Take Two: Esther 9-10, Proverbs 6

In Chapter 9, we see the carrying out of the edicts of the king. The Jews all over the kingdom banded together to take preemptive action against those who were their enemies. (That is an interesting thought isn't it...preemptive self-defense measures?)

Let's consider though how this came about. Those who had intended to destroy the Jews according to the edict brought about by Haman had likely been torturing the Jews in their areas. The "redneck" in me can hear them saying, "5 more days and we are going to be living in your house." For weeks, the Jews lived in fear of what could come. They had no one to rely on but God...because even the government had turned in favor of their enemies...insuring that their enemies would be rewarded financially for destroying the Jews.

So, once the edict brought about by Esther and Mordecai came into being, the Jews were given a ray of hope. If the stood together (HEY... THAT IS A KEY POINT) then they were a formidable force that brought fear upon any of their enemies. Not only did the Jews stand together, but the government authorities stood with them (because Mordecai was their boss now).

In all, 75,000 enemies of the Jews were killed. Notice though another observation. The Jews took none of the plunder (v.10,15,16.) Additionally, Esther requested a one day extension to the edict for the purpose of carrying out justice against the rest of Haman's sons. On the 14th of Adar, Haman's 10 sons were hanged. [Now just in case you are thinking like a Westerner and consider this cruel...in the Eastern mindset of the day...the clan mentality was very active. The members of the clan would avenge one another until all were dead or until they succeeded.] These actions are consistent with God's instructions to utterly destroy the enemies...because to allow some to survive meant that they would become trouble later.

That serves as a good final application to this chapter.

When God calls us to purify ourselves (the yielding on our part to the conviction and purifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives), He wants us to utterly destroy those things that are not of God. Ridding ourselves of most of our sin is not sufficient. Think of your own experiences. For me, when I leave a little sin...it always comes back to haunt me. Whether it is a relationship sin, a lack of faith sin, or a refusal to repent...be sure that your sins will ultimately come back to get you.

God's holiness demands a swift, violent, and complete annihilation of sin. This is not at all what "tolerance" looks like in our culture today. God HATES sin and HATES what sin does to you and me. Sin defeats, demoralizes, and ultimately destroys. Sin is such an offense to God that its commission demands death for the violator. Yet, God's love and mercy desires that the violator have a relationship with Him. So, Christ came and stood in our place to receive our death sentence...so that both aspects of God's character would be addressed. God reacted swiftly, violently, and completely against our sin...in His own Son, so that by receiving what Christ did, we would be restored to God. What a story.

Now if God feels so strongly about sin...and has worked so completely to destroy it and its power over us...why would we not utterly destroy all of it in our lives? All reasons fall short.

The rest of the chapter (v.20 and following) detail the establishment of the Feast of Purim. A Feast was a commemorative time in the Jewish calendar to remember something that God had done. Purim was a celebrative feast of grace (sharing food and goods) towards others (v.22). This feast was established as a reminder of how God turned a tragedy into a victory and ultimately cared for His people...through a humble, orphaned Jewish girl who became queen, through a wise and committed Jewish man who became #2 in the land, and through a king who ultimately did the right thing and was instrumental in God's plan. Ch 10 records that King A. was accomplished in all he did.

A final note: I shared with you in the beginning that this book was unique in OT Scripture. Here is why. Never is God mentioned. We know that the work done was done by God. We know that the fasting and praying was done before God. Yet, never is the covenant of God mentioned. You can draw your own conclusions as to why...but the fact is...God preserved this book as Holy Scripture so that we could see and hear what He had done on behalf of His people...even when His Name was not mentioned. Grace? Yes.

Proverbs 6:23-24 is the takeaway today. "For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adultress." Knowing and understanding the Word of God is the key to recognizing the lies of sin and the temptation fo the enemy. The more we know and understand about our God, the more we recognize and reject the lies of the enemy...thus enjoying life abundant and glorifying God.

Grace,