Weekly Devotion no 28
9 October 2020
Bible reading – Esther 9:1-19[1]
The king’s order had to be carried out on the 13th day of the 12th
month. That was the month of Adar. On that day the enemies of the Jews had
hoped to win the battle over them. But now everything had changed. The Jews had
gained the advantage over those who hated them. 2 The
Jews gathered together in their cities. They gathered in all the territories
King Xerxes ruled over. They came together to attack those who were trying to
destroy them. No one could stand up against them. The people from all the other
nations were afraid of them. 3 All the nobles in
the territories helped the Jews. So did the royal officials, the governors and
the king’s officers. That’s because they were so afraid of Mordecai. 4 He
was well known in the palace. His fame spread all through the territories. So
he became more and more important.
5 The Jews struck down with swords all their enemies. They killed them and destroyed them. They did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 The Jews killed 500 men. They destroyed them in the fort of Susa. 7 They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha. 10 They were the ten sons of Haman. He was the son of Hammedatha. Haman had been the enemy of the Jews. They didn’t take anything that belonged to their enemies.
11 A report was brought to the king that same day. He was told how many men had been killed in the fort of Susa. 12 He said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed 500 men. They destroyed them in the fort of Susa. They also killed the ten sons of Haman there. What have they done in the rest of my territories? Now what do you want? I’ll give it to you. What do you want me to do for you? I’ll do that too.”
13 “If it pleases you,” Esther answered, “let the Jews in Susa carry out today’s order tomorrow also. Stick poles through the dead bodies of Haman’s ten sons. Set them up where everyone can see them.”
14 So the king commanded that it be done. An order was sent out in Susa. And the king’s men did to the bodies of Haman’s sons everything they were told to do. 15 The Jews in Susa came together on the 14th day of the month of Adar. They put 300 men to death in Susa. But they didn’t take anything that belonged to those men.
16 During that time, the rest of the Jews also gathered together. They lived in the king’s territories. They came together to fight for their lives. They didn’t want their enemies to bother them anymore. They wanted to get some peace and rest. So they killed 75,000 of their enemies. But they didn’t take anything that belonged to them. 17 It happened on the 13th of Adar. On the 14th day they rested. They made it a day to celebrate with great joy. And they enjoyed good food.
18 But the Jews in Susa had gathered together on the 13th and 14th. Then on the 15th they rested. They made it a day to celebrate with great joy. And they enjoyed good food.
19 That’s why Jews who live out in the
villages celebrate on the 14th of Adar. They celebrate that day with great joy.
And they enjoy good food. They also give presents to each other on that day.
Reflection
Finally, the day that the story has been leading up to has arrived. It is important to note two things about the way the Jews acted: firstly, they did not act out of revenge or hatred; they did not annihilate the Persians unlike the original edict where the Jews were to be annihilated, they killed only those who sought to kill them; and secondly, even though they had permission to plunder, they ‘did not lay their hands on the plunder’.
Why are these things important? Well, the original edict had provided for an unco-ordinated slaughter by the Persian people. This was not a battle or war to be conducted by an army, it was a bloody and intimate slaughter of neighbours by neighbours. This was racism and ethnic cleansing at its worst. The subsequent edict enabling the Jews to protect their own lives was issued in the 3rd month, the month of Sivan, therefore 9 months prior to the scheduled event. The Persians had ample time to be warned that the Jews had been given royal permission to defend themselves on the day of attack. They had plenty of opportunity to decide not to attack their Jewish neighbours. And yet, 75,000 of them did seek to attack their Jewish neighbours and they paid the price for their hatred. Not only that, but clearly the leadership in Susa was rotten to the core, because even after that day of authorised defence, there were still people in the top echelons of the kingdom who sought to eliminate the Jews. In response, Esther asks for Haman’s sons, who had been killed (potentially seeking to either continue their father’s work or revenge his death), to be impaled as a deterrent and warning to others, to seek to stop the carnage.
In more recent times, we have seen the persecution of the Jews, particularly during the Holocaust. The Nazi regime specifically attacked Jews during the celebration of Purim, not understanding the irony of such an attack.
The Jews had
permission to plunder – to take the goods of those they killed. But they chose
not to, when they were permitted by law and it was the custom to plunder in
such circumstances. Why?
This was a holy war, undertaken in defence to honour the name of God. Like when the Israelites entered the promised land and were told by God not to plunder, it would not have been right to take the plunder under these circumstances.
Whilst the Jews killed those who attacked them, they didn’t remove their livelihoods from their families. As a result, the women and children could not just live for that moment, but also continue to live rather than die from lack of housing, food, or sources of income. They weren’t seeking to wipe out the people in Persia, just deal with their enemies.
But there’s another reason as to why they might not have taken the plunder afforded to them. The Jews were righting an ancient wrong that had been done by Mordecai’s ancestor to Haman’s ancestor.
When we face
opposition or are treated badly by others, do we go on the attack or do we
simply defend ourselves? We can trust that, if we are challenged because of our
faith, that God is with us and he will enable us to resist retaliation and
instead show his grace and mercy to those who attack us. God is indeed our
strength and refuge.
Hymn
Verse 1
God is our strength
and refuge
Our present help in
trouble
And we therefore will
not fear
Though the earth
should change
Though mountains
shake and tremble
Though swirling
floods are raging
God the Lord of hosts
is with us evermore
Verse 2
There is a flowing
river
Within God's holy
city
God is in the midst
of her
She shall not be
moved
God's help is swiftly
given
Thrones vanish at His
presence
God the Lord of hosts is
with us evermore
Verse 3
Come see the works of
our Maker
Learn of His deeds
all-powerful
Wars will cease
across the world
When He shatters the
spear
Be still and know
your Creator
Uplift Him in the
nations
God the Lord of hosts
is with us evermore
Prayer
Almighty God,
in your wisdom you
have so ordered our earthly life
that we must walk by
faith and not by sight:
give us such trust in
your fatherly care
that in the face of
all perplexities
we may give proof of
our faith by the courage of our lives;
through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
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