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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Have you ever heard the phrase “a strong defense is a good offense”? Perhaps no one in modern times has proven that to be true more than college football coach Nick Saban. I wonder if he learned it from the Bible. Did you know that phrase is the cornerstone of the Jewish annual festival of “Purim” and the story of Esther?
Come with me back to the city of Susa, the capital of the Persian kingdom, in March of 473bc. I left you yesterday watching specially trained horses carrying the king’s couriers rushing out of Susa 9 months earlier, in June of 474bc. Those couriers carried the king’s edict, which had been written by Mordecai, to the farthest corners of the empire. (Esther 8:14) The edict gave all Jews everywhere permission to prepare strong defenses to protect themselves, their families, and their property! (Esther 8:11) But why would one ethnic group of people throughout the Persian kingdom, Jews, need a king’s edict to defend themselves?
Because wicked Haman had, a few months before, convinced King Xerxes that the Jews were rebellious people and were subverting the king’s authority across the kingdom, and therefore should be annihilated, eliminated, exterminated!
That king’s edict had been written and sent out across the empire on April 17, 474bc. (Esther 3:12) The date selected for this great holocaust was to be March 7th, 473bc, almost one full year later.
This full year would give people throughout the kingdom ample time to identify the Jews in their community and develop their plan for the extermination of those Jews, and prepare for that day of widespread, lawful killing!
As we saw yesterday no king’s edict in the Persian kingdom could ever be revoked or repealed, thus in response to Esther’s appeal to spare her life and the lives of Jews across the kingdom, King Xerxes had only one option… issue a new edict granting Jews the right to defend themselves! But that would mean there would be two equal and opposite laws issued by the king!!
Both opposing edicts focused on one day, March 7, 473bc. It was the day the first edict permitted the killing of all Jews, and it was also the day all Jews were given permission to defend themselves! And so, the phrase “a strong defense is a good offense” was unleashed all across the Persian empire. Can you imagine the planning, the anxiety and worry, even fear which swept across Persia in the weeks leading up to that dreadful day of March 7?
Esther 9:1-19 is the record of what transpired that fateful day, and I urge you to read it or listen to the audio Bible version. I’ll just give you a glimpse here: “On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned, and the Jews had the advantage over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes’s kingdom, to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against the Jews…and all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators HELPED the Jews because their fear of Mordecai had seized them. Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces…” (Esther 9:1-5)
Now it’s not difficult to see the dramatic turn of events in Susa with Mordecai, Haman, Queen Esther and King Xerxes and the ripple effect all across the Persian kingdom, is it? One little phrase grabs my attention that seems to be very significant in this tremendous avalanche of change in Persia: “his reputation spread throughout the provinces.“ It is speaking of Mordecai. I wonder what his reputation had become that caused such a widespread response? Do you see the preceding phrase: “the king’s administrators HELPED the Jews because their fear of Mordecai had seized them.”?
Why would leaders across the empire be fearful of Mordecai? He was an honest, trustworthy, reliable, faithful, good man. He had spared the king’s life from assassination on one occasion. (Esther 6:1,2) Do you suppose people now saw in Mordecai a moral and spiritual strength to match his courage and integrity?
He was the single most influential man in the entire kingdom with both King Xerxes and Queen Esther. He was a man of God who highly revered God’s Word and the history of God working with His people the Jews. Mordecai was confident God had raised both he and Esther up for ‘such a time as this’. They were strategic instruments in the hand of God for the accomplishment of God’s purposes both in the Persian kingdom and our world at that time in history.
Now ponder that for a moment friends. Do you remember this powerful promise of God to king Asa: “The eyes of the LORD roam to and fro throughout the whole earth, looking to strengthen those whose hearts are fully devoted to HIM.” (2 Chron. 16:9) Or this promise God made to Pharoah, that seems to apply equally to Mordecai and Esther: “I have raised you up for this very purpose: that I might show you My power and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16) Or this promise made by God through Isaiah the prophet about His people: “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.” (Is. 61:3)
Now, I challenge you my friends to stand in front of a mirror and look yourself in the eyes. Are you, today, no matter where you live in the world, positioned by God to be strategic and empowered by His Holy Spirit as God seeks to accomplish His great purposes where you live? Is God involving you in His great purposes?
When you read through the remainder of Esther 9:1-19 you’ll find a remarkable, detailed description of how a ‘strong defense is a good offense’ as the Jews all across the Persian kingdom defended themselves and killed many of those who had been intent on and planning for the destruction of the Jews that historic day. You’ll also note this phrase: “…they did not lay their hands on the plunder…” (Esther 9:10,16) Their defense of themselves, their families, their homes and businesses were NOT wholesale slaughter and plundering of those who sought to kill them.
Now it should not be difficult for us to look at the modern situation in Israel and Gaza and see a very similar situation… the unprovoked, brutal attack and slaughter of innocent people on October 7th, 2023, by Hamas and the relentless rocket attacks upon innocent people from both Hamas and Hezbollah, followed by the careful response by Israel in defense of its people. Still today hostages are being held and killed by Hamas.
Let’s pause here my friends and prayerfully consider what God is showing you and me regarding antisemitism, the violent hatred of the Jewish people, and the rise of wicked people like Haman, Hitler and many others down through history. What will it require for there to be a quest for living God honoring lives, raising up God honoring families, even in the face of brutality? Is the Holy Spirit of God doing that work in your heart today my friends, wherever you live in the world?
Here’s another great worship song and I’ll meet you here again tomorrow…
Today’s Scripture: Psalm 139.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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