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Esther 9:24 because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them;
25 but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

The old Testament is full of stories that foretell the story of Jesus in one way or another... Haman was the enemy of the jews...
who are we? You may say "Gentiles, if we are not Jewish"... but I disagree... I may not by Jewish of natural blood, but I am
Jewish where it REALLY counts... by the spiritual blood. I am an ADOPTED Jew, adopted by my Father God into His Jewish family.

Who is our enemy today... again one could say that we have a lot of enemies... but there is one who directs all of the other
enemies of Gods people, just as he did Haman at that time... yes, you got it... satan!

Who is our savior who found favor with our Father God, just as Esther found favor with the King and saved the Jews?
Of coarse... Jesus!

we are going to talk about Esther and how her story compares to that of Jesus.

THE CAST

Esther... ... Jesus
the King... ..... God
Haman... ..... satan
Mordecai..... ......the people of God


we know the Queen Vishta defied the King when she refused to come to him when summonsed, the King decided
to replace the Queen, so the virgins were to be brought to him to choose from. Mordecai, Esthers cousin had taken
her in as a young girl and raised her, they were of Jewish decent. Esther went through a year of preparation before
being brought before the King, (just as Jesus spent a time of preparation, 33 years, before his appointed time to go before the Father and find favor as the ultimate sacrifice)... Esther's preparation time was meticulous and had to be done just so so. When brought before the King Estherfound favor with the King and he made her the new Queen. Which brings us up to...



Esther 3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people's, and they do not keep the king's laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain.
9 "If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king's treasuries."
10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
11 And the king said to Haman, "The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you."
12 Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded-to the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king's signet ring.
13 And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions.
14 A copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day.
15 The couriers went out, hastened by the king's command; and the decree was proclaimed in Shushan the citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed.


Haman was plotting to carry out a plan to destroy God's people, the Jews... QUESTION... do you suppose that
the timing of a Jewish Queen being installed to the throne at this PARTICULAR time was coinsidence? I agree...
it was no coinsidence... God KNEW what He was doing... even then... God is so awesome!!

Through out history satan has plotted and planned to stop God's plan, to destroy God's people, the blood born and
adopted Jews. From the time when Moses was a baby and all the male children under 2 were killed, save Moses, whose
mother, following God's inspiration, saved Moses, saving the bloodline of Jesus as prophesied, to the time when Jesus was born and King Herod had all the male children under 2 killed, of coarse, once again, Jesus survived. The enemy, satan, has
from the beginning had plan after plan to stop the birth of Jesus, and failing that, he tried to kill him as a babe, failing that... he had one more chance... the cross and we all know how that went for satan!



Esther 4:10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai:
11 "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days."
12 So they told Mordecai Esther's words.
13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews.
14 "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
16 "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"
17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.


Esther 5:1 Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house.
2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.


Esther waited until the appointed time, then went willing before the King and found favor with the King.

Jesus also at His appointed time willingly went before the Father and found favor with the Father as the ultimate
sacrifice for all sins.


All the time of Esther's preparation , Mordicai waited patiently,
just as God's people waited patiently for the Messiah, the ultimate sacrifice.


NOW HAMAN COMES ARROGANTLY ONTO THE SCENE


Esther 5:1 Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house.
2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.
3 And the king said to her, "What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you-up to half the kingdom!"
4 So Esther answered, "If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."
5 Then the king said, "Bring Haman quickly, that he may do as Esther has said." So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 At the banquet of wine the king said to Esther, "What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!"
7 Then Esther answered and said, "My petition and request is this:
8 "If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said."
9 So *Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart*; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai.
10 Nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh.
11 Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king.
12 Moreover Haman said, "Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king.
13 "Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."
14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet." And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made.


*Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart*

Haman thought he had it made, his plan was still in play... so proud of his devious self...
sound like anyone we know?... satan... the same devious plan today... BUT Jesus still has favor
with the Father today, just as Esther had favor with the King at this time of the scripture.

Esther had her own plans... to destroy the plans of the enemy... Jesus has His own plans...
to destroy the plans of the enemy... and HE DID IT!!! THE ENEMY... SATAN IS DEFEATED!!!
satan just has not accepted the fact yet... but He will one day... that is part of the plan!!



Esther 6:1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
3 Then the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him."
4 So the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5 The king's servants said to him, "Haman is there, standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in."
6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, "What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought in his heart, "Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?" (so like satan)
7 And Haman answered the king, "For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8 "let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.
9 "Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: 'Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!' " (who says God don't have a sense of humor?)
10 Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai (ouch that hurt, didn't it Haman?) the Jew who sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken."
11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!" (Just as one day satan himself shall proclaim Jesus is Lord)
12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.
13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him."
14 While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.


I LOVE GOD'S SENSE OF HUMOR!! DON'T YOU??

He got the very idea how to honor Mordecai, the Jew, by the very enemy of the Jews himself!!!!
HA HA HA!!!
Go ahead and let it out now before you read any further... that belly laugh you're holding back, let it go!

You know what else?? God used satan's own idea to defeat him on the cross...
it was his idea to kill Jesus!!!
How funny and ironic is that? God is not boring! He has the greatest sense of humor!


Esther 7:1 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther.
2 And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!"
3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
4 "For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss."
5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?"
6 And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!" So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.
8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, "Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?" As the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
9 Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, "Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman." Then the king said, "Hang him on it!"
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided.


WHOA!!! Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordicai... what irony!

Satan was defeated on the cross he had prepared for Jesus... what irony!

1. Esther pleaded the case for her people.
Jesus is still pleading the case for His people.

2. Mordecai was found blameless, was victorious.
We are found blameless today through the blood of the lamb... we are victorious!

3. The gallows meant for Mordecai is where Haman (the enemy of the Jews) was defeated.
The cross which satan meant for the defeat of Jesus brought the defeat of satan himself instead.



Esther 8:1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her.
2 So the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews.
4 And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king,
5 and said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king's provinces.
6 "For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?"
7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, "Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews.
8 "You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring; for whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring no one can revoke."


ARE YOU SHOUTING YET???!!!

The word of God is sealed with the seal of God...
and NO ONE CAN REVOKE IT!!!!!!
HALLELUJAH!!!


Esther 9:1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king's command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.


GOD'S PEOPLE ARE A VICTORIOUS PEOPLE!!



Esther 9:5 Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.

We have that two edged sword... THE WORD OF GOD!!
and with the stroke of the sword, the word of God, ALL our enemies are still defeated!!!!!!

PRAISE GOD ALL WHO HAS BREATH!!!

written by Angela Bodiford
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost!!