Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: Shabbat shalom. We are studying in the book of Esther in the Tanakh, that is in the Old Testament, one of the most interesting books that are found in the Word of God, that even though the name of God is not mentioned even once, yet the providence of God in relationship to our people Israel is evident throughout the whole book of Esther. God has a plan for our nation Israel and He has a plan for all those that have trusted in Him, and He is surely going to fulfill it and to bring it to pass. We are reading today in Esther chapter 2 and verse 19 into chapter 3 and verse 15.

And so I'm reading: And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate. Esther had not yet showed her kindred nor her people, as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and they sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name. And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

Esther chapter 3 and verse 1: After these things did King Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had showed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.

In the first month, that is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is the month Adar. And Haman said unto King Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.

And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy. And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of King Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.

And letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

As you read such a passage in the book of Esther, you don't marvel, you are not surprised at the reason that there is so much anti-Jewish sentimental views existing in the world in which we live in today. It happened in past history of our own nation, it is happening today in the present day in which we live in, and it will happen in the future day, and the climax will be in the tribulation period, in the days that after the body of Messiah will be removed and Israel our people will go through what is known to be Jacob's trouble according to the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 30.

Jacob's trouble, when the climax of the hatred against our people, the Jewish people, will be at its highest days in history of humanity, where Satan will be cast down to this earth and the Antichrist and its army will go and seek to destroy the people of Israel from the face of this earth. And why is it? It’s because Satan knows very well that through the Jewish people, the Messiah will come and He will do away with Satan and all those who are following after him, and ultimately Yeshua Jesus the Messiah will reign and rule over this world as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Every Passover Seder, there is a song that we sing at that Passover. I would like you to listen to the words of this song that is being sung. This is what stands for not only one arose and tried to destroy us, but rather in every generation, they try to destroy us, but the Holy One, blessed be His name, saves us from all their hands. We call it in Hebrew "Vehi Sheamda". We sing it at every Passover Seder among our people throughout the Jewish community worldwide.

The truth of the matter is that in every generation, there's always rising someone to seek to destroy the Jewish people. And yet we sing and the Bible teaches us, and especially the book of Esther, that God is always intent to save the people of Israel for a purpose. He has a plan for Israel. In His desire, the nation of Israel will ultimately not only bring the Messiah as He was born already and came, Yeshua is His name, but ultimately blessings will flow to the nations of the world when Israel the nation will come to know God and the Messiah Himself in a future day.

Well, we are in the book of Esther. We are in a time where the people of Israel, the people of Judah, were left in the area where King Ahasuerus in Shushan the palace was ruling over the empire, which we know as the empire of the Persian. In those days, we find out that God had allowed in a supernatural way for Esther to become the queen over all Persia. You remember last ministry meeting she was selected. According to the verses of chapter 2 and verse 17, King Ahasuerus loved Esther above all the women that came to that contest from all the empire of Persia.

So after she was selected to become a queen, she never told King Ahasuerus that she was Jewish, that she belonged to the Jewish people. She kept it a secret. We learn from this that the truth of the matter is that Esther as well as Mordecai, as well as all the Jews that remained in Persia, spiritually speaking, they were not in the right place. They should have gone back to the Promised Land. They should have been part of those that regained the land and rebuilt the temple and continued the worship of Jehovah, of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But no, they remained in Persia, they remained in Bavel. While they remained in Bavel, they were not in a spiritual state that they should be at. They were really, you might say, not spiritually healthy. So what do we do? Because they were not healthy, does that mean that God now has forsaken His people whom He has chosen? The truth of the matter is not. The apostle Paul says in Romans 11, "Have God forsaken His people whom He have chosen? God forbid." Saul Paul said, "For I'm also an Israeli. I'm also of the tribe of Benjamin."

He says God has not forsaken His people or cast off His people whom He foreknew. So God has a plan to somehow keep them, preserve them in His providence for a future day. Well, here we find out now what's happening, that while Esther became a queen of Persia, we find out that something happened in verse 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 of Esther chapter 2. We find out that Mordecai the Jew had preserved King Ahasuerus from being slain by some of his people.

Notice it says in verse 19 that when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat at the king's gate. See, all the girls that came from all over Persia, they were now gathering once again together. They were perhaps going to send them away because the queen was selected. Her name is Hadassah Esther. She was selected. But Mordecai still kept an eye on what's going on there in the king's palace in Shushan the capital. So it says in verse 19 he sat in the king's gate.

Perhaps he became one of those people who were insiders, who knew of what's going on in Shushan the palace, so he was watching over Esther who was now became the queen. What will happen? How things are going to go? Will she be found out that she's Jewish and will the king deny her and so on? What will happen? He didn't know. So he was sitting there at the king's gate. Then it says in verse 20 of Esther chapter 2 that Esther had not yet showed her kindred nor her people as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai like as when she was brought up with him.

She was still obedient to her older relative. She obeyed him by not sharing the fact that she was Jewish with no one, including King Ahasuerus. Can you imagine King Ahasuerus is married to a Jewish woman and she became the queen of all Persia in those days in a supernatural way because the providence of God had placed her there as the queen of Persia. In verse 21, 22, and verse 23, we find out that Mordecai uncovered a conspiracy to kill the king.

Look at this. It says in verse 21, in those days, while Mordecai sat at the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the door, were angry. They were wroth and they sought to lay hand on King Ahasuerus. So there was a plan. There was a conspiracy to kill the king. Apparently from history, eventually someone did kill King Ahasuerus. Some historical teaching will give us. We don't have it here in the Bible, but in this particular occasion, Mordecai had listened to what was going on.

Imagine Bigthan and Teresh, who were really keeping the door to enter into the palace, they were saying, "Listen, we are angry with this king." Perhaps he had done something to them. "Let's make a plan. We are going to put our hands on King Ahasuerus and we are going to kill him." You know, in many generations, many people who were serving various monarchs or various presidents or kings, they plan to assassinate the king, and some have even been successful. Unfortunately, in many areas, they have killed various leaders, various kings.

You think about Kennedy was assassinated. You think of many others in history that were assassinated by someone who planned to kill them. And here we see that Bigthan and Teresh began to have this plan to kill King Ahasuerus. So Mordecai heard it. He did the right thing. What did he do? According to the next verses, verse 22 and verse 23, he let Esther the queen know about it. Esther, listen, there's someone who is planning to kill the king.

So what did Esther do? She, after all, did the right thing as well, and she went and she said this to King Ahasuerus and she also told him, "See, king, this was this Mordecai who is sitting at the gate." It says here in verse 22, in Mordecai's name she said this to King Ahasuerus. So the King Ahasuerus knew very well that it was Mordecai who told Esther about those who planned to assassinate him at Shushan the palace. Well, you see, when they made investigation, verse 23, the end of chapter 2, they found out that it was true.

They made an inquisition. They went and they asked Bigthan and Teresh, "Are you guys planning to do this against the king?" They found out that it truly was planned. And what did they do? There's no if and but. They took these two men and they hanged them on a tree. Imagine there was no court session, nothing. You had planned to do so. They took these two men. They were both of them hanged on a tree and it was written. You see, King Ahasuerus, everything that happened there was written in a book, the book of the chronicles of the king. Every event that happened was recorded in the king's chronicles.

Well, when you think about that, this is the end of chapter 2 of the book of Esther. We never read of any reward that was given to Mordecai. We never read that the king said, "Hey Mordecai, you were the one who let me know about those people who planned my assassination. I will reward you." And you know, sometimes, brothers and sisters, when we do the right things in our lives as believers, we are not always going to get rewarded immediately. In fact, we should do the right thing.

Mordecai did the right thing. Esther did the right thing. We should do the right thing, but even if we will not get rewarded, God knows that. And everything is in the hand of Him with whom we have to do. He knows the thoughts that we have in our mind. He knows our ways and anything that we will do for God and any right thing that we will do in our lives, ultimately the Lord will honor it. It gives pleasure to God when His people do the right things.

So at times when we're not going to get rewarded for things that we have done right, we should let it be. And we will find out later on in chapter 6 how he eventually was rewarded by King Ahasuerus. But at this point of time, Mordecai was not rewarded at all. It was recorded in the chronicles of the King Ahasuerus and it was settled for a while. Now I wanted you to notice that between chapter 2 and now chapter 3, another five years passed by.

You notice it says in chapter 2 and verse 16 that the things that have happened here, that Esther became queen, it says in the seventh year of King Ahasuerus's reign. But then if you notice in chapter 3 and verse 7, it says that in the first month, that is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus. Now we really find out that between chapter 1 and chapter 2, there's at least three or four years. Between chapter 2 and chapter 3, there's at least five more years passing by.

I want you now to notice that in chapter 3, we find out a few things that are very important. First of all, in verses 1, 2, 3, and 4, we have a promotion of a wicked man by the name of Haman. In the synagogues and in our Jewish schools, when in Israel and so on, whenever we mention the name Haman, we always said boo because Haman was very well known to be as the hater and the enemies of our own Jewish people. And you notice, brothers and sisters, that we are introduced here for the first time to this wicked man by the name of Haman.

In verse 10, he is called the Jews' enemy, Tsorer HaYehudim. But let's just look over and see what the scripture teaches us about the rise of Haman to such a great position. First of all, in verse 1, we see the promotion of Haman the Agagite. We read in verse 1: After these things, did King Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. Now, look at this promotion of this man by the name of Haman.

Now, it is so important because the Bible adding to his name, it says here Haman the son of Hammedatha and it also add the word Agagite. He was Agagi. Where we get the thought of Agag in Hebrew? Agag, Ayin-Gimel-Gimel, it really has to do with the man that is a descendants of a tribe that came out of the people of Esau who were a tribe called Amalek, the giants, a nation or a tribe that throughout Israel's history were always going against the Jewish people.

In fact, if you just turn with me to Exodus chapter 17 please, I would like to read a couple of verses there where the first time we find that nation oppose the people of Israel. You see, after Israel our nation came out of Egypt, after 430 years as slaves in Egypt, when the twelve tribes of Israel were traveling in the wilderness, guess who came against them? It was the Amalekites, the people whom this Haman was a descendant of. Look, we read in Exodus chapter 17 and verse 8 and I'm reading.

It says: Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and he fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But Moses' hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon, and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Listen, beloved brothers and sisters, what the Lord said to Moshe and to the people of Israel in these next verses.

The Lord says in verse 14: The Lord had said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua; for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and he called it in the name of Jehovah-Nissi. For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's Word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0, or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.