God Doesn't Play Dice With His People

GOD DOESN’T PLAY DICE WITH HIS PEOPLE

Text: Esther 3:7-4:17

I. GOD IS NOWHERE OR GOD IS NOWHERE

A. Where is God in Esther?

B. There are many coincidences/happenstances in Esther. The greatest is Haman’s casting lots (Pur), which were like dice, to determine the time when he would carry out the genocide of the Jews. (Esther 3:7; cf. Numbers 26:55; 33:54; 34:13; Joshua 7:16–18; 1 Samuel 10:20f.; Ezekiel 21:21f; Acts 1:26).

1. “God does not play dice” (Albert Einstein).

2. “All the evidence points to him [God] being an inveterate gambler, who throws the dice on every possible occasion” (Stephen Hawking).

C. When God seems to be most absent in the lives of His people are the times when He is often the closest.

D. The command to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews was sent out on the day before the Jewish ________________ (Exodus 12:18; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 28:16).

Chance is only our ignorance of real causes

-David Hume, paraphrased by R.C. Sproul in Not a chance: The myth of chance in modern science and cosmology

The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD. (Proverbs 16:33)

NOTE: Sophocles the 5^th century BC playwright who lived during the time of Esther wrote, “The dice of Zeus fall ever luckily” (Phædra Fragment 809) and elsewhere, “God’s dice always have a lucky roll” (Fragments 1, 763).

II. THE BOOK OF ESTHER AFFIRMS THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD WITHOUT EVER MENTIONING THE NAME OF GOD. IT ALSO AFFIRMS THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN DECISION AND RESPONSIBILITY.

A. There is no such thing as fatalism – the belief in a blind and impersonal force over which we have no power.

“God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, (Heb. 1:3) direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, (Dan. 4:34–35, Ps. 135:6, Acts 17:25–26,28) from the greatest even to the least, (Matt. 10:29–31) by His most wise and holy providence, (Prov. 15:3, Ps. 104:24, Ps. 145:17) according to His infallible foreknowledge, (Acts 15:18, Ps. 94:8–11) and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, (Eph. 1:11) to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. (Isa. 63:14, Eph. 3:10, Rom. 9:17, Gen. 45:7, Ps. 145:7)” (Westminster Confession of Faith, “Of Providence;” 5:1).

B. The closer you look at all the “chance” events of the book of Esther the more prominent God becomes from beginning to end. What seemed to be the most meaningless event in Jewish history, the casting of the Pur ended up becoming the Jewish feast of Purim/feast of dice (Esther 3:7; cf. 9:24-26).

C. God is in the foreground of every single detail of your life from the time, place and family you were born to the time and place of your death (see Romans 8:28-39).

1. There is no such thing as a meaningless event in our lives.

2. There is no such thing as a chance event.

3. There is meaning and purpose to every aspect of your life. The question you need to answer is whether or not you will call upon God and submit to His will.

“There is a crucial difference between the providence of God and fortune, fate, or luck. The key to this difference is found in the personal character of God. Fortune is blind while God is all-seeing. Fate is impersonal while God is a Father. Luck is dumb while God can speak. There are no blind, impersonal forces at work in human history. All is brought to pass by the invisible hand of Providence” (R.C. Sproul, Essential truths of the Christian faith).

‘Even now,‘ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.‘
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing— grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God. (Joel 2:12-14; NIV)

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Do you realize that you are a part of a gigantic plan that stretches from the creation to the consummation of the world? Do you know that the central Person in God’s plan is Jesus Christ? What is your relationship to Jesus Christ? Have you ever consciously confessed your sins to Him and committed Your life to Him?

What was the title of this morning’s sermon and why?

How does the book of Esther emphasize divine sovereignty? How does it emphasize human responsibility?

What does “pur” mean?

The command to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews was sent out on the day before the Jewish ________________.

How often do you hear others (or even yourself) say something “just happened” or was “by chance” or “by fate”? What is your view about “chance”…is there any such thing? Why or why not?

God brings all things to pass and He sustains all things. Think back over the past to consider how small events and encounters you may have thought were “chance” led to your salvation, sustenance, or protection.