The Big Gamble in Esther

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Well, hello everybody and welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, esther, chapter 5, and today's title is the Big Gamble. The Big Gamble, as you can tell, what we have been doing is there has been this slow build toward. Esther has got to do something. I mean, the nation of Israel is about to be slaughtered by this ridiculous guy, haman, and she's about to go all in. If I die, I die. We're going to get into that in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the podcast. Make sure that you are like sharing and subscribing to the YouTube channel. Leave us a comment. I love your questions and we're going to talk about what those are going to do in a moment. But also, as always, we gather together at the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. The more we dig, the more we find, and they do such a good, good job there every single day. I look forward to it every single day, seeing that they have posted something new every day. Now, speaking of those questions, I love your questions. Here's the reason why One of the things that has been such a catalyst in my walk with God is asking serious questions of God's word and going and looking and finding these different answers. It's been a joy of my life to find answers and so, to be honest with you, I like your questions because, number one, I want to share the joy of that discovery process, but also I love learning more about God's word myself, and so be sure that you're continuing to ask your questions on YouTube and if you're listening to this on podcast, make sure you look, and in the description area there's a place where you can click ask a question, and we would love to answer your questions. We'll keep all your questions confidential and what we're also going to do is we're going to collect them and every so often we're going to have Q&A with Pastor B, pastor Brandon, whatever, I don't know. I'm working on the title. I'd love to hear for you in the comments below, or send me an email and let me know what would you like to see as the title of the Q&A. Maybe just call it Q&A, I don't know, but we'll get into that later.

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If you have your Bibles, you want to open up with me to Esther, chapter five. Man, this is going to be good. Now remember what has been going on is Haman has decided he is going to slaughter all of Israel and he's using, you know, the kingdom to do it. And Esther is in this unique place and Mordecai even has told her, if you remember that if you won't help us, man deliverance will come from somewhere else. But you're in a perfect place. How do you not know that you have been put into this position for such a time as this? And so here she goes. She says I want you guys to fast and pray for three days and I'm going to go see the king and if he doesn't receive me, I'm going to die. But if I die, I die. So if you're ready, esther? Chapter 5, verse 1 says this On the third day of the fast, esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king's hall.

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The king was sitting on his royal throne facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the court inner court he welcomed her and held out his gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of his scepter. Now, if you remember this from past chapters, if he didn't summon you, you could die right there on the spot. So the very fact that he did that meant today you're not going to die. So she's really excited about that.

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And now verse three. Then the king asked her what do you want, queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom. Now, also, this was a very normal thing to say. He would most likely have not given her half the kingdom, but it's just a way of saying I'll give you what you want, even if you ask for something that big. But she wasn't going to get half the kingdom that day. All right. Verse four and Esther replied if it pleased the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for the king. The king turned to his attendants and said tell Haman to come quickly to a banquet, as Esther has requested. So the king and Haman went to Esther's banquet and while they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther Now tell me what you really want. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it's up to half the kingdom. Esther replied this is my request and deepest wish, if I have found favor with the king and if it pleases. The king got a plan and she wants to kind of butter him up a little bit, kind of get him in a place where he's really willing to listen. So the plan is come back tomorrow.

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And so verse nine Haman was happy, was a happy man as he left the banquet, but when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or trembling nervous before him, haman became furious. However, he restrained himself and he went on home. Then Haman gathered together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, and boasted to them about all the great wealth and his many children. He bragged about the honors the king had given him and how he had been promoted over all the other nobles and officials. Then Haman added and that's not all. Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she has prepared for us and she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow. Then he added but this is all worth nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew just sitting there at the palace gate.

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So Haman's wife, zeresh and all his friends suggested, set up a sharpened pole that stands 75 feet tall and in the morning asked the king to impale Mordecai on it. When this is done, you can go to your merry way to the banquet with the king. This pleased Haman, and so he ordered the pole set up. Wow, that lady's got issues, and almost as many issues as Haman said, because what he's saying I mean, think about this. He's saying I am unhappy because this rando is not bowing down to me. That's bad enough, right? Her answer was you know, it wasn't go have a conversation, it wasn't anything else. It was literally build a pole 75 feet tall. That is really really tall. Okay, that is extremely, extremely tall. That is almost as tall as a football field is wide. Okay, that's crazy, or long, and then impale Mordecai on it. That's ridiculous.

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But sometimes we can get into such a place where we no longer see perspective properly and what is bad seems good and what's good seems bad. Haman was already a bad apple, but now he is so filled with rage that all he can see is something bad. So we're going to find out in the coming chapters that just because you're following God doesn't mean that you're not going to have issues. It doesn't mean that it's not going to be difficult. What it does mean is God is with you all along the way, even if bad people have bad plans for bad reasons.

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And so what's our takeaway today? Our takeaway is simply this, and that is sometimes following God is going to feel like a big gamble. You know there's times when you know following God is going to be fun. You know it's great. And when you go to church on Sunday morning you get to see your brothers and sisters in Christ. Or one of the most fun things in the world is when you get to share your faith with somebody and they receive Christ themselves and you get to be part of that man. It's powerful and it's awesome. That's the good part. Sometimes your faith it's a gamble.

Trusting God in Life's Gambles

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What do you do when you're going into that conversation? What happens when someone rejects what you're trying to say? What happens when you want to take a stand for God? Or you want to do something for God but it's going to cost you something? You want to take a stand for God, you want to do something for God, but it's going to cost you something. In the moment it's going to feel like a big gamble.

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Now, us reading this so many years later, it seems obvious right now that God's up to something. It's going to be okay. But imagine Esther when she's walking into the king's throne room. She has just as much a right or just as much a chance to die as she does to live. It's only after the fact that you look back and go. Well, of course, and what would that do in our life if we thought? You know how many times in our life do we feel like so much is on the line? Yet when we put our trust in the Lord, will we look back and go? Of course, god's doing more than we can imagine in the moment.

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So what is it that you're doing right now? What is it that you're doing that feels like a gamble, how you're trusting in God. Is it possible that it does feel like a gamble and it's okay to feel nervous, but that it's okay? God's already got you more than you realize. How do you know if he's got you? Do the best you can with what you have to honor God and if you do the right thing for the right reason.

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I truly believe God will always point you in the right direction. That doesn't mean it's going to be easy. It's going to be filled with big gambles, but God is always faithful. Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you are with us more than we can imagine, but I have a feeling that it's going to be that we get the other side of eternity before we fully realize just how faithful you were all along the way.

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I pray today, god, you'll open our eyes to see you more clearly and we can see, god, that what we think are gambles are really not, because you're already with us. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen, amen. Well, god's word says in Esther, chapter 4, verse 14, if you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you have been made queen for such a time as this? God has you alive for a reason. Right now, god has a purpose for you and I can't wait to see what God does in our lives, in this generation. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Esther, chapter 6.