Lechem Panim #97 "Hadassah and God’s Favor" (Esther 2:8-10) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to the show today. We have been studying the book of Esther during our time together, last week seeing what was going on in the Persian empire during this time, which included Xerxes’ war against Greece. After throwing a party for his military personnel just before he left to show how capable he was of winning the war, Xerxes (or Ahasuerus, as he’s also known) goes on to fight Greece and suffers a massive defeat. And so he comes back in shame and disgrace and is seeking comfort in the arms of someone who can lift him up during this difficult time. Normally that would have been his wife Vashti; but due to her unwillingness to disgrace herself before his guests, he had had her banished just before he left. And so now he is wife-less and miserable. But his men (whose idea it was to banish Vashti to begin with) no doubt feel a little fear and quickly seek to rectify the problem. And so they suggest that Ahasuerus throw an empire-wide beauty pageant in order to help him choose a new queen. And he apparently likes that idea very very much. And so women are gathered and brought to him from all over the kingdom. And it is at this point that the author introduces to us an orphan girl named Hadassah living in the care of her cousin Mordecai. Esther was her Persian name, but those closest to her would have known her as Hadassah.

A Fragrant Myrtle-- Now Hadassah’s name means “myrtle” in Hebrew; as in the myrtle tree; which gives off a very fragrant smell. [And in scripture we find that the behaviors of people often align with their name. Well, this was especially true of Hadassah. Hadassah is more than just her name. It (like many Biblical names) was a description of who she is.] 
    There was a prophet just before this time by the name of Zechariah who began his prophetic ministry in 520 B.C. under Darius (Xerxes’ father). And during that time Zechariah has this vision in which a man on a red horse stands amidst a bunch of myrtle trees in a ravine. And in his vision [the myrtle trees in the ravine represented Israel under Gentile subjection.] And here we see that Esther is very much a myrtle tree brought under Gentile subjection. It says in…

Esther 2:8 (ESV)— 8 So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.

In The Care of Hegai-- So she is taken into an environment that (for a Jewish girl) would be absolutely unclean, unholy, and even frightening, as she is placed under the authority of a Persian officer named Hegai. Now it’s often times when we are put in stressful situations that our true selves are seen most visibly. And Hegai likes what he sees in Hadassah. It says…

Esther 2:9 (ESV)— 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem.

Righteous Myrtle-- What did this man Hegai see in Esther? You know, it’s interesting; in Israelite culture myrtle trees were often associated with righteousness. [The Talmud (a book of Jewish teaching) explains why Queen Esther was also called Hadassah: Why was she called Hadassah? Because the righteous are called myrtles.
    The sages in the Midrash (an ancient commentary on part of the Hebrew scriptures) take this one step further: Just as a myrtle has a sweet smell and a bitter taste, so too Esther was good and listened (“sweet”) to the righteous Mordechai, and was adverse (“bitter”) to the wicked Haman.] So once again she lives according to her name. And because she does live according to her name; in righteousness, God’s favor rests upon her.

The Favor of God-- Now what does it mean that God’s favor rests upon a person? We often think of it as meaning that your life is unusually blessed by the Lord; where everything seems to go right and your life is whole and complete. And when things don’t go right, it must mean God’s favor is no longer with you. But here we find that Esther, on whom God’s favor so clearly rests, is a person whose life is not perfect. She doesn’t have the ideal family situation; she doesn’t have a good social status. And things go from bad to worse. She (a good Jewish girl) is taken and placed in the harem of a pagan king. But we see so clearly that even in the midst of a whole world of bad, God’s favor never leaves her. He is with her every step of the way. And this is what King Solomon had prayed for back in…

1 Kings 8:50 (ESV)— 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them

Trend of Favor-- And we see that favor resting on Esther. Now Esther never had a special verbal call from God. God never gave her specifics as to how He was going to use her (at least not audibly). She simply found herself being placed in situations that she did not expect and probably didn't want to be in. But her story encourage us because of the simple fact that God didn’t appear to her in a cloud or in a burning bush, or in a voice from heaven. And yet God was still able to use her in amazing ways. Why? What was it that gave her this special favor from the Lord? Well, we see that it has much to do with her character; her righteousness and willingness to walk with God in the midst of very difficult circumstances; because she chose to deny herself and obey God in what He was leading her to do. And it is because of that; the obedience of an insignificant Jewish girl that the fate of an entire race of people was saved out of the hands of those who were seeking to wipe out the Jewish people.

Obedience the Key to God’s Favor-- And what we learn from this is that God doesn’t need you to have a huge religious experience for Him to use you. He just needs your obedience. Obedience to God is the key to having His favor rest on you.

Do you have the sense in your own life that God’s favor rests with you? Do you feel like you're moving with God, or do you feel like you're moving against or away from God? What is the key to living in the favor of God? The key is to allow him to transform and reshape your character. And you cannot wait until he places some dynamic call upon your life. He may not appear to you as he did to Moses in the burning bush; there may not be any clear audible call from heaven. But, like with Esther, God’s call for you and I to be holy unto Him is every bit as real; and He can do incredible things through our lives if we choose to live in accordance with His will and character. Then God’s favor can rest upon us in a special way.

The People God Can Use— God is not limited by your past; who you are; or even your circumstances. He only wants your obedience. And at every point, Esther models that obedience in her relationship to God, and also in her relationship to her cousin Mordecai. Verse 10 says…

Esther 2:10 (ESV)— 10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known.

What are the Chances?-- Now what are the chances that Esther would be chosen queen? This pageant stretched throughout the whole kingdom of Persia, consisting of about 50 million people at that time. That’s a pretty big pageant. What are the chances that out of all those people, Esther would be selected (by chance)?

Lou Gehrig’s Disease— Once a father was telling his son about baseball legend Lou Gehrig. And he mentioned that he died in 1941. And the son asked, “What did he die of.” “Well {(the father replied)}, he died of Lou Gehrig’s disease.” And the boy’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. And he said in awe, “What are the chances?” Well, it wasn’t chance. The disease was named after him.

Well, what are the chances that out of 50 million people, Esther would be selected? I mean even just to be among the 400 women who were brought to the harem; the odds are astronomical! How is this possible? Well, the moment we ask that question, we have already missed the point; because it wasn’t chance at all. God had brought about all these events (from the banishment of Vashti to Esther’s being taken) in order that Esther might come into that position. None of this was chance, but was part of God’s will and plan for the salvation of His people; which He brought by His divine hand. God orchestrated all of it. And we really see how Mordecai recognizes this later in the book, when he says to Esther… 

Esther 4:14b (ESV)-- …And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

You know what this says to me? The situations you and I face every day; the jobs we work; the people we come into contact with. That’s not chance. Rather God has placed us in those specific spheres of influence because He has ordained ahead of time that we ought to be His instruments to those people? God has raised us up in those circumstances to fulfill His purposes; to give Christ to another. 
    You know what passage scares the living daylights out of me? It’s when Jesus calls His disciples (which includes us) His hands and His feet. Because what it reveals is that Christ chooses to work through us. And if we are not willing to do what Christ is moving us to do, then we are impeding His Kingdom work.

​And so we need to remember that God has raised us up in this time in this place to make a difference for His Kingdom. Don’t be afraid to stand for Christ; don’t be afraid to share your faith. He may be using you and moving you towards the fulfillment of a grand purpose for your life that you will never reach unless you obey Him in the moment. We may not be able to see the end, but we can take the path He puts immediately before us, as Esther did time and time again.. Let us commit to obey God as she did, so that in every way we might also experience the favor of God in a special way. Amen.