Year 2, Week 26, Day 5 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 26, Day 5

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Esther 9-10.

Today’s reading completes the Book of Esther. The Book of Esther, which unfolds in a period of time after the events of Ezra 6 and before Ezra 7, covers a period of time from about 483 BC to 473 BC, and notes some key events in the life of Ahasuerus, the King of Persia. Ahasuerus, and his Jewish wife, Esther. Esther 9 records the resolution to Haman’s plot to annihilate the Jewish people: “on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples” (Esther 9:1b-2). On the day that the Jews were to be destroyed, they reversed that outcome and inflicted much destruction on their enemies. This reversal becomes the basis of an additional feast for Israel: “Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another” (Esther 9:19). Esther 10 is a final word particularly about Mordecai: “And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people” (Esther 10:2-3).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was to focus of the Feast of Purim: “the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:21-22). The Book of Esther tells the story behind the Feast of Purim: “Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation” (Esther 9:26-28a). What is interesting on this point is that the Israelites opened and closed each year by remembering how the LORD had delivered them from danger and affliction. In the first month of the year (Nisan), the Israelites celebrated the Passover and recounted God’s might and the wonders He had performed to bring them out of Egyptian slavery. In the last month of the year (Adar), the Israelites celebrated Purim and recounted how the LORD had spared them from the wicked plans of a man named Haman through the brave actions of a young woman, Esther, who became queen in Persia for such a crucial time. So, the Feast of Passover, which opened the Israelites’ year, and the Feast of Purim, which closed the Israelites’ year, join together to emphasize that the LORD saves and preserves His people.

Sometimes the LORD acts on behalf of His people with mighty displays, such as when He delivered His people from Egyptian captivity: “Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea” (Exodus 15:4-8). There are times when the LORD acts on behalf of His people and He says to be quiet and watch: “And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13-14).

At other times, like in the Book of Esther, the LORD acts on behalf of His people through subtle and modest acts, such as when Ahasuerus could not sleep: “On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king” (Esther 6:1). A sleepless night resulting in the reading of historical records was the turning point in the account. Such a sleepless night was invisibly ordered by the LORD, who worked in a situation without drawing any attention to His control of all circumstantial details such as insomnia There are times when the LORD acts on behalf of His people as He instructs His people to speak up: “And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.” So the king commanded this to be done” (Esther 9:13-14a). And at still other times, the LORD acts on behalf of His people as He instructs His people to fight: “The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them” (Esther 9:2-3).

But whether the LORD works in loud and dramatic or quiet indistinct ways, whether the LORD requires His people to be still and quiet or speak up and fight, the LORD saves and sustains His people: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). The powerful providences of God are always operating for the good of His people.

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe