When everything is lost and God can’t be found,
he is still working to turn the plans of the enemy upside down.
That is the story of a Jewish woman named Esther.
Like many of her people, she was abducted from her home and forced under the scepter of the Persian empire.
And King Xerxes was her chief oppressor.
Kidnapped and trafficked, Esther stood before her aggressor.
She was forced under his unlimited power enslaved as Queen to his worldwide empire.
Had God lost?
Had this king taken his crown?
Perhaps that’s why, in the book of Esther, God’s name cannot be found.
But when everything is lost and God can’t be found,
he is still working to turn the plans of the enemy upside down.
For the enemy has always had a plan to destroy God’s people.
The enemy had a plan to destroy God’s first people, Adam and Eve.
The enemy had a plan to destroy Saul, God’s first king.
And it seems that the enemy’s plans succeed.
The descendant of Israel’s king, Mordecai, was not on the throne.
And the descendant of Israel’s enemy, Haman, was grabbing more power for his own.
God’s enemies were positioned to win.
Haman was given the highest position in Xerxes’ court.
He was robed in the king’s honor, given the power of the king’s sword.
Hama was vested with an authority no man could ignore.
Everyone would have to kneel before this devilish new Lord.
But Mordecai, the Jew, did something different than his predecessors.
He refused to bow to evil rulers hoping God was still working to turn back his enemy’s measures.
So, Haman made a plan.
He brought what would be the final death blow to Mordecai and all God’s people.
He presented the king with an edict that would exterminate all Israel.
And, under the influence of the enemy and of wine,
Xerxes signed the edict allowing Haman to destroy God’s people one final time.
But when everything is lost and God can’t be found,
he is still working to turn the plans of the enemy upside down.
For though the Jews seemed doomed and the enemy’s plans seemed fixed by Xerxes’ gesture,
they had one hope for they had Queen Esther.
She could risk an audience with the king. She could bring her own plans to the crown.
Perhaps the God who seemed lost raised her up for such a time as this.
Perhaps she could turn the edict upside down.
But Esther was one of the Jews in danger of extermination.
If she revealed to the king who she was would she face annihilation?
So, with hesitation, Esther laid down her life before the king.
And surprisingly, under the influence of something unseen,
the king spared her life and would hear her inquiry.
But instead of making her request, she gives these wicked men what they want.
Haman’s pride is given a seat at the table and Xerxes, with his Queen, gets drunk.
Through a series of feasts and wine, Esther would plot against this devilish crown.
Clever and savvy she began to turn the plans of her enemy upside down.
In fact, everything would start to turn upside down when Haman, drunk on pride and the bottle,
makes his final plan to win his final battle against Mordecai and all Israel.
He constructs a massive stake on which to impale his enemy.
A place where his plan would triumph where he, as victor would seize victory.
But as soon as Haman demanded the death of Mordecai, he unwittingly fell into a trap of his own design.
The king heard of how a man in his kingdom had saved his life.
So, he asked Haman how he should be rewarded, what should be the price?
Haman, believing the man to be him, describes all the riches he wants the king to provide
only to find that it was not he, but Mordecai who would receive the king’s prize.
In a surprise reversal, Haman had to clothe his enemy in royal robes, vest his enemy
with the power of the throne, and give his enemy the authority that was once his own.
Though Mordecai would never bow to Haman, Haman would be forced to bow to Mordecai.
And this was just the beginning of how God would reverse the enemy’s design.
Esther explained that this edict Haman made the king sign
would not only mean the death of the Jews but herself, as his new Jewish bride.
The edict of death Haman aimed at Mordecai curved back around to bring his own demise.
The irony is so thick that Haman was sentenced to be killed on his own stick.
The very place the enemy planned to win became the stake that brought his end.
Then, in the hands of Mordecai, the final reversal takes place when Mordecai
destroys the edict of death and God’s people are finally saved.
Everything was lost and God couldn’t be found,
but he worked to turn the plans of the enemy upside down.
But the enemy had one last plan to destroy God’s people,
to bring an edict of death not against them but against their King.
Jesus stood, not merely before a ruler, but before something unseen.
He faced destruction by the plans of the enemy.
Surely, if the King of the Jews is exterminated, his people will be annihilated.
But, clever like Esther, Jesus gives his enemy what he wants.
He follows the enemy’s plans to the foot of the cross,
but the very place the enemy planned to win would become the stake that brought his end.
The edict of death the enemy designed would curve back around to bring his own demise.
For, to the enemy’s surprise, when this King lost, life for all God’s people would be found.
For on the cross, Jesus turned the plans of the enemy upside down.
Hey everyone, I’m David with Spoken Gospel.
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