The Great Reversal

“The Great Reversal”

Esther 9:1-10:3

Tonight we finish the great story of Esther. It a rich book and I wish I could have done it justice. Esther was the young orphan girl; we grew up to be chosen as queen of the Persian Empire. The book of Esther is built around a great reversal of for-tunes.

There is a word that is in common usage in our day it is the word “karma” – people use it indiscriminately to refer to people getting what they have coming to them. I don’t use the term “karma” because in reality it comes from Hinduism and Buddhism and refers to reincarnation. There is of course the Biblical principle of “you reap what you sow” (Gal. 6:7). Things have certainly had a turn-around for the Jewish people. Haman had deceived the King into issuing a decree calling for the destruction of all the Jews in the Persian Empire (3:8-14). Esther 9:1 is a perfect portrait of the reversal in the lives Jewish people in Persia under King Xerxes. “…on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occur-red, in that the Jews themselves overpower-ed those who hated them.” The biblical record says “the opposite occurred” or as the NIV translates it “the tables were turned.”

First, A Reversal Described. (9:1-10)

“Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. 2 The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. 3 And all the officials of the pro-vinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. 4 For Mordecai

was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mord-ecai became increasingly prominent.”

On the day that was set by the decree issued by Haman, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but the opposite occurred. The Jews did not go on the attack but rather they simply defended themselves.

Like in the 1973 (Yom Kippur War) in which Syria attacked Israel on the Holy Day of Yom Kippur thinking that it would catch the Jews at home relaxing and not ready. When in fact, this was the key to their defeat. Since the Jews were at home, one phone call to a soldier’s home and they were able to contact all family members on active and inactive duty. The result was that the Israelis were able to force Syria back almost to Damascus.

• Successful But Not Vengeful. (vv. 5-10)

“Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruct-tion, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.6 And in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. …10 the ten sons of Haman … the enemy of the Jews—they killed; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.”

It is my opinion that the sons of Haman who had been spared up until this point (the fact that they had not been automatically killed as was common practice - for the sons to be executed along with their father in anticipation of future problems

- was itself a sign of mercy). Their being killed now seems to indicate that perhaps they participated along with the 500 (v.6) in seeking to avenge their father’s death.

Much emphasis is given to the fact that the Jews “…did not lay a hand on the plunder.” This is such an important point that it is emphasized three times (vv. 10, 15, 16) even though the decree allow-ed it. The Jews, perhaps understood that there response was governed by God’s command to the Israelites carry out a Holy War against the Amal-akites.

Today we cringe at the mention of “Holy War” because it reverberates with “Jihadist” – Moslem terrorist attacks at anyone (people like you and I) that do not that is not a follower of Moham-med. Yet there is a concept of Holy War in the Old Testament in God’s command to remove all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan.

One of the rules of ancient holy war was that the plunder must not be taken. “There was to be not personal profit in holy war because the destroyers were acting not on their own behalf but as agents of God’s wrath.” [Karen H. Jobes. “Esther” The NIV Application Commentary. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999) p. 196]