Alright, we're here in Esther chapter 7 and the name of the sermon is The Benefits of
Being a Godly Wife.
The Benefits of Being a Godly Wife, and it's kind of a random coincidence I suppose because
I wrote this sermon a while ago, I didn't even realize it was going to be the day before
the wedding tomorrow, so that's kind of interesting, but The Benefits of Being a Godly Wife is
the main theme I see here in Esther chapter 7, and I want you to notice here in verse
number 1, Esther chapter 7 verse 1, so the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther
the queen.
And the king said again unto Esther on the second day of the banquet of wine, what is
thy petition, queen Esther, and it shall be granted thee, and what is thy request, and
it shall be performed even to the half of the kingdom.
And if you remember there was an earlier banquet, and basically there's a banquet for Haman,
for Esther, and for the king, and basically she doesn't really tell the king what she
really wants, and the king kind of knows it, and then he says, well just come to this other
banquet.
So things have taken place where basically in Esther chapter 6, Haman wants to hang Mordecai,
and that's what his wife and his friends teach him and things like that, that's what he should
do.
And so we're here in Esther chapter 7, and here in Esther chapter 7 what we see is that
the king's asking her again, you know, what is thy request, what is thy petition?
And so the first thing I want you to understand is one benefit of being a godly wife is that
your husband is more likely to answer your request or what you want.
And so obviously we know that Esther was a godly wife, she's one of the godliest women
we see in the Bible, she's a great example, and here she's asking the king for something.
If you remember the king said, I'll give you even half of the kingdom, that's what he says
here in verse 2.
And so he says I'm willing to basically give you anything you want, you say how does that
happen?
Well it happens for wife if she's a good wife, and then the husband is more likely to want
to answer that request.
So you have to understand, and look, certain sermons are geared towards different people,
I could preach sermons about how husbands need to be good husbands, the theme here is
the benefits of being a godly wife, but you have to realize that look, if a wife is just
kind of rebellious, and she doesn't obey her husband at all, she's always starting arguments,
she has a bad attitude, why would the husband want to do anything nice for her?
Now look, it works both ways because, you know, if the husband's a bad husband why would
the wife even want to listen, but I'm just saying this, that you know, if she was just
a bad wife and rebellious, he's probably not going to say, hey, I'll give you half
the kingdom, I'll give you anything you want, but he doesn't even know what the request
is, and he says sure, you say why?
Because she was a godly wife, because he really liked his wife, Esther was a godly woman.
Let's turn to Nehemiah chapter 1, Nehemiah chapter 1, Nehemiah chapter 1, if you remember
basically Haman had the plan to kill Mordecai, and then all of a sudden he sees that things
are kind of going against him, they said well you shouldn't go against Mordecai of the Jews
because you're not going to win this battle, he's on the losing end here, it's kind of
the point of no return for Haman, and the reality is that people can reach a point in
life where there is no return, obviously we know that Haman is a reprobate, he has no
second chance, but let me just say this, even as believers, sometimes you can go down a
road where there is no return, you think of King Saul and his life, King Saul reached
a point where basically God was not going to let him still be the king, now he could
have still served God, it didn't necessarily mean he was going to be killed, he could have
besought God and gotten his knees and prayed and asked for forgiveness, but he was done
being a king, now here in Nehemiah chapter 1, notice what it says in verse 1, and it
came to pass in the month Nisan in the 20th year of Artaxerxes the king that wine was
performed and I took up the wine and gave it unto the king, now I had not been before
time sad in his presence, now I want to highlight that where it says I had not been before time
sad in his presence, now this is basically Nehemiah's job, what the Bible is saying is
he was always in a good mood when he was working, he was never sad, you say why is this significant,
well because in this story he's going to be pretty sad and in the result King Artaxerxes
is like basically why are you sad, something is different, so you have to understand that
honestly we should have a testimony at work that we're never sad in the presence, you
know you're always in a bad mood, you're like oh things aren't going well, how's it going
today, brother Ermin how's work going, oh well you know how it is, this is going wrong,
this and this, and then you have a frown on your face, look that's not really the sort
of testimony you should have at work, you should be like Nehemiah who's basically happy
with his life and he's never before time sad in his presence and this actually results
in the king granting his request, I want you to notice verse 2, wherefore the king said
unto me, why is that countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick, this is nothing else but
sorrow of heart, then I was very sore afraid, and so he says you know you don't seem sick,
I could understand you being sad if you had some sort of illness, if you were sick, but
basically why are you sad, it doesn't make sense, and said unto the king, let the king
live forever, why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my father's
sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire, so Nehemiah explains
that his people are being destroyed, God's people are being destroyed, verse 4, then
the king said unto me, for what dost thou make request, so I prayed to the God of heaven,
so it basically says you know what is your request, I'll grant it, why, well Nehemiah
was always in a good mood at work and the implication is he was a very good employee,
and look you want your boss to be nice to you, be a good employee, if you're not a good
employee, they're probably not going to grant you a request that you have, and so it goes
along the same thing with the book of Esther, where if she was a bad wife, if she was a
bad queen, then he wouldn't have wanted to answer her requests, but since she is a good
queen, and she has a request, he's willing to answer, now realize this though, if every
single day she was coming before the king and he had to hold out the golden scepter,
and she's like okay now I want this, now I want this, now I want this, now I want this,
it would have probably gotten on his nerves after a while, see she didn't normally come
in and ask for anything, and the reality is that whether we're men or women, we should
be thankful for what we have, we don't always have to have something, and then if a request
comes up from time to time, of course the husband or the wife is going to say, you know
sure, you know I want to make you happy, and so she's coming before him and that's not
a normal thing, verse 5 here in Nehemiah 1, verse 5, and I said unto the king, if it pleased
the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou would have sent me
unto Judah, unto the city of my father's sepulchres, that I may build it, and the king
said unto me, the queen also sitting by him, for how long shall thy journey be, and when
wilt thou return, so please the king to send me, and I set him a time, and so in this story
basically Nehemiah asks for a vacation, and you have to realize in these times it probably
wasn't all that normal to have vacations, and he says I basically want to leave and
see my people, and the king's like how long are you going to be gone, you know you're
a great employee, go as long as you need to, and then I'm going to be happy to have
you back, that's basically what he's saying, now turn to 1 Peter 3, 1 Peter 3, 1 Peter
chapter 3, now look I understand how it's like to work at an office, because I worked
at an office job in Maryland, and the reality is most people are complaining all day long,
you know about how bad their life is, most people aren't in a good mood, they're either
busy you know at work, or they're complaining, and I worked in, there's basically two departments
where I worked, there's defined benefit section, and defined contribution, and the defined
benefit section was just like you're doing math and Microsoft Excel all day, so you don't
have a lot of free time, the other section though you know you're answering calls a lot,
and then you have a lot of free time, you know that wasn't really my section, but the
people that had a free time like you would always just hear them complaining, and they
come by from desk to desk and just complain about how my husband did this, my son did
this, this happened, all they wanted to do was complain, look that shouldn't be a normal
thing for you, you have to be happy, especially as a Christian you should be in a good mood
even if your life's not perfect, you should be like Nehemiah, 1 Peter 3 verse 7, likewise
ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker
vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered,
the Bible speaks to husbands in 1 Peter 3, 7, and it talks about dwelling with your spouses,
your wives according to knowledge, okay, now I believe this has kind of a dual meaning
here because I do believe as a husband you ought to know what you need to do to be a
good husband, just the general rules in the Bible of laying down your life and things
such as that, but I also believe there's a meaning here of dwelling with your wife according
to knowledge that basically you actually get to know your wife, you know the things
that she wants, you know what she likes, and if you know these things and she's a godly
wife then the husband's probably going to want to grant that, but once again if the
wife is just not a very godly wife or not a very good wife or is that continual dropping
as the Bible says, or the sort of wife where you'd rather dwell in the corner of a house,
you know the Bible speaks about rather than being around her, then the husband's probably
not going to want to grant that request, and so the Bible speaks about this, turn to Esther
chapter 7, go back there, and so the first benefit is this that you know honestly there's
a big benefit to being a good wife because the things that you want, the requests you
have, what's going to take place is your husband is more likely to answer those requests, but
if you are not a godly wife, if you're not a good wife, your husband's probably not going
to want to answer them, you say brother Stuckey what if I have a bad husband, you know I'm
going to wait for him to be a good husband then I'll be a good wife, then you're going
to have a miserable marriage, look there's two parts to a marriage, the husband and the
wife, and it's a foolish attitude to say I'll be nice to my wife if she's nice to me, well
you're going to live a miserable life then, the Bible says do unto others as you would
have done unto you, and so basically be a good wife and the result is going to be your
husband's going to love you more, that's the way it works, the more the husband loves
the wife, the more the wife's going to love the husband and vice versa, and so you say
well you know what's the point of being a godly wife if my husband's a bad husband,
well one benefit of being a godly wife is your husband is more likely to answer the
requests that you have, okay, notice what it says in verse number two, and the king
said again unto Esther on the second day of the banquet of wine, what is thy petition
of queen Esther, and it shall be granted thee, and what is thy request, and it shall be performed
even to the half of the kingdom, see the second point we have is this, not only will husbands
be more likely to answer your requests, husbands will be more likely to spend money on you
if you're a godly wife, why it says even to the half of the kingdom, this is basically
a financial thing, I'll give this to you, you can own it, it can belong to you, but
here's the thing, if she was not a godly wife is he really going to say this, I'll give
you half the kingdom, look in America where divorce is very common, basically in a typical
divorce you basically split everything, and so the husband and wife break up and they
get half the kingdom, or half the house, but they're not divorced, and he says I'll just
give half to you anyway, see in America that's kind of like a curse, basically you get divorced
and then you have to give away like half of what you have, and it's like you're giving
away half your money, so you have these famous athletes in America they have 50 million dollars,
they get divorced from their wives, and they lose 25 million dollars, it's like a curse
to them, but he says I will willingly give you half the kingdom, and what I want you
to understand is your husbands are going to be more likely to spend money on you if you're
a good wife, because I don't think he would have made this statement to Vashti, I mean
do you? Would he have said I'll give you half the kingdom Vashti? Probably not, but
he's willing to say it on to Esther, turn to Genesis 29, Genesis 29. Now I don't want
you to misunderstand me because quite honestly a lot of men are kind of stingy or very careful
with money, they don't spend a lot of money, but here's where I want you to understand
that even if you're married to someone who doesn't spend a lot of money, what's going
to take place if you're a godly wife is more often instead of spending that money on things
that he wants, he's going to spend that money on you, so maybe he's not going to spend tons
of money on you because he doesn't spend much money in general, but instead of getting the
things that he wants, when he actually has money to spend, he's going to be much more
likely to spend it on you, why? Because he really cares about you, this is not a guarantee
though just because you're married, husbands and wives can be married and neither one wants
to spend any money on either one, but if you're a good wife, one benefit is your husband's
more likely to say, hey here's the half of the kingdom, hey we can go to Jollibee instead
of Shauking, your husband's more likely to say something like that. Genesis chapter 29
verse 14, Genesis 29 verse 14, and Laban said to him, surely thou art my bone, Genesis 29
verse 14, surely thou art my bone and my flesh, and he abode with him the space of a month,
and Laban said unto Jacob, because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve
me for naught? Tell me, what shall thy wages be? And so what it says in verse 14 and 15
is that Jacob is serving Laban for naught, because Laban says, should you serve me for
naught? What should I pay you? In verse 14 he abides with him, he's living with him for
one month, and the next verse Laban says, you're serving me for naught, what shall I
pay you basically? Basically he's working for free, okay? And so he's basically volunteering
and working really hard and so Laban actually hires him to work for him. And so what does
he want? Well he ends up wanting to marry his daughter Rachel, and it says in verse
18, and Jacob loved Rachel and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger
daughter. Now I want you to realize that Jacob is basically deciding that Rachel is
worth giving up a lot of money, because he basically says, I'll work, you know, for basically
nothing, I'll just get my necessary food, I just want to marry your daughter basically.
Why? Because he actually really cares about her. And so when your husband cares about
you more, he's going to be willing to say, you know what, money is not as important to
me as you are to me. But if you're not a good wife, if you're not a godly wife, if you're
a rebellious or obnoxious wife, he's probably not going to want to say that very often.
Turn to Song of Solomon chapter one. Song of Solomon chapter one. Song of Solomon chapter
one. So you get to the middle of your Bible, you get to the book of Psalms, Psalms and
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Solomon. The Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon chapter one. Song
of Solomon chapter one. And in the Song of Solomon chapter one, starting in verse nine
the Bible reads, I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses and pharaoh's
chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. Notice
what it says in verse 11. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver. Now
notice what he's saying. We're going to make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
Basically, we're going to be spending a lot of money on you. You say, why? He really loves
his wife. Now keep in mind, Solomon was very rich. So it's not necessarily that big of
a deal for him. So don't expect your husband to just get you all kinds of gold jewelry.
And obviously, you know, most men aren't as rich as Solomon. But notice how he is spending
his money on his wife. And the reality is a lot of very rich people won't spend money
on anything because all they want to do is just make more and more and more money. So
just because you have money doesn't mean you're going to be willing to spend it because some
people's goal in life is to become like the richest person in the world. I knew somebody
in college that, you know, he's the cousin of some of my close friends. And I got him
saved in college. You know, it was my birthday one time. And I only met him one time or a
couple times before that. And, you know, they were kind of hesitant to preach the gospel
to their cousin. This was kind of when we were kind of newer at soul winning. And so
I told their cousins like, hey, you know, let me talk to you in the room for 10 minutes.
And he's like, you know, why? I said, hey, it's my birthday. You know, just talk to me
for 10 minutes. And so, you know, I preached the gospel and he got saved and everything.
This guy never really lived for God. You know, as far as I know, he never really, he never
even got baptized. He never really lived for God or whatever. But when he was in college,
his goal in life, he said, was to be Donald Trump. And this was before Donald Trump was
a president because we're talking 10 years ago, basically saying my goal in life is to
have lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of money. That's a lot of people's goals in
life. And quite honestly, once they get that money, they don't get satisfied when they
have 20 million. They want 30 million. They want 40 million. And so Solomon is a very
rich man, but you realize he didn't really seek after money to obtain his wealth. God
kind of gave that to him. And he's willingly going to give it up for his wife, it says
in verse 11, it says, we'll make the borders of gold with studs of silver. Turn to Matthew
6. Matthew 6. Matthew chapter 6. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks about this
in Matthew 6 where he says in Matthew chapter 6 verse 19, Matthew chapter 6 verse 19, lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust are corrupt and where
thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither
moth nor rust are corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And see what the Bible speaks about
is that where you're willing to put your money is where your heart actually is. Now this
kind of works twofold because the more money you put into something, the more your heart
will follow. But the more your heart's already in that direction, the more money you're willing
to put in. It's basically kind of like a symbiotic relationship. And so basically,
if you really care about something, you know, you're willing to spend money on that person.
And you have to understand that if a wife is a godly wife and a husband has some money
to spend, he's much more likely to spend it on you if you're a godly wife than if you're
not a godly wife. That's what we saw in Esther chapter 7. Now turn in your Bible to back
to Esther chapter 7. Esther 7. And so the first point we saw here tonight was that husbands
are more likely to answer the requests of their wives if the wives are godly wives.
The second thing we saw is husbands are more likely to spend money on their wives if they're
godly wives. Now I want you to notice here in verse number 3, verse number 3, then Esther
the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please
the king, let my life be given me at my petition and my people at my request. So she's beseeching
the king for her life and her people. She's making a request to him. She says, For we
are sold, I and my people, verse 4, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And
she's saying, We're going to be killed, me and myself and my people. But if we had been
sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail
the king's damage. And when I read this at first, I was kind of confused. It says, Countervail
the king's damage. I was kind of confused what was being said. But here's what's taking
place. She says basically, We're going to be killed. We're going to be destroyed. And
then she gives kind of another scenario. Let's say we were not killed, but if we had been
sold for bondmen and bondwomen. She's saying, If we have been sold into like slavery or
servanthood, then she wouldn't be making this request. But she says, I had held my tongue.
I would not have besought you and said, Hey, please step in. And I think the reason why
she kind of looked at it as, if they're sold into slavery, I suppose that would be God's
will. You know, maybe something we did, or maybe he's allowing this to take place. Obviously
you think of Joseph and situations like that. I would have held my tongue if we were sold
into slavery. What she told him is, We're going to be killed. Then it says, Although
the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. What she's saying is, If we were sold
into slavery, I wouldn't have said anything to you about this, but there would be damage
upon you if we were sold into slavery. You say why? Because you reap what you sow. And
if they had sold them into slavery, if they, look, imagine if, if wicked leaders in this
country were to sell us into slavery, God's people, save people. What would God think
about that? God would say, well, they're going to reap what they sow, right? If we
were, if saved people were sold into slavery. So look, that's not going to countervail the
king's damages is what she's saying. You're still going to have damage upon you because
of what the enemy did. And so the result is you're going to reap what you sow, but I would
have held my tongue. I wouldn't have made a request because the Bible says, Be not deceived.
God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And look, if you
listened to bad wisdom and Ahasuerus had listened to Haman and had sold them into slavery,
for example, even though that wasn't his idea, by doing it, you're going to have damage upon
you as the king. Why? Because you took bad advice. That's just the way it works. If you
take bad advice, if I say something foolish in a sermon, if I give you terrible advice
that's just not according to the Bible and you just listen to it and you don't see what
the Bible says, you don't read it for yourself, yes, I'm at fault, but yes, you're at fault
as well. You have to understand that when people sit in churches that are lame churches
and they learn false things and they're not learning information, yeah, that pastor, especially
if he's a false prophet, he's going to reap what he sows. He's a wicked person, but at
the same time, you still, by taking bad advice, you're going to destroy your life as well.
That's just the way it works. Now, I want you to turn to Galatians chapter 3, Galatians
3, because I want you to understand that when she says that basically, you know, judgment
would have been upon you if you had sold us into slavery, but you had given us basically,
we had the death penalty, so you know, I stepped in and said something. I want you to realize
this, that the reason why that they would have been in trouble is not because of the
ethnicity of Mordecai and Esther. That is a very important point here, because the Jews
will go crazy with the book of Esther, and in fact, we're going to preach against Purim.
I can't remember if it's next week or the week after that. We're going to preach against
their foolish holiday that they celebrate now that's not according to what the Bible
says, but it's not because of their ethnicity. That is not why God wants to destroy Haman.
It's not because God just loves the Jewish people. You say, how do you know that? Look,
in Galatians chapter 3, let me turn there myself, because this first idea that the Jews are God's
chosen people, it really just comes down to a lack of understanding of what the Bible teaches.
Notice what it says in Galatians 3, verse 28. Galatians 3, verse 28. There's neither Jew nor
Greek. There's neither bond nor free. There's neither male nor female, for you're all one in
Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So if you notice in verse 29, Abraham's seed is if ye are Christ's, if you've believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ. How is some unbelieving Jew who does not believe on Jesus, how is he Abraham's
seed according to the New Testament? See, the Bible says, he that believeth not the Son shall
not see life. Last I checked, the Jews blaspheme the Son. They don't believe Jesus Christ is a
savior. So how in the world would they be God's chosen people? It says, if ye be Christ's, then
are ye Abraham's seed. The implication is that someone who has the bloodline straight descending
from Abraham is not his seed. Why? Because the reference in the Bible is a spiritual seed. That's
what it always was. Now turn to Galatians chapter four, Galatians four. Look toward the end of the
chapter, Galatians chapter four. And that's why in John chapter one, verses 12 and 13, where it talks
about as but as many as received him, to them giving power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe in his name, which were born not of blood. It doesn't matter who your father was.
It doesn't matter who your mother was, because you're not born of blood. And see, it doesn't
matter if your bloodline descends from Abraham, we're not born of blood. That's what the Bible
teaches. You're born into God's family, even to them that believe in his name. That's what it says
in John one, verses 12 and 13. Now here in Galatians chapter four, that's what it says in verse 22.
Galatians four, you say, what does this have to do with the sermon? Well, I mean, there's only 10
verses, so I got to hit a rabbit trail. It's a short sermon otherwise. It's a really short sermon.
There's 10 verses, so we're going to preach against Zionism. Galatians four, verse 22, for it is
written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, but the other by a free woman. But he
who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise. Which
things are an allegory? For these are the two covenants, the one from the Mount Sinai which
gender with the bondage, which is agar, agar or hagar, H-A-G-A-R, which is agar. For this agar is
Mount Sinai in Arabia in answer to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children.
But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written,
Rejoice thou barren that bearers not, break forth and cry thou that travailest not, for the desolate
hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we brethren, as Isaac was,
are the children of promise. And so Paul links himself with Isaac. Now we brethren,
as Isaac was, Old Testament are the children of promise. And so look, Paul the Apostle,
back when he was Saul, before he got converted, he was not the children of promise. What he's showing
is that Isaac believed in the same God that we do today. You say, why? Because the Old Testament
speaks about believing in the living God. The New Testament speaks about believing in the living
God. Well, when Jesus Christ rose again, it wasn't too hard to figure out who the living God was.
Jesus said, whosoever liveth in believeth in me, shall never die, believeth thou this. I am the
resurrection and the life. I am life. That's what he says over and over again. John 14, 6,
which says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The living God is Jesus Christ. There's
no doubt about that. And so when it talks about them believing in the living God in the Old
Testament, well, Jesus Christ many times said he's life. He's spiritual life. And when he rose again,
there was no doubt who the living God was. The Old Testament speaks about believing in the true
God. And in John 14, 6, he said, I am the way, the truth. Okay? It's not hard to figure out who
the true God is. It's Jesus Christ. Now, I don't understand how Christians can say that Jesus is
the true God, and he's God in the flesh, and in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
And then yet they can say something that basically that Isaac, he's God's people,
but we somehow are kind of lesser of God's people. It doesn't make any sense because it's the same
God that he believed in. It was always a spiritual thing. Look, when it comes to Mordecai, yes,
his ethnicity was Jewish, but here's the thing. It wasn't because of his ethnicity why Haman hated
him. Why did Haman hate Mordecai? Because he would not bow down. Everybody else bowed down
to Haman. Everybody else, Mordecai did not. Not because of his ethnicity, but because of the God
he believed in. Why? Because we're not supposed to bow down before man. That is why Catholics
will bow down because they have the wrong God. Catholics will bow down to the Pope. They'll bow
down to the priest. As God's people, we're not going to do that. And Peter even said to Cornelius,
stand up. I myself also am a man. I don't want you to bow down before me. And so I want you to
understand that we are just as much God's people as Isaac was or Abraham was because of our beliefs.
It doesn't matter what the ethnicity is. Even in the Old Testament, I mean, think of Rahab in the
Old Testament. She was able to believe on Jesus. The Gentiles were able to get saved in the Old
Testament. And just because you had the ethnicity of Judaism, that didn't mean you're going to
heaven. Think about in the wilderness with Moses. Did every single person there with Moses go to
heaven? No, I mean, a lot of them were reprobates and bad people, and a lot did not believe, which
the Bible speaks about in the book of Hebrews. It didn't matter what their ethnicity was. It
mattered what they believed. And it says in verse 28, now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children
of promise. But as then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the
Spirit, even so it is now. And so God's people have always been persecuted, right? Look throughout
history, and it's the truth. Now, it's not just by Jews, okay? We've been persecuted by Catholics
and all kinds of religions. There's so many religions that would persecute us today. In fact,
all false religions would, because he that's born after the flesh is going to persecute him that's
born after the Spirit. That's the way it works. And so what you see here, though, is that Mordecai
in the book of Esther is persecuted by those born after the flesh because it's a different God.
Now in today's world, the Jews can sit here and say everybody's persecuting us. No, they're not.
The only reason why they go to war with you is because you bomb them all the time.
That's the reality. They're not being persecuted. And see, the Bible says if you're persecuted for
righteousness sake, if you get persecuted for being a godly person, that's a lot different
than if you get persecuted because you start a war with something. Look, I mean, if you walk,
if you knock on somebody's door and then punch them in the face, and then they fight you back
and say, oh, I'm being persecuted for the cause of Christ. How is that being persecuted for the
cause of Christ? And the Jews, they bomb countries all the time. This is just a fact. This is why so
many countries have wanted to remove them throughout history. They weren't persecuted for
righteousness sake. Look, Joseph Smith, back in the 19th century in the US, you can read about it
how him and the Mormons, they were tar and feather. That's kind of an old custom where
basically they would put like kind of hot tar on you, and they'd put a lot of feathers on you,
because you can't really just get tar off very easily. And I read that, and I do the same thing
you guys are doing. It's very funny. You know, you laugh at it. But here's the thing about this.
He wasn't persecuted because he was a godly person. They were persecuted because they were
stealing money from people, and they were bad people. And it's the same thing with the Jews.
Yeah, you know what? If you're a jerk and an obnoxious person, yeah, people will persecute
you. They'll fight with you, but not because you're being a godly person. The people that
are being persecuted today are people like us. That's the reality. You go back hundreds of years
ago in this country, it was the Anabaptists throughout all the countries being persecuted
by the Catholics, our brethren in the faith. We'll see that on Sunday as we watch Being Baptist.
But our brethren in the faith, they were persecuted. Why? Because those born after the
flesh persecute those born after the spirits. The reason why the Catholic Church did that is
because they had the political power at the time. If the Hindus had the political power in this
country, they would basically persecute us. The Catholics really don't have the political power
in this country that much, like they did at one time in some countries. If they had full power,
they would persecute us. If the Hindus had full power, they'd persecute us. If the Buddhists had
full power, they'd persecute us. How do you know that? Because him that's born after the flesh
persecutes him that's born after the spirit. That's what the Bible teaches. Verse 30,
Nevertheless, what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then brethren, we are not children
of the bondwoman, but of the free. Turn back to Esther 7. Don't get the wrong idea from this story
of Esther how all this shows the Jews are God's chosen people, and if you touch Israel, then God's
going to touch you and harm you. Can't say anything bad about these people that reject God. Look,
Mordecai believed in the living God. The Jews today, they don't. They had their chance when
Jesus rose again, and those that chose to reject it, they're rejected by God. Now there were many
Jews at that time that believed. In today's world, it would be very rare to see Jewish people get
saved because they're taught at a young age to blaspheme Jesus Christ. They're the only religion
that I really know about that's open with saying that Jesus was an evil person, because every
religion is going to tell you that Jesus was a great guy. The Buddhists will say he was a great
prophet. The Hindus will say he's a manifestation of God. The Muslims will say he's one of their
five major prophets. The Jews say that he's the bastard child of his mom, Mary, basically cheating
with another man named Pantera. That's what they teach. They're the only religion that just will
blaspheme Jesus Christ. They're just open that they blaspheme Jesus Christ, and you can go on
YouTube and go with interviews in Israel. What do you think about Jesus Christ? And they just
blaspheme Jesus. I mean, you don't run into Jews too often here in the Philippines, but when Brother
Bo was with us in town, he was sowing in Rizal Park, and he said that, you know, his partner was
giving the gospel, and he said that there was this Filipino Jew who was basically like mocking
Jesus, dying on the cross, like killing him on the cross, and he was like, oh, I'm in so much pain.
He was mocking Jesus in Rizal Park. That's the only Filipino Jew I've even heard of here in the
Philippines so far, and he was mocking Jesus Christ. Why? They hate Jesus Christ. That's the reality.
See, I didn't know that. Well, that is reality. The news wants you to tell you that these Jews are just
so nice. No, he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. If someone doesn't believe on Jesus
Christ, they're not our friends. Now, we'll try to preach them the gospel and get them saved,
but how in the world would they be God's chosen people today? Like, these are God's people.
They reject Jesus Christ. How does God somehow care? And look, you know, Baptist churches go
crazy. They literally invite Jews into their church to preach for them. Oh, a Jew is here.
Let me bow down before him. It's like, what in the world? I mean, like, I wouldn't invite anyone
to preach behind this pulpit unless they had the right message of salvation, but let's just bring
in a Jew because he just somehow, I mean, does he get a free pass into heaven? Because I think the
Bible said for all of sin they come short of the glory of God. Look, they didn't get a free pass
into heaven in the Old Testament, but now they get a free pass into heaven today? I mean, it doesn't
make any sense. It's ridiculous, and that's not what the Bible teaches, and so in the book of
Esther, chapter 7 in the whole book of Esther, Mordecai and Esther, they're persecuted for
what they believe. That's what started this, not because of their ethnicity. Haman only hated
Mordecai because Mordecai wouldn't bow down to him, and Mordecai didn't bow down because the
Bible teaches you not to bow down before man. It would be wrong for us. If the pope were to walk
into this room and require us to bow down or he would kill us, we should say, well, just kill me
then because I'm not going to bow down and worship you because that is wrong. That's not what the
Bible teaches. It's wrong for us to do something like that, and so the first point we saw here
tonight was this, going back to the main sermon, the benefits of being a godly wife. The first
point is your husband's more likely to answer your request if you're a godly wife. Number two,
he's more likely to spend money on you if you're a godly wife, but point number three,
the husbands will defend their wives if they're a godly wife. Esther 7, verse 5,
then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen,
who is he and where is he that durst presume in his heart to do so? Notice how immediately Ahasuerus
says, I'm going to get the guy who's trying to kill you, and notice how he says that durst
presume in his heart to do so. What he's basically saying is this is ridiculous. Somebody thinks
they're actually going to be able to do this and to kill you and their people. Ahasuerus is
unaware, he's completely unaware of Haman and what his deception is. He doesn't realize,
and so notice what it says in verse 6, and Esther said the adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.
Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen and the king arising from the banquet of
wine in his wrath went into the palace garden and Haman stood up to make requests for his life
to Esther the queen, for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.
And so notice what we see in verse 5, Ahasuerus immediately says, I will defend you. Whoever's
doing this, I'm going to harm that person. Now notice though in verse number 7, how the king
just walks up from the banquet of wine and he goes to the palace garden. You say, what is he doing?
He's basically kind of catching his breath and thinking about the situation. He's showing great
patience and not just immediately losing his cool. He's actually doing a very good job.
Now it's kind of interesting because in Esther chapter 1, if you want to turn back there,
Esther chapter 1. In Esther chapter 1, that's not exactly what he does.
Esther chapter 1, let me turn there myself, Esther chapter 1.
Esther chapter 1. And in Esther chapter 1, notice what it says in verse 10, on the seventh day,
because remember in Esther chapter 7, basically when he finds out that Haman's trying to kill his
wife and trying to kill all the Jews, he's very upset. He's angry, but he goes to the palace
garden. He kind of just gets some time to think about it and to not lose his cool. And I want you
to see here though in Esther chapter 1, it's not the exact same thing. Verse 10, on the seventh day
when the heart of the king was married with wine, he commanded Mahuman, Bizthah, Harbonah, Bigthah,
and Abachthah, Zethar and Carcass, the seven chamberlains that serve in the presence of
Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashtai the queen before the king with the crown royal,
to show the people and the princes her beauty, for she was fair to look on. So in verse 10,
the king has drank some alcohol. And then verse 11, he wants his wife to kind of come before the
people and show off her beauty. Now what he does, I would say is wrong and foolish. Now it doesn't
say he's having her parade around naked, which some people would preach, which is not what the
Bible teaches, but at the same time, you know, why are you having your wife just kind of strut
before other guys or whatever and show off her beauty? And I think it's kind of a foolish request
he's making. Verse 12, but the queen Vashtai refused to come at the king's commandment by
his chamberlains, therefore was the king very wroth and his anger burned in him. And so the king
is very mad that the queen refuses his request. And so the queen should have just listened to
what he said, because that's what her husband asked, because he's not asking her to do anything
sinful, but it is kind of foolish. But then she basically refuses and he's very angry. But
immediately as he's angry in verse 13, it says, then the king said to the wise men, which knew the
times, for so was the king's manner to all that knew law and judgment. And the next onto him was
Karshena, Shethar, etc., etc. Go to verse number 15. Verse 15, what shall we do unto the queen
Vashtai according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king of Hasawars
by the chamberlains? And Mamu can't answer before the king and the princes. Vashtai the queen hath
not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes and to all the people that are in all
the provinces of the king of Hasawars. Verse 19, if it please the king, let there go a royal
commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be
not altered, that Vashtai come no more before king Hasawars, and let the king give her royal estate
unto another that is better than she. Verse 20, and when the king's decree which he shall make
shall be published throughout all his empire, for it is great, all their wives shall give to their
husband's honor both to great and small. Verse 21, and the saying please the king and the princes,
and the king did according to the word of Mamu can. So here in Esther chapter 1, the king gets mad
and he's like, what are we going to do? Somebody says, well basically, you know, get rid of hers,
the queen, find somebody else, and he says, that's what we're going to do. So in Esther chapter 1,
when he's mad, he immediately makes a decision. In Esther chapter 7, when he gets mad, he basically
kind of walks out, gets some time to think about it. You say, what's the difference between Esther
1 and Esther chapter 7? The difference is, in Esther 1 he's been drinking alcohol, and in Esther 7
he's a lot wiser. He gets mad and he says, I'm just going to think about it, walks outside. In
Esther chapter 1 though, he does something very foolish, and this kind of shows you the dangers
of drinking alcohol. Look, when you drink alcohol, you're not going to think very wisely. You're going
to make foolish decisions, you're going to make hasty decisions, you're going to make rash
decisions. And look, a good principle in life is that when you're making small decisions, you can
rush into them. When you're making big decisions, you want to think about that. And in Esther chapter
7, he's thinking about killing Haman. He's thinking about killing his basically right-hand man. And so
this is something that he's going to walk outside and think about. But honestly, if you're thinking
about divorcing your wife, getting rid of her and marrying another woman, that's probably something
you ought to walk outside and think about as well. But he doesn't do that. Why? Because he's been
drinking alcohol. Look, there's no doubt that Ahasuerus is a very smart man. There's no question,
but it doesn't matter how smart you are if you're drinking alcohol. You're still going to do foolish
things. Now turn to Proverbs 23. Proverbs chapter 23. And look, I know people that I went to school
with, people that were in my high school, people that lived in Bridgeport, West Virginia where I
grew up, people that died drunk and driving. I knew somebody who was on my baseball team when I
was in Little League, and I remember hearing about when I was a teenager. He was 18 years old, he was
three years older than me. I remember reading about how he died, and you can drive by the
highway where in the US, if somebody dies on the highway from an accident, oftentimes people will
buy flowers or something, and they basically will tie it on the side of the highway by the rails,
so it's permanently there as a mini memorial. And you can drive by there, and I don't know if it's
there today because it's been 20 years, but you can drive by and see these mini memorials to these
people that died along the highway. How did he die? Well, he was drunk when he died, drunk and
driving. And look, when people are driving drunk, it's pretty dangerous. I've been on the highway
before where it's a pretty packed highway. I was driving in California, and there was a car that
was just swerving all over the road, and you're driving 60 miles an hour. If you get in an
accident at 60 miles an hour, there's a good chance you're dead. And I remember just thinking,
because here's the thing, he would speed up, and then he would slow him on his brakes, and he was
changing lanes. So I was like, I don't know whether I should really speed really fast to try to get
ahead of this guy, or whether or not I should just go kind of a lot slower, but he was just going all
over the place. It was really hard. And I was thankful, as I was praying very hard for like five
minutes, that he just got off on the exit eventually. And I was like, man, thank God, because
who knows what could have happened? I mean, he could have crashed into me, or he could have crashed
into someone in front of me, and there could have been this big wreck. There's nothing you can
really do. Why? Because when you're driving drunk, you're like a lethal weapon. And when you're
drinking alcohol, you don't really have any control over yourself. Notice what it says in verse 29.
Proverbs chapter 23 verse 29. Proverbs chapter 23 verse 29. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who
hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
The Bible speaks about getting in fights or contentions. The Bible speaks about having
wounds without cause. And look, people get drunk. They wake up, and they've got a black eye,
and they don't know what happened. People get drunk, and they fight while they're drunk,
and they have no concept of what happened. They have no idea what happened. I knew somebody in
college, and I used to be friends with him. And I'm not, you know, this is someone I'm not really
friends with anymore. You know, this guy ended up, you know, he's somewhat of a soul winner,
got some people say, but I remember as a freshman, and, you know, he got drunk,
and he just woke up, and he was in the middle of the bathtub, and he wasn't wearing any clothes.
He doesn't know what happened. That was the last time he ever drank. As far as I know,
it's at least been years. As far as I know, that's the last time he ever drank alcohol.
And it's like, well, good, because when you do something foolish like that, it should tell you,
hey, you know what, maybe I shouldn't drink alcohol. Maybe if I end up waking up, and I've
got a big wound on my face, or I wake up and do something foolish, maybe I should just quit
drinking. I knew somebody in college, someone I'd been friends with in high school, and he got drunk
in college, and he woke up the next day, and there was a guy in bed with him. And it's just like,
you know, when you're drunk, you don't even know what you're doing. It's like, if that doesn't get
you to quit drinking alcohol, I really don't know what's going to get you to quit drinking alcohol.
Now turn back in your Bible. We'll turn to John 2. So let me elaborate on this a little bit. We
saw what Ahasuerus did, where basically Ahasuerus is very angry, and he's basically thinking about
killing Haman, and he basically kind of walks outside to just kind of think about it. Now,
Jesus Christ does the same thing in John chapter 2, something kind of similar. John chapter 2,
verse 13. In John 2, verse 13, the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money
sitting. And here in John chapter 2, we're seeing that people are basically selling things in the
house of God, okay? You say, how does God feel about people selling things in church? Well,
I think we're going to kind of see in verse number 15. Verse 15, and when he had made a scourge of
small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the
changers' money, and overthrew the tables. So Jesus basically comes in here. He throws over
the tables. He basically pours out their money. He drives them all out of there. It's like, how
does God feel about selling stuff in church? Well, this is how he feels. You say, Brother Stuckey,
why don't we sell stuff in church? Because, you know, in the Bible, Jesus got really mad about it.
He basically makes a whip, and basically is like beating them out of there, and this happens
multiple times. It's funny because this story is pretty point blank, and yet Baptist churches in
the Philippines today, they sell all kinds of stuff in church. It's like, where in the Bible
are you getting that? And it's funny because I remember before I ever heard preaching against
selling things in church, it just didn't feel right. It just didn't make sense. Like, why are
you selling things in church? I remember I was in college, and my pastor had preached a sermon I
really liked, and I knew he made copies of his sermons because they would be out there like on
the dresser. I didn't realize they sold them, and then I was like, yeah, I really like that sermon.
I'd love to get a copy, and he's like, yeah, that's only two dollars. I'm like, what? I was
like, I have to pay you for that copy? It's like, what in the world? But when you look at what the
Bible says, it's clearly wrong to sell things in church, and yet churches today, they sell things
in church. It's funny because the exact things, there's no new thing under the sun. There's no
new thing under the sun. What it shows you is the same things that were happening back then are the
same things that happened today. People really don't care what the Bible says, and it's one
thing for Catholics to do these stupid vain traditions because they don't even know the
Gospel, but when Baptist churches are doing the same thing, and they claim they believe the Bible,
they claim it's not this papal authority they believe in, and yet they sell things in church,
there's something wrong with that. Look, there's nothing wrong with selling things,
but there's something wrong with selling things in church, and we see a situation here where Jesus
gets very mad about it, but what I want you to notice here, not to go too far off trail,
is this. In verse 15, it says, and when he had made a scourge of small courts. So Jesus basically
makes this whip-like thing. It's not something that happens like this. He gets really angry. He
sees them selling in church and what he doesn't, or selling in the house of God. What he does not
do is just immediately lay down the hammer. He actually takes some time, and he makes a whip,
and then he goes through with it, and it kind of gives us a principle that oftentimes in life,
if we're really upset about something, it's smart to think about it first instead of just letting
your emotions drive you, and what we saw with the story of Ahasuerus, in Esther chapter one,
he drinks alcohol, and he divorces his wife basically like that because he's affected by
alcohol. He makes a quick decision. In Esther seven, though, when he's thinking about killing
Haman, he actually goes out, and he thinks about this. Now, this really isn't meant to
necessarily tie in with the point of the benefits of being a good wife or even being a good husband,
but it kind of goes along with this because, honestly, one of the big pieces of advice for
a husband and wife when they get married, the secret to not getting in a lot of fights is
basically you don't say anything. You say, how do you do that when you get in a fight?
This is what you do when you get in a fight. You basically just take some time to think about it
and get away for a little while, and here's what you don't do. You don't bring your cell phone with
you. You say, why? Because you're still very mad, and it's very easy to be like and just take 20
different messages. It kind of defeats the purpose of getting away to think about it. What you do
is you basically just leave your cell phone, don't say anything, just kind of go away for a
little while and just think about it, and you know what? Honestly, in 15 minutes, you're probably
going to feel a little bit differently. Talk about it once you've kind of cooled things down,
and that is advice that a has wearers should have thought about in Esther chapter one,
but that's advice for anybody because, honestly, no matter how long you've been married, you're
still going to get in fights from time to time, and, honestly, the secret in it not being really
bad is that you don't say anything. See, the thing is when you get married, it's a little bit
different because you're around your spouse all the time. It's different. If you get mad at
somebody at church, it's like all you have to do is get through that church service,
and you've got a whole week before you see them again. You have plenty of time to get over it
and think about it and everything like that. I mean, you go soul winning, you kind of forget
about it. It's like, man, we went soul winning, saw people save. Who cares? When you're married,
you see them like 24-7, and so, honestly, good advice would be basically just take some time
to think about it. Don't just say anything. Just kind of walk away, and then just cool off,
and don't bring your cell phone with you when you walk away because you need to be alone,
talk to God, and kind of get over it. Now, turn to Esther chapter 7.
Esther 7. So what we saw here with the Hasselwares in point number 3 is that a husband is willing to
defend. One of the benefits of being a godly wife is that your husband's willing to defend you,
and he's willing to defend her just immediately. He's very angry that someone would want to harm
her, and we also see this in verse 8 because it says in verse 8, then the king returned out of
the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine, and Haman was fallen upon the bed where
on Esther was. Then said the king, will he first the queen also before me in the house? As the
word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. And so, basically, Hasselwares takes
time to think about it, and Haman's basically pleading for his life. It would be interesting
to see kind of the picture of what's happening. He's kind of going before Esther like, please
don't kill me. And Hasselwares, he takes time to think about it, but he's still very angry when he
comes back in because he's already decided I'm going to kill Haman. And then all of a sudden
when he sees if there's any last hope for Haman, it's kind of gone because you see Haman's, he's
just like, are you going to force my wife before me? And so, basically, Haman is going to be killed,
and you reap what you sow. This is the end of Haman, the wicked person, and he got away with
it for a long time. And that shows that God is on the side of those that are godly people,
that are believers, but sometimes it takes a little bit of time for God to lay down the hammer
like he does here on Haman. But what I want you to see here is that the king is willing to defend
his wife. So the first point we had here tonight is this, that a husband is willing to answer the
requests of a godly wife. A husband is willing to spend money on a godly wife. A husband is willing
to defend a godly wife. Those are the benefits of being a godly wife. But point number four,
I want you to see, husbands will choose their wife over their job if they have a godly wife.
Notice what it says. Esther chapter seven, verse nine. Esther seven, verse nine.
And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, behold also the gallows fifty
cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the
house of Haman. Then the king said, hang him thereon. And so Harbonah makes mention of Haman,
and he says Haman made this for Mordecai, and Mordecai spoke good to the king. What is Harbonah
doing? He's kind of driving home the point that Haman deserves to be killed. You say, why is
Harbonah doing that? Because Harbonah doesn't like Haman. You say, why doesn't he like Haman?
Nobody likes Haman. Not a single person likes Haman. I can promise you that. Why? Haman's
obnoxious in the Bible. He's an arrogant fool. He's rich. And look, the only reason why he has
friends are because he's the second most powerful man in the world. Every rich person has friends.
The Bible says having money gives you friends. But look, when things are going against Haman,
Harbonah makes it a point to say, hey, you know what? Mordecai spoke good for you,
and he wants to kill the person who basically saved your life. Why? Because Harbonah hates
Haman. He hates his guts, as we would too. Everybody did. And look, you have to understand
that when it comes to people that are bad people and reprobates, it's like, you know,
if people actually know what they're like, everyone will dislike them. It's not just
fundamental Baptists. Everybody will dislike them. Everybody dislikes Haman. Why? Because he's
obnoxious. Verse number 10. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.
Then was the king's wrath pacified. Now, I want you to realize that the king is killing his number
one guy when it comes to his job or his work. Haman is his number one most trusted person. And
look, the reality is that honestly, a lot of people in this world, they would probably take
the side of someone at work over their wife in situations. But that's not what Ahasuerus does,
because he has a godly wife. But I want you to realize that there'd probably be a lot of wives
that would basically talk to their husbands about something like this, and the husband would side
with Haman. Why? Well, Haman's my number one guy at work. Maybe he messed up, but he's still my
number one guy at work. I'd still keep him. Look, there's a lot of benefits to being a godly wife.
Because if you want your husband to choose, because what he's doing, Ahasuerus, is he's
choosing his wife over work. Because from an outsider's perspective, destroying your number
one guy, killing him, that's not going to help you out as being a good king. Now, Haman, when
you're looking in the Bible, he actually never does any work. And see, if you actually study
psychopaths and reprobates, which we're going to start doing that on Sunday, they basically,
they talk a good game and people think they're really good employees. In reality, they do this
little of work. So losing Haman actually is going to help him at his job, because Haman didn't
produce anything, and you notice that in the Bible. But from an outsider's perspective,
you would think, this is my number one guy. What you're seeing, though, is Ahasuerus is choosing
his wife over work. And I want you to realize that, you know, for ladies in this room that
are married or are going to one day be married, if you want your husband to answer your requests,
it's going to help if you're a godly spouse. That's a benefit of being a godly spouse,
especially when your husband is a saved person, a Christian, a soul winner, things such as that.
You say, I'd love it if my husband would buy stuff for me from time to time. Well,
it's much more likely to happen if you're a godly spouse, a godly wife, like Esther was.
I'd want my husband to defend me. Now, in this story, Ahasuerus is literally defending his wife
from being killed, and then he thinks from being forced or raped. But I want you to realize from
another standpoint that if someone were to criticize your wife, or someone, if your husband,
let's say you're married in this room, and someone would criticize you to your husband,
if your godly wife, your husband's going to basically defend you and say, hey,
don't say that about my wife. But if you're not a godly spouse, he might not defend you in
situations like that. Or when it comes to marriage, you know, oftentimes families,
there could be friction and stuff like that, they can disagree. Or like the moms or the dads can
basically criticize the son-in-law or the daughter-in-law and stuff like that. And look,
if your wife's, if your godly wife, then your husband's actually going to defend you and say,
hey, don't talk about that mom. Don't talk about my wife like that. That's what's going to happen
if you're a godly spouse. And also, husbands will choose you over their work. And quite honestly,
you don't want your husband spending all of his time at work. Now, there is one other thing I
want to mention here in verse 10 before we end, because there's some symbolism here in verse 10,
which says, then was the king's wrath pacified. And I want you to realize that in a symbolic
sense here, the king, king has worse, kind of represents God. Now, obviously, I'm not
saying king has worse is God, but there's a lot of symbolism in the Bible. And I want you to realize
that he represents basically God in this story. And I want you to realize that God's wrath,
the king of kings, it will not be pacified. Because it says, then was the king's wrath pacified. God's
wrath will not be pacified until all these wicked people, judgment actually comes to them. It might
not happen as quickly as you think, but you have to realize that hell is a literal place of fire,
and people that are unsaved will spend forever in hell. And I'll tell you what, that's when the
king's wrath is going to be pacified. It will not take place until that day. So there is some
symbolic references there as well. So let's close in a word of prayer. Dear heavenly father,
thank you for allowing us to be here in your house and ask you to help us apply this sermon
to our lives. And even if we're not wives in this room, God, or even for men in this room,
God, there's still a lot of principles we can learn, things that we can do, because obviously
the same things would apply to us. The chapter focuses on the benefits of being a godly wife,
but obviously there's benefits of being a godly husband and being a good leader. And obviously,
you know, these things would apply to us as well. Our lives would be much better. Our wives would
care about us a lot more if we are good husbands. So help all of us, whether husbands or wives or
future husbands and future wives, help us all to just be the best we can be, God. We pray this in
Jesus' name. Amen.