Esther—reversal of destruction
Happy Memorial Day, Peaceful Readers. When Brandon and I went sailing Saturday night, we got to celebrate the holiday with a surprise fireworks display. Smiles galore.
Remember
Speaking of holidays, today you’ll read about the history behind Purim, a two-day Jewish feast. Esther and Mordecai started these holy days to commemorate—to help the descendants remember—what God did for his people. Remember….
As we wrap up the epic story of Esther, let’s recall what I wrote to introduce Esther at the end of the previous Bible story:
Have you ever felt unwanted, like an outcast, rejected? If so, this remarkable story of good vs. evil, power vs. weakness, impending doom vs. victory will speak to you about God and his love for his people. When things look impossible, sometimes God steps in and does what only he can do.
Amen to that.
Recap
Let’s do a quick recap from the last post about Esther, chapters 5 and 6. At her first banquet, Esther told King Xerxes that she’d tell him her request at her second banquet the following day. Then Haman had his feet kicked out from under him when the king told him to publicly honor Mordecai—Haman’s nemesis.
Banquet 2
Let’s zero-in on the second banquet.
So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. The king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition, queen Esther? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.”
Then Esther the queen answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold [as slaves], I would have held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king’s loss.”
Then [King Xerxes] said to Esther the queen, “Who is he, and where is he who dared presume in his heart to do so?”
Esther said, “An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman.”
Esther 7:1-6a, New Heart English Bible
King Xerxes was so furious that he got up and stepped into the garden. Haman knew he was toast, so he stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
Then the king returned out of the palace garden…; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in front of me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Esther 7:8, New Heart English Bible
The end of Haman
One of the king’s servants told the king about the gallows Haman built at his house for Mordecai.
The king said, “Hang him on it.”
Esther 7:9b, New Heart English Bible
And that, Peaceful Readers, was the end of Haman—hanging from a rope in his own yard. And not just for a couple neighbors to see. Haman’s gallows were 75 feet tall—almost seven stories high. People could see his dead body hanging from a very great distance. Think of it like An Old Testament Billboard that read “Orchestrator of genocide,” “Buh-bye, big-shot” or “The Everybody Loves Haman Show: Canceled.” For more on The Best Narcissist in The Empire, see part 9.
Evil hearts
In part 6, we dug into conspiracies—including the murder plot against King Xerxes. I introduced seven highly-recommended documentaries with these words: “What are the common threads that run throughout the topics explored in these documentaries? Power. Money. Murder….”
Is there a common thread in evil hearts?
Often, there is.
Power. Money. Murder.
The thirst
In his evil heart, Haman thirsted for power, money and murder. In part 7, the people were ordered to bow down to Haman. He lied extensively to achieve the planned genocide of all the Jewish people in the realm and the plunder of everything they owned. In part 9, Haman bragged about his power and money, and plotted Mordecai’s murder.
What about today’s families? Do you have an evil relative? We sure do—on both sides of the “family.” Let’s consider one of them.
The example
My younger sibling is a malignant narcissist like Haman was. Here on Choosing Peace, I call her Pam, The Almighty. If you’ve read much about her, you understand why.
Thirsty for power? Absolutely. Pam’s extensive lies about me enabled her to “collect” the relatives and friends into Pam’s Camp. Earlier that year, she most-creatively reworked our mom’s will—unbeknownst to me. And she volunteered to be the executor of our mom’s will. How thoughtful. That way, yours truly—Frankie Ann, The Outcast—gets to contact Pam, The Almighty to request money from Logan’s trust fund to pay for college each semester. What a thrill for the control freak extraordinaire.
Thirsty for money? You betcha. Pam charged our mom rent every month while simultaneously bestowing on her the honor of being Pam’s personal live-in servant. And having our mom’s will rewritten greatly enlarged Pam’s piece of the pie, don’t you know.
Thirsty for murder—for the ruin of other people? Most definitely. Her flavor of murder is called character assassination. In other words, “If you won’t worship and obey me, you will pay. Dearly. Other people will hate and reject you. I’ll make sure of that.” Read about Pam, The Punisher and much more in A Story of Grieving, part 3.
The indictment
This passage paints a perfect picture of Pam, The Almighty.
There are six things which the LORD hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19, New Heart English Bible
Yep. That’s Pam—to a T. Does that passage remind you of someone you know? If so, beware. You might want to read The Sneak Attack (6 parts) and other posts about narcissists and sociopaths.
The eyes and the end
Haman loved power and control. And attention. Being the narcissist that he was, attention was one of his favorite currencies. In the end, Haman got lots of attention—that’s for sure. All eyes were on him. Way up high. For the official record, the most catastrophic way for a narcissist to die is in public disgrace. So Haman’s end was very fitting. Very well-deserved.
Speaking of the end—Pam, The Almighty has terminal cancer.
Many people think the story of Esther ends here, but it doesn’t. There are three more chapters. Here are the highlights.
Chapter 8: The new orders
1. King Xerxes gave Haman’s estate to Queen Esther, who put Mordecai in charge of it.
(Esther told the king how she and Mordecai were related.)
2. King Xerxes reclaimed his signet ring from Haman and gave it to Mordecai.
3. Esther again pleaded for the king to save her people.
4. Because no edict written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring could be revoked, a new edict needed to be written.
5. Mordecai dictated the new orders on the king’s behalf, which were translated into all the languages of the 127 provinces—written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s ring—and sent on couriers riding the king’s fastest horses.
In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together, and to defend their life, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions, on [a specific day]. A copy of the letter… was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Esther 8:11-13, New Heart English Bible
Chapter 9: Reversal of destruction
People like to conveniently skip this particular chapter of the book of Esther. We will not skip it.
…on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to conquer them…, the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of [King Xerxes], to lay hands on those who wanted to harm them. No one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen on all the people. And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and those who did the king’s business helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai grew greater and greater. The Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they wanted to those who hated them.
Esther 9:1b-5, New Heart English Bible
From victory to celebration
Here are the other high points of chapter 9.
1. In the capital, the Jews killed 500 men and Haman’s 10 sons the first day and 300 men the second day.
2. In the rest of the province, 75,000 enemies were killed.
3. The Jews did not take any plunder from their enemies.
4. The day after their enemies were struck down, the Jews had a feast and celebrated.
5. The two-day feast of Purim was instituted by Mordecai and Queen Esther for the Jewish people and continues to this day.
The victory chapter and the victory song
How can people skip this chapter of this epic story? I don’t get that. Chapter 9 of the book of Esther is The Victory Chapter.
God planned this victory for his people. And God is good. Remember this important truth from the destruction of the Philistines and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: “A loving father protects his own.”
The victory song at the end of this post speaks to me about chapter 9 of Esther. “Rescue Story.” I think you’ll love it.
Reflections on chapter 9
The truth of evil
God doesn’t ignore evil and neither should we. How did the Jews know who hated them and sought to destroy them? It was quite obvious.
True colors
Has someone sought to do you harm in your life? If so, their true character was not hidden. Yes, they may have put on a dramatic, convincing show for their adoring fans, the general public, the casual observers and their devoted accomplices. But the ugly truth was there too. Lurking. Slipping out. The control. The lies. The drama. The chaos. The destruction.
People show their true colors—character-wise. “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b, NHEB). See part 8 about The Great Reset and how proudly that conspiracy has been advertised.
Seeing and hearing
This is the question we must ask ourselves. Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear the truth? Our conditioning and adapting—family propaganda—can make this very difficult. Our people-pleasing can make this very difficult. Media and government propaganda can make this very difficult. I can sympathize greatly with these difficulties. It took me many years to see the painful truth about my favorite sister—the evil one—Pam, The Almighty. Check out Pam’s Playground in this post—and the section called The Red Flags and The Reality.
If you need help in this area, pray and ask God to show you the truth—especially the truth that you have difficulty seeing and hearing. Pray for him to help you replace lies with truth. Read the first two series here on Choosing Peace: Sociopaths and Grieving—one post at a time.
A feel-good message from Satan
Dolly Parton is on a big billboard in our area that says: “Find the good in everybody.” That is not a message from God. That is a message from Satan. People who sought to find the good in Jeffrey Dahmer wound up with their body parts in his freezer. There are dangerous people in this world—evil people. Some are like Haman. Others are like Pam, The Almighty. Still others have their own specialties. There are various flavors; but at the core, they’re all the same: Evil. Do not tell me to find the good in a human trafficker. Don’t do it.
Trying to find the good in evil people makes us vulnerable to attack, injury and death. The Jews of Esther’s day knew this truth. We must know it too. Ask God for discernment. That is the good way.
Displaying our colors
We have an American flag and a Texas flag on our house and a sign in our flower bed that begins “We believe….” People are proud to display their colors—whether they have a cross on their house or a swastika. Dolly Parton has displayed her colors too. Watch her at the end of the credits of Died Suddenly. Her billboard shows her true colors too, but most people don’t see those colors for what they really are—propaganda that eliminates discernment, wisdom and boundaries—propaganda that results in victimization and death.
Replace the lies with truth.
Seek God. Seek discernment. Seek courage.
A prayer for discernment
God, show me the truth. What is good here? What is evil here? And give me the courage to do the right thing right now. Amen.
Chapter 10: Honoring Mordecai
This very short chapter can be summarized with the final verse of the book of Esther. It makes me smile.
For Mordecai the Jew was next to [King Xerxes], and great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his brothers, seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all his descendants.
Esther 10:3, New Heart English Bible
Mordecai adopted and raised his relative, Esther. He loved her and gave her wise counsel. He saved the king’s life. He would not bow down to the evil Haman. When genocide came knocking, Mordecai didn’t hide; he grieved publicly. He asked Esther to help save their people. He gathered all the Jews in the capital to fast for Queen Esther. Mordecai wrote the Reversal of Destruction decree that saved the Jewish people, protected them from their enemies, and enacted God’s righteous justice. He was honored and elevated to second-in-command by King Xerxes.
I love how Mordecai is described in the last sentence of this book. “…seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all his descendants” (Esther 10:3b, NHEB). Mordecai was a truth-seeker and a truth-speaker. As for me, I aspire to be like him—honorable and courageous.
Wrap-up
Here’s the final summary of The Beauty of the Bible.
Part 1: My 12 favorite scriptures
Part 2: Samson—the early years
Part 3: Samson fulfills his purpose
Part 4: The resurrection of Jesus
Part 5: The prelude to Esther (chapter 1)
Part 6: Esther becomes queen (chapter 2)
Part 7: Haman plots genocide (chapter 3)
Part 8: Esther agrees to help her people (chapter 4)
Part 9: Esther’s banquet (chapter 5 and 6)
Part 10: Reversal of destruction (chapter 7 thru 10)
The remarkable story of Esther has taken me on a journey into current events.
Part 5: Marriage—God’s design; the attack on marriage
Part 6: Conspiracies—Seven documentaries; the Georgia Guidestones
Part 7: Genocide—Abortion; creating a traumatized society
Part 8: The Great Reset—MSM*: Preparing, polarizing, punishing
*MSM = mainstream media
Beautiful?
Why were my favorite scriptures, Samson, the resurrection and Esther grouped together and called The Beauty of the Bible? It wasn’t planned by me, that’s for sure. Hmmm. Let’s think about it though, now that these 10 posts are done.
Very beautiful
In part 1, we drank in key truths about God, Jesus and us—including God’s power and protection, our purpose, the heart of Jesus, who we are in Christ, and how God’s word accomplishes his purposes. Truly beautiful.
In part 2 and 3, we watched Samson fulfill God’s purpose for his life. That’s a beautiful thing. Was it easy? No. Was it smooth? Definitely not. But God was there and the Holy Spirit rushed on Samson—giving him supernatural power to defeat the enemies of God’s people.
Next, in part 4, we dug into the resurrection of Jesus and why he died for us. We also explored how he transformed Mary Magdalene—from nightmare to strength. As children of God, Jesus transforms us too. That is super-beautiful. (I, personally, needed a lot of transforming.)
Summary of Esther
The story of beautiful Esther has surprised me big-time—in a very good way. In part 5 thru 10, we learned how and why Esther became the queen of Persia. In chapter 2 of the book of Esther, she became queen, and in chapter 3, Haman plotted genocide against the Jews. Mercy. Esther agreed to try to save her people—preparing for it and seeing it through. The Lord gave Esther his favor and protection. And God’s power was displayed as the Jewish people vanquished their enemies throughout the vast empire. The evil Haman was executed, and Mordecai—a courageous, godly man—took his place, bringing blessing to his people. What a beautiful story!
In the story of Esther and in our study of current events, we’ve been reminded that we can’t ignore evil. God takes it seriously and so should we. Be encouraged by the case brought by Loy Brunson before the Supreme Court. Godly people are doing brave things. Watch the documentaries recommended here, share the truth, and pray, pray, pray for our country and for our world to be delivered from evil and transformed by the saving love of Jesus Christ. Pray for The Great Awakening—worldwide revival.
The battle, beautiful themes and varied gifts
All three Bible stories—Samson, the resurrection and Esther—demonstrate the cosmic battle between good and evil. And God won every time. The key themes I see in The Beauty of the Bible are (1) our purpose—both our life purpose and our transformation, (2) God’s protection, and (3) God’s power and victory.
God gives us what we need to fulfill his purpose for our life. He gave Samson strength. He gave Mary Magdalene deliverance from demons. He gave Esther favor. What has he given you? Think about that. What has God given you? What gifts, skills and talents? What experiences, revelations and attributes? What godly desires and inner drive? Who do you influence? Who has he brought into your life?
Close your eyes and do some reflecting…. Spend some quiet time with God.
And thank him for his many blessings.
Coming next: We’ll continue walking through my 12 favorite Bible stories in a new grouping. Will it be The Peace of the Bible, The Power of the Bible, The Revelation of the Bible? I have no idea. The Lord will let me know—all in due time.
Thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Blessed by truth and music
Peaceful Readers, I’m deeply blessed by God’s word and music. I hope the scripture and song that I share at the end of each post will bless you too.
Truth from The Word: 1 Chronicles 29:10-13
Song: What a great song—“Rescue Story” by Zach Williams.