2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Yesterday, the events of ES 7 culminated in the hanging of Haman on the very same gallows this evil enemy of the Jews had built upon which to hang Mordecai. But this story is not over yet. We know that from the course of our own lives it takes time for God’s full justice to be brought about. We impatient humans always want things to go faster and easier than they really do. God’s timing, while seemingly slower, is always best. ES 8: 1-2, “That same day King Ahasuerus gave Queeen Esther all the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Esther told the king that Mordecai was related to her, and from then on Mordecai was allowed to enter the king’s presence. The king took off his ring with his seal on it (which he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman’s property.”
The need for Esther to demonstrate her courage of faith was not over yet. Something had to be done about the king’s edict to kill the Jews that had already been issued. Once again, she threw herself at the king’s feet, begging him to stop the evil plot of Haman’s from being carried out. Once again, Esther’s courage was rewarded with him holding out his golden scepter to her. Her life would be spared.
ES 8: 5-6, “If it please Your Majesty, and if you care about me and if it seems right to you, please issue a proclamation to keep Haman’s order from being carried out-those orders that the son of Hammedatha the descendant of Agag gave for the destruction of all the Jews in the empire. How can I endure it if this disaster comes on my people?” The king reminded Esther of all that he had already done for her, but told her something quite unsettling in ES 8: 8, “But a proclamation issued in the king’s name and stamped with the royal seal cannot be revoked. You may, however, write to the Jews whatever you like; and you may write it in my name and stamp it with the royal seal.” I believe God’s hand intervened in this statement because of the remarkable way it is framed. Esther’s request had put the king in a difficult position. He needed to maintain his royal authority, something which he viewed would have been compromised if he issued and edict and then withdrew it. However, King Ahasuerus wanted to honor his wife’s request to save her people. I believe the Lord gave him the idea to allow her to write whatever she wanted to the Jews with his royal name and seal to lend it the proper authority. That way, God could guide her to say what was needed to deal effectively with the situation without Ahasuerus losing any of his kingly authority.
Esther recognized Mordecai’s God-given wisdom and sought out his help in preparing what would be said in this official letter to be quickly sent out to the entire realm, a territory that reached to 127 provinces from India to Sudan. Many languages were spoken in that large an area, so the letters had to be written in each language, including writing to the Jews in “their own language and system of writing (9).” These were quickly delivered. ES 8: 11-13, “These letters explained that the king would allow the Jews in every city to organize for self-defense. If they were attacked by armed men of any nationality in any province, they could fight back and destroy them along with their wives and children; they could slaughter them to the last man and take their possessions. This decree was to take effect throughout the Persian Empire on the day set for the slaughter of the Jews, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month. It was to be proclaimed as law and made known to everyone in every province, so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies when that day came.” A way had been found to countermand the king’s proclamation without him losing his kingly authority!
It is interesting to note that in ES 8: 15 we are told that Mordecai left the palace wearing royal robes of blue and white, a cloak of fine purple linen, and a magnificent gold crown. He was met with cheers and joyful shouts. Purple is the color signifying royalty. It was a dye that was expensive and hard to get. You may remember the story of Lydia, a seller of purple cloth in AC 16: 14 & 40. The Lord opened her mind to hear and believe what Paul was saying in Philippi. That meant that Lydia (and her family) would extract the dye from a rare shell that they found, one that was set aside only for royalty. The blue and white colors, found on modern Israel’s flag, also spoke volumes. God had lifted the veil of prejudice against the Jews, at least temporarily, which would explain Mordecai’s safety in appearing publicly donned in both the colors of royalty and the colors of Judaism at the same time.
ES 8 ends with ES 8: 17, “In every city and province, wherever the proclamation was read, the Jews held a joyful holiday with feasting and happiness. In fact, many other people became Jews because they were afraid of them now.” We can well imagine the relief, joy, happiness, and sense of victory the often-oppressed Jews had at this time. But, their actions in dealing with their enemies still had to be taken. As we go through the account of what happened next, notice the kind of discipline that undergirds it, discipline that had to have come from God.
On the thirteenth of Adar in the Jewish quarter of every city in the empire, fighting began. All the officials, even the king himself, were afraid of the Jews and were cooperating with them. ES 9: 1 tells us “ the Jews were triumphant. People everywhere were afraid of them and no one would stand against them.” All the officials knew that Mordecai’s power was growing; they helped the Jews because they were afraid of Mordecai. In spite of the fighting and slaughter of Jewish enemies that was going on, no looting ever took place. ES 9: 7-10, “Among [those killed in the capital city of Susa] were the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews: Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspath, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizantha. However, there was no looting.” Five hundred people had been killed in Susa. The king noted this and once again asked Esther what she wanted and told her she would have it.
ES 9: 13-14, “Esther answered, ‘If it please Your Majesty, let the Jews in Susa do again tomorrow what they were allowed to do today. And have the bodies of Haman’s ten sons hung from the gallows.’ The king ordered this to be done, land the proclamation was issued in Susa. The bodies of Haman’s ten son’s were publicly displayed.” There is no question that this seems blood-thirsty to those of us today. But, we must not only be reminded that this action was taken at another time by a different culture than ours, but we need take into account EX 20: 5, “Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate Me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation.” On the fourteenth day of Adar, the same vanquishing of Jewish enemies was done without any looting. Tomorrow, we will pick up with ES 9: 16 to carry on with the rest of the story.
PRAYER: O Lord, there are many times when it is hard to understand why You allow slaughter to happen. However, that is because our emotions and limited human perspective keep us from seeing Your view of things. Those of us with faith know that Your most profound agenda is to see us perfected to the extent that we can be glorified. Getting rid of sin in our lives is painful to us and demands that we confess ourselves to be sinners before You. Our faith tells us that we can be victorious over the fleshly self because You made that possible through the death of Your Son on the cross. We dedicate ourselves to getting rid of sin in our lives and confessing it before You. For being the loving Parent and offering us Your guidance, You deserve nothing less from us than our eternal gratitude, loyalty, faithfulness, obedience, worship, adoration, and praise. In Christ’s name, amen.
Our Lord loves you and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn