When Service is Risky - Esther 3 to 4

A day will appear in the lives of most elderly people when they will look back and ponder the results of their many years. Having qualified in age, and looking back over many years, the writer can shed a ray of light on a few circumstances that are better understood by the elderly who have had certain experiences during their life of service. First, you should understand, here and now, that the question in the title of this lesson would be very simple and easy to answer had it been “When Life Is Risky,” rather than “When Service is risky.” You ask why, and we find the answer is very simple in that the life of an individual can be risky, depending on many circumstances. Anyone could become ill, develop cancer, or have a heart attack, and that is simply a risk we all take. A soldier could die in harm’s way. Professionals could be injured or killed in car racing, mountain climbing, or as a wild animal hunter or trainer. Coal miners perish in underground explosions; and drug-dealers die when they fail to pay their suppliers.

A life of service is one that is dedicated to the purpose of serving man kind in a needful way. It is automatically subject to risk taking because of its very nature. Let us suppose that you have dedicated your life to the pastoral ministry…the first risk you take is that you will fail to make the grades in the seminary that are necessary for you to continue. A second huge risk you must face is whether or not you will be accepted by some congregation that is able and willing to support you and your family. Still another great risk could be encountered as you find that you are not able to build the necessary support from the church to allow for your success.

I certainly consider the work of public school teachers, principals and administrators as being an essential commitment to the betterment of mankind through education. If you want to see some risk takers…then you need to take a look at some of the soldiers that came out of WWII…[they surely took some risk there to keep our country safe]…but some—as I did—went into public education…a service that is very risky. The first year that I taught children in school, I signed a contract that was to pay me $90.00 a month for nine months—total of $810.00. The school district ran out of money, cut the school year to eight months and only paid me a total of $720.00. With a wife and one child, it was a bit difficult to get by that year. My future seemed to be hanging in the balance, and I submit that life was a bit risky as a public school teacher.

A policeman is definitely a public servant—one that all considerate families should be most appreciative of. One of my best friends [a policeman] told me that one of the most risky calls a policeman could make was to a home where there is a family problem that has exploded. He said that the greatest danger was that the wife that called the police for help would maneuver the policeman into harm’s way and turn against him as he tried to help her with an abusive husband. As the title of this lesson indicates; Life Sometimes Turns Us Upside Down. The born-again Christian will avoid vertigo and continue to walk uprightly and refused to be dizzy and distracted from expected and needful service. Please do not think I am being ugly or partisan in politics when I use the following examples. Listen and bear me out.

If you had been in the White House and very close to President Nixon and known all that was going wrong in Watergate—Would you have risk your job and even your life to see that right prevailed???? Would you have spoken up? And spoken out?

If you had been in the White House and very close to President Clinton and knew intimately all that was going wrong in his moral conduct—Would you have risked your job and even your life to see that the public was informed and that right prevailed???

If you had been working in the front office of Enron and knew about the maneuvering and falsification of company progress that was taking place—would you have gone to the proper authorities that could have prevented thousands from loosing their life savings? Are you sure you would have taken that risk?

You and I know that we can not answer all questions like these with certainty. We desire to always do-right. However, when the chips are down, how can we be sure that our faith will sustain us? Here is the best way that I know to tell you how you can be sure of your faith and your continued willingness to stand uprightly for God, regardless of the circumstances. Read your bible, pray for guidance, and use examples God has given us to go by. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow-down to an earthly king—they took the risk—and no doubt they paid a terrible price…but God went through the furnace with them and they were saved. David refused to dishonor his God—which was a risk that eventually caused him to have to sleep with the lions. He surely was uneasy and uncomfortable until he found that the lion made a wonderful pillow, and the heat from the animal kept him warm. These examples and the one in our lesson today should be al the proof we need.

This man Haman enters the picture in this lesson as a probable descendent of an Amalekite king and could be compared to Pharaoh, the Egyptian monarch. Do you remember all the problems the Jews had while enslaved by Pharaoh in Egypt? Haman enjoyed the same level of power under king Xerxes and was in a position to do what ever he willed to Mordecai or to all the Jews. Verse one tells us that the king had honored Haman and had given him the top seat among all of his noblemen. The king demanded that the people bow down to Haman…and Haman was haughty and high minded, and would gladly punish any person or persons that refused to bow down to him. Mordecai remained OBEDIENT to God and refused to bow to Haman.

Mordecai did not ask the King or Queen for advice. He did not take a survey of the public to see what they thought he should do. He did what God had told him to do and refused to bow down to Haman. Go now to Deuteronomy 25: 17-19 and to Exodus 17:16 and you will find that Haman’s ancestors [Amalekite] were enemies of the Jewish People and God had demanded that the Jews blot out any memory of Amalek from under heaven.

Mordecai had friends around the palace gate that ask why he refused to bow to Haman, and it seems that many would rather that he had. However, I think that they did not want to run the risk of trouble they might have for not reporting Mordecai; so they reported Mordecai. Haman had already found that Mordecai was a Jew and when he found that he would not honor him, he started looking for a way to completely destroy all the Jews in the entire Persian province. Some would ask why Haman would kill all Jews. The answer is that Haman knew what God had demanded of the Jews back in Deuteronomy and Exodus…they were life-time enemies. There have been two incidents in my life time that have exploited this hatred toward the Jews. The first was the German plot under Hitler to kill all Jews…Many of you may not know it—but at least two of Hitler’s exterminators were of the Islamic race that came from the same area as the Persian Empire in bible times. The second is the ongoing attempt to destroy the Jews by the same people…those of Islamic beliefs.

{Note: You should be aware that this is taking place before the return of the Babylonian exiles, and the rebuilding of the temple and the city wall. The Jews were still scattered all over the Persian empire, and if they would have all died here—there would have been no return to Jerusalem, and provision would have been destroyed that made the coming of the Messiah [Jesus Christ] possible as a direct descendent of King David. We see that this is all in the providence of God…He is in charge.}

Haman went to King Xerxes and convinced him that the Jews were his enemy and had to be annihilated. Xerxes agreed and gave permission for him to proceed. They cast the pur to decide when the carnage would start. [Casting the pur was what we call casting lots…dealing the cards…or drawing straws] God was there in the role of the dice and the time was set to kill the Jews about twelve months later, and this gave Queen Esther time to make her plans that would culminate in the saving of her people.

Haman completed all the plans. The time was set and he got permission to transfer ten thousand talents of silver into the treasurer to pay the men [armies] that would kill the Jews. Xerxes trusted Haman to the extent that he turned his signet ring over to Haman to sign all the papers that would make the carnage legal. And then to reward him for his loyalty, the king told Haman that he could just keep the money for himself. [Ten thousand talents of silver would be worth about [75 lbs. per talent…$5.00 per troy ounce] $55,000,000.00 on today’s market. Haman knew that many of the Jews were wealthy, and that the spoils from this war would be worth much more than the cost of the army to do the job.

The order went out to all provinces, signed by the king and sealed with his ring, to kill all Jews…men young and old…and all women and little children. It was to be done on one single day…the 13th day of the 12th month of Adar. All of their property and wealth was to be taken as plunder.

When Mordecai learned of the plans he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes and went into the streets wailing loudly and bitterly. Wearing sackcloth, he could not enter the king’s gate, so Esther sent one of the eunuchs to find why Mordecai was upset. The Eunuch went to Mordecai, got the message about the destruction that was planned for Esther’s people, and the instructions from Mordecai that she had to go to the king and in some way beg him to relent. The problem here was that no one…not even the queen…could go to the king for anything unless or until they were summoned by the king. Esther sent this word to Mordecai. He, in turn, told the queen that God had placed her in the right place at the right time to save his people, and that she was the only one that could save the Jews.

Esther knew that there was one exception to the rule above…if when she went before the king on her own…if he would point to her with his scepter, this meant that he approved of her visit and she would not die. She had only been with the king one time before…and that was thirty days ago. Therefore she had no way of knowing whether he would receive her or have her killed when she walked into his presence without being summoned. Esther sent word back to Mordecai asking that he gather all the Jews living in Susa and for them to fast and pray for three days and three nights without food or water and she said that she and her maids would also fast and pray. She said that when this was done SHE WOULD GO TO THE KING, knowing it to be unlawful, “And if I perish, I perish.” When is service a risky business? Do Mordecai and Esther give us a good example? What would you have done if you had been in Esther’s shoes?