Life in Plan B: “The Sting” – Esther 9:1-10:3

Set in 1938, “The Sting” was a move about a small time hussler named Johnny Hooker, who  unknowingly stole from Doyle Lonnegan – a local big time crime boss.. Lonnegan demanded the insult be settled and orderd Hooker’s partner – Luther – killed. Hooker sought the help of Henry Gondorff, a master of what was called “the long con”. Hooker and Gondorff worked out a way to extract a large sum of money out of Lonnegan through an elaborate trick called “The Sting”.  The complicated scheme required the recruitment of a large number of con artists who wanted a share of the reparations. Lonnegan was stung by the long con. He never saw it coming.

This 1973 classic film showed the inside of an elaborate con. It warned the viewer of the dangers that would fall on those who were fed by greed. Even the most skeptical man could be conned out of cash by the professionals. The end point was simple – con men were smarter than average crooks… Now I recognize how terrible it is to compare what a group of con men did to anything in God’s Word or God’s work – but hear me out.

The point of the con was to get people to believe the illusion based on their trust in their own intelligence. In that way, our world is smack dab in the middle of the greatest sting of history. Evil thinks it is winning. The enemy thinks he is so in control, so
smart, and has so outwitted the Creator – that he will be victorious. He cannot see the future and does not believe God’s Word. He is embodied in many lost people you meet every day – they cannot see the future and they do not believe God’s Word. They think they will somehow “manage” in eternity – if they choose to believe there is one. God’s mercy is extended to them every day they breath, but time marches on….God isn’t trying to set up a STING on mankind – just the enemy. The others who are caught in the sting are following willingly, with no idea how costly that is.

Key Principle: God will bring a turnabout on the unsuspecting world! It will come in His time and by His hand – and everyone will know it when it happens! Only those who know how to look past the NOW and see the THEN will truly see it coming!

Look at the story of Esther for a great visual display of this truth. In the story, we see seven principles of the sting that is coming, based on the earlier, smaller examples of God’S FUTURE WORK…

The Timing Principle: God’s patience will leave people believing it won’t happen at all (9:1a).

9:1 Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them.

God did not solve the issue until the time came according to HIS PLAN – He let the enemy play his full hand. Note the terms “about to be executed” and “on the day when their enemies…” God’s eleventh hour solution did not mean that He was unable to stop the problem sooner- it was His plan to wait. We serve the God that looks like He delivers late, but has the whole situation in his hands.

The point: Don’t believe because God hasn’t judged something that He WON’T do it. He is very patient, and that patience tricks those who don’t trust His Word.

The Transformation Principle: God’s purposes will transform the landscape in profound ways – no matter how it looks now (9:1b).

Esther 9:1b”… it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them.

 “Turned to the contrary”: In Esther, the Hebrew word HAPHAKH is used to describe this phenomenon or “replacement” or “turnabout”. It is often associated with the change of something that could not naturally change without the Lord’s intervention.

· God “replaced Sodom and Gommorrah with hail and fire – the same term -.Haphakh (haw-fakh’). It was, at times used also of a change of character or quality:

· God exchange health with leprosy, “changed unto white” (Leviticus 13:16);

· God used it figuratively of the moral life, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin?” (Jeremiah 13:23).

This “overturning change” phenomenon occurs throughout the Bible, but two examples
are found in the Book of Esther.

· One relates to Mordecai: Haman is hanged on the gallows he erected for the hanging of the good Jew, Mordecai. The “dread of Haman” resisted by Mordecai in the story, became the “dread of Mordecai” (9:3).

· The other relates to Israel: Jews were threatened with being wiped out by her enemies, but are given opportunity to wipe out her enemies.

The Greek word translated “to reconcile” literally means “to make thoroughly other.” It is almost the equivalent of the word HAPHAKH. Reconciliation in the Scripture happens only to a man or woman who is prepared to see God as God, and yield their heart to Him.

The point: God is able to transform what no one else can. People who do not know Him do not recognize His incredible power – and they are set up to be stung when judgment comes. The enemy works overtime for people to hear only of a perverse form of God’s love that requires of a follower nothing, and yet hear nothing of His righteousness that would demand surrender.

The Team Principle: God’s purposes were best reflected when God’s people acted in harmony and unity (9:2-3).

Esther 9:2 The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm; and no one could stand before them, for the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples. 3 Even all the princes of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who were doing the king’s business assisted the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.

The Jews got together to deal with the problems – standing as one rather than fighting individually. When they stood in power together, God moved in the hearts of those who would otherwise oppose them – and he brought favor through their fear. The team God has to fight for us is bigger than we know, and includes people we would never dream to be for us. Their motivation may be less than God’s intentional glory, but that will not sop them from aiding God’s purposes! God brings resources that are unexpected to aid those who are desperate but dependent on Him! He knows how to pressure men of power and He knows when to do so.

We live the example of Jesus, and that requires action, coordination and… yes…unity.

I love the story that Fred Craddock told  -  the story of a missionary (Oswald Goltar) sent to preach the gospel in India near the end of World War II. After many months the time came for a furlough back home. His church wired him the money to book passage on a steamer but when he got to the port city he discovered a boat load of Jews had just been allowed to land temporarily. These were the days when European Jews were sailing all over the world literally looking for a place to live, and these particular Jews were now
staying in attics and warehouses and basements all over that port city. It happened to be Christmas, and on Christmas morning, this missionary went to one of the attics where scores of Jews were staying. He walked in and said, “Merry Christmas.” The people looked at him as if he were crazy and responded, “We’re Jews.” “I know that,” said the missionary. “What would you like for Christmas?” In utter amazement the Jews responded, “Why, we’d like pastries, good pastries like the ones we used to have in Germany.” So the missionary went out and used the money for his ticket home to buy pastries for all the Jews he could find staying in the port. Of course, then he had to wire home asking for more money to book his passage back to the States. As you might expect, his superiors wired back asking what happened to the money they had already sent. He wired that he had used it to buy Christmas pastries for some Jews. His superiors wired back, “Why did you do that? They don’t even believe in Jesus.” He wired back: “Yes, but I do.” http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/Ficca_4326.htm

The Testimony Principle: God can show the truth that He is truly able to work – it should be seen in US (9:4)!

4 Indeed, Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater.

God can make a man famous if it suits His cause. The leader was what the people knew, but what they feared was the power he represented. He stood close to the throne, and he represented a people that stood together – and that made people take notice! When we act in defensiveness, we work from weakness. Remember, God is not on the run from his enemies.God is not losing ground, He is being patient and watching things unfold before the destruction of those who oppose Him. Don’t get so worked up when evil appears to be winning – it is a very short term perspective for an Eternal God!

Neither envy nor resent wickedness. Their doom is assured:

·The wicked will be silenced in darkness (1 Sam 2:9).

· They will perish (Ps 37:20) and will not remain in the land (Prov 10:30).

· They will have their fill of trouble (Prov 12:21) and return to the grave (Ps 9:17).

· A little while, and the wicked will be no more (Ps 37:10).

· They will be brought down by their own wickedness (Prov 11:5) and by calamity (Prov 24:16).

For them, the future will not be kind:

· The power of the wicked will be broken (Ps 37:17),

· their offspring (Ps 37:28) and future (Ps 37:38) will be cut off,

· their longings (Ps 112:10) and hopes (Prov 10:28) will come to nothing,

· their name of the wicked will rot (Prov 10:7),

· their lamp will be snuffed out (Prov. 13:9, 24:20),

· their house will be destroyed (Prov 14:11).

The last verse on the wicked is in Malachi 4:3, where the righteous are assured: “Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty.”

The Test Principle: When victory and power were handed to God’s people, it became a test of their preparedness and character (9:5-16)!

5 Thus the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, 7 and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 11 On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa was reported to the king. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall even be granted you. And what is your further request? It shall also be done.” 13 Then said Esther, “If it pleases the king, let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” 14 So the king commanded that it should be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged. 15 The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 16 Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces assembled, to defend their lives and rid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

God’s people were given great privileges. In such a time, there is always a temptation to take personal advantage of people, or to “settle old scores”. The test of God’s people was the place of privilege they were given. How would they use their newfound power? The test unfolded in two very clear ways:

1. The test of the emotional restraint: The Hebrew version is “to stand for their lives and have rest (the term Noach – like the man on the ark -  a term for “respite”) from their enemies” (v 16). The edict gave the Jews the right to protect themselves – to have rest from endless fear and mindless terrorism, AND the opportunity to go on the offensive in order to stem off future attacks – if they felt it necessary. They could identify real enemies were but needed to be sensitive so that they did not prey on the helpless, the uninvolved and the bystanders. They were not to seek personal vengeance against neighbors.

It was not an indescriminate license to kill; if so, they were no better than their enemies. Also they were given the right to “plunder their enemies” in the new edict issued (8:11), but the Jews wisely never exercised the right. They did not want to provoke a backlash, generate more heat, pour oil on fire, rub salt into injury. They just wanted the assurance that they could walk the streets again and get their lives back.

2. The second test, like the first, was a test of greed restraint: Note the phrase that occurs three times in the narrative: “…they did not lay there hands on the plunder.” (9:10,15 and 16). What a temptation for a people that were empowered after great hatred and discrimination was done to them. There would be NO LOOTING, and no false justification. Using God’s privileges to protect God’s work was fine, but it was not to become an opportunity for personal misuse of power.

The Terms Principle: God knows the exact terms for success in His objectives (9:17-21).

17 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. 18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. 19 Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a holiday for rejoicing and feasting and sending portions of food to one another. 20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually,

This is yet another reason we need to settle down when things in our culture are going in a way we don’t like. We need to engage – but not panic. If we fight hard for something and LOSE, it will be like all the rest of history – to God’s honor and glory. He knows the terms we fight under, and the resources we need.

In the Vietnam War, many soldiers were sacrificed to hold lines for a time only to surrender those same lines later. It seemed useless – but in many cases the objectives were so vital the commanders could not do otherwise.

It was a Saturday afternoon after the rains began. An Air Force A-37 Dragonfly flew low over Da Nang heading northwest parallel what has since become known as the Ho Chi Min Highway. On board was a new weapon’s system. The Dragonfly had eight underwing hardpoints, and this new weapon had the potential to offer a real lift to men who needed close air support. The powerful GE Engines carried only one pilot, and some of the latest tricks of the US military. The aircraft lost power well northwest of the battle line and went down in a rice patty. Forty US Marines were transported behind enemy lines and dropped to recover the weapon system if still intact. They arrived under heavy fire and sacrificed their lives – but not until they were able to blow the aircraft and rob the enemy of his ability to learn anything from it. Every man in the field that day probably felt like they were LOSING the war – but they were performing the needed action of robbing the enemy of an edge.

Jews outside the capital city had but one day of killing and securing their people, while those in the city of Susa required more time – because the number of enemies was greater surrounding Haman’s family. It took extra time to round up the people responsible. The enemy used a small number of men to do great harm, but the Lord exploited that plan’s weakness – as it was relatively quick to stamp out the entire hateful plan. The memory of the two different ways the need was met were codified into the different annual feast practices.

In the end, every group needed to do what was necessary for their place. In the suburbs and agricultural areas of ancient Babylonian provinces, the needs were fewer. Where there was greater need, an extension and further planning became essential. God worked on the king’s heart while Esther pled for them, even as the men of Mordecai dealt with stamping out the threat to the Jewish people.

The Triumph Principle: God will triumph and His people will see it clearly He will bring the victory to His people, and they will experience the turnabout . Sadly, others will be stung
(9:22-10:3)!

22 because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and destroy them. 25 But when it came to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. And because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and made a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all those who allied themselves with them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days according to their regulation and according to their appointed time annually. 28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to fail from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their descendants. 29 Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, 31 to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions for their times of fasting and their lamentations. 32 The command of Esther established these customs for Purim, and it was written in the book. 10:1 Now King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. 2 And all the accomplishments of his authority and strength, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his whole nation.

The Sting came to those who:

1) Set themselves as the enemies of God’s people (9:22).

2) Plotted the deliberate destruction of God’s people (9:23-25).

The Celebration was:

1) To be a joyous celebration in the face of the disaster’s undoing (9:22).

2) To include giving to the poor (9:22b).

3) To recognize the victory in the face of the “chance” of their fall (9:23-27).

Remember, God is in the business of turning things upside down. Only people that can look past the NOW for the FUTURE can see that!

George Ross, used to love to tell the story about the woman in his congregation who was having terrible difficulty getting over the grief over the loss of her husband. She even went to see her physician and said, “You need to give me a prescription to help me with my melancholy. Every day I go to the cemetery and I put flowers on my husband’s grave, but it doesn’t help. It simply drives me deeper into grief. Give me a prescription to ease my pain.” The physician said, “Before I give you a prescription, let me give you a suggestion. Instead of placing those flowers on your husband’s grave, why don’t you bring them to the hospital? I have many patients in the hospital who nobody ever visits and if you would visit them and bring them some encouragement in those flowers, it may be that you would bring a little joy into their lives.” Strangely enough, even though she was resistant, she decided to do it and found that this was the turning point for her own healing. As she showed encouragement to others, she was able to drink deeply from the well of God’s own encouragement. http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/long_4603.htm Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the presence of strength.

God will bring a turnabout on the unsuspecting world! It will come in His time and by His hand – and everyone will know it when it happens! Only those who know how to look past the NOW and see the THEN will truly see it coming!