Pain is a real part of our lives. When I am speaking in a public setting, I am always aware that some of my audience, and at time MANY in the audience, are people who are passing through painful life experiences. Not everyone responds to pain the same way. Someone has said: “The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay.” In this study, we will establish that God’s purposeful use of pain isn’t a once size fits all deal. He uses pain in the life of a believer for a different purpose than that of an unbeliever.
Key Principle: God may draw the unbeliever through pain, but He uses pain in a believer’s life to “position” them for His best use.
Our passage opens with an unbelieving king who was very much facing pain. In order to understand him, we need to look back a bit…
The ancient historians Herodotus (and later Plutarch) provided us with the “newspaper headlines” from the period of Esther 1-2. It all started with a revolt in the western edges of the Persian empire, in the area known as Ionia in about 500 BCE. Darius the King of Persia planned and executed a successful put down of the insurgency.
- Persian king Darius I (550-486 BCE) swore to have revenge on Athens when he found they helped Ionian cities revolt. He crushed the Ionians (494 BCE), putting down the revolt nearMiletus.
- The Battle of Marathon was set in the end of August and beginning of September of 490 BCE, as Darius sent a naval task force across the Aegean, to take the Cycladic Islands and then attack Athens. Taking many islands, the Persians sailed for Athens, landing in nearbyMarathon.
- Athenians marched to Marathon to meet the Persian advance and blocked the two exits from the plain of Marathon. After a five day stalemate the Athenian hoplites attacked the Persians, devastating the Persian infantry. The Persian force retreated to Asia, showing the Greeks that the Persians could be beaten. Although dubious, the legend of a Greek messenger Pheidippi’des running from Marathon to Athens with news of victory – a distance of just over 26 miles - and collapsing following the announcement, which became the inspiration for the so named athletic event introduced at the 1896 Athens Olympics
- Darius began raising a huge new army with which to return to Greece; but faced in 486 BCE, an Egyptian uprising. He died the same year in October of 486 BCE.
His successor and son, Xerxes I (Ahaseurus of Esther) prepared a face saving second invasion of Greece. The preparations for that army were set at the party of Esther 1. By 483 BCE, more than one half of that year was spent on the massive and impressive party that staged the backdrop of the military planning sessions for the second invasion ofGreece.
In the summer heat of 480 BCE, the Greek city states found themselves under attack again. Xerxes amassed a huge army and navy, and set out to conquer Greece and redeem his father’s defeat. The Athenian general Themistocles proposed that the Greeks block the advance of the Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae, while blocking the Persian navy at the Straits of Artemisium.
- The Greek force of approximately 7,000 men thus marched north to block the pass in the summer of 480 BCE against a Persian army, alleged to have numbered over one million.
- Though vastly outnumbered, the Greeks knew the terrain and held off the Persians for three assaults over a week long period. King Leonidas I of Sparta blocked the only road by which the massive Persian army could pass. After the second day of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks by revealing a small path that led behind the Greek lines. Aware that his force was being outflanked, Leonidas dismissed the bulk of the Greek army, and remained to guard the rear with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans and perhaps a few hundred others, the vast majority of whom were killed.
- After the defeat on land, the Greek navy at Artemisium evacuated Athens and withdrew to west of the island of Salamis, in the Saronic Gulf southwest of Athens. The Persians found an evacuated Athens, and followed the Greek ships – seeking decisive victory over them. The smaller and more maneuverable Greek fleet attacked the Persian warships, and decimated them at the Battle of Salamis in late 480 BCE. Xerxes was forced to withdraw with much of his army to Asia Minor. The following year (August, 479 BCE) the Persians were decisively defeated the Persians at the Battle of Plataea and Xerxes army returned home humbled.
- Since Esther was taken to Xerxes in December of 479 or January of 478 BCE according to Esther 2:16, the setting of Esther 2:1 and the “After these things” included the Greek wars and the news of the defeat of Xerxes army – along with the accompanying humiliation.
Unbeliever’s Response to Painful Events. Bad things happen to the unbelieving to draw them to God (2:1-4):
Regret: With the humbling of life’s defeats come the reality of some of our regrettable behaviors. With time, Xerxes could see himself differently. “Time wounds all heels” the sarcastic philosopher said. The ghost of bad choices past is ever ready to make a hasty appearance when reversals and loss drive us downward.
Esther 2:1 After these things when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.
The memory and regret was a built in design, God-given to fallen man for the purpose of pressing us to change. If wrong did not produce shame, guilt and negative feeling, we would not understand the true consequences. Numbness would replace the sensitivity and the problems would only worsen like an injured leper , who cannot tell he is wounding himself further.
Redirection: When we have done things we cannot fix, we are inclined to redirect the bad feelings into new and exciting stimulations – many of which will be the worst choices ever. The king’s servants wanted him to cheer up, and that is admirable. Sadly, they did not offer advice to try to make amends of the selfish behaviors that led Xerxes to where he was. They simply added to the troubles by “outsourcing” entertainment.
2:2 Then the king’s attendants, who served him, said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. 3 “Let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given them. 4 “Then let the young lady who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the matter pleased the king, and he did accordingly.
Look closely at their advice:
1)They proposed that young virgins be brought before the king.
2) The basis of the selection was external beauty.
3) To add to the charade, the beauties were to be “made up” to please, and trained in the ways of pleasing a man.
4) The physical beauty and sensual training alone would be the basis of finding a new queen of the realm.
On close inspection, does that sound like a good idea? It may DISTRACT from the pain of loss and humiliation of poor choices, but is there advice good for either the king or the kingdom? Not really. The king needed to face his problems, but the world around him offered anesthetic pleasures of redirection.
The purpose of pain in the life of an unbeliever is to pull them to the Lord, and convince them that life on their own is not working out. The end game of God is to get their attention turned to Him and let them open their hands in surrender to Him.
Believers response to painful events. Bad things happen to the believer to open the door to God’s message:
Esther faced five painful losses on her way to getting to the place of God’s use for her life.
Loss of family home – God may take your “place”.
2:5 Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem…
Loss of national honor – God may take the pride of your nation away.
2:6b …with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled.
Loss of nurturing environment – God may remove from you people you deeply cherish.
2:7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
Loss of freedom – God may take away your choices for your future.
2:8 So it came about when the command and decree of the king were heard and many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. 9 Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave
her seven choice maids from the king’s palace and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem. 10 Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make them known. 11 Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she fared.
Loss of control – God may place you in very uncomfortable circumstances.
12 Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women— 13 the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she desired was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go in and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not again go in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.
Before I move on, I want to make a note that GOD UNDERSTANDS PAIN, and I am glad that I know a God who DOES. The words of John Stott are helpful to me: John Stott wrote, “I could never believe in God, if it were not for the cross… In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his
face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering.”
I am not ready to leave this point about God’s understanding of pain, because it is so badly represented.
People I know recently shared with me that after 25 years of serving Jesus in a local church, they were informed that the cancer the man of the couple had was entirely blamed on the “lack of faith” for the healing, and at the time they most needed their church family, they felt alone. People think that only things that match their idea of “GOOD” is something God will place into your life.
Then we have those who enjoy the semantic game of fighting between whether God “allows” or “places” painful events in our lives. I frankly think it is a meaningless argument. When I hurt, I turn to a Sovereign God and ask Him for help. If He does not offer it, I must trust He knows why, or His Sovereignty becomes a harshness.
I want you to consider Hannah Whithall Smith’s words from her book The Unselfishness of God carefully for a moment:
Everything in your spiritual life depends on the sort of God you worship. Because the character of the worshiper will always be molded to the character of what he worships: if it is a cruel and vengeful God the worshiper will be the same, but if it is a loving, tender, forgiving, unselfish God, the worshiper will be transformed slowly, wonderfully into this likeness.
I have run into many believers who seriously doubt the goodness of God. In one way or another they reflect the sentiment: “if God were really good He would…”. Again from in the Smith’s book she shares: “A great many things in God’s divine providence is do not look to the eye like goodness. But faith sits down before mysteries such as these and says the Lord is good there for all that he does must be good no matter how it looks. I can wait for his explanations.”
Esther responded five ways to the uncomfortable place God put her into
She followed with obedience – She accepted the place of God’s call with grace and authenticity.
15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king,
She built relationships – She understood authority was placed in her life for a reason.
….she did not request anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal palace in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
She saw God elevate her – She trusted God for identity, position, significance and place.
17The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
She trusted God’s Messenger – She knew how to walk respectfully and discreetly.
18 Then the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his princes and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king’s bounty. 19 When the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20 Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai had commanded her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care.
She became God’s Tool – She was used of God for important work at a critical moment.
21 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s officials from those who guarded the door, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 But the plot became known to Mordecai and he told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. 23 Now when the plot was investigated and found to be so, they were both hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the Book of the Chronicles in the king’s presence.
Few people know loss and pain like Joni Earekson Tada, so I want to draw your attention to her words that help clarify the subject significantly:
Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic who was paralyzed in a diving accident as a teenager, talks about her wedding day. She says, “I felt awkward as my girlfriends strained to shift my paralyzed body into a cumbersome wedding gown. No amount of corseting and binding my body gave me a perfect shape. The dress just didn’t fit well. Then, as I was wheeling into the church, I glanced down and noticed that I’d accidentally run over the hem of my dress, leaving a greasy tire mark. My paralyzed hands couldn’t hold the bouquet of daisies that lay off-center on my lap. And my chair, though decorated for the wedding, was still a big, clunky gray machine with belts, gears, and ball bearings. I certainly didn’t feel like the picture-perfect bride in a bridal magazine. I inched my chair closer to the last pew to catch a glimpse of Ken in front. There he was, standing tall and stately in his formal attire. I saw him looking for me, craning his neck to look up the aisle. My face flushed, and I suddenly couldn’t wait to be with him. I had seen my beloved. The love in Ken’s face had washed away all my feelings of unworthiness. I was his pure and perfect bride. How easy it is for us to think that we’re utterly unlovely — especially to someone as lovely as Christ. But he loves us with the bright eyes of a Bridegroom’s love and cannot wait for the day we are united with him forever.” And we, unattractive, frightened, paralyzed and imperfect, yet wild with hope, come to the wedding feast of the Lamb. We feel inadequate and unworthy, yet our eyes are fixed on Christ. We are overwhelmed with emotion as we know that we are loved and accepted just as we are, and that the wedding will bring about a transformation. The blood and water that flowed from his side has released us from our bondage, healed our brokenness and cleansed us from our sin. We become the Bride of Christ, not just in theory or potentially, but in reality. And there, together with him and all the redeemed, we will taste the new wine of the kingdom. The writer of Revelation proclaimed: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’” (Revelation 21:2-5).
If you are a believer, God may place a believer in an uncomfortable place, but it is for a purpose. He knows the place where He can best use us for His glory. We cannot always see the intersection we belong at – so God directs through circumstances beyond our control to get us to the right place. He desires my trust and my obedience – nothing more, nothing less. His purpose for my pain is to bring me to the place where I can be used more effectively for His purposes!
