Esther 8 10 A troubling conclusion 31 May

Esther 8 -10 A troubling conclusion 31 May 2015 Gerald Day

Esther 8 -10 Previously in Esther. . . • Esther, one of the Jewish exiles, becomes Queen • Mordecai uncovers a plot and saves the King • Haman plans to kill Mordecai and all the Jews • Esther acts bravely to stop Haman’s plan • King Xerxes honours Mordecai for saving him • Esther shows Xerxes that Haman is evil and Xerxes has him killed

Esther 8 v 1 -2

Esther 8 v 3 -10 But, Haman’s plan is still running. . . • Esther, pleads with Xerxes to save her people • Xerxes cannot repeal Haman’s edict issued in the name of the King • Urgent counter measures need to be taken – Xerxes puts Mordecai in charge of saving the Jews • All the kings horses are sent out

Esther 8 v 11 -17 • Royal authority given to the Jews to kill their enemies • Same date (13/12) but the threat of death reversed • Mordecai – from sackcloth to royal robes • The Jews – from condemned outcasts to the ‘in’ crowd

Esther 9 v 1 - 4 • The Jews prevail over their enemies • The authorities and people help the Jews • Mordecai becomes even more powerful • (v 5 -16) Haman’s sons are killed, the total number killed is recorded, a second day is needed for total victory in Susa • The Jews do not take any plunder (v 10, v 16)

Esther 9 v 20 – 10 v 3 • Mordecai documents everything that has happened • He writes to confirm the celebration arrangements • The Jews adopt the celebration for all time • Xerxes rules unopposed over the huge kingdom • Queen Esther and Mordecai have great authority • The Jews recognise how Mordecai acted for their good

What can we learn from Esther? • Act wisely (Esther) not foolishly (Xerxes) • Persecution has opposite effect to what was planned • Act for the good of others (Mordecai) 1 Cor 10: 24, 33 • God brings salvation to his people under judgment • We should give thanks to God for his goodness to us • God allows his people to face trials

“There it is; man is a free agent in what he does, responsible for his actions, and verily guilty when he does wrong, and he will be justly punished too, and if he be lost the blame will rest with himself alone: but yet there is One who ruleth over all, who, without complicity in their sin, makes even the actions of wicked men to subserve his holy and righteous purposes. Believe these two truths and you will see them in practical agreement in daily life, though you will not be able to devise a theory for harmonizing them on paper. ” (Spurgeon)