Refusing the Powerful (Life without God and with God)

Posted: July 2, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: alcohol, Babylon, Canada Day, Exploitation, Gratitude, Israel, Jesus, Laws, Marriage, Oppresssion, Parties, Pride, Protection, Rules, Sermons, Sexual harrassment | Leave a comment

Finish this statement, “You have to fight for your right to ______.”[1]  But what if you party for your right to fight? That was the situation of a king who found himself in desperate times. The king’s name was Ahasuerus. He was better known by the name Xerxes. Probably made most famous by the movie 300 that I do not recommend to you. Xerxes makes an appearance in Daniel 9:1. “Ahasuerus took on the Greeks twice and was humiliated by them twice (in 480 and 479 B.C.).”[2] And so, he “created a party to unite his leadership and attract his war council”[3] because he needed more support for his campaign against the Greeks. If you recall from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2, the Greeks were the predicted next empire to take over from the Persians. And Ahasuerus was trying to stop God’s decree. The book of Esther was written about 475 B.C so this places this story after a couple of humiliating defeats for Ahasuerus by the Greeks. Ahasuerus didn’t pray and seek God so he tried to fix his problem by what we all do without God, turn to our fellow humans. This is not unlike Vladimir Putin when he “sport-washed” the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and distracted the world from his military takeover of Crimea from Ukraine. The party and fun times were cover for military advancement.

What does this story have to do with us? Are we going to learn how to party properly? Celebration is an area that we can grow in, especially on this Canada Day weekend. Maybe part of the problem is we try to mimic the world with food, fellowship, music, something silly sans alcohol? Today will help redefine good parties. This story in the Bible has a lot to teach us about strategy, wisdom-sourcing, excessive alcohol, sexual harassment, marriage relationships, and protecting one another, but most of all, it warns us what happens when God is not even an afterthought. Our messages at Temple have moral implications, but we aim at preaching about Christ here, so when God is not mentioned in a passage, that is a big clue that something is very, very wrong. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Esther 1 as we begin our summer series in the Book of Esther. This story is for the church living in Babylon. We have already studied this year 1 Peter and learned how to live as elect exiles in an increasingly hostile culture. We also studied the first 6 chapters of Daniel and learned how to be bold in Babylon. I forgot to show you Daniel’s selfie last week: https://twitter.com/modap_/status/1640263217963253761   Now, we aim to gain “confidence in God’s providence” with His timely rescues. If you don’t have a Bible, we would love to give you one. You can also pick up a background to Esther that will help you understand the book more at the Connect Desk. I also want to encourage you to save the dates for August 27 at 6 PM where will be teaching on the various views of end times called End Times Now as well as October 3 at 7 PM for the 2024 “Walking with Jesus” Israel/Egypt Study Tour trip information night. Let’s jump into Esther 1. Read Esther 1!

The story begins with King Ahasuerus having a party in “Susa, which was the king’s winter capital during the cold months.”[4] “The events of the Esther story span a period of about 10 years, beginning in the 3rd year of the king’s reign.”[5] You can see this chart that helps us keep straight the various kings. 

Compiled and Updated by Rev. Dr. Jonathan E. Stairs (June 23, 2023)

KINGS OF BABYLON & PERSIA[6]                      DATES OF REIGN        BIBLICAL REF.

Nebuchadnezzar[7]605-562 B.C.Dan. 1-4
Nabodinus556-539 B.C. 
Co-regent Belshazzar[8]550-539 B.C.Dan. 5, 7-8
Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great)[9]539-530 B.C.Is. 45:1; Dan. 10-12
Darius the Mede[10]538-536 B.C.Dan. 5:30-6:28
Cambyses II530-522 B.C. 
Bardiya522-522 B.C. 
Darius I (Darius Hystaspes or the Great)522-486 B.C.Dan. 9, Ezra 6
Xerxes I (Ahaseurus)485-464 B.C.Ezra 4:6; Esther; Dan. 9:1
Artaxerxes I (Artaxerxes Longimonus)*464-423 B.C.Ezra 4:7; Neh. 2
Xerxes II423 (45 days) B.C. 
Darius II* (Darius Nothus)423-404 B.C.Neh. 12:22
Artaxerxes II404-358 B.C. 
Artaxexes III358-338 B.C. 
Artaxerxes IV (Arses)338-336 B.C. 
Darius III (Darius Codomanus)336-330 B.C. 
Artaxerxes V[11]330-329 B.C. 

And this will help you place where we are in history[12]: 

586 B.C.            538 B.C.                  516 B.C.                  479 B.C.               458 B.C.            445 B.C.

Babylonian       Decree of            Temple Rebuilt       Esther as Queen      Ezra arrives       Nehemiah

Exile (Ezekiel)    Cyrus (Ezra 1)    (Haggai/Zechariah)       (Esther)            in Jerusalem     in Jerusalem

“Ahasuerus was a great builder and consolidated the Persian empire from India and Ethiopia.”[13]Rulers who expand their rule don’t just do it with weapons, but with wining and dining people to win people’s hearts. So Ahasuerus throws a party. “The 180 days were presumably not spent in continuous feasting but in festivities punctuated by sumptuous meals.”[14] Can you imagine having feast after feast for 6 months? Old Testament Commentator Joyce Baldwin explains, “The more lavish the king’s hospitality, the greater his claim to supremacy.”[15]

And this brings us to our big idea – without God, life declines to debauchery. According to the Oxford dictionary, “Debauchery is excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures” or we could just shorten it and say without God, there is excess. And let’s remember that excess is not success. Now immediately, some of you are thinking – here we go, the pastor is a party pooper. Christians can have no fun. I totally disagree. I believe Christians can have more fun without having regrets or a hangover the next day. Alcohol is used to “dull our insecurities,”[16] but as Christians our identity is found in Christ. It just comes down to who is at the party. Is God invited or not? Is God invited to your parties? He will come as an uninvited guest and watch everything just as Ahasuerus’ party is reported in God’s Word. King Belshazzar also found this out to be true in Daniel 5. But the interesting thing is that by inviting God, the party picks up the pace. Recall how when Jesus went to a wedding in John 2 that He turned water into wine – it actually turned out to be the best wine of the party! And this book was written in part to help Israel know the backstory and increase their joy for the Feast of Purim that was instituted from this story. God wants to come to your parties. Invite God into everything you do!

You see, Without God, parties express pride (v. 1-8). This is what we read in the end of Esther 1:3-4, “The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the province were before him, while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days – 180 days.”This excessive party was all about pomp and pride to attract the military and elite of Persia. Why? Because God wasn’t invited. Parties that express pride don’t make room for God. God isn’t even mentioned. He is not even an afterthought. Without God, life declines to debauchery. If you could imagine a type of perversion, you would find it in Babylon and Persia. Pastor Kyle has renamed Persia, Perversia! How does a society become perverted? It happens when there is nothing else to live for because there is no fear of God. We just become consumers trying to grab all we can – living for our own pleasure. This never satisfies so we look for the next dopamine hit. However, that is when the law of diminishing returns kicks in, which is more immutable than the law of the Medes and Persians. The irrevocable law of the Medes and Persians can be overcome by God as we saw in Daniel 6 last week. And God’s law is this: pursuing pleasure for itself alone will be meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:1-8). Instead, we are to delight in the Lord and the law of His Word (Psalm 1:2) Sadly, often we grab alcohol instead of God. Verse 8 records, “And drinking was according to this edict, ‘There is no compulsion.’ For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired.” Maybe this sermon will help to warn us against excessive alcohol. Let’s remember that we may try to control alcohol, but often it controls us. “The ancients believed intoxication put them in closer touch with the spiritual world.”[17]Instead, alcohol does not attract the right spirits. As believers we are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. As Ephesians 5:18 commands, “Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled (controlled) by the Holy Spirit.” But alcohol is not the ultimate problem – pride is. Repeatedly, we have learned this year that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5) Without God, parties express pride. It’s summer. We tend to party more. Will God be invited to our parties?

 With God, parties express gratitude! Parties express gratitude. God is no cosmic kill-joy, but the source of joy! You want God at your party! He brings the best and most fun. Through Jesus, He gives life filled with abundance and joy (John 10:10). With God, parties express gratitude. 

Without God, parties express pride and partners are exploited (v. 8-12)! King Ahasuerus in his drunken state decides to exploit his own wife and queen in front of all his men. Pride had turned to perversion. It wasn’t enough that Vashti would have struggled with finding her worth in her beauty after all her beauty treatments. “The beautiful Vashti, wearing her royal diadem, was a living trophy of his power and glory. The king sent 7 eunuchs to fetch her, perhaps the number needed to carry her seated in the royal throne.”[18]Joyce Baldwin thinks, “Vashti may have been required to appear naked.”[19] My wife Lori believes that Vashti refused because she was to come wearing the crown and nothing else and no respectable woman would do that for a husband with other men in the room. Or maybe it is better to think about the Veggie Tales© version of the story and Queen Vashti’s error was refusing to make the king a sandwich. 😊 Actually, the Queen was throwing a party of her own for the leading women, but she would not be party to men’s lusts. Just so we are not confused in our porn-crazed world that women are not to be shared. They are not property. They are not to be violated. They are not to be harassed. Women are to be honoured, respected and cherished. The Bible is making this point 2500 years before the “Me Too” movement. God’s Word was the leader in treating women with dignity and respect. As one of your pastors, if I may talk to all the sisters in Christ in the room and remind you that your worth doesn’t come from your outward beauty, but from the inner character found through Christ (1 Peter 3:3-4). This is hard to fight against when you are body shamed all the time. Because of this, women take great pains to make themselves beautiful. My wife remembers when she was a 12 year old girl and got her ears pierced. She had to wait until she was old enough to take care of them herself.  Her mom and her went to the jewelry store and the lady there prepared her ears by putting marks on them. The problem was the marks were not centered on her two ears and her mom could tell they were off-centered. So the employeetried to re-mark the spots. The thing about piercing both ears in little girls is that you have to pierce both quickly, otherwise only one will get done because the fear of the second one will kick in. Despite the realignment, Lori claims the piercings were still off-centered. Now, I am not against earrings, but I tell the story to remind you about the pain women go through even as little girls to obtain a certain standard of beauty. Can we try to lessen that pain by not exploiting our partners? Without God, partners, particularly women, are exploited.

With God, partners are also served! With God, we see our partners as ones we serve and sacrifice for as Christ did for us. “In stark contrast to King Ahasuerus, the leadership of Jesus was motivated not by His own personal fears and anxieties, but by the needs of those He governs as king of the universe.”[20]

Without God, parties express pride and partners are exploited and rules oppress (v. 13-22). Without God, rules oppress. They are actually ridiculous. Look again what the menace Memucan says in verses 16-18, “Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, ‘Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen’s behaviour will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahaseurus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him and she did not come.’ This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.” Men, would such a law work? Ladies, would such a law work? I think the law would bring contempt and wrath in plenty. Sadly, the times I have foolishly tried to make a rule for my wife to follow because I thought I was large and in charge in my home, that oppressive rule was not followed. And thank the Lord I don’t have a milquetoast for a wife! Joyce Baldwin explains the problem with Memucan’s thinking, “This took little account of female psychology. Women do not as a rule support one another as readily as men in taking concerted action.”[21] They don’t fall into line like dutiful soldiers. “Ahasuerus needed his men to obey his commands as they went to war, but in his own palace he could not even get his own wife to obey.”[22] Scot McKnight has the Biblical perspective, “I believe in a wife submitting to her husband, but I don’t believe the husband ever has the right to demand it. In fact, I know that when I am worthy of submission, my wife submits and when I am unworthy of it, she does not. My responsibility as a husband is to be worthy.”[23] Of course, wives are to submit to their husbands when husbands are not violating God’s Word, but it is easier to submit when the husband is sacrificing for his wife.  Without God, rules oppress.

But with God, rules protect. As one preacher said, “When God says, “Don’t! He means don’t hurt yourself!”[24] One can start to appreciate the protection that God’s laws provide.So what happens if we recognize God? We keep our eyes locked on Jesus. Instead of living life without God, we live with Him. Without God, parties express pride, partners are exploited and rules oppress; with God, parties express gratitude, partners are served, and rules protect! Life with God means joy, harmony and freedom. So friends, which is it going to be, life without God or with Him through Jesus Christ?

[1] Beastie Boys Song, “Fight for Your Right,” (Universal Records, December, 1986).

[2] Joyce Baldwin, Esther – An Introduction & Commentary (Tyndale OT Commentaries) (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984),  56.

[3] Karen H. Jobes, The NIV Application Commentary on Esther (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 60.

[4] Barry J. Beitzel, The NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, 2017), 836.

[5] Jobes, 59.

[6] Adapted from ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 1587 & 813.

[7] The most well-known Babylonian King who exiled the Jews to Babylon in 586 B.C. His pride led to his insanity and losing his kingdom until he repented and was restored.

[8] Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s son and is known for being the king when God’s “hand” was written on the wall after using the gold vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem and worshipping them.

[9] Though the Achaemenid dynasty began in 705 B.C., the Persian Empire did not begin until Cyrus II or Cyrus the Great as he was called conquered the Babylonians. Cyrus was half-Persian and half-Median.

[10] Darius was appointed viceroy over Babylon by his nephew Cyrus II and was most famous for being tricked and throwing his friend Daniel into the Lion’s Den.

[11] Last of the Achaemenid kings and was defeated by Alexander the Great.

[12] The timeline is taken from Wallace P. Benn & R. Kent Hughes, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther: Restoring the Church (Preaching the Word) (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), 15.

[13] Baldwin, 56.

[14] Barry G. Webb, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 853.

[15] Joyce Baldwin, Esther – An Introduction & Commentary (Tyndale OT Commentaries) (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1984), 55.

[16] Quote from Jason Elliotson (June 28, 2023).

[17] Jobes, 68.

[18] Jobes, 67.

[19] Baldwin, 60. 

[20] Jobes, 89.

[21] Baldwin, 62.

[22] Jobes, 68.

[23] Jobes, 91.

[24] This quote has been attributed to both Warren Wiersbe and James MacDonald.