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Esther Chapter 8
Esther Saves the Jews
- Esther 8:1 On that
day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews'
enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king;
for Esther had told what he was unto her.
- 2 And the king took
off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto
Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
- 3 And Esther spake
yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and
besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the
Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
The Amalekites were old enemies of the
Jewish people as we read about in Exodus chapter 17. Haman was one
of the descendents of Amalek who was a descendent of Esau. However
we see that Haman had a choice. He could have refused to inherit
this hate.
I wrote this in my comments on the
third chapter
of Esther: He was an Agagite which was from the nation of the
Amaleks. Also Mordecai was from the same tribe as the first King
Saul of Israel. Saul was the one that was supposed to wipe out the Amaleks and
because he didn't, one of their desendents was around to try to wipe
out the Jews starting with Mordecai. Amalek was the grandson of
Esau.
Sometimes we do not understand why God
orders the total destruction of a group of people but this is may be
why. He sees what is within the heart of all of us. This hate that
Haman had was inherited although, we are individuals who can make
our own minds up whether we want to follow the ways of evil or good.
Saul's failure to wipe them out caused trouble later on.
We live in the different time now. We
live in the time after Jesus Christ came to die for sin and give to
us another way out of sin. God through His Son Jesus gives us a
chance to be saved from eternal destruction. No matter what our
ancestors chose, we can choose to come to Jesus, believe and receive
the sacrifice He made on our behalf thereby being delivered from the
fate of all those that break the law of God and are guilty before
God. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit given to us when we
receive Jesus into our lives, can we overcome sin and be free. We
can be free from the sin and and inherit an eternity with God our
creator after the death of our old bodies. We will get a brand new
body that can never die.
Sin though has to stop eventually. We
will all stand before God and will go either to the place He
prepared for the devil and his followers or we will go to be with
God.
- Esther 8:4 Then the
king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose,
and stood before the king,
- 5 And said, If it
please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and
the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his
eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman
the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the
Jews which are in all the king's provinces:
- 6 For how can I
endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how
can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
- 7 Then the king
Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew,
Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they
have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the
Jews.
- 8 Write ye also for
the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with
the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's
name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.
- 9 Then were the
king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is,
the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it
was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the
Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the
provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty
and seven provinces, unto every province according to the
writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and
to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their
language.
10 And he wrote
in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring,
and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules,
camels, and young dromedaries:
11 Wherein the
king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather
themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to
slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and
province that would assault them, both little ones and women,
and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
12 Upon one day
in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the
thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
13 The copy of
the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was
published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready
against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Since the former law he wrote when
Haman convinced him to write it, could not be reversed, this wise
king just made a new law and allowed the Jewish people to go out and
fight against any that would come against them. So as a result when
the king sent out the word to all, he gave them a choice to save
themselves by fighting their enemies. This is where God gets the
glory and victory. If God is on the side of any group of people, no
matter how strong their enemies are, they cannot defeat an army of
God.
- Esther 8:14 So the
posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened
and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was
given at Shushan the palace.
- 15 And Mordecai went
out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and
white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of
fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was
glad.
- 16 The Jews had
light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
- 17 And in every
province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's
commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness,
a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land
became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.
This started the Jewish feast of Purim
that they still celebrate today.
As we can read in the next chapter of
Esther, we see that some of the Persians decided to obey the 1st
decree that could not be reversed. Those that stayed home and didn't
fight against the Jews would have been safe. We have a choice to do
good or evil. There was no reason to have a war and risk dying
because of someone's hate. The only reason we should ever go to war
is if the country we live in is invaded by those from other
countries. Another reason like in the days of World War 2, we saw
that a man called Hilter was out to steal kill and destroy many
nations. The United States had to enter that war to save other
countries that was being invaded by an evil dictaor. -DC
Esther Chapters 9-10
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