The passage we read today comes from the Old Testament, which is one of the two main parts of the Bible—the Old Testament and the New Testament. The book is called “Esther.”

Esther is the name of a person—a queen. A queen means the wife of a king, right? She was a real historical figure. And the event described in today’s passage took place over two thousand years ago. At that time, the nation was called Persia, which is modern-day Iran. Though Iran is now considered a terrorism-sponsoring country, back then it was a great empire—a powerful nation that ruled over many other nations. You’ve heard of the movie Arabian Nights, right? The setting for that story is Persia—modern-day Iran.

In the book of Esther, we won’t find the word “God” mentioned. Back in those days, people called God “the Lord,” but even that name doesn’t appear in the books. So at first glance, it’s hard to tell whether this book is even related to God at all.

And yet, behind the scenes, we can clearly see how God protects, guides, and blesses those who trust in Him. The book contains remarkable content.

There are several key figures in today’s passage. First, we see King Ahasuerus. Then we are introduced to Haman, who was the prime minister. Next, we meet the queen—the emperor’s wife—whose name is Esther. And finally, there is a man named Mordecai.

Now, King Ahasuerus is known by another name: Xerxes. That’s how he is commonly referred to in historical records. Have you heard of him before? Some of the younger ones among you might recognize the name. Have you seen the movie “300”? The Persian king who appears in that movie—that’s Xerxes. And that king is the same person as King Ahasuerus. His wife was Esther.

At that time, the Persian Empire ruled over a vast region that stretched across Europe, the Middle East, and even into India. It governed 127 provinces. It was a massive empire. So the man who ruled it was more than just a king—he was what we would call an emperor. Can you imagine how much power he held? And unlike today’s humanistic societies, this was a time when rules could easily dominate their own people or conquer other nations by force. He was a fearsome king.

Now, this king originally had a queen, but he deposed her and chose a new queen. At that time, a nationwide search was held to find the most beautiful women across the empire. The king personally interviewed them, evaluated each one, and from among them, he chose Esther.

At that time, there was a prime minister—the king’s most trusted official—named Haman. Haman was an Amalekite. The Amalekites had long been enemies of Israel, the people who worshiped God. In fact, they had been enemies for generations—and still are to this day. That’s why Israel and the surrounding Middle Eastern nations are still in constant conflict. The descendants of Amalek continue to harbor deep hatred toward Israel.

So the fact that Haman became prime minister meant that he now wielded the king’s power freely. For the Jewish people, this was a truly unfortunate and dangerous situation.

On top of that, Haman deeply despised a man named Mordecai. Everyone else would bow down to him as if he were the king himself, but Mordecai refused to bow. That deeply offended Haman. Later, when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew, it made him angry increasingly—because the Jews were already his people’s enemies. So when Mordecai showed him such disrespect, Haman decided, “I’m going to wipe out this entire people!” And he went to report his plan to the king.

So how did Haman present it to the king? He said, “Among all the people under your rule, there is a certain group who not only refuse to obey your commands, but also disrupt and disregard your authority. They cling to their own religious customs and live by their own rules, ignoring the king’s rule altogether. If they are left alone, it will bring great harm to the king. So please allow me to have them removed.” And the king allowed it.

Then Haman cast lots to decide the date, and the lot fell on the 13^th day of the 12^th month. Although there were still several months remaining, he set that day to carry out the plan and had a royal decree issued to kill the entire Israelite people. The content of the decree gave permission to all the other nations living around the Israelites—especially those who held long-standing resentment toward them—to rise up and attack the people of Israel. The order was to kill everyone: men, women, and children alike. This decree was sent out across the entire empire. And so, the Israelites were now placed under the sentence of death on that day.

But there was something Haman didn’t know. What was it? Queen Esther was actually from the people of Israel. But she had never told the king—not even once. In fact, she hadn’t told anyone. If Haman had known that the woman the king loved—his own queen—belonged to the people of Israel, he would never have dared to plan their destruction. But because he didn’t know, he went ahead with his scheme.

So when Queen Esther found out what had happened, she was overwhelmed with anxiety and distress. Even though she was the queen, her position wasn’t as secure as it might seem. The previous queen had been removed simply because the king was displeased with her. So Esther couldn’t just go to the king and say, “Please save my people.” She couldn’t even bring it up.

Why? Because there was a strict law at that time. Whether you were a queen, a concubine, or anyone else—it didn’t matter. If you appeared before the king without being summoned, you would be put to death. Showing up uninvited meant death.

There was only one way to survive. If the king happened to be in a very good mood, he might extend the scepter in his hand—the royal staff that symbolized his authority. If he held it out, and you touched the tip of it, you would be shown favor. That meant you were spared. And only then would he say, “Alright, what is it that you want? Speak.”

But there was no guarantee of that. If the king was in a bad mood and you suddenly appeared before him uninvited, you could be put to death just like that. It was a known fact: if anyone came into the king’s presence without being summoned, they would be executed. The only chance of survival was pure luck.

That’s why Esther couldn’t even bring herself to go before the emperor and ask for help. In the face of all this, she made up her mind and said, “If I perish, I perish,” and gathered her courage. But before anything else, she prayed to God. She said, “In a few days, I will go before the king and speak to him about these things,” and for that purpose, she called the people to pray. She herself also prayed. Then she went forward. “If I perish, I perish. But even if I die, I must try to save my people.” With that resolve, she chose to go.

And so she went. Thankfully, the king extended his scepter. “What do you wish, Queen Esther?” he asked. But Esther didn’t tell him right away. Instead, she said, “I will prepare a banquet. Please come—and bring just one person with you.” Who was it? The king’s most trusted official, Haman. She invited only the two of them. So the banquet was held. Again, the king asked, “What is your request?” But she still didn’t answer. She waited. Then she said, “Please come again tomorrow. I will prepare another banquet. That’s when I tell you—please.”

Haman went home that day feeling really great. After all, he had been invited to the banquet with just the king—no one else. “I really am the most important man in this whole kingdom!” he thought. You can imagine how arrogant he must have felt. But on the way, he saw that man again—the one who refused to bow to him. Mordecai. “That’s it. I’m going to deal with him once and for all today,” he thought. So when he got home, he talked it over with his family, and they decided to kill him. “Since I’m going to the banquet again tomorrow,” he said, “let’s get everything ready tonight, and tomorrow I’ll ask the king for permission to have him killed!” That was the plan. So they set up a huge wooden pole at his house, planning to have Mordecai executed on it. And then, the next day came.

He went to the king for official duties. And the king called for him and said, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Haman answered, thinking the king was talking about him, “Have him wear the king’s robe and ride the king’s horse, and have one of the king’s highest officials lead the horse through the whole city, proclaiming his honor.” “That’s a great idea,” the king said. “Now go and do exactly that for Mordecai.” And so, the very man Haman had planned to kill—he had to honor him instead and personally lead him through the streets.

Why did the king choose to honor Mordecai like that? It goes back to something that had happened earlier—Mordecai had once uncovered a plot to assassinate the king. He reported it and saved the king’s life. But the king had never actually seen him in person, and nothing had been done for him at the time. Then one night, the king couldn’t fall asleep. So he asked for the royal records to be read to him—those official chronicles of past events. And as he read, he came across the story of Mordecai’s loyalty. The king stopped and asked, “What reward did we give this man?” And the answer came back, “Nothing was done for him.” That’s why the king suddenly decided, on that very day, to honor Mordecai.

It seems like an amazing coincidence. But for those who live in God, even what looks like a coincidence turns out not to be a coincidence at all. In a moment where death seems certain, something that appears accidental—yet isn’t—becomes the very thing that saves a life. And as for Haman, he ends up falling right into his own trap.

After leading Mordecai around the city all day, Haman returned home exhausted. As he sat there thinking, “I’m in serious trouble,” the king’s servants came to escort him to the second banquet that evening. So he went—but this time, with a heavy heart and a worried look on his face. When he arrived, the king and the queen were already seated, waiting for him.

Then the queen began to speak to the king. She said, “Please, spare my life!” Trembling in fear, she pleaded not only for herself but for her people. “Please save me, and save my people!” The king was shocked. “What? Who’s trying to kill you?” he asked. And Esther answered, “There is someone who wants to wipe out both me and my people. But we’re part of your kingdom—your people, your possession. If we were only being sold into slavery, I wouldn’t even say a word. I wouldn’t trouble the king for that. But this is different. He’s trying to destroy all of us. And that would be a great loss to you, too, O king.” She spoke with great wisdom.

The king asked, “Who is this man? Who would dare to do such a thing?!” And in that decisive moment, Esther delivered the blow. “That man,” she said, “It’s Haman.”

The king was shocked. He had given Haman so much power—almost like a second king. Everything except the throne had been placed under his control. And now this man was trying to kill the queen and her people? Had he driven the queen to such fear? The king was furious. Overwhelmed with anger, he stormed out. He knew that if he stayed there any longer, something terrible might happen right away. So he walked out to calm himself, taking deep breaths. After some time, he came back in.

When the king came back in, what did he see? Haman had fallen on the couch where the queen was seated, his face buried in desperation. It was as if he were clinging to the hem of her garment, begging for his life. But the king exploded when he saw it. Maybe in a different moment it wouldn’t have looked so serious—but not now. Seeing Haman grasping at the queen in his presence, the king cried out, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?”

As soon as those words came out of the king’s mouth, something interesting happened. The people standing nearby immediately covered Haman’s face. They threw something over his head to cover his face. And then they led him away. As they were taking him out, one of the servants said, “Haman set up a pole at his house to hang Mordecai on it.” The king said, “Hang him on it.” And so the very pole Haman had prepared for Mordecai became the one he himself was hanged on.

Isn’t it such an irony? Haman fell into his own trap. Mordecai lived, and later on, the entire people of Israel were saved through that very turn of events.

Now, in this story, we won’t see God mentioned. But this is how God works. This happens in our lives more often than we realize. Every believer in Jesus has a testimony. Those who don’t believe might look at these things and say, “It’s just a coincidence.” But those who know God and rely on Him know very well that it’s not a coincidence. It doesn’t happen just once or twice, either. These things go far beyond anything we could plan or expect. They’re not the kind of strategy we could come up with. It’s when things suddenly turn around in a way no one could have imagined.

So when someone attacks me, I don’t try to solve the problem with my own cleverness. Instead, I rely on God. Even in situations where there seems to be no way out—where I think, “This is the end for me”—I put my trust in God. And over and over again, I’ve experienced Him resolve the situation in ways I could never have imagined. May you also come to meet this God. I bless you in the name of Jesus.

But earlier, I asked: why did they cover Haman’s face?

An emperor is different from a king. Under an emperor, there are multiple kings. Remember how I said earlier that the emperor of Persia ruled over 127 provinces? That means there were 127 kings under his authority. The emperor stands above all those kings. In China, the emperor was even called the “Son of Heaven”—meaning, he was the son of a god.

In the Joseon Dynasty, Korea originally did not have an emperor. But toward the end, King Gojong declared the nation an empire and proclaimed himself emperor. This was something unthinkable in the past. Previously, the kings of Joseon had served under the emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. The reason Gojong was able to declare himself emperor was because Korea’s relationship with China had grown distant, and he had the backing of Japan. However, this did not last long. Eventually, the “Korean Empire” came to an end.

There is a clear difference in status between an emperor and a king. The emperor is on a level—almost like a god. At least, that is how emperors saw themselves. So whenever the emperor dealt with someone, the person had to be of comparable dignity.

Now, what does it mean to “cover someone’s face”? It means the person is no longer worthy of being seen. When Haman was still in the emperor’s favor, they met face to face. But once he became a condemned man—once he was marked as someone detested by the emperor—he could no longer look upon the emperor’s face, nor could the emperor bear to look upon his. So they covered his face. From that point on, there was nothing more to be said—no more interaction to be had. He was treated like an object. That’s the difference in status between an emperor and a sinner.

But think about it. Right now, we’ve come to church. And we, who’ve been attending the church, call God “Father” and offer worship to Him. We meet with God. But who are we? We are, by nature, as lowly and frail as dust. When compared to God, the idea of meeting with Him is something utterly unimaginable.

On top of that, God is holy and righteous—yet within us is nothing but sin and evil. Our hearts are filled with all kinds of filth. And still, such unclean and wicked people meet with the Most High and Holy God. We talk with Him, fellowship with Him, and stand before Him. Does that make any sense?

By nature, it shouldn’t be possible. Originally, we should have our faces covered—just like Haman. We ought to be wrapped up so that God would not have to see our faces. And then, we should go out and perish under a curse. That is what we truly deserve.

But today, here we are—we move forward to God, call His name, and offer Him worship. And what does it mean to “worship”? It means “to behold the face of God.” To behold His face. How could someone like us ever see the face of God? And yet, that’s exactly what we’re doing.

When you come to church, what you ultimately desire is to behold the face of God. And in the Bible, God repeatedly speaks about this. He says, “If you listen carefully to My words, I will turn My face toward you, and you will receive grace. I will shine My face upon you and give you peace.” What this tells us is that we receive grace and peace when God shines His face upon us.

What is grace? It’s receiving something even though we didn’t work for it. Or receiving far more than what we deserve. Rather, we receive goodness when we’ve done wrong—instead of being rebuked. That is grace. When God turns His face toward someone, that person receives grace.

And what are we most afraid of? Things like death, disease, and failure. Why do we fear these things? Because they bring destruction. And the absence of these things is what we call “peace.” We long for peace. But when do we truly have peace? It’s when God turns His face toward us. That’s when we have peace.

That’s why, when we pastors bless believers, we say, “May grace and peace be upon you.” But how do grace and peace actually come to us? They come when God turns His face toward us and shines it upon us.

But God also said this: “If you do not listen to My words—if you reject them and treat Me with contempt—then I will hide My face from you. Even if you cry out to Me, even if you seek Me, I will hide My face from you.”

Let’s say you desperately need money. For example, you’re trying to borrow about 7,000 dollars. You reach out to a close friend you’ve always met face-to-face—but suddenly, they’re nowhere to be found. You search for them, but they’ve turned away. Maybe someone else will help? You go to them—and they also quickly do. “Maybe this person will help?” Again—another face turned away. And finally, “Will God help me?” But even God turns His face away. That’s what He said He would do.

Just as God turned His face away from Haman and refused to look upon him, there is someone else to whom God turned His face away—and that is Jesus, our Lord, the One we believe in as the Son of God. God turned His face away from Him. Jesus cried out, but God acted as if He didn’t hear. “Help Me!” He cried, yet God looked away. And Jesus was made to carry the cross. He was left to die by bleeding. This happened two thousand years ago. God allowed Him to be flogged.

Though Jesus was the Son of God, people rejected Him. And how did they treat His face—the very face of God? They struck it. They spat on it. And then they covered it with something. After covering His face, they beat Him. Do you know what they said next? After covering His face and striking Him, they mocked, “Guess who hit you.” “You say you’re God’s Son. Then you should know who struck you, right?” They hit Him again and again—kicking Him, laughing—and demanded He name who attacked Him. To be treated like that, it means God had turned His face away. God did not help Him.

But why did God do that? It was because He bore sin. You might ask, “He wasn’t a sinner—what sin did He bear?” It was our sin—yours and mine. He Himself had no sin. God loves Him so dearly. Yet when He took our sin upon Himself, even though He is God’s Son, the Father turned His face away. He could not bear to look at Him. He turned away His face from Jesus. Even people covered His face and struck Him.

But everything has its appointed time. After Jesus Christ died, God did not do anything the next day. It seemed like nothing was happening. But on the third day, in the morning, people went to His tomb—and He was no longer there. His burial cloths were still lying in place, but He disappeared.

This is the moment where everything splits—between those who believe and those who don’t. Those who ignore God and reject Jesus say, “His disciples must have stolen the body.” But we believe what Jesus said beforehand: that He would rise from the dead—and He did.

We don’t believe this simply because we want to. In fact, none of us wanted to believe at first. It didn’t come naturally to us. But now, not only do we believe—we have proof. That’s what faith is.

God allowed Him to die—not because He was a sinner, but for our sins. Jesus had no sin. That’s why God raised Him. And through His resurrection, we come to know the unseen God who raised Jesus from the dead. At the same time, we also come to know that the One whom God raised—Jesus—is the righteous One. And in doing so, He has removed all our sin.

So now, can we see God? Since our sins have been taken away, does that mean we can meet God? Can we look upon His face? The answer is—no, not exactly.

Just because your sin is gone, does that mean you can now stand before an emperor? Can any innocent person appear before an emperor anytime they wish? Of course not. What did we say earlier? Even Queen Esther, though she was his wife, could not go before the king whenever she wanted. She had to be called.

And yet here we are, drawing near to God without fear. Today, you came before God. Why did you come? Whether you realize it or not, it’s because God called you. You may not fully understand it, but God summoned you to come. He called you.

Imagine if the emperor himself had called for you. Or in today’s terms, imagine the president inviting key figures to a breakfast meeting—and you were one of the invited. What an incredible honor that would be. And if someone was missing from that meeting, and the president said, “Where is John? Has John not arrived? Go find him!”—wouldn’t that fill your heart with joy?

Now think about this: the One who is greater than any emperor—the Most High who rules heaven and earth, the Creator of all things, the One who reigns above every king—He has called for you. “Where is he? Where is she? Go and bring them.” And it is in response to His call that you are here today.

You cannot come before God unless He calls you. If you approach Him without being called, it leads to death. But here we are, standing before Him. Why? Because He has called us. In Christ Jesus, we have all been called.

That is why we were able to come before Him. And why did God call us? To rebuke us? No. He didn’t call us to scold or condemn us. We know how, at work or at home, when someone in authority calls us over, we get nervous. “Tell so-and-so to come here!”—and we worry we might be in trouble. But that’s not what God is doing. He called us to give us something—to give us all the good things that belong to life and godliness.

There’s a passage in the Bible that says this: “Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, we have been called by Him—by His glory and virtue. And through this, He has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” That’s why He called us—to give us what is good.

So when you think about the fact that you came before God today, it may just feel like something you decided to do. Maybe you had time. Maybe you were interested—so you came. But just like in the Book of Esther, where the name of “God” is never mentioned, behind everything that happens, the hand of God is at work. An unseen hand is moving.

The reason you came to church today, the reason you long to rely on God, is because He moved your heart. He opened the environment. And He called you. That’s why you’re here.

Acknowledge how great this truly is. Say, “God, thank You. The God who is higher than the heavens, the God who created heaven and earth, the God of glory—You called me! Please help me to see Your face. I want to see You, Lord. I want to meet You. Some people here seem to have truly met You. But as for me—I know I was called and that’s why I came, but I don’t feel like I’ve really seen Your face yet. God, please let me meet Your face. Help me to know You—not through someone else’s words, but because I have met You. And they said they have received life, peace, and all these good things. God, please let me experience them too.”

So open your heart fully—God will turn His face toward you.

Don’t turn your face away from Him when He is looking upon you. Don’t turn Him away in shame. When God turns His face toward you, respond with sincerity and receive His grace. Pray in your heart, “Lord, I want to meet You. Please help me.”

Let us take a moment to pray. You may pray out loud or silently in your heart. Say, “Lord, please help me to meet You.” Let us pray.

God the Father, for every soul who has come today in response to Your call, please help them to see Your face. Let them experience all the spiritual blessings and all that pertains to life which You desire to give. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.