HealingStrong's Around the Word

Episode 57 - The Esther Series: The Tables Turn in a Divine Reversal (Esther 9:1-32 NIV)

• HealingStrong • Episode 57

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The tables turn dramatically for the Jewish people as what was meant to be their day of destruction becomes their day of victory and deliverance through Queen Esther and Mordecai's influence in the Persian court.

• God turned what enemies meant for evil into good as Jews were allowed to defend themselves
• Officials throughout the Persian Empire began helping the Jews out of fear of Mordecai
• The Jews defeated 500 enemies in Susa, including Haman's ten sons who were later impaled
• Throughout the empire, 75,000 enemies were defeated, yet the Jews took no plunder
• Mordecai and Esther established the Feast of Purim as a permanent celebration
• The Jewish people continue celebrating Purim to this day, commemorating their deliverance
• God's promise to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel remains unchanged
• Writing down what God has done in your life creates important remembrances for future encouragement

Find a journal and write down something God has done for you this week. 

Suggested Resources:

BIBLE PLAN - Trusting God's Plan When You Don't See Him: Lessons From the Book of Esther

PODCAST - Genesis to Revelation Bible Reading

TOOLS - Refresh Your Spirit through God's Word


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Speaker 1:

He said that he would bless those who bless Jacob or Israel and he will curse those who curse Israel. And his mind doesn't change. That's what the divine creator decreed a long time ago, so I'm going to go with that.

Speaker 2:

Well, hey, there I'm Cheryl and you're listening to Healing Strong's Around the Word. We are friends sitting around the table who love God and love digging deep into His Word. Each day you'll hear me reading a Bible passage and then you'll hear our discussion on that passage. Today I'll be reading Esther, chapter 9, verses 1 through 32 from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us around the word. Esther, chapter 9.

Speaker 2:

On the 13th day of the 12th month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day. The enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities and all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them, and all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews because fear of Mordecai had seized them. Mordecai was prominent in the palace, his reputation spread throughout the provinces and he became more and more powerful. The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men. They also killed Parshindatha, amadathah, dalfon, aspathah, parathah, adaliah, aradathah, parmashtah, arasai, aradai and Vizathah, the ten sons of Haman, son of Hamadathah, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder. The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king. That same day. The king said to Queen Esther the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and the 10 sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces Now? What is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted If it pleases. The king Esther answered give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also, and let Haman's 10 sons be impaled on poles. So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa and they impaled the ten sons of Haman.

Speaker 2:

The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed 75,000 of them, but did not lay their hands on the plunder. This happened on the 13th day of the month of Adar, and on the 14th they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the 13th and 14th and then on the 15th they. That is why rural Jews, those living in villages, observe the 14th of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.

Speaker 2:

Mordecai recorded these events and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them For Haman, son of Hamadathah, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the purr. That is the lot for their ruin and destruction. But when the plot came to the king's attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. Therefore, these days were called Purim, from the word Pur.

Speaker 2:

Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should, without fail, observe these two days every year in the way prescribed and at. So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jews, nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. So Queen Esther, daughter of Abahel, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim, and Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes' kingdom, words of goodwill and assurance to establish these days of Purim at their designated and that was our Bible passage. Esther's decree confirmed these regulations about Purim and it was written down in the records and that was our Bible passage for the day. So now let's listen in on what Jeff, susie, myself and Angie were all talking about around the Word.

Speaker 1:

So we're beginning in chapter 9, and we see that things have turned around for the Jewish people On the 28th day well, the day. My Bible describes the day as the 28th day of February, because I think that's our translation of when the edict was supposed to be carried out to kill all the Jews. Supposed to be carried out to kill all the Jews. On that same day, instead of killing the Jews, the Jews were allowed to gather together and defend themselves. So what the enemy meant for evil, God had meant for good. And so they were able to fight and they survived. The people feared the Jews. All of a sudden, yeah, they feared Mordecai.

Speaker 2:

It says even in I think it's verse three in my translation and all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews which is really cool.

Speaker 1:

We went from we're going to destroy you all to we'll help you defend yourselves.

Speaker 2:

Clearly Esther had a lot of Esther and Mordecai had a lot of influence on that royal court. If they suddenly want to help the Jews. We were trying to do the math and figure it out. If originally, the second edict that Esther had begged for to overturn things occurred around sometime in July, what would be July? This is now taking place in late February, so it's been about seven months since that second edict went out. That court has come around the idea of basically helping the Jews. I feel like the intent, what the original intent, was to annihilate the Jews. The second one was you guys can. You can protect yourselves. So if people wanted to honor the first edict and go out and kill them all, that was on people to do it, they could. But now the Jews could defend themselves. If I was a smart person and I was seeing the favor of God, on these.

Speaker 2:

Jews, I'd be staying home. I'd be like no need to fight them, it's all good, let's have a handshake.

Speaker 3:

We're good. I think that's what Haman's 10 sons did. What do you mean? Well, haman's 10 sons. On day two, esther talks about what you know. She gives the request to carry it out again on day two and it says and let Haman's 10 sons be hanged on the gallows. So obviously, on day one we didn't see Haman's sons coming into the picture. They were taken care of.

Speaker 2:

On day two, oh, now that's very interesting. Yeah, because I was also thinking this is an enormous empire. It's 127 provinces, maybe word, it wasn't getting back quickly. It's not like they had internet, that anybody was fighting or or whatever, and I don't know. My thought was I wonder if esther was thinking I want to give our people one more day, just in case they're getting obliterated right now. I mean, I have no idea. This is not in the day of like. We'll put a tweet now that we see the in the province of whatever. We've had this many people die.

Speaker 2:

You know, they didn't know it. I mean, those were, they had fast horses for the king, but my gosh, you can't cover thousands of miles, so they don't know what's really going on. The word of mouth is not going to travel that quickly in a day, so maybe that's why she was asking can we have one more day? But I love your idea too about Haman's sons, and I noticed Haman's wife wasn't thrown in there. She didn't request that the wife get killed. Now, maybe Esther had no clue that the wife was kind of one of the ringleaders about what was going on. She may have had no idea about that.

Speaker 1:

I think the wife's gone. I think she was killed too, it's just she wasn't worth mentioning.

Speaker 2:

Poor Zeresh, not even worth mentioning. Well, it is. Yeah, that's very interesting. So we now have not one, but two days of the Jews getting to protect themselves.

Speaker 1:

They were not annihilated, like the original intention of the enemy to get rid of them and newsflash because of the words of this book, the Jewish people are never, ever going to be annihilated, are never, ever going to be annihilated. So for anybody who thinks, even in today's world, that they should be, or that they're less than or whatever, you need to just forget that, because this Bible has decreed from the beginning that the Jewish nation, there will always be a remnant. He said that he would bless those who bless Jacob or Israel and he will curse those who curse Israel. And his mind doesn't change. That's what the divine creator decreed a long time ago. So I'm going to go with that. I support the Jewish people in everything that I can, because they're always going to survive. They're a special part of God's people.

Speaker 2:

Esther also must have known. This was a pivotal time because she had letters sent out to the Jewish people to commemorate this, to remember what God did for his people. And now they still celebrate it today as the Feast of Purim, a two-day feast, and so it makes me want to actually go celebrate it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we should. I think we should. It's a big event. And still they knew that a Messiah was coming one day, and the Messiah was going to be a Jew. So it's a huge celebration that the story of their lives is still going on. They weren't destroyed and they won't be.

Speaker 2:

Aren't you glad that Esther had them write down what was going on to commemorate this? We wouldn't know about the Feast of Purim and all of that if she hadn't asked for that, or at least it's very possible we might not. It's always good to write down what the Lord has done in your life, or if he said something to you or something you learned about him, write it down, because we have so many things going on in our lives right now it's easy to forget, and it's so awesome to go back and look at some of the things that he's done that we actually just forgot about. So, yeah, go write it down. That's your homework.

Speaker 2:

If he's done something for you this week, write it down. Find a little journal and go do it. And thank you so much for joining us for Healing Strong's Around the Word podcast. I hope you're encouraged to read and explore God's Word and encouraged to write down what he's telling you too. Please visit us at healingstrongorg, where you can find out more about our mission and our amazing community groups. Until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.