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If I die, I will die [Á×À¸¸é Á×À¸¸®ÀÌ´Ù]
text- Esther 4:16
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"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
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Title
1
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If I die, I will die
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2
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"Go,
gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.
Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as
you do.
When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.
And if I perish,
I perish."
(Esther 4:16)
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3
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During the
time of King Ahasuerus, the 4th king of the Persian Empire, Haman, an
Amalekite, became the highest nobleman of the empire. In response, all the
palace officials knelt down and bowed in unison when Haman passed by.
But one of the Jews, a man named Mordecai, did not kneel or bow down to
Haman.
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4
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When Haman found out that Mordecai
would not bow down to him, he was very angry. Knowing that Mordecai, who
would not bow to him, was a Jew, he took this opportunity to find a way to
kill all the Jews at once. Those who joined Haman in killing the Jews cast
lots (the pur) to set a day to kill them.
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5
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Haman
set the day to kill the Jews and said to King Ahasuerus.
¡°There is a people scattered among the
other peoples in all the provinces of the kingdom over which the king reigns.
They live only among themselves.
They have customs unlike any other nation, and they do not obey the king's
laws.
Therefore, I don't think it's right to let them live in the kingdom of the
king.¡±
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6
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Haman
promises to give the king a very large sum of money to get the king's
permission.
¡°If the king likes it, give the
order to completely destroy the people.
Then I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the official in charge of
the king's finances and put them in the king's treasury.¡±
King Ahasuerus accepted Haman's request, removed his signet ring, and allowed
Haman to take care of all the authority.
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7
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Haman
recruited the king's scribes and wrote an edict in each local language and
stamped the king's signet ring. The contents of the decree are as follows.
[On the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, the twelfth
month, the Jews were to be killed, young and old, women and children, and all
their property was to be taken away.]
Eleven months later, on the 13th
of the month of Adar, it was a decree that Jews could be killed and all their
property taken away.
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8
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Haman planned and carried out an
evil plan to kill all the Jews because one Mordecai did not bow down to him.
Upon learning of this, Mordecai tore his clothes, put on coarse sackcloth,
and ashes, went into the city and wept loudly.
he other Jews who saw the king's decree were also very sad and fasted and
wept.
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9
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This news was also heard by King
Ahasuerus' queen, Esther. Queen Esther was also a Jew. However, neither the
king nor anyone in the palace knew that Esther was a Jew.
Her queen, Esther, was a cousin to Mordecai. Esther, who had no parents, was
raised by Mordecai as his own daughter.
Through her own eunuch, Esther learned all about Haman's evil plans by
receiving the decree from Mordecai and all that had happened.
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10
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According to the Persian law, if a
queen appears before the king without being invited, the queen cannot live
unless the king holds out a golden scepter.
Esther was also 30 days old when the king hadn't called her. If Esther did
not step forward now, all the Jews living in the land would have been killed
by Haman.
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11
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Esther
told the eunuch to go and tell Mordecai.
¡°Gather
all the Jews in the city of Shushan and fast for me. Let them not eat or
drink for three days and three nights. I and my maidservants will also fast.
After that, even if it is against the law, I will go to the king. Then, when
I die, I will die.¡±
Esther
decided to stop this at the risk of her own life in order to save her people.
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On the third day after fasting, Esther
broke the law and went out where the king could see her. When the king saw
her Esther, she looked so pretty.
So the king held out the golden scepter in his hand to Esther. Esther touched
the tip of the king's golden scepter. "Esther, what's going on? What do
you ask of me?
I'll give you even half of my country if you want.¡±
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13
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Esther
invited the king and Haman to her banquet. The king and Haman attended
Esther's banquet and had a good time. The king again told her Esther that he
would give her half of his kingdom if she wanted anything from him. Esther
asked the king to come to the banquet with Haman one more time the next day.
The king readily agreed.
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14
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That night, after being invited to
the queen's banquet, Haman was happy when he saw Mordecai. That night,
Haman's friends urge Haman to ask the king to hang Mordecai on a high pole to
kill him.
Haman said he would, and ordered his men to build a pole to hang Mordecai on.
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The king and Haman also attended the
banquet on the second day.
The king asked Esther what her wish was. Esther told the king to spare her
life. The queen reveals that she is a Jew and she informs the king that
someone is planning to kill all of her people. The king asked who the man
was.
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16
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Esther
revealed before the king that the man was Haman. The king was furious with
his head. Haman was led away with his face covered.
When the king heard that Haman had a 50-cubit pole prepared to kill Mordecai,
he ordered his men to hang Haman there. Haman died by hanging himself on a
pole he had made.
As Esther requested, the king made a new edict.
[If anyone tries to attack a Jew, he
can kill their wives and children and take away their property as well.]
The king made a stronger decree that no
one could touch the Jews.
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The
Jews celebrated the day they were saved as the Feast of Purim. Haman made an
evil plan to kill the Israelites who served God by escalating his personal
affairs.
God does not allow anything to harm God's people. In the end, he died hanging
from a pole he had made for his sin of trying to kill God's people.
God protects his people wherever they
are. If you ever face difficulties because of your belief in Jesus, let's
remember today's words. And let us become people of faith who believe that
God will protect us to the end and wait for God's salvation.
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(This
is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the
conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)
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