when anything bad
happens is, "Where is God?"
00:26:07.00\00:26:10.57
And Esther is an answer to that.
00:26:10.60\00:26:14.84
And for Esther, the worst
things that could have happened,
00:26:14.87\00:26:17.27
happened; and yet,
turns out God was there.
00:26:17.31\00:26:21.58
What does this
have to do with mission?
00:26:21.61\00:26:23.11
If you wanna ask
that question, too--
00:26:23.14\00:26:24.95
evangelism and
those kinds of things?
00:26:24.98\00:26:27.15
Once again, Esther
wasn't a volunteer missionary,
00:26:27.18\00:26:30.25
and yet she became-- and
the Jews ended up in power.
00:26:30.29\00:26:35.12
Mordecai ends up
with the ring of power.
00:26:35.16\00:26:37.29
Everybody starts to become
Jews, it says in the story,
00:26:37.33\00:26:40.96
because they were afraid
of what was happening there.
00:26:41.00\00:26:43.60
So no matter what, if it seems
like God isn't working, oh my.
00:26:43.63\00:26:48.84
Just look, open your eyes,
and you'll start to see things
00:26:48.87\00:26:52.11
that it's obvious that He is.
00:26:52.14\00:26:54.28
>>Eric: And you're right,
Jeff. Sometimes in our efforts
00:26:54.31\00:26:56.28
to share the gospel with others,
00:26:56.31\00:26:57.95
it looks as if God
isn't there, isn't there,
00:26:57.98\00:27:01.05
when in fact, He's right
there in the thick of things,
00:27:01.08\00:27:04.32
if we would
simply stop and see it.
00:27:04.35\00:27:08.26
Jeff, thanks for helping to
bring so much out of this story
00:27:08.29\00:27:11.23
of Esther and Mordecai.
00:27:11.26\00:27:12.93
And thank you for
joining us again this week.
00:27:12.96\00:27:15.63
We are almost at
the end of this quarter,
00:27:15.66\00:27:17.77
but we are not yet there.
00:27:17.80\00:27:20.54
We have one more week before
we finish out this quarter,
00:27:20.57\00:27:24.37
and we've been looking at
God's mission and my mission,
00:27:24.41\00:27:28.31
God's mission and your mission.
Each one of us is a missionary.
00:27:28.34\00:27:32.58
Each one of us is a disciple.
00:27:32.61\00:27:34.35
Each one of us is a
follower and a sharer of Jesus.
00:27:34.38\00:27:37.85
And this quarter, we're
looking at very practical,
00:27:37.89\00:27:40.12
very solid ways
that we can do that.
00:27:40.16\00:27:42.19
We look forward to
seeing you again next week
00:27:42.22\00:27:44.19
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:44.23\00:27:45.53
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:45.56\00:27:47.60
¤¤¤
00:27:47.66\00:27:52.63
¤¤¤
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[Captioning provided by
Aberdeen Broadcast Services]
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