Sovereign Still: The God Who Writes the Final Chapter

On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin stepped out of the Apollo 11 lunar module and walked on the surface of the moon. For two and a half hours he bounded across the lunar dust. He looked back at the earth, a tiny blue marble in the blackness of space. He was standing at the pinnacle of human achievement. And then the mission ended and they flew home.

When they arrived everyone celebrated. They were paraded through the streets of New York City. But eventually the parades ended. The crowds went home. And Buzz Aldrin had to wake up to a normal Monday morning.

He was thirty-nine years old. And he had already done one of the greatest things a human had ever done. But there were no more moons to conquer. There was just traffic. Grocery bills. And taxes.

The weight of ordinary life hit him so hard that he spiraled into depression that lasted for years. Because the question that haunted him was one no could answer: What do you do after you've walked on the moon and the problems of the world still show up Monday morning?

That is the tension the author of Esther puts in front of us in chapter 10. Chapter 9 was the moon landing. The enemy was defeated. The decree of death was reversed. The celebration ensued.

But chapter 10 is Monday morning. The Jews wake up They are still in Persia. Xerxes is still on the throne. And the first thing he does is raise their taxes.

And so for us, if we're going to survive Monday mornings with our hope and joy intact, we need to see what this final chapter is showing us.

To trust the God who writes the final chapter, we must see:

1. The Reach of earthly power
2. The Rise of God's servant
3. The Peace of God's people

1. The Reach of earthly power

Last week we saw Mordecai and Esther establish the feast of Purim, which was a decree of remembrance that commanded God's people to celebrate their deliverance every year. They chronicled the reversal, confirmed it in writing, and obligated their children and their children's children to never forget what God had done.

So now, the story is over. The enemies are dead. The celebration is established. And now the author closes the book. But he doesn't close it the way you'd expect.

In verse 1 it reads:

¹ King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea.

Esther 10:1 ESV

Now that is a strange way to end a book. After everything we've been through in this series, the genocide decree, the sleepless night, the gallows, the reversal, and the celebration the author ends by telling us about taxes going up. Why?

Because the book is ending how it started… sort of. The massive empire of Persia is humming along Xerxes is still Xerxes. Who uses his rule, not for the good of his people, but for the good of himself. He's still imposing his iron will on his subjects and extracting wealth from the farthest reaches of the known world.

The phrase "the land and the coastlands of the sea" is not a pointless detail. It's telling you the reach of this man's power. Which was VAST! It was from the mainland to the most distant shores. And it’s all run by Xerxes… Which isn’t great, because this man is a cruel and selfish king.

This is the man who threw a 180-day banquet to show of his wealth in order to try to muster up support for war all to satisfy a grudge. This is the same king who deposed a queen because she embarrassed him by not wanting to be embarrassed by him. This is the same king who handed his signet ring to a man named Haman and signed a decree to wipe out an entire people without even asking which people it was. And after all of that: after Haman is dead, after Mordecai is honored, after the Jews are delivered, Xerxes is still here on his throne. Living the good life.

Which means, HE GOT AWAY WITH IT ALL. He’s the one who enabled the entire crisis, and yet he gets to keep his throne. How is that fair? That’s not how the story is supposed to end! Xerxes is supposed to get what he has coming! But at this point, he doesn’t. He continues to rule and reign over his vast empire.

So here Xerxes re-enables the tax. I say he re-enables it, because back in chapter 2 verse 18, when Esther first became queen, Xerxes halted the tax across the empire as a gift to his people. “Oh wow, that’s so kind of you King. You mean we can keep our money?” “Why yes you can, not forever of course, but yes, go ahead and for now you can keep it. But don’t get too attached.”

So here at the end of the story, that gift is gone. The taxes are back. The empire goes right back to taking, not for the good of the people, but for the good of Xerxes. Yes, the empire is magnificent, But, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

And what a way to end this book! I mean think about it… Chapter 9 would have been such a perfect spot to end it! There’s deliverance, there’s feasting, there’s celebration, everyone’s giving gifts to each other like it’s Christmas morning. But then Monday morning comes and it’s back to the ole grind stone.

So why is the author of Esther ending on Monday morning with the work week kicking off again? Is he just a bad writer and doesn’t know how to end a story at the pinnacle? Not at all… It’s because that’s how deliverance works this side of Christ’s kingdom.

Think about it. When it comes to deliverance and victories in our lives, does the celebration continue on un-interrupted Monday morning? No it doesn’t! There’s still work to be done and challenges to be faced. And the author of Esther is telling you that YOU HAD BETTER EXPECT THAT if you want to keep your hope and joy.

When you first come to Christ, the ole habits die hard. When you make progress in your marriage, the next day often feels like you’ve completely reverted. When your church is growing, and you see lives being changed, you can that text, phone call, or email that throws a wrench right into your celebratory gears! Now why is that? It’s because the whatever victories we experience now are only partial. And the same is true God’s people in Esther.

Yes, we celebrate it without becoming cynical. But we get up Monday morning knowing that the Xerxes’ of this world are still on the throne and tax season is coming. And church, we HAVE TO BE so very careful to remember this. Because if we don’t, we will lose our hope and joy and become MISERABLE and INEFFECTIVE.

One of the ways I’ve seen this show up is in the spring time. I’ve been pastoring almost a decade now, I’ve noticed something quite odd almost every spring. People tend to make rash and impulsive decisions. And I asked my dad about this once, and he noticed the same thing during his 33 years of ministry.

And there's actually a biological component to it. When the days get longer and the sun gets warmer, your body produces more serotonin and less melatonin. Your energy goes up before your judgment catches up. You feel ready to make big life-changing decisions, but you haven't thought them through.

See, what happens is people go through the most wonderful time of the year with the holiday season, But then they come out of the long winter that follows, and instead of realizing that every high comes with a low, they panic. Something must be wrong with: their marriage, their church, their job, or their life. And they look for a quick fix. But there isn't one. Because Xerxes is still on the throne.

The author of Esther realizes this, which is one of the reasons chapter 10 is here. It’s because all victories and successes this side of the kingdom are only partial. Yes, Monday morning’s problems still arrive. Yes, Xerxes is still on the throne. But there is a higher throne! That’s the truth we need that will enable our judgment to catch up.

Think about what we’ve seen in Esther so far. Xerxes threw a 180-day banquet to feed his ego. But God used it to remove a queen and make room for Esther. Xerxes banished Vashti in a drunken rage. But God used it to position a Jewish woman in the palace. Xerxes chose Esther out of a lineup of women. But God used it to place an advocate for His people inside the throne room. Xerxes handed his signet ring to Haman without a second thought. But God used it to set up the very reversal that would destroy him. Xerxes signed a decree of genocide without even asking who the people were. But God overruled it with a second decree that outran the first. Xerxes couldn't sleep one night. But God turned that single sleepless night into the hinge of the entire book.

And after all of that… Xerxes is still on his throne. But it’s a throne that sits under the shadow of God.

Do you see what that means? He’s still in control. He’s still accomplishing His purposes. And every partial victory that is followed up by setbacks ARE NO SET BACKS AT ALL! not ultimately… Because our GOD is STILL SOVEREIGN in the silence…

In the book of Esther, God’s name isn’t mentioned even once. He never speaks. There are no miracles. There’s no prayer even. And yet, he arranged the banquet. He worked through the “beauty contest.” He arranged the forgotten record and the sleepless night. And He orchestrated the EXACT timing of Haman entering the court room of the kijng. And He did all of that without saying one single word…

For He is sovereign in the silence. He is sovereign in the details. He is sovereign over even the dice roll. Which means He’s sovereign over it all. So when your world still looks like Xerxes is large and in charge. When the victories that brought you so high are followed by Monday morning’s lows REMEMBER that our God is at work in it all!

To trust the God who writes the final chapter, we must see:

2. The Rise of God's servant

In Verse 2, it begins by continuing to mention Xerxes’ mighty power, but it doesn’t end there. He quickly moves past the king to talk about the greatness of Mordecai.

² And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?

Esther 10:2 ESV

Now, verse 1 and 2 appear to be talking up King Xerxes. And a lot of commentators think that’s because they know Xerxes will read this book, and they are just apple polishing here to try and keep him on the Jew’s good side. But that’s not at all what’s going on here.

Instead, the author of Esther spent verse 1 telling you how massive King Xerxes’ empire is. Because in the very next breath, he tells you that Mordecai was second in rank to that king. that’s because the greatest of Xerxes magnifies the greatness of Mordecai. The greater the king, the greater the man at his right hand.

And in verse 2, there’s another phrase that magnifies Mordecai: "are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings,"

That phrase is using a formula from the Old Testament That is the exact same formula that the Old Testament uses to close out the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel. You find it in 1 Kings 14. You find it in 1 Kings 15. You find it in 2 Chronicles 25. Every time a king's story ends, the narrator says, "and the rest of his acts, are they not written in the chronicles?" And here, the author of Esther uses that same formula for Mordecai. But he's not a king. He’s just a Jewish man living in exile in a pagan empire, who is now getting an ending reserved for royalty.

Think about this. Remember where Mordecai started. He started at the king's gate, which was minor position in the Persian bureaucracy. Then, he overheard a plot to kill the king. He reported it. And then nothing happened. No reward. No promotion. No recognition. Just a line in a record book that nobody read.

For five years, Mordecai continued to sit at that gate. He watched Haman rise while he sat in the shadows.

And for five years he had to wonder if anyone noticed what he had done.

And then one night, a king couldn't sleep. And a servant pulled out a dusty record. And the name Mordecai was read aloud. And from that night forward, everything changed. The man who was forgotten was paraded through the streets in royal robes. The man who sat at the gate was given the king's signet ring. The man Haman built a seventy-five foot pole to kill was the man Haman had to honor with his own mouth. And now, at the end of the story, that same man is second in rank to the king himself.

And Mordecai is not the first man God has done this with. Joseph was elevated to the right hand of Pharaoh in Egypt. Daniel was elevated in Babylon. Nehemiah was elevated in this very same Persian empire. Our God has a pattern of raising up His people inside pagan courts for the welfare of His covenant nation. And Mordecai is the just next name on that list.

And yet, some of you are here likely wondering: “What about me?” Some of you are sitting at the gate right now. You've been faithful. You've done what's right. And nobody seems to notice or care and your situation hasn’t seem to improve at all. Maybe you're the mom who pours herself out for her family every single day and rarely hears a thank you. Maybe you're the man who goes to work every day, does his job with integrity, and wonders if it even matters. Maybe you serve in this church week after week, and you wonder if it makes any difference at all. Or if God even notices…

But MY FRIENDS HE DOES NOTICE! And just because your chapter hasn’t been written yet, doesn't mean it's not being written! And look… your Mordecai moment is coming one way or the other, And even it comes in this life, it will pale in comparison to the one that IS COMING in the life to come! But make no mistake about it, if you’re faithful as God has called you to be… You too can take hope that your name will be among the names who’s "acts, are they not written in the chronicles?"

²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

And in case you’re wondering that your labor might be forgotten, the author of Hebrews writes:

¹⁰ For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

Hebrews 6:10 ESV

And the proof is right here in verse 2. The man at the gate is now second in the empire. Not because he earned it. And definitely NOT because he was sinless. Mordecai isn’t Daniel. Mordecai is a compromised man who hid his cousin's identity, who navigated exile through cleverness and accommodation. And yet, he becomes a faithful man who God rewards anyway.

God doesn’t promote the perfect. He perfects the people who are called by His name. And in that glorious purpose, He has promised to reward all those who follow him by faith either in this life, or for sure in the greater life to come.

But wait a minute… Doesn’t the verse say the king advanced Mordecai? So why am I saying God promoted Mordecai when the text says Xerxes did? And to that I say after 10 chapters in this book… “come on… you know better.” You know who really advanced Mordecai. It was the God who is sovereign in the silence!

To trust the God who writes the final chapter, we must see:

3. The Peace of God's people

Verse 3 reads:

³ For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

Esther 10:3 ESV

Not only did God make Mordecai great, But this verse shows us that Mordecai’s greatness went well beyond his title. The verse doesn't say he was great because he was second in rank. It doesn't say he was great because the king promoted him. It says he was great, why? because he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all their offspring.

That's his legacy. Not his place in helping overcome the crisis. His legacy is what he did with his position every single Monday morning after the crisis was over. He sought good. He spoke peace. And he did it faithfully day in and day out.

In the Hebrew, those are present tense verbs that it uses to describe this. That means they are an ongoing action. This wasn't a one-time gesture. This was how he lived his life daily.

And think about the contrasts there the author of Esther is trying to get us to see. Because by the end of Esther, you've seen three men use power. Xerxes used his power for himself. Banquets, tributes, taxes. Everything flowing inward. The whole empire exists to serve his appetites - including the young girls.

Haman used his power against God's people. He took the king's ring and turned it into a weapon of genocide. Everything he touched was bent toward destruction.

But Mordecai used his power for the good of God's people. He took that same ring, and used it to seek their welfare and speak their peace. Everything flowing outward: not inward.

Three men. Three uses of power. And the text is daring you to ask: which one looks like your life?

Because most of us, if we're honest about it… Our lives often look a lot more like Xerxes than we are like Mordecai. We arrange our schedules around our own comfort. We make decisions based on what benefits us. We ask "what's in it for me?" before we ask "who can I serve?" Xerxes uses his power to take from people. Mordecai uses his position to give to people. So which direction does your influence flow? Inward or outward? Because the difference is the difference between true greatness.

²⁵ But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶ It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, ²⁸ even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:25-28 ESV

In Christian circles, if we had to rank everyone by true spiritual greatness, How do we usually do it? At the top we usually put missionaries and pastors… and then underneath we put deacons, worship leaders, Christian podcasters, or maybe even Sunday School teachers. And sometimes we quietly think: “Well I’m none of those… I’m just at the gate! So I must not be that great…” Really… Please show me in Jesus’s statement there we you find ANY of that… I’ll wait… Because you wont find it.

Jesus tells us EXACTLY what true greatness looks like, and it looks like working for the good and peace of others. THAT’S IT! And you DO NOT need a pulpit or a podcast to do that!

Look at Mordecai… His acts of true greatness started well before he achieved the great position! His faithfulness began while he was still at the gate! He wasn’t a prophet. He wasn’t a priest. He wasn’t a king! And yet God used him for GREAT THINGS!

And church, that matters for you. Because most of you will never stand behind a pulpit. Most of you will never go to seminary or become missionaries. But every single one of you has a unique position that been divinely appointed! A kitchen table. A cubicle. A classroom. A job site. And the question is not whether your position is great enough. The question is whether do great things with it the way Mordecai did.

This is why I’m slightly jealous of the mom’s in this room. Because the godly mothers we have, and praise God for them, are, I think, one of the MOST FITTING examples of TRUE GREATNESS in this entire room. Think about it. They sit day in and day out at the gate doing a job that the world barely notices… that the world thinks is unimportant… that doesn’t come with esteem or great honor… And ladies, make no mistake about it, IT IS A POSITION OF GREAT HONOR! For if done for the glory of Christ it perfectly matches what Jesus said TRUE GREATNESS looks like!

So keep wiping up that milk. Keep changing those stinky diapers. Keep loving your husband and honoring him as Christ has called you to. And be sure that your reward is GREAT!

Father’s… Keep loving your wives… working that job that might not be your dream career… Leading your family in family worship and pointing them to Christ while you serve the body of Christ… And you can be SURE your reward is GREAT!

Children… what about you? How can you be great in Jesus’s eyes? Obey your parents with a good attitude. Do as they say and serve your brothers and sisters by PUTTING THEM FIRST over yourself. Especially if you’re older than them. Don’t use your older and strong position to get your way! Use it to obey Christ’s way and serve them just as Christ served you.

Now, if all this is for you this morning is a pep talk… then you’re in for a terrible Monday morning. Because left to ourselves, the little King Xerxes in our heart will reek its ugly head every, single, time. Which means we don't just need a Mordecai model to follow. We need a Mediator who can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves!

And that is exactly where this text points. Because the book of Esther ends with real comfort. But it is not final comfort. Xerxes is still on the throne. The empire is still grinding away. The world is still broken.

Yes, God's servant has been raised to stand at the king's right hand. He has real authority and real influence. But he’s not the king and it’s only temporary. He will grow old. He will die. And any shalom that depends one finite man cannot last.

So yes, Esther ends on hope, BUT IT ENDS ON SO MUCH MORE THAT! IT ENDS ON LONGING. DO YOU FEEL IT? Do you feel the longing for a greater King than Xerxes? For a greater servant than Mordecai? For a peace that no Monday morning can ever take away?

If you do, then let me point you to Him. For our God who seemed hidden in this book did not stay hidden long. For in the fulness of time, HE SPOKE! Not through a prophet. Not through a priest. And not through a king! But through His Son - THE PERFECT PROPHET, PRIEST, and KING!

For Christ is the TRUE AND GREATER MORDECAI! Mordecai sought the welfare of his people. But Christ BECAME the welfare of His people! Mordecai spoke peace to all their offspring. Christ IS our peace to all of God’s offspring! Mordecai was raised to the right hand of a pagan king. Christ is seated at the right hand the ultimate king, Who is interceding for His people even now! But unlike Mordecai, Christ is not second to the throne He IS the true King of Kings and LORD OF LORDS!

But there’s one more major difference between Mordecai and Christ. And relates all the more today, being Palm Sunday. Verse 3 says that Mordecai was “popular with the multitude of his brethren…” But when Christ came to His own people, John 1:11 tells us that “His own people did not receive Him.” And so unlike Mordecai who was accepted and raised to power, Christ was rejected and raised to die on a tree.

And that word "tree" is intentional. Deuteronomy 21:23 says "cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree." That's the same curse that fell on Haman when his body was hung on the gallows. But at the cross, it wasn't the enemy of God's people hanging there. It was the Advocate of God's people. Bearing the curse they deserved.

Why? So that the holy war God declared in Exodus 17, that ran through Saul's failure, through Haman the Agagite in Esther would find its end not in more killing, but in the willing death of the King Himself. The rejected one, not the accepted one, who accomplished the final deliverance at the cross, Where He bore the curse! He took our shame! And He did so, seeking the welfare of His people in order to bring us true and everlasting peace!

Well church, that’s the book of Esther…

And as we’ve seen, our God is sovereign in the silence. He is sovereign in the details. He is sovereign over even the dice roll. And He is sovereign over you. So trust Him. When earthly power still stands, when your faithfulness feels buried, when peace feels partial, trust the God who writes the final chapter.

Remember this during holy week as we mourn the cross and celebrate the resurrection.

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.