READINGS ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER (4)
[p. 165] READINGS ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER (4)
Esther 6:1 - 14; Esther 7:1 - 10
JT A question arises in this book which has not been noted so far. Why should Mordecai be so definite from the outset in refusing to bow to Haman? As Haman comes into evidence in chapter 3 it is said, “But Mordecai bowed not nor did him reverence”. And Haman notices that himself and is especially filled with fury on that account, we are told. But in view of the present application we have been making of this book we should see that divine principles, however old they are, do not change, but come down. Haman was, as we are told, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite — Agag undoubtedly representing the Amalekite which Saul should have destroyed and which Samuel did destroy. He appears here and without any earlier intimation mentioned. Mordecai refuses to bow to him. Although he evidently knew that it involved danger, he steadily refuses to bow and thus excites the enemy. I think it gives us a lead that a divine principle in a crisis, however unapparently connected with the crisis, should be maintained, not overlooked, but maintained.
JD Do you think that Mordecai, under God, was honouring the law of Exodus 17 against the Amalekite? In the governmental ways of God he comes in with that principle of God and will not bow to Amalek.
JT I think that thought would link it with Samuel’s day. When the matter came up with Saul in the destroying of the Amalekites, we have ‘words’ mentioned. “And Samuel said to Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint thee king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken to the voice of the words of Jehovah” (1 Samuel 15:1). The ‘words’ are [p. 166] details, not mere general principles, but details. And clearly Mordecai had not forgotten the details. Saul thought that he had the matter well in hand in a general way in destroying, as he thought, the Amalekites. But Samuel says to him, “What means then this bleating of sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of oxen which I hear?” Well, Samuel had in his mind that they were ‘words’ of Jehovah including all the details regarding this matter. Whereas Saul thought that generalities would suffice, and allowed natural feelings to enter into the matter and spared Agag. But in verse 32 we read, “And Samuel said, Bring ye near to me Agag the king of Amalek. And Agag came to him gaily”. Evidently refined and wealthy. “And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword has made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless above women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal”. I was thinking, too, of what has been said about Exodus 17. The divine banner has been unfurled against Amalek and is there from generation to generation. And clearly Mordecai has this in mind. He had not forgotten. That is in these circumstances we are not befogged and confused. Our safety lies in observing divine principles in detail.
CB In Balaam’s prophecy we have the thought of a shout of a king being in the midst of them. That is a king higher than Agag.
JT That is another scripture that bears on this. Mordecai comes to be higher than Haman — it is a question of power. Balaam speaks of a shout of a king amongst the brethren, amongst the saints. Well, it is a question of power, kingly power even in reproach. Indeed, the king is in reproach and so are the brethren but the shout of a king is there.
CHH Would the ministry of Paul in Colosse correspond with what is seen here in dealing with [p. 167] Agag — dealing with the flesh — in order to make everything of Christ?
JT I am sure. That is the full thing. It is the whole matter there in Colosse. “The putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of the Christ” (Colossians 2:11). It fits in with what has been said as to going the whole way. Our safety lies in going the whole way as to any principle governing us. So Mordecai clearly is upright here. He is able to lift up his head — no shame. The salvation is for the head. “Lift up your heads”. Instead of shame and fear stand upright in the presence of the enemy! And thus appear before the authorities, as we had yesterday, the principles governing us as we appear before them. As Esther — she puts on proper apparel. So that we are dealing with actual circumstances and what is becoming in them. It was becoming that she should appear before the king in royal apparel. The question of royalty comes in. And this comes into our circumstances — spiritual royalty and magnificence and they include power. “And it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house. And the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance to the house. And it was so, when the king saw the queen Esther standing in the court, that she obtained grace in his sight”. That is the position. It is royalty, and splendour in the queen, knowing how to observe her share in the royalty. She is owned as queen. So the king says, “What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be given thee even to the half of the kingdom”. We have the half of the kingdom offered to such a person as this. It is a question of the way we appear before the great ones, and whether the golden sceptre is extended in recognition. They claim royalty, of course. Here is a man in supreme rule — [p. 168] our life is in his hands, as it were. It is a question of what is there in connection with Daniel’s image. The queen is equal to that. The saints are equal morally, too, as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were.
LES Referring again to Peter, “But ye are a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession, that ye might set forth the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness to his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
JT Quite so. It is a chosen race and kingly priesthood here.
LES “That ye might set forth the excellencies of him”.
JT That is just it — the queenly, feminine side. That idea enters into the position — the apparel of the queen. Which all brings about, as we might say, the favour that God gives. God can do that.
JD If we feel the thing that is happening, some of those features will come out as we are before the authorities.
AP Does not this side come out in Proverbs, as we learn to wait upon wisdom, knowledge and instruction?
JT Yes, it is a sign of that — of those subjective qualities.
Rem Paul before Agrippa displayed such qualities.
JT Yes. It would seem by the general position that the court was favourable in the main. Thank God for that! “This man might have been let go if he had not appealed to Caesar” (Acts 26:32). Well, evidently there was some sympathetic atmosphere there with Paul and that was moral victory. The rigour of the voyage was greatly modified because Paul was in favour with them and he finally becomes master of the ship.
GM Would you pray for favour in the sight of these [p. 169] men?
JT You get it in Nehemiah 2:4,5, “So I prayed to the God of the heavens. And I said to the king ...” And he got his request — the queen was by the king.
RH Would it be right to connect the thought of piety in Timothy with these thoughts?
JT Very good. “That thou mayest know how one ought to conduct oneself in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Well, that is in the assembly — the greatest requirements — we must respect them.
RH And so it says, “It is necessary that he should have also a good testimony from those without” (1 Timothy 3:7).
JT Now to go on to the feasts of Esther. In chapter 2 we have Esther’s feast given by the king. Now we have two feasts. There had been one feast made for her and now she makes two feasts. We must read this chapter in the light of the wisdom of Esther, because it is a question of the enemy. The king now is in favour. The king is in favour up to the half of his kingdom. She has gone a long way and has a great advantage. God gives us these advantages. But we want to exploit them, not allow them to fall to the ground. “And Esther answered and said, My petition and my request is, If I have found grace in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow according to the king’s word”. Now we have something to look into here. Why did she not take advantage of the opportunity? Wisdom is operative. It gives her immense power and she wants to consolidate that power and not hasten unduly in the matter. Let the position be consolidated. Well, this is what Esther does. She is not in a hurry, but making the best of the position to use it. Now it is for the brethren to see the importance of waiting and using [p. 170] wisdom. As God gives the opportunity, to make the most of it.
CHH Does it allow the government of God on evil to fully develop?
JT It seems as if God is in the matter in an unseen way as the circle is gradually reducing to Esther the king and Haman. It is gradually reducing to one man — Haman. Is he wise? The devil is not wise. He is short-sighted. Haman is very short-sighted! You marvel that he did not observe that something was against him. But he does not. He goes into his house and tells his wife and his friends of all his glory and riches. “And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. And Haman said, Yea, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow also I am invited to her with the king”. Well now, see how dense he is! Think of what is against him and he did not sense it. We are to face the devil. The apostle says, Resist him. Because there are great weaknesses in the devil’s activities and the spiritual observe them. Folly shows itself in them. The time of the second feast indeed brings out his folly and especially the using of the gallows he himself had made.
Ques Is this the result of the three days fasting?
JT That is where wisdom comes in. There is not a word about prayer here, but it is fasting. That is the point. Perhaps if we fasted as much as we prayed there would be more accomplished.
JD “And Haman went forth that day joyful and glad of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was full of fury against Mordecai”. You [p. 171] wonder that Haman did not sense then that something was going on.
JT It is wonderful the non-discernment of the enemy. God instructs us as to the kind of enemy that we have to deal with — he proceeds on lines and is unable to foresee how he can be overcome. And we are to be instructed in the principles of war — to know and observe the antagonist and thus it comes out that he is being overcome and does not know it. Why did he not sense something in this woman? What is all this about? Why is she so favourable? Does he not know anything about Esther? Have his spies not found out about this woman? Apparently not.
PB Satan does not discern the spiritual.
JT “But the spiritual discerns all things, and he is discerned of no one” (1 Corinthians 2:15).
RH The Colossian thought of Esther is, “In which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
JT She is going on with great skill. And the tide is turning in her favour and the king evidently is now. He is making up his mind about Haman and it is there when the time comes, The king is something that God respects, like Pilate. The Lord replies to Pilate. “Thou hadst no authority whatever against me if it were not given to thee from above” (John 19:11). The Lord spoke to Pilate — talked to him. Haman is unable to discern what is going on and Esther is not discerned, she has the recognition of the king. The war is against Haman, the conflict is against him and he is not sensible to it.
JD It was of God that Haman controlled himself. God in His government is handling the situation. “When Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was full of fury against Mordecai. But Haman controlled himself and came home”. It was all in God’s governmental ways to bring him to the real [p. 172] issue.
JT It would have spoiled the position if he had been allowed to show his real feelings then.
LES The sinister movements of the enemy in Corinth were discerned by Paul and exposed by him.
JT He was cognisant of what was there. He knew of it. Another thing is divine agencies. God has His agents here. The king is brought in as one of them. Haman is not able to discern that the tide is turned against him. We are to exploit that — what is successful — keep on with it. She is now on the feast matter. And it gives her time to fully exploit the advantage. She knew exactly what was going on.
RH Does this waiting until tomorrow suggest the need of patience in these matters?
JT In Numbers 16:16 we get, “And Moses said to Korah. Be thou and all thy band before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow”. Why not today? It is patience. We have to give time for things to work out. It is tomorrow — not today. Tomorrow takes twenty-four hours for the earth to go around. It requires movement. Now something is going on, while the culprit does not discern anything at all. It takes time for things to work out as in the rebellion of Korah and the matter is put over until tomorrow in each case. And tomorrow brings out that the almond rod of Aaron’s budded, blossomed and brought forth almonds — it takes time. It usually takes months; that it should only take a night was a miracle, but still it took some time. And then time implies patience on our part, waiting for God to work. So these two feasts are to be observed — to the natural mind it may be unnecessary detail — but it shows wisdom is operative. This woman had come into these things by her fasting — self-denial — Haman was discerned in full and did not see that the current was against him.
CHH This principle of waiting is an important principle. Our dispensation is the waiting [p. 173] period.
JT The presence of the Spirit here is just in that setting. And it is the same setting in regard of every principle. You have to realise the need of the Spirit. Many expect that it is automatic, but it is not. It never was. A divine principle enters into it. We are to fully realise the need of the Spirit.
FR Is this principle seen in relation to Lazarus? The Lord did not go to him immediately.
JT That is a good illustration. And see what effect it had on both Mary and Martha — it was a question of divine glory. “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it” (John 11:4). Both the Father and the Son are to be glorified. So it is well worth waiting for.
LES Does it fit in here that one great feature of John’s gospel is “on the morrow”?
JT Yes, that is the thought. It is what the morrow signifies. Each morrow brings out something issuing in the millennium — the third day. The Lord says, “Go, tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and accomplish cures today and to-morrow, and the third day I am perfected” (Luke 13:32).
JD The Lord speaks of a divine principle in John 11. “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God”. The Lord had God’s glory in view. And so it is here.
JT I think so. The two feasts are like two days — He remained two days where He was, so that Lazarus should be buried. And Lazarus had been four days buried to bring out the corruption that had set in. Showing that He has power to raise the dead — whether dead two thousand years or four days, it makes no difference.
AP Is the attitude of Esther the standing attitude of Ephesians?
JT “Having done all to stand” (Ephesians 6:13). Standing in [p. 174] the sense of resistance. Well now, the time is well filled up with these two feasts. Esther probably had a retinue of cooks — but these are Esther’s feasts — what she is doing. And the king does not say, No, I have a great many military or political matters to look after. No, Esther is prevailing. What she wants is accomplished. And so it says in verse 13, “Yet all this is of no avail to me so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate. Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends to him”. There is the woman again. She is there in the making of these gallows. But the end is that he himself is hanged on the tree. Not the man of God, Mordecai, but Haman. The Lord Jesus hung on a tree to accomplish redemption. He was made sin — a curse — for us. Most solemn consideration! Well, it goes on, “Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends to him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high”. That is seventy-five feet which is a very imposing thing. His wife suggests this — she brings in the feminine as in these circumstances. Democracy is very cautious to bring in the feminine side; they say the voice of the people is the voice of God. That is not true. Because you get the worst possible from the voice of the people.
JG Jezebel urged on Ahab.
JT It says that Haman’s wife and friends advised this. “Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it”. Another morning. They have the idea of the morning. But no recognition of God in it. Haman had no such idea. It does not fit with what he has in mind. “And in the morning speak to the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it; then go in merrily with the king to the banquet”. He is thoroughly in this. So the scene is fixed for the final act, the second feast. And in the interim the chronicles are brought in. “On that night sleep fled from the king. And he commanded to bring the [p. 175] book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, keepers of the threshold, who had sought to lay hand on king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honour and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this? and the king’s servants that attended upon him said, Nothing has been done for him. And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had come into the outward court of the king’s house to speak to the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s servants said to him, Behold, Haman is standing in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What is to be done with the man whom the king delights to honour?” That is refined cruelty — righteous cruelty is being made to bear upon him. He has to adorn Mordecai and put him on the king’s horse. A remarkable turn of circumstances!
TD The enemy is planning the destruction of Mordecai, but certain circumstances turn in his favour.
JT That is what comes out here. The servants have a ready answer to the king’s enquiry about Mordecai. They are not against him. When the tide turns, so to speak, everything is favourable to what is right. But we have to learn all this. Chapter 4 is the secret of the whole matter. We have to learn to fast.
JF Is learning to fast the principle of wisdom as in Esther? God takes up the thought in that sleep goes from the king.
JT That is the turning point, God takes sleep from the king and causes the attempted assassination to bring Mordecai into evidence — to bring things before the king — for the hour of the crisis [p. 176] is approaching.
LES So the word is to fast in a day like this when it is so easy to do otherwise.
JT We have prayed much and should keep on praying, but perhaps where we fail is fasting — that is, self-denial. Not simply ordinary worldly things, but denying ourselves of legitimate things. “But this kind does not go out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). The question we are to answer is: What does fasting mean? It is self-denial of what is legitimate.
JG “All things are lawful to me, but all things do not profit” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
JT The apostle lived in an attitude of self-denial of legitimate things.
CB Fasting calls for sacrifice.
JT Things which appeal to the appetite are denied in fasting.
DR “Have we not a right to take round a sister as wife?” (1 Corinthians 9:5).
JT He had rights — was it not right for him to be a married man? All the apostles were married except himself.
Ques Is not God bringing to light in testimony what belongs to Him in the young men as they stand true, and is He not bringing to light treasure?
JT He is. This treasure is what is brought out of the work of God and that is what we are concerned about. It is coming out here in Esther. These are her chapters more than they are Mordecai’s. Mordecai led in the matter but now she is in the front row. She is the spearhead in this conflict. And she is acting wisely. It is a question of self-denial and wisdom so that we have power. We have strength.
PB The king speaks to Haman first and Haman never gets an opportunity to speak about the hanging of Mordecai.
JT It is a matter of the want of sleep. The king [p. 177] knew very little about fasting, but God comes in and makes him fast for sleep. Sometimes we fast for sleep and God makes known His mind in the sleepless hours of the night. Here the king is compelled to fast for sleep and these things come into his mind — he wants to read the book of the chronicles — and so he finds things out about Mordecai. God designed this. The king is denied sleep. But God intended him to use those sleepless hours to look into the book of chronicles. And what chronicles there are of the doings of the saints! What delightful manifestations of the work of God at the judgment-seat of Christ, when everything will be displayed of the things done in the body! Well, this is one of the acts of Mordecai. It is in the chronicles and the king hears it and wants to know about it. What reward had been given Mordecai? And of course this all is in view of the destruction of Haman. Mordecai is now coming into evidence.
RH Is all this detail intended to show the absolute accuracy of God’s ways? “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8).
JT What happened in the interim — in the night season! The morrow is going to bring out the decision as to Haman.
AH The counsel of Hushai defeated the counsel of Ahithophel. God is working to effect what is in His mind in every case.
JT He defeated the good counsel of Ahithophel. So that the servants here knew the answer to the enquiry — What has been done for this man? Nothing has been done. The saints do not get much, you know, in this world, unless something happens to force recognition of their good deeds. But there is no great effort to bring them to light. It was in reading this book of chronicles that the king was made to ask about Mordecai and the servants told him [p. 178] immediately that nothing had been done for him. And then the king says, Who is in the court?
DR Would the servants represent the men in the parliaments trying to see that justice is done?
JT It might be that. There is always someone that will come forward to witness to what is right especially after the king’s sleepless night. So these servants knew that nothing had been done for Mordecai. How did they know? They must have had some sympathy with Mordecai.
LES “As unknown, and well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as disciplined, and not put to death; as grieved, but always rejoicing; as poor, but enriching many; as having nothing, and possessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:9,10).
JT You can see as already has been alluded to, how Paul had the sympathy of and was in favour with, the centurion. The preservation from the massacre showed that he wanted to spare Paul.
AH With regard to Paul appealing to Caesar — would we see these features and qualities of suffering with Paul?
JT Well, that is the thing. There is work to be done in the saints, they are the theatre of God’s operations. The prayer meetings are where we speak to God, but the fasting meetings are another matter. And the Lord tells us it is prayer and fasting that is needed.
JF Fasting is needed as well as prayer. You have spoken of prayer meetings and now it is fasting in a collective way, too.
JT We need help on the self-denial of legitimate things. Fasting makes room for the Spirit.
LES We are tested in the holiday season — how we fill up our days in view of the gravity of matters. It is a day-by-day matter.
JT I am sure that is right. Holiday seasons are defiling. These resorts that men provide for humanity are surely marked by defilement. Fasting [p. 179] would be denying yourself of legitimate things. Well, you have to have a holiday sometime — but time is short. The more spiritual a person is the greater their sense of time — there is so much to be done in the Lord’s things.
RH It is a matter of fasting night and day.
JT Chapters 6 and 7 bring that out, and bring out the issue between the devil and the people of God as represented in Mordecai and Esther. So this is an immense advantage to Mordecai. It is not by any current event, but a historical event, the recognition of things in earlier days. Now these things come down in his favour. It was an earlier, historical matter. Now he is honoured. “And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delights to honour, let the royal apparel be brought with which the king arrays himself, and the horse that the king rides upon, and on the head of which the royal crown is set; and let the apparel and horse be delivered unto the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, and let them array the man whom the king delights to honour, and cause him to ride on the horse through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honour! And the king said to Haman, Make haste, take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate; let nothing fail of all that thou hast said. And Haman took the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honour!” So that God is giving through this incident, which is a historical one, an opportunity for Mordecai to be rightly owned. And God is doing these things now.
CB Mordecai stood for the rights of the throne and now he is being recognised. Would you say that [p. 180] the Lord stood for the rights of the throne of God — and representatively that is our position today?
JT That is just the truth. “Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and granted him a name, that which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to God the Father’s glory” (Philippians 2:9 - 11). That is the outcome of His passion — God has honoured Him. Then (verses 5 - 8), “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God; but emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form, taking his place in the likeness of men; and having been found in figure as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross”. And then we have that God has highly exalted Him. These things are foreshadowed here, in how Mordecai rises in greatness and glory as we shall see in the next meeting, but here we have the issue with Haman. This is the second feast. “And the king and Haman came to drink with Esther the queen”. She is in every instance the queen now. “And the king said again to Esther on the second day, at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee; and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be done”. So the king has not changed his mind. The matter is established. “And Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found grace in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request; for we are sold, I and my people”. Could she not have made a speech like this on the first day? But God made her greater in the interim. This matter involving Mordecai greatly strengthened Esther. The general position is better, the tide is turning and God [p. 181] is in it.
LES It is not now, ‘If I perish’, but “My people”.
JT She is identifying herself with the people of God, great as she is.
AP The wisdom is manifest in connection with the fasting with the people.
JT Well, no doubt, fasting is the power. God is strengthening Esther’s position — not placing Mordecai at the bottom as was in the mind of Haman — but placing him in the supreme place. It is wonderful the way God comes in for us.
JD Does this place of favour allude to Christ’s place as glorified?
JT Quite so. Mordecai goes back to the gate.
RH Is the end of verse 4 the greatness of God’s people universally?
JT What fine words she uses here. She is identifying herself with the people. “We are sold, I and my people”. Not the Jews, but, “My people”. “To be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the adversary could not compensate the king’s damage”. The immense gift of twenty million cannot make up for the damage — the damage to the king — he cannot compensate it. “And king Ahasuerus spoke and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he that has filled his heart to do so?” He is thoroughly aroused now. God is working. Wrath is coming up, the wrath of the king, as Proverbs says.
JD If all the saints in Vancouver were to be slain, what would Vancouver do? What would be the king’s damage — the damage to the people of Vancouver if the saints were taken away?
JT That is looking at the thing in a concrete way — Vancouver’s damage could not be compensated.
DR If sold for bondmen and bondwomen [p. 182] in ways in which the people can help the government, it would be all right.
JT “I had held my tongue” then. But it is the destruction of them that she cannot stand. And the king’s wrath comes up. She profits there. “And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman”. Wonderful strength and courage in her words. She is exploiting her advantage now, not modifying things, making it easier for the devil or ourselves in that sense. “Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen”. Power in a dual sense — the people of God bring that out — the power of the king and the queen. That will be in the millennium, there will be the Jews honoured upon earth — the queen in gold of Ophir on His right hand. The heavenly city, of course, is the queen. We are being prepared for these things in this book.
JD Haman makes request for his life to the queen.
JT The queen has power now.
RH Is that the second established?
JT That is the idea. The care meeting is the place of terror for evildoers.
CB Felix trembled.
LES Esther calls him — this wicked Haman — the adversary, the enemy. It is like the titles of Satan in Revelation.
JT Just so. The courage in her words! “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman”. The book of Revelation brings out all the titles of the devil.
Well, God willing, we will have just one more season — the final acts in this drama, of the two feasts of Esther. All leads up to the glory of Christ and the assembly or the glory of Christ and the Jews in the remaining chapters.