Esther: God's Perfect Work Through Imperfect PeopleÀpẹrẹ

God Fights For His People

Chapter 7 ended with Haman’s demise, but his edict was still in place. While Esther and Mordecai themselves would be safe, Esther’s concern was for her people. She now pleads before the king on behalf of her people.

The king responds favorably to Esther’s plea for help, and authorizes her and Mordecai to send out a competing decree against those who were planning to use Haman’s edict as an excuse to attack the Jews. Since edicts could not be reversed, a new edict must be issued to combat the previous one.

Some readers of Esther might be bothered by the Jews wiping out and plundering their enemies, seeing this as too harsh an action for godly people to take. But a careful reading of this passage clarifies for us that they weren’t given permission to attack others, but to only defend themselves from those who would assault them.

The carriers of this new decree brought with them a tangible hope for the Jews. Seeing Mordecai in such a position of honor would have brought further assurance to the people that this wasn’t all a dream - they really could be saved! Of course, we must wait and see what will happen, but for now we have hope.

One of the things we are confronted with in this passage is that how we treat the people of God matters. God cares for his people, and this theme is repeated throughout both the Old and New Testaments. In fact, there are many times that it might even seem easier to love, forgive, and care for those who do not know Jesus than it is to do the same things to fellow Christ followers. But that must not be.

Ultimately, followers of Jesus today are called to fight against sin and evil through love. Now that Christ has come, we follow his example in loving and caring for even our enemies.

Interestingly, at the end of chapter 8 it says there was much joy over the new edict that would protect the Jewish people on the day of attack, “and many ethnic groups of the land professed themselves to be Jews.” But the text doesn’t tell us all the motivations behind this. Was it because the Jews appeared to be gaining power? Was it because they saw how the God of the Israelites seemed to be protecting his people, and they wanted his protection as well? Was it a genuine conversion to Yahweh? Perhaps a mixture of some of the above?

Regardless, it is worth pointing out that regardless of the reasons we might have originally come to Christ, it is still a good thing to come to Christ. Put another way, there is no bad reason to come to Christ. Even if our initial motivations are somewhat self-serving (i.e. thinking he will fix all our problems), Jesus still welcomes us.

Today if you find yourself drawing near to God because you need him for something, join the club. We all need him, and he gives us his grace even when we don’t deserve it. As Romans 5:8 says, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

When we demonstrate this self-sacrificing love for others, we fight the way Jesus fought. Love is our greatest weapon. Love is how Jesus rescued us.

Today’s reflection

What is one small sacrifice I can make for someone else today in order to love them like Christ has loved me?