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The story of Esther is a story of the Emperor of ancient Persia, who married a beautiful Jewish girl named Esther who had been raised by her cousin, Mordecai. The latter two persons were captives, taken from the city of Jerusalem and brought over into the kingdom of Persia.

In the court of this Emperor was a very slimy character named Haman who became the Prime Minister of the kingdom. As time passed, antagonism had developed between Haman and Mordecai. Haman, wanting to rid the empire of Mordecai, created a fiendish plan to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom. What he did not know was this: Esther, the queen, was a Jewess. 

Mordecai became aware of the plot and prevailed upon Queen Esther to brave the disfavor of the king by going to him without invitation, to plead the cause of her people.

The whole story becomes of fascinating interest and meaning to us when we discover that this is not merely a story of the ancient past, but is also a divinely inspired, magnificently accurate portrayal of what is going on in each of our lives at this very moment. 

Each of us is a king over a kingdom; the kingdom is each of our lives. The spirit persons of each of us who have been born again have been made alive in Jesus Christ. This is the queen that has come into your life. 

Mordecai, in this story, is a figure of the Holy Spirit moving to preserve the fruit of the Spirit in our kingdom. And slyly at work in us is Haman -- that which the Bible calls the flesh, the SARX, tricking us into believing that the only way we will ever get what we want is by choosing our own way and ignoring the life of Jesus Christ within us. This will be our Pastor’s sermon for today.

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At his current place in the=is series of sermons from the story of Esther, our pastor has now introduced to us an Emperor called Ahasuerus. He was the grandfather of Cyrus the Great. This Emperor had married a young Jewish girl named Esther, a captive taken from the city of Jerusalem, years earlier. Her cousin Mordechai later became a judge in the city of Susa the capital city of the Persian Empire.

In the court of the king was an oily character whose name was Haman who managed to pull the wool over the King’s eyes and deceived him into signing a decree to destroy all the Jews in his kingdom. The Jewish people are called “the people of Mordechai.”

We should be aware that the book of Esther is true history. It can be confirmed by the Jewish celebration called “the Feast of Purim, named for the casting of the PUR, which our Pastor described last week. It was cast before Haman to fix the day upon which the Jews would be exterminated. This feast is still celebrated today some twenty-five hundred years after these events.

However, the startling thing we learn is this: the events in Esther also a glimpse into our own hearts. Each of us has a king dwelling in the capital city, the capital city being our bodies, and reigning over an Empire which touches everyone we know. If we are a believing Christians, at the moment we were born again we gained a queen---a spirit made alive in Jesus Christ to serve as a place of communion between the Holy Spirit who dwells in your hearts, and ourselves.

As pastor will demonstrate this morning, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is symbolized in the story in the person of Mordechai.

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In this series of sermons, our Pastor has introduced us to four characters that play a role in the book of Esther. The first was Emperor Ahasuerus of Persia. He was a young man of about eighteen years of age when the events recorded in the book of Esther begin.

The second was the Queen of Persia, a woman named Vashti. The Emperor deposed her and for the next three years he lived without a queen. But, when the Emperor was twenty-one, he married our third character, a young Jewess by the name of Esther. The fourth character, the one we introduce today, her cousin, Mordecai, was a judge in the city of Susa, the capital of Persia. 

In the course of his duties, Mordecai uncovered a plot against the king's life. The culprit is the fifth character in our drama, a villain named Haman. He represents our spiritual enemy Satan, as we shall see. 

This is more than a story from the long forgotten past! It is the story of each of our lives. The Emperor represents each one of us. Like him, each of us have great influence in the empires we rule, our lives. We are the emperors of our kingdoms, which means we, too, have found a new queen. This happened when our spirit person was made alive in Jesus Christ.

We now have the influence of the Holy Spirit, the heavenly Mordecai, working in us. But today, Pastor will point to the fact that like Haman, our spiritual enemy, Satan, has launched a plot against each of our lives. You will see today how the story of Esther retraces our spiritual journeys.

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Last week, our Pastor began a new series of sermons taken from the book of Esther. In his introductory sermon, he introduced us to three persons, the first being the emperor of Persia, AHASUERUS. Our Pastor suggested that this man represents each one of us. He also introduced two women, a pair of queens, named VASHTI and Esther. Pastor suggested that VASHTI represents our spirit person when it is dormant; dead in trespass and in sin. AHASUERUS and VASHTI had no relationship; they were dead to one another.

This lack of relationship left the Emperor empty and alone. But the day would come when he would meet a Jewish girl named Esther. Last week, Pastor also suggested that Esther represented our regenerated spirit persons. The meaning of this will be seen in the sermon for this morning as he introduces us to this young Jewish girl.

Pastor will also introduce us to a fourth person. He, too, will have a crucial role to play. His name is Mordechai and he is the cousin of Esther. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin. Finis Dake, in his famous Dake’s Study Bible, interprets Esther 2:5–6 as follows:

"Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah.” 

This means that Mordecai himself was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar meaning that he was quite aged. We do know this; according to Esther 2:7, he adopted the young girl Esther when she was orphaned at a young age, and brought up as if she were his own daughter. It is on this young girl, Esther, and this elderly man, Mordechai, that Pastor will focus on in this message.

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We are beginning the book of Esther, which may be the most neglected book in the entire Bible. You see, very few people have ever attempted a sermon series on it or even a few single sermons from this book because the truth is very few people even read this book as  devotional material.

Perhaps this is because this book is different than anything found in the New Testament. In fact, it’s much different from what is found in the remainder of the Old Testament. That’s why people tend to be a bit mystified by it. Then there’s the fact that it’s about a woman, which is very rare in biblical record. The truth is that there are only three books in the entire Bible about women and all of them are similar to Esther. The other two books are of course Ruth and the Song of Solomon. All three books are indeed delightful, but each of them are a little difficult to understand, which is why our pastor will delve beneath the surface of Esther and discover what is hidden there for us. In the way of introduction this much can be said for the book of Esther. It is a story of two angles: one of human love and the other of palace intrigue. As this series begins our pastor hopes we will all be fascinated until we finally arrive at the conclusion of this awesome story, but nevertheless, in the end, we will probably wonder why this book is even included in the Bible.

It does not mention the name of God, not once. There is no reference to worship or faith. There is no prophecy concerning Christ. There is no mention of heaven or hell. But, beneath the surface is in fact, some life changing input. And yet, it is an amazing revelation of how God works through natural means to achieve his purposes. Our pastor will begin this new series with a rather secular title.

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In the last episode we were in 2 Samuel 20, now we are in 2 Samuel 21 and something interesting happens.  We get a rather large time flashback. In fact the events we discuss in this episode may have occurred more than 30 years before chapter 20.  There are many reasons why this may have happened and why the ancient historians wrote it this way. One might be that we have had quite enough of David and all of his weaknesses. Another reason may be that given all of Davids’ different flaws, it now could be time to see a few things that he got right, and why he is referred to as a man after God’s own heart.

David was a compassionate man, he was a loving man, and in this teaching we will see that in his handling of a certain ethnic group associated with the Nation of israel. We must be aware that although certain old testament events do not specifically apply to all aspects of Chirstian life, not matter what community we are in or wherever we are we must always be kind and compassionate to all those who are in need. We see that in David’s handling of this situation discussed in this teaching of this specific ethnic group that he comes in contact with. 

As a king, even against his own personal prejudices, David had to ensure full justice to all of his subjects.  Above all, promises made to minorities had to be kept, especially when those promises concerned the rights of some of those that we might call second class citizens, even if some first class citizens had to suffer for it.

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At the end of the last episode we saw that the war was over and Absolom was dead. Remember that before the battle, David was willing and wanting to risk his life and lead his troops into battle. He wanted to do this for two reasons, first off, it was what kings did, lead their troops into battle.  And secondly, he hoped that if he could enter the battle it would help save his son Absolom’s life.  David’s warriors though, especially his commander in chief Joab thought differently. Joab was convinced that David must stay alive for his kingdom to continue.  If he entered the battle and a stray arrow accidentally pierced him he would be dead and Absolom’s forces would most assuradly take over and they would crown Absolom as king.  Joab knew that David’s life was essential to the cause to keeping his kingdom alive so he knew he could not enter the battle he had to say out but Joab also believed that it was crucial that Absolom be killed. There could not be two kings of Isreal, the rebellion had gone too deep.  Absolum must die and David must be kept safe. Politically it was too late for reconciliation between father and son, Absolom had to die. 

The truth is this. During this entire affair wtih David he had not acted as a King, he acted as a doating father. This is kind of ridiculous when you look at his reactions.  He did not treat Absolom’s rebellion as a rebellion at all.  He treated it like a small minor domestic affair that could be settled with a nice group hug between the patries involved.  He failed to see Absolom’s as a traitor, a rebel who has caused tons of a pain, hurt and suffering to David, his family and the entire nation at large. And that is to say nothing for the 20 thousand men who had just died in a fierce battle in the Woods of Effram. 

The death of Absolom was good news to the Nation of Isreal, it was good news for David the King, but it was the worst kind of news for David the Father.  We remember David’s statement from last episode where he said, “Would I had died instead of you Absolom my son, my son.” These were the words of a bereaved and tormented father. The loss of another son, his third son, deeply hurt David and gave him intense sorrow.  Yet he was the king, he could not forget his duty, his responsibility to his people, there had been a huge loss, a huge battle, a rebellion, an insurrection in his own kingdom. It was time for reconciliation, it was time to bring the kingdom back together, it was time to be king, to step up and be the king that all his valiant warriors who had just died had fought for, to be that king.  Much had to be done and a lot of bitterness had to be taken care of.

Joab, who had personally killed Absolom, was frustrated with the way David was acting, he did not like it, and in fact he calls out David to his face.  This will be the topic of Pastor Harris’s message. 

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David as we find him this episode is nearing the Jordan River, nearing the east of Jerricho. Absalom, his son, has taken Jerusalem and has begun to occupy the famed cedar palace.  Phase one of Absalom’s grand scheme is complete and he is about to enact phase two.  He turns to his advisors, one is David’s former chief advisor Ahitophel.  He tells Absalom the plan, David is not going to cross the Jordan at night, he is going to be too weary and wont want to do it at dark.  Let me take 12,000 men and go all night.  We’ll reach them tomorrow morning and he will be weakened and he will take them all down.  You cut the head off the snake and the whole snake dies.  We will take down David and the whole movement and rebellion against Absalom’s rule will be over. Ahitophel knew this was the way to go, he knew how resilient David could be, he knew that if you let David live on there could be serious problems for Absalom’s newest regime.  

However, Absalom admired another leader, so he turned to him to seek his advice as well. He advised Absalom to stay back, be patient and wait.  He was doing this because he was a mole, a spy. He knew the best thing on David’s side was time, so he encouraged Ahitophel as such. He succeeded and Absalom decided to side with the other advisor.  

Ahitophel, seeing the Absalom siding with this new advice, he knew that he had made a terrible mistake. He knew the time to act was now, he thought Absalom was a man of action. He thought that Absoalom was a man of plan and he knew what he was about and knew what he was doing and was ready to take the kingdom. Clearly Ahitophel, the political superior, saw that Absalom had misstepped in not going and taking David and killing him.  He knew that his cause was doomed and that he had sided with the wrong side.  So he returned to Hebron and hanged himself.

With the extra time that David now had, he used it very well.  He began to rally and train his army while Absalom was staying back.  He would rally the troops, and get them ready to go and ready to fight until he would fight Absalom’s army in open combat.

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Last episode Pastor Harris taught about Absalom, the son of David and his planned assault on the city of Jerusalem. He planned to surround the city, take it, and kill his father David and ascend to the throne of Jerusalem. David had two options therefore, he could stay and let Absalom’s army lay siege and try and fight them off and this would most likely meet the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, David’s beloved city, or he could flee and go to a place that Absalom might have difficulty trying to reach him. It broke David’s heart, but with limited choices, David chose the second option, which we learned in the last episode. Fleeing his beloved city, and betrayed by members of his family, including one of his best friends his best counselor, and it broke David’s heart and was a very humbling moment in his life. 

But at this moment, God chose to act and he sent a gentile, who was a friend and swore fealty.  He swore to go with David till death, he told David that he believed in him and he was his friend. That kind of love and friendship at David’s worst time strengthen him on his journey ahead and he began to have hope. With that David left the city and climbed the Mount of Olives to his ultimate destination. Somewhere along his ascent David looked back at the city and he wept. 

About this time he was approached by Ziba servant of Saul, who brought him donkey's laden with supplies for his journey. With this David made his way across the Jordan River valley. We saw here that all the things that David had been through had began to soften his heart and gave him a new level of tenderness and gentleness and love for the Lord and from these we see some of David’s most Amazing Psalms, and one of these was glorious 63rd Psalm. That is where we finished in the last episode and this week a test is coming. Somewhere on the far side of the Mount of Olives a man came running toward David. His name was Shimie and he would test David to the core, and that is what Pastor Harris will talk about in this episode.

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Welcome to the Relational Grace Podcast where we share the teachings of Pastor Nick Harris who taught us that Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship. I’m your host Jamie Russell, Pastor Harris’s son.

Last episode Pastor Harris talked about Absalom, Son of David, as he made his plans for a coup d'etat against his very own father.  He left Jerusalem making his home in Hebron, which was the first capital city of David. Apparently David found nothing curious about this, he had no suspicion as to Absalom's move.  He was totally unaware when the coup erupted. This seems really odd, as it takes a great deal of time organizing a revolt, in fact, Absolom may have spent as much as four years time planning it and yet David had not the smallest inkling of an idea that he was planning it. 

Absalom was extremely shrewd in his dealing with the revolt. Somehow Absalom had begun to win all the hearts of the people of Israel. He had somehow made them think that a man who had just taken revenge on his brother and had killed him was a man devoted to justice. He seemed to convince people that words were more profitable than actions.  He was even able to lure 200 of Jerusalem's best citizens to Hebron to join him. 

Therefore cunning and deceit seemed to be some of his best qualities. He used them many times in his dealings leading up to the revolt and during the revolt.  He used them to induce the majority of the men of Israel to turn against his very own father, their great King David.  Even David’s own tribe of Judah was ready to abandon David and follow Absalom.  This man was capable of much.  For this reason and many others, he proves though that he was not fit to be king of God’s chosen Nation.  But his father does not come out of the story looking that great either.  In fact, he gets had by his own son who was able to pull the rug right out from under him without even seeing it.  He didn't smell the revolt for the four long years that his son was in Hebron. So David does not look that great either, in fact he looks quite complacent. For this reason it looks like he was out of touch; it left room for Absolom to come in and steal their hearts. 

A big lesson learned here is this: It  is essential for good leaders to remain in touch with the people of their nation. 

All this said, neither David nor his son were the most ideal leaders.  But at least David was a man after God’s own heart and he showed this when Jerusalem was about to be laid under siege he fled and protected it.  And Absalom, as Pastor Harris will demonstrate, cared nothing for people, he did not care how many people died as long as he remained in power.

So let’s jump into the seventeenth episode of The Saga of David series, titled, “David’s Sons Revolt”.

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