Latest / The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal / Esther 8 - Esther's Second Appeal to the King : The Solution to the Jew's Plight

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Esther 8 - Esther's Second Appeal to the King : The Solution to the Jew's Plight · The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Howdy and good morning, friends and faithful listeners.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Hope you all have been having a fantastic start to
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: your week so far. And I apologize for not having
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  Speaker 1: an episode out yesterday. For those of you who aren't
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: signed up to my email list, you got to sign up, okay?
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  Speaker 1: Because that's where I give you guys updates as to
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: what the podcast is doing. So I sent out an
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  Speaker 1: email late Monday night to tell you guys there would
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: not be an episode because I had a really nasty
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  Speaker 1: headache and I was having a hard time looking at
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  Speaker 1: the computer screen. I did, in fact, get the episode
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  Speaker 1: for yesterday recorded, actually, but I was not able to
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  Speaker 1: edit it properly before. I'm like, nope, I got to
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  Speaker 1: go lie down. I cannot sit at this computer another minute.
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  Speaker 1: And so I did and was not able to get
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: back to my computer. So the episode that I recorded
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  Speaker 1: for yesterday will be out tomorrow. And it's a fun episode.
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  Speaker 1: I'm telling you guys, you're going to want to hear
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: it because it's talking about the role that women play
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  Speaker 1: in the submission process, specifically when it comes to marriage.
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  Speaker 1: And these are things that women nowadays, and probably throughout
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  Speaker 1: all of history, just do not like to hear. Because
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  Speaker 1: we want to be independent. We want to be our
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  Speaker 1: own person. And I totally get that. I totally understand
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  Speaker 1: that feeling because I've felt that myself. But unfortunately, when
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  Speaker 1: you read through passages in 1 Peter, a lot of people,
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  Speaker 1: women in particular, take these passages and make them mean
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  Speaker 1: something completely different. That Peter is being misogynistic. That Peter
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  Speaker 1: is just encouraging us to live in abusive relationships and
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  Speaker 1: have no happiness in our marriages. That is absolutely untrue.
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  Speaker 1: So we're going to talk about 1 Peter 3 tomorrow
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  Speaker 1: morning on the Bible Explained podcast. But for today, we're
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  Speaker 1: going to get back into the book of Esther. And
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  Speaker 1: speaking of marriages, Esther probably had the most unhealthy marriage
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  Speaker 1: that you can pretty much imagine, as we're going to
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  Speaker 1: discuss today in some detail. But before we dive into
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  Speaker 1: this episode, please hang in there for this first sponsored advertisement. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: we're gonna be reading the entirety of Esther chapter eight today,
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  Speaker 1: the whole thing. I'll be reading as I usually do
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  Speaker 1: from the World English Bible or the WEB version. Feel
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  Speaker 1: free to grab your Bible out of the version that
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  Speaker 1: you prefer and also your delicious cup of coffee or
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: a cup of tea for you crazy tea drinkers to
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  Speaker 1: share along with me as we read through the entirety
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  Speaker 1: of Esther chapter eight together. On that day, King Ahasuerus
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  Speaker 1: gave the house of Haman, the Jew's enemy, to Esther
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  Speaker 1: the queen. Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had
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  Speaker 1: told what he was to her. The king took off
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  Speaker 1: his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave
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  Speaker 1: it to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
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  Speaker 1: Esther spoke yet again before the king and fell down
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  Speaker 1: at his feet and begged him with tears to put
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  Speaker 1: away the mischief of Haman the Agagite and his plan
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  Speaker 1: that he had planned against the Jews. Then the king
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  Speaker 1: held out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose
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  Speaker 1: and stood before the king. She said, If it pleases
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  Speaker 1: the king, and if I have found favor in his sight,
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  Speaker 1: and the thing seems right to the king, and I
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  Speaker 1: am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to
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  Speaker 1: reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hamadatha
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  Speaker 1: the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who
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  Speaker 1: are in all the king's provinces. For how can I
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  Speaker 1: endure to see the evil that would come to my people?
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  Speaker 1: How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?
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  Speaker 1: Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to
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  Speaker 1: Mordecai the Jew, See, I have given Esther the house
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  Speaker 1: of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows
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  Speaker 1: because he laid his hand on the Jews. Write also
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  Speaker 1: to the Jews as it pleases you, in the king's name,
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  Speaker 1: and seal it with the king's ring. For the writing
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  Speaker 1: which is written in the king's name and sealed with
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  Speaker 1: the king's ring may not be reversed by any man.
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  Speaker 1: Then the king's scribes were called at that time, in
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  Speaker 1: the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the
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  Speaker 1: twenty-third day of the month. And it was written according
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  Speaker 1: to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, and to
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  Speaker 1: the local governors, and to the governors and princes of
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  Speaker 1: the provinces, which are from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces,
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  Speaker 1: to every province according to its writing, and to every
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  Speaker 1: people in their language, and to the Jews in their
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  Speaker 1: writing and in their language. He wrote in the name
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  Speaker 1: of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's ring,
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  Speaker 1: and sent letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal
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  Speaker 1: horses that were bred from swift steeds. In those letters,
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  Speaker 1: the king granted the Jews who were in every city
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  Speaker 1: to gather themselves together and to defend their lives, to destroy,
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  Speaker 1: to kill, and to cause to perish all the power
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  Speaker 1: of the people and the province that would assault them,
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  Speaker 1: their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions.
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  Speaker 1: On one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
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  Speaker 1: on the 13th day of the 12th month, which is
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  Speaker 1: the month Adar, a copy of the letter that the
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  Speaker 1: decree should be given out in every province was published
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  Speaker 1: to all the peoples, that the Jews should be ready
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  Speaker 1: for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. So
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  Speaker 1: the couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened
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  Speaker 1: and pressed on by the king's commandment. The decree was
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  Speaker 1: given out in the citadel of Susa. Mordecai went out
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  Speaker 1: of the presence of the king in royal clothing of
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  Speaker 1: blue and white, and with a robe of fine linen
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  Speaker 1: and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and was glad.
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  Speaker 1: The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor. In every
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  Speaker 1: province and in every city, Wherever the king's commandment and
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  Speaker 1: his decree came, the Jews had gladness, joy, a feast,
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  Speaker 1: and a holiday. Many from among the peoples of the
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  Speaker 1: land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews had
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  Speaker 1: fallen on them. So where we left off on Monday,
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  Speaker 1: Haman was finally dead. He had caused a lot of problems,
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  Speaker 1: specifically for the Jews. He was going to commit a
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  Speaker 1: great genocide against them, and King Ahasuerus or King Xerxes,
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  Speaker 1: which It's easier for me to say, so I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to call him King Xerxes, if that's okay with you guys.
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  Speaker 1: He went along with Haman's plan. He was like, oh yeah,
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  Speaker 1: these people that you don't like, Haman, that's totally fine
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  Speaker 1: by me. Just get rid of them. I don't care
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  Speaker 1: if you genocide an entire group of people. And so
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  Speaker 1: Haman wrote a bunch of letters saying that on a
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  Speaker 1: certain day in December, the Jews were to be completely
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  Speaker 1: slaughtered in one day. But Esther, who was a Jewish
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  Speaker 1: woman and also the queen, found out about this plot
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  Speaker 1: against her people. But she was keeping her identity secret.
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  Speaker 1: Nobody knew that she was a Jewish woman. She was
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  Speaker 1: able to hide it very well. You know, back in
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  Speaker 1: these days, there weren't as good of records. She was
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  Speaker 1: an orphan. She could have come from anywhere. And her cousin,
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  Speaker 1: who had taken her in and raised her, Mordecai, who
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  Speaker 1: was also a Jew, told her to keep her identity secret.
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  Speaker 1: But Mordecai was totally okay with not keeping his identity secret.
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  Speaker 1: He told a whole bunch of people that he was
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  Speaker 1: a Jewish man. And that is why Haman ended up
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  Speaker 1: hating Mordecai so much was because Mordecai refused to bow
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  Speaker 1: to Haman because Haman was an Amalekite. The Amalekites go
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  Speaker 1: as far back as the days in the wilderness. They
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  Speaker 1: were targeting the Jews way back then, killing the people
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  Speaker 1: who couldn't keep up with the rest of the Jews.
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  Speaker 1: So the sick, the elderly, the children and the pregnant mothers,
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  Speaker 1: the widows, the Amalekites were nasty people. And that is
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  Speaker 1: who Haman was. So Haman and Mordecai had a centuries-long
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  Speaker 1: family feud with each other, which is why Mordecai refused
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  Speaker 1: to bow to Haman. And Haman, spurred by his hatred
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  Speaker 1: of Mordecai, who hated the Jews anyway, decided to ask
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  Speaker 1: if he could genocide all of them. So now Queen Esther,
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  Speaker 1: finding out about Haman's plot, ends up inviting Haman and
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  Speaker 1: the king to one of her fine banquets, where she
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  Speaker 1: in the last chapter, revealed to the king everything that
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  Speaker 1: had been going on. The king was very angry because
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  Speaker 1: that meant the death of his wife. He was possibly
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  Speaker 1: angry at Haman because of Mordecai also, because the king
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  Speaker 1: had found out that Mordecai was an all right guy.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Mordecai had saved his life many months before
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  Speaker 1: all of this. And, you know, the king was finding
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  Speaker 1: out that Jews weren't as bad as Haman had said
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  Speaker 1: they were. So the king, in his anger, decides to
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  Speaker 1: retreat from the banquet for a little while, and he
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  Speaker 1: leaves his wife alone with Haman. I'm sure there are
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  Speaker 1: servants in the house, but still super weird. And then
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  Speaker 1: King Xerxes comes back and sees Haman basically on top
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  Speaker 1: of Esther, not because he was trying to take advantage
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  Speaker 1: of her or anything, but because he was begging for
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  Speaker 1: his life from her. And the king gets the wrong thought,
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  Speaker 1: thinking that Haman is trying to assault his queen in
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  Speaker 1: his very own house. And that is when he ends
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  Speaker 1: up hanging Haman on the same gallows that Haman had
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  Speaker 1: made for Mordecai. So that is the entire story so
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  Speaker 1: far in a nutshell. So now we continue on in
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  Speaker 1: verse one. On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house
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  Speaker 1: of Haman, the Jews enemy to Esther, the queen. So
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  Speaker 1: this was probably done to try to console Esther for
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  Speaker 1: all the suffering that she has just gone through. And
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  Speaker 1: it was on the exact same day that all of
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  Speaker 1: this took place. So Haman had just died. And as
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  Speaker 1: Haman was dying, he gives Haman's entire estate to Esther, which,
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  Speaker 1: by the way, his estate was very large. And it
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  Speaker 1: also would have been close to the king's home because
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  Speaker 1: Haman was a top official who would obviously have to
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  Speaker 1: walk to and from the king's court every single day. Now,
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  Speaker 1: you might be wondering, well, how can the king just
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  Speaker 1: give away somebody else's property? Well, first and foremost, kings
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  Speaker 1: have ultimate rights. And if somebody is condemned as a
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  Speaker 1: criminal and hanged as a criminal, as Haman was, Persian
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  Speaker 1: law actually said that their property went to the state.
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  Speaker 1: So technically, the king could do whatever he wanted to
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  Speaker 1: Haman's property. So the wife and all of Haman's sons
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  Speaker 1: and all of his servants would be kicked out of
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  Speaker 1: that home. Now, whether or not Esther and Mordecai ended
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  Speaker 1: up kicking out Haman's wife on the streets and all
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  Speaker 1: the servants on the streets, that is unknown. They may
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  Speaker 1: have done that. They may have tried to find different
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  Speaker 1: housing for them. I'm sure they didn't let them stay
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  Speaker 1: in the house. That would make no sense because those
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  Speaker 1: people were enemies of the Jews. As we're going to
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  Speaker 1: find out, actually, Haman's sons after this still caused quite
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  Speaker 1: a bit of trouble for the Jewish people after Haman
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  Speaker 1: had died. So these people were enemies. And I'm sure
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  Speaker 1: Esther and Mordecai knew better than to keep them in
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  Speaker 1: the house. Which, by the way, Esther, it says, gave
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  Speaker 1: Mordecai the entire estate. That's what it says in verse 2.
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  Speaker 1: Esther sent Mordecai over the house of Haman. Now in
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  Speaker 1: doing this, she also told the king who Mordecai was
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  Speaker 1: to her. Because don't forget, they were related. Mordecai was
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  Speaker 1: Esther's cousin who had raised her from a baby. And
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  Speaker 1: the king didn't know any of this. Again, things could
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  Speaker 1: be a lot more secretive back in these days. Records
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  Speaker 1: were not kept as well. Everything had to be written
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  Speaker 1: by hand. So there'd be only one or two or
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  Speaker 1: maybe three copies of something typically. Birth certificates, I'm sure,
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  Speaker 1: did not exist. You know, people just had babies and
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  Speaker 1: things were a lot more secretive back in these days.
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  Speaker 1: So the king truly probably did not know that Mordecai
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  Speaker 1: and Esther were related. So the king, in verse two,
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  Speaker 1: took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman
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  Speaker 1: and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther sent Mordecai over
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  Speaker 1: the house of Haman. So now Mordecai receives everything that
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  Speaker 1: had once previously belonged to his enemy. But trouble is
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  Speaker 1: not over for Esther and Mordecai and the Jewish people
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  Speaker 1: just yet. Here's what it says in verse three. Esther
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  Speaker 1: spoke yet again before the king and fell down at
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  Speaker 1: his feet and begged him with tears to put away
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  Speaker 1: the mischief of Haman the Agagite and his plan that
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: he had planned against the Jews. Then the king held
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose and
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  Speaker 1: stood before the king. So I read a handful of
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  Speaker 1: commentaries on this because the first thing that I thought
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  Speaker 1: when I read this, I'm like, oh my gosh, the
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  Speaker 1: king left this situation. He thought he did enough for
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  Speaker 1: Esther and Mordecai for their suffering over what Haman had done.
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  Speaker 1: And now he's back in his kingly throne room and
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  Speaker 1: Esther again has to go risk her life and appear
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  Speaker 1: before him like she did a couple chapters ago. Back
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  Speaker 1: in Esther 5, because it says right here that he
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  Speaker 1: holds out the golden scepter to her once again. Did
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: she have to do all of this all over? Now,
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  Speaker 1: some commentaries say, no, this was all the same day.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Esther didn't have to risk her life again.
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  Speaker 1: You know, the danger of that was over. So either
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  Speaker 1: they had taken this meeting to the throne room and
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: it was all on the same day and he just
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  Speaker 1: held out the scepter to her to say, get up,
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  Speaker 1: stop crying, whatever. But I really think there's a reason
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: for the author to mention that golden scepter, because the
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: only times it's mentioned on two separate occasions is when
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  Speaker 1: somebody appears before the king when they have no authority
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  Speaker 1: to appear before the king. So basically, the king is
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: allowing that person to live because they came in at
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: a time when the king did not call them. And
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  Speaker 1: his peace being disturbed, according to King Xerxes, was worthy
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: of the death penalty, no matter who it was. could
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: have been Esther, could have been Mordecai. So the reason
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: I personally think that a few days has passed is because, firstly,
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: King Xerxes has a habit of just kind of not
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: caring and inaction. He could have definitely thought, I did
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  Speaker 1: enough for Queen Esther and for Mordecai. I I killed
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  Speaker 1: Haman on those gallows. I made Mordecai one of my viziers,
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  Speaker 1: one of my officials in place of Haman. So I
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  Speaker 1: did enough for them. They should be fine. I don't
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  Speaker 1: really feel like reversing that whole issue with the Jews
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  Speaker 1: because that's embarrassing. I don't want to do that. He
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: probably hoped to placate Esther enough that he didn't have
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  Speaker 1: to deal with this whole mess that he ultimately had
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  Speaker 1: caused with the genocide of the Jews, because honestly, he
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: probably didn't really care about Jews all that much. I'm
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: sure he liked Esther, and I'm sure he liked Mordecai,
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  Speaker 1: and he didn't think Jews were as bad as Haman
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  Speaker 1: made them out to be, but he still didn't want
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: to do the embarrassing thing of admitting he had made
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: a mistake. So he probably goes away for a couple days,
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  Speaker 1: does not call Esther to him, does not call Mordecai
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  Speaker 1: to him, potentially to avoid this entire situation. Now, again,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: could it have been done all in the same day? Probably.
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  Speaker 1: But I really feel like the author put the golden
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: scepter in there for a reason, that Esther possibly had
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: to risk her life twice to appear before the king.
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  Speaker 1: So the golden scepter is held out to her because
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: she probably was distraught. She was in tears. She was
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: fallen before the king. She had beautiful clothing on. She
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: probably looked very beautiful. And she stands up after the
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: scepter is held out to her. And she says in
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: verse five, and she picks her words so carefully here.
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  Speaker 1: If it pleases the king, and if I have found
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  Speaker 1: favor in his sight, and the thing seems right to
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes. So
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: she compliments the king four different times before she even
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: gets to her request. And then you can tell by
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: her request and the way that she words it, which
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: is very carefully, that she is on extremely thin ice, right?
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: She says, let it be written to reverse the letters
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  Speaker 1: devised by Haman, the son of Hamadatha the Agagite, which
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: the king's provinces. So notice how she words this. She
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: does not blame the king for this once. She puts
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: all the blame on on Haman, even though technically it
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: was the fault of the king, she blames Haman. She
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: also doesn't ask the king to reverse his command. Instead,
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: she asks to reverse the letters that Haman sent specifically,
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  Speaker 1: only the letters. And then she adds on this little
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  Speaker 1: bit at the very end, for how can I endure
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  Speaker 1: to see the evil that would come to my people?
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  Speaker 1: How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?
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  Speaker 1: She tells the king, I still am not happy because
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: I can't bear to see what would happen to my relatives,
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  Speaker 1: even if I am safe, even if the decree does
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  Speaker 1: not include me or doesn't include Mordecai because we are
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: part of the king's household. I still cannot bear to
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: see my people die such a gruesome death. So it
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: sounds like this affects the king's heart a little bit.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: So King Ahasuerus says to Esther the queen and to
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: Mordecai the Jew. So at some point in time, either
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: Mordecai was called in or if it was the same day,
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Mordecai was standing next to Esther this entire time. But
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: the king basically says to them, I have given Esther
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: the house of Haman and they have hanged him on
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  Speaker 1: the gallows because he laid his hand on the Jews. Okay,
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: first and foremost, that is not true. He did not
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: give Esther that house and kill Haman because Haman threatened
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: the Jews. It was because it looked like Haman was
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: threatening the queen. So the king lied right here, but
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: he probably said this to further try to placate Esther
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: and Mordecai. I mean, this king knows that he has
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: done something very stupid here, but he basically says, you
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: know what? I'm washing my hands of this entire issue.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: You guys handle it. That's what he says in verse eight.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Write also to the Jews as it pleases you in
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: the king's name and seal it with the king's ring
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: for the writing which is written in the king's name
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: and sealed with the king's ring may not be reversed
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: by any man. So he's like, all right, you guys,
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: you handle it. Just don't make me look foolish. Don't
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: make me have to go back on my word. I
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: already hung Haman and gave you guys enough, but I
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: will placate you further. So Mordecai does exactly what the
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: king says. And by the way, Esther is barely mentioned
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: for the rest of the book of Esther. It now
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: mostly focuses on Mordecai. Esther is mentioned a little bit
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: later on, but not so much. It says in verse
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: 9 that the king's scribes were called at that time
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: the 23rd day of the month. And it was written
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: according to all that Mordecai commanded the Jews and the
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: local governors and the governors and the princes of the provinces,
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: which are from India to Ethiopia and 127 provinces to
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: every province, according to its writing, to every people in
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: their language and the Jews in their writing and in
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: their language. So this letter that Mordecai writes in the
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: king's name was written in every single language so that
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: everybody could understand what was happening here. It says in
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: verse 10 that he wrote in the name of King
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's ring and sent
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal horses that
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: were bred from swift steeds. So essentially, the Pony Express
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: goes out and delivers all of these letters as fast
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: as it possibly can across. the 127 provinces that Persia
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: is in control of. And the reason these letters had
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: to go out super fast was to give the Jews
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: as much time to prepare as possible. Because it turns
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: out when Haman had cast those lots back in chapter 3,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: to see what month the Jews should die in, it
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: turned out to be as far away as possible. So
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: that gave the Jews 11 months to focus on their demise, essentially.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: And Haman had done that all By chance, but it
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: was God who determined what that lot was supposed to be.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: Can you imagine if Haman had cast a lot for
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: two months? That would not have given the Jews any
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: time to prepare. Esther would have been dead along with
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: Mordecai and along with all of the other Jews. It
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: was in the Jews' favor that God had cast that
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: lot for Haman 11 months into the future as the
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: day of their supposed demise. And now that is actually
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: an advantage to the Jews because these letters go out.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: And in those letters, here's what was written. Verse 11,
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: the king granted the Jews who are in every city
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: to gather themselves together and to defend their lives, to destroy,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: to kill, and to cause to perish all the power
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: of the people and the province that would assault them,
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: On one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: on the 13th day of the 12th month, which is
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: the month Adar. So basically the Jews were given permission
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: to kill anybody who assaulted them on the 13th day
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: of that month. So instead of the Jews just sitting
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: by helplessly, watching their children get tortured and destroyed in
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: front of their very eyes, they were allowed to band
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: together and fight back. So you can see now why
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: having months of preparation would be very handy for these Jews.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: They could get weapons for themselves. They could learn to
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: use those weapons if they were rusty. They could pray
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: and fast during that time. They could build stronger fortifications,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: stronger walls around their properties. They could do a lot
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: of things to protect themselves in the months that they
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: had to prepare. So a copy of that letter in
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: verse 13, that the decree should be given out in
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: every province was published to all the people's that the
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: Jews should be ready for that day to avenge themselves
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: on their enemies. So the couriers who rode on the
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: king's commandment. The decree was given out in the citadel
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: of Susa. So now in verse 15, Mordecai goes out
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: to Susa dressed in royal clothing. It says in verse
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: 15 of blue and white and with a great crown
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: of gold and with a robe of fine linen and purple.
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: And the city of Susa shouted and was glad. the
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor. In every province
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: and in every city, wherever the king's commandment and his
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: decree came, the Jews had gladness, joy, a feast, and
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: a holiday. And then it says right here at the
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: very end of verse 16, many from among the peoples
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: of the land became Jews for the fear of the
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: Jews had fallen on them. So a lot of the
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: people in Persia ended up converting to Judaism because of
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: how scared they were of the Jews now being allowed
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: to fight back. They decided, you know what? I think
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: we're on the losing end of this battle, and I
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: would rather be Jewish than Persian right now. Now, you
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: might be wondering who the heck would fight this battle
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: against the Jews now that the Jews are able to
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: defend themselves. Well, don't take for granted the power of hatred.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: There is a lot of people throughout history up to
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: this day that absolutely despise and hate the Jews so
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: much so that they truly would fight against the Jews
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: and would believe that they would win. I mean, think
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: about Haman and his family, his sons. Remember, he had
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: a multitude of sons. His sons, I'm sure, hated the
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: Jews just as much as Haman did. There are people
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: like that all over the place to this day that
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: despise the Jews to that level and were looking for
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: an opportunity to legally be able to kill these people,
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: regardless of whether or not the Jews are allowed to
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: fight back. I'm sure this made a lot of people,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: not just Haman, very, very happy because they wanted to
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: kill the Jews. But we're going to find out on
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: a different day if the Jews end up succeeding or failing.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: But before I close out this episode with a couple
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: closing points, please listen to this last sponsored advertisement. You know,
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: this passage today reminds me of a few of the
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: Psalms we've been going through on the Bible Explained on
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Fridays with the members, specifically Psalm 37, 7 through 11.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: This is a beautiful Psalm by David that talks about
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: just not worrying about evil people succeeding. Here's what this says,
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: starting in verse seven, rest in Yahweh and wait patiently
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: his way because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Cease from anger and forsake wrath. Don't fret. It leads
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: only to evil doing for evil doers shall be cut off.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: But those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: for in a little while and the wicked will be
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: no more. Yes. Though you look for his place, he
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: isn't there. but the humble shall inherit the land and
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. That is
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: like the perfect Psalm to describe, I think the book
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: of Esther completely actually. So yes, Haman was succeeding in
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: his wicked plots. And now all of a sudden he
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: is gone like that. You know, the king one minute
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: is happy with Haman. The next minute is hanging him
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: on the gallows. And God then gave everything that Haman
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: owned to Mordecai, the faithful Jew. And God does not
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: do that just for biblical people written about in the
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: Old Testament. It says in scripture that God is the
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: same forever. He cannot cast a shifting shadow. He does
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: not move from his positions. So if he blesses somebody
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: in the Old Testament because of their faith and love
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: for him, then he will do the same for everybody else.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: He will justify everybody. Even if we don't see that
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: justice here on earth, he is going to do it.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: It says in scripture that everybody is going to stand
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: before Jesus someday and give an account for the things,
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: whether good or bad, that they have done. So you
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: will someday be justified. Even if you don't see it
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: here on earth, you will. So have faith in these
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: promises that are laid out to us in scripture. And
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: if you are dealing with something where you feel like
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: you have no justice, then maybe read the entirety of
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Psalm 37 today and pray through it and just trust
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: in God's righteousness. Faithful listeners, have a lovely rest of
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: your Wednesday. I'll see you guys tomorrow, bright and early
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: for another episode from First Peter. Happy listening and God bless.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: I just want to take a second to thank the
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: team at Life Audio for their partnership with me on
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: the Bible Explained podcast. In fact, if you go to lifeaudio.com,
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.