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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today we're in Esther chapter seven,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation. So
Speaker 1: the King and Hayman went to Queen Esther's banquet on
Speaker 1: this second occasion. While they were drinking wine, the king
Speaker 1: again said to Esther, tell me what you want. Queen Esther,
Speaker 1: what is your request? I will give it to you,
Speaker 1: even if it is half the kingdom. Queen Esther replied,
Speaker 1: if I have found favor with the King, and if
Speaker 1: it pleases the King to grant my request. I asked
Speaker 1: that my life and the lives of my people will
Speaker 1: be spared for my people, and I have been sold
Speaker 1: to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If
Speaker 1: we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet,
Speaker 1: for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant
Speaker 1: disturbing the king. Who would do such a thing? King
Speaker 1: Xerxes demanded, who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?
Speaker 1: Esther replied, this wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.
Speaker 1: Haman grew pale with fright before the King and queen.
Speaker 1: Then the King jumped to his feet in a rage
Speaker 1: and went out into the palace garden. Hayman, however, stayed
Speaker 1: behind to plead for his life with Queen Esther, for
Speaker 1: he knew that the king intended to kill him. In despair,
Speaker 1: he fell on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining.
Speaker 1: Just as the King was returning from the palace garden,
Speaker 1: the King exclaimed, will he even assault the queen right
Speaker 1: here in the palace before my very eyes? And as
Speaker 1: soon as the king spoke, his attendants covered Hayman's face,
Speaker 1: signaling his doom. Then Harbona, one of the king's eunuchs, said,
Speaker 1: Hayman has set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy
Speaker 1: five feet tall in his own courtyard. He intended to
Speaker 1: use it to impale Mordecai, the man who saved the
Speaker 1: king from assassination, then impale Hayman on it, the King ordered,
Speaker 1: so they impaled Haman on the pole he had set
Speaker 1: up for Mordecai, and the King's anger subsided. Let's pray, Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to look at it
Speaker 1: together today. And Lord, as we look at this portion
Speaker 1: of Scripture, we can see that you had shown favor
Speaker 1: to Esther and that you were using her to protect
Speaker 1: the Jewish people from Hayman, who had intended to kill them.
Speaker 1: And Lord, as we could see by just taking a
Speaker 1: quick glance at human history, seems like there's always somebody
Speaker 1: trying to annihilate the Jewish people. Even in recent history,
Speaker 1: we've seen that take place. And Lord, we know that
Speaker 1: there's more to it than just political issues or political concerns.
Speaker 1: We know, Lord, that there's a spiritual component to it,
Speaker 1: because it was through the Jewish people that your son
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ came into this world, and Satan has repeatedly
Speaker 1: sought to attack them time and time again. Lord, we're
Speaker 1: grateful for the promises of Scripture. We're grateful for the
Speaker 1: fact that you tell us in your word that there's
Speaker 1: going to be a great harvest of believers that come
Speaker 1: from the Jewish nation, that there are many who will
Speaker 1: turn to faith in your son Jesus Christ and will
Speaker 1: come to know him as their savior and Messiah. We're
Speaker 1: grateful for that, Lord, and we look forward to that day.
Speaker 1: And we're thankful Lord for your choice to reveal to
Speaker 1: us our need for Jesus Christ to be our savior
Speaker 1: as well. Lord, we pray that throughout the course of
Speaker 1: today and every day, that we would live our lives
Speaker 1: in such a way that we bring you honor and
Speaker 1: glory and we show that our faith in Jesus Christ
Speaker 1: is absolutely genuine and true. We love you, Lord, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for your presence with us today. We
Speaker 1: pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.