"THE KING'S COUNSELORS!"
Written and preached by David P. Nolte



ESTHER 1:1-22


The Bible is full of examples of good and bad, helpful and destructive, noble and ignoble attitudes. For the next few weeks, we will be looking at some of the characters in the book of Esther. Some of the people we will meet will be real low-life characters; some will be sort of average and some outstanding examples worthy of being followed. To get us on course for the sermon today, let me tell you about some codfish vendors in an eastern coastal village. Their businesses were not doing as well as they would have liked. They were selling a lot of fish, but at a low price; the profit was small. They thought that was a problem.  One of the vendors hit upon an idea which, he said, would make them all prosperous. It was not an idea based on integrity, but upon finances; not upon honor but upon expediency. The vendors went along with the plan  They were all so concerned about making a bigger profit that they forgot about the people they served. This was a case of allowing one's own personal problems to be the only focus. This was a matter of putting one's own needs and desires as the top priority to the neglect and disregard of anyone else's needs and desires. Looking back at the text we see that same attitude prevailing. As the vendors made a purely selfish decision, so did the king's counselors. Vashti, the queen, had performed a royal boo-boo; she had done a regal no-no and that created a problem for the king and his counselors. But what was the offensive attitude we see on their part?
  1. THEY THOUGHT ONLY OF THEIR OWN PROBLEMS: VV17, 18:
    1. What was their problem? Just listen to these bozos: "Why, when word gets out about what the queen has done, none of us will be high mucky muck in our own homes! There will be plenty of contempt and anger on the part of our wives. We'll never live it down!  We have a problem!"
    2. Of whose problems were they thinking? Whose trouble was paramount in their minds? I'll tell you who: that famous trio, the original three stooges, "Me, myself and I!" They weren't thinking of any problem Vashti might have had!
    3. When problems come, and they will come, our attitudes become evident. Many face problems saying,
      1. "You have your problems and I have mine but mine are the ones that matter to me!"
      2. "When it happens to you, it's a minor difficulty! When it happens to me, it's a major crisis!"
      3. "This isn't fair!  I deserve much better than this!"
    4. Contra that, we are told by Paul in Galatians 6:2-3 (NIV) "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." However,
      1. the attitude of the king and his counselors was "My problems matter more than Vashti's!  In fact, her's don't matter at all!"
      2. Their formula was "Me over you!"
      3. Their philosophy was "Big I, little you!"
So it was with the codfish vendors. Their problem was small profit; their concern was for only for self. "What will benefit us the most?" That's how the king's counselors reasoned, "The queen has created a problem for us; our authority in the home will be diminished. What will benefit us the most?" So they came up with a plan: "Let the king issue a royal decree that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes and let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she." And the codfish vendors came up with a plan, too. Their plan was to fix prices so they all charged the same price, an inflated price, for the fish. Since fish was a staple food item, the people would just have to pay the higher price and the vendors' profit would go up. This was a decision designed only for their profit. So what was the offensive attitude?
  1. THEY THOUGHT ONLY OF THEIR OWN GOOD: V19:
    1. The counselors and the codfish vendors thought they were just being pragmatic and practical. "Let's figure out what will work for us and do us the most good!"
    2. Many approach life with that attitude: "What's in it for me? What will bring about my own good? What's to my greatest advantage?"
      1. That attitude says, "I have to look out for Number One!"
      2. That attitude says, "If I am not for me, who will be?"
      3. That attitude led queen Jezebel of Israel to hire false witnesses against Naboth so he'd be stoned and Ahab could take over the vineyard Naboth refused to sell him. "What will work for my good?"
      4. That's what influenced Pilate to turn Jesus over to the hostile crowd for crucifixion. He dared not antagonize the Jews and lose his political position. "What's best for me?"
      5. That's why one brother said to his younger sibling as they sat tandem on a rocking horse, "You know, if one of us would just get off this rocking horse, there'd be more room for me!"
    3. How contrary and adverse to the plan, purpose and philosophy of Jesus Christ. How different from His heart and way. We learn from the Scriptures a different way:
      1. Philippians 2:3, 4 (NASB): "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
      2. James 3:13-16 (NASB): "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing."
      3. Galatians 6:9, 10 (NASB): "And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."
    4. The attitude of the king's counselors was, "Whatever works for me, whatever accomplishes what I want, whatever is for my good is okay!"
So reasoned the codfish vendors. They fixed inflated prices and sought more profit. As a result there were families too poor to purchase fish at all. Children and the aged suffered most from the dietary deficiency. The needs of the consumer had been neglected. The dollar signs in the eyes of the vendors blinded them to the economic distress their price fixing had caused. The customers were seen only as sources of income; they were walking money in the eyes of the vendors. They had diminished to the status of mere objects whose only value to the fishmongers was to purchase their commodities. In the text, the queen had become an object to be beckoned when desired and disposed of when she lost favor. So, note the rotten attitude:
  1. THEY THOUGHT OF VASHTI ONLY AS AN OBJECT TO MANIPULATE: VV10-12, 19:
    1. When the king wanted to display her as his prized possession, an object to show off, she was expected to show up pronto! When she represented a threat, and her independence jeopardized the male authority, she was an object to be discarded.
    2. But what makes anyone think anyone else is just an object for use? What kind of twisted thinking demeans another human being to the status of possession, or thing? Those who view people like that are:
      1. Like Cain who murdered Abel because he was jealous and saw his brother as an object to be destroyed.
      2. Like Herodias who used her daughter's sexual wiles to trick Herod into slaying John the Baptist. He was an object to be destroyed.
      3. Like the sports promoters who use athletes as objects to be bought and sold as commodities rather than people.
      4. Like the drug dealers who don't care how many lives they wreck if they make a profit. People are objects to use.
      5. Like the pornographers who pander their sewer smut and make both male and female bodies mere sex objects.
      6. Like spouse abusers and controllers who see their mates as objects to be treated like dirt.
      7. Like the smug kid on Oprah who was confronted by a rather plain young lady he had used for sexual pleasure. She discovered he didn't care about her and she was just a plaything to him. He shrugged her off saying, "Well, a guy has to have pleasure! I got mine and it's too bad if you got hurt!" She was an object to be used and tossed aside.
    3. God has a different idea! If we think someone is there for our own use, God says, "I don't think so!" People are not objects to manipulate for our own benefit and use. They are not to be defrauded, taken advantage of, abused, coerced or devalued as a person.
      1. Paul says, Romans 12:10 (NIV) "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."
      2. He says, Philippians 2:3, 4 (NIV) "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
      3. He says, Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord." Husbands are not objects for use.
      4. He says, Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Wives are not objects for use.
    4. The attitude of the counselors was, "Love power and use people!"  The attitude of the codfish vendors was "Love money and use people!"  God says, "Love people and use power wisely!"  He says, "Love people and use money generously and wisely!"
As a result of the codfish vendors greed, people could not afford to buy fish. Several of the vendors went completely broke; people's diet suffered. Nobody benefitted, and everybody suffered, nobody gained, everybody lost because of the attitude of the codfish vendors. So, what is your attitude toward others? Do you think others are here for your good and pleasure? Or do you see yourself as Jesus saw Himself: a servant of others? Will you live your life for personal gain and fulfillment or will you live your life for the good of God and man? Will you live like Jesus and treat others as Jesus did? Will you follow in His steps? Perhaps you need God to touch your attitudes and outlooks. Perhaps you need a changed heart today. He stands ready to create in you a new and clean heart with good and Christlike attitudes if you surrender to Jesus as Lord. You may do that today as we sing our invitation song, "Create in me a clean heart, O God!" Ask Him to renew a right spirit in you; ask Him to conform you to the likeness of Christ as we sing and as you respond in faith.
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