The Great Reversal

The Great Reversal

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No coincidence that we are journeying through the book of Esther on the Sunday we remember the Persecuted Church around the world. The book of Esther takes place in the citadel of Susa, the capitol of the mighty Persian Empire. Susa was located in what is modern day Iran and Persian (Farsi) is the official language of Iran. Iran is also in the top 10 countries where Christians are most persecuted.

1 THE DAY FINALLY ARRIVES, v. 1

V erse 1 introduces us to a very important day. It is the 13th day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. That means it is the last month of the Jewish calendar. It also means that this is the day that the edict of super-villain Haman has been decreed as the day on which every Jewish man, woman and child would be killed, slaughtered, annihilated and destroyed. There were to be NO survivors.

It also means that there have been ______ months that have passed since the end of chapter 8.

______ months ago, Haman was judged, executed and impaled on the stake gallows that he constructed in his own back yard - 75 feet in the air ..

It was immediately after that when Mordecai was elevated to the position of Prime MInister - 2nd most powerful man in the empire - behind only the King himself.

Esther fell at the feet of her husband the king and pleaded for her people’s rescue - pleaded that he would undo the edict declaring destruction on the Jews.

“… let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman … which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king”.

“I can’t bear to live … if it means watching all of my people … GOD’S PEOPLE … annihilated!”

Oh, but the problem was a huge one - the king may have been seen as a god-man in his kingdom - but there was a law that was ABOVE the authority of even the king … the ‘Law of the Medes and Persians’ was that once a law was duly authorized by the king … then nobody - - - not even the king himself could UNDO it. Couldn’t take it back.’

But what the king DID, in response to Queen Esther’s desperate plea … was to hand over his pen to Mordecai - and tell him to write whatever law he wanted, to respond to the coming threat.

Mordecai’s first order of business is to take the king’s pen - and write a new law. , “… saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods (12) on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.”

The law was written - sealed with the king’s own signet ring (that he handed off to Mordecai), then copies of the law are taken by royal courier to every single corner in every single one of the 127 provinces of Persia.

And then nothing. Month after month passes ...

The Jews in Persia have been living under this black death cloud for months. As every new sunrise breaks the dark of night … as every sunset brings a day of busyness to a close … the darkness of impending death never breaks into light, but only comes closer … closer.

Haman hated Mordecai … and his people enough to scheme for their total eradication … to plan a genocide.

Haman is dead, but he certainly isn’t the only citizen of Persia that would be happy to have gone this strange, foreign people - worshipers of their One God, Yahweh …

If you are a Jew, living in Persia, as the day gets closer and closer - more and more can you hear the sound of whispering, as you walk through the streets of town. It is you they are whispering about. Then there are the sarcastic comments and sneers from the Gentile shopkeepers. Not everyone hates you for your race, to be sure … but there are enough comments and enough of ‘those looks’ to be sure that there are many who are licking their chops in prospect of that day. Verse 1 refers to the enemies of the Jews - - and you can be sure that enemies make up a significant force.

tells us that the enemies of the Jews ‘hoped to gain mastery over them.’ There are 2 rarely used Hebrew words behind our English translation of that sentence. The first is the Hebrew word, translated ‘hope’. It only shows up 6 times in the OT and in every case, it carries the idea of waiting expectantly - greatly anticipating something. In other words, the anti-Jewish forces are eagerly waiting for … salivating, as they look forward to the day when they can slaughter the Jews with the ‘okay’ of the government.

What do you do if you are a Jew, in Esther’s Persia? Day after day, you live with this threat hanging over your head - you look at your precious children, so young, so innocent - they are living with a bullseye on their chests - people hate them simply for who they are - people with a countdown timer, ticking away … just waiting for the day when they can come after you and your children - and then, adding insult to injury, when they can take your things after doing away with you.

Do you talk to your kids? Do you prepare them, somehow?

I love the way that verse 1 ends: “on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the REVERSE OCCURRED: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.

The Tables were turned … there was a GREAT REVERSAL in PERSIA.

2 THE TABLES ARE TURNED, vv. 2-10

VERSE 2: “The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples.”

When the sun rises on the 13th day of the twelfth month, in Susa the capitol and throughout the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, the Jews greet the morning, by stepping outside of their homes, standing together, arm in arm, women and children, shielded behind - and with whatever weapons they could find and preparing to defend themselves against anyone who tried to attack.

You may think, “surely nobody is going to come after the people of God now, since the fear of Mordecai has fallen on the people.”

But if you know anything about history and human nature … you know that hatred clouds good judgment and makes people do things that may even destroy themselves. Add to that the influence of greed - the thought that “My neighbor’s business, his house, his things - they could all be mine, if he is out of the way” … and you shouldn’t be surprised that the attack still comes against the Jews.

VERSES 3-10 describe what happens on that day.

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Israel’s victory is nothing short of stunning – Absolutely comprehensive. V. 3 tells us that the government officials in Persia throw all their support behind the Jews … it can’t hurt your cause to have the government behind you. Why do they do that? Because, . 3, “… the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. (4) For Mordecai was great in the king’s house and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.”

See the constant reminders in this book of the Sovereign Power of God – at work, behind the scenes, for the sake of His people.

Why is there such a things as the fear of someone who started the book as a nothing foreigner? Because God is in control … and He put the fear there.

Verse 5 tells us that the Jews struck their enemies with the sword …”killing and destroying them as they pleased to those who hated them.” In fact, in Susa alone – they kill and destroy 500 men – including all 10 of Haman’s sons. IN ONE CITY!

Does that trouble you at all? You hear about ‘God’s People’ – and it sounds like they are going on a bloodthirsty rampage. Don’t think the worst. This is a holy battle of self-defense - -

Verse 5, “… Jews struck all their ENEMIES with the sword.” The Hebrew word that’s translated ENEMIES ………..

Also, in v. 5, when it says, ‘… did as they pleased ….”. Doesn’t mean that the Jews planned out the most sadistic things they could do - and then unleashed their wicked schemes on the poor, weakened enemies. No, it just means that they have no problem taking care of their attackers.

In fact, look at v. 10. After the 10 sons of Haman are all taken care of, the Bible tells us, “… but they laid no hand on the plunder.”

“Laid no hand on the plunder.” THAT’S HUGE

Remember Haman’s original edict, back in : The law he wrote was, “… to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children … and to PLUNDER their goods.” “TAKE WHAT YOU WANT”.

When Mordecai writes the reversal in 8:11, he copies Haman’s edict, almost word for word – of course he does, it’s a COUNTER law – to push back on the genocide. Mordecai’s edict told the Jews in every city to …”gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them … and to plunder their goods.”

So, the Israelites are allowed to TAKE what they want from anyone who attacks them. Well, they defend themselves … but they take none of the plunder. They leave the riches alone.

That tells you something right there – this is a ‘holy war’ – they defended themselves but went no further. Remember back to the days of King Saul – we talked about this earlier –Mordecai is a descendant of Saul – and the reason God finally stripped the Kingship away from Saul was because when he battled the king of the Amalekites (who was an ancestor of Haman), Saul disobeyed God’s clear command to wipe out the people and leave the plunder. Saul killed everything worthless and took the plunder for himself.

In Esther’s day – the Jews make that wrong right – they defend themselves, and in the process, wipe out Haman’s family – but take nothing for themselves. That’s a big sacrifice. But it’s the sacrifice of obedience.

The story isn’t over after verse 10, though.

3 ONE MORE REQUEST, vv. 11-15

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The king gets the report of casualties in Susa - and he’s stunned - 500 men! In this capitol alone.

You almost get the sense that the King isn’t just a disinterested observer - he’s cheering his wife and her people on in their self-defense.

“If the Jews have taken care of 500 men in this town - - how many have they destroyed in the whole empire?!”

And immediately - v. 12, “Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.”

Hang on a second - Esther hasn’t even asked for anything here. But her husband is just instinctively throwing out offers. “Ask me for something else!” Ladies, I don’t know what Esther is doing here - but she sure has the hang of getting offers from her husband.

… Actually I do know what she’s doing - she’s following the Lord - the Sovereign God, who is working all things out for His people.

And since the king is offering, Esther does have something else she would like … and that’s one more day for the Jews to defend themselves. There is obviously a lot of pent up hatred for her people in the kingdom - so there is a need for another day to deal with every potential attacker.

There are 300 more in Susa, who come after the Israelites and a total of 75,000 in the 127 provinces of Persia. But again, notice the end of verse 15, “… but they laid no hands on the plunder.” And verse 16 - “… but they laid no hands on the plunder.” 75,000 men - that’s a lot of possessions that God’s people could have made themselves rich with. But nothing. They leave the plunder for widows and children left behind.

The focus here isn’t plundering, it isn’t revenge … the focus here is rest. that’s what v. 16 says, “… the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, AND GOT RELIEF FROM THEIR ENEMIES.”

4 FEASTING AND CELEBRATION, vv 16-19

Look at verses 16-19 –

Next week we will focus on the Feast of Purim, but for today - See how the tables have been turned.

See the GREAT REVERSAL in the book of Esther - - the book begins with a foreign people in a powerful country, where they are hated and on the outside of the halls of power. But God had other plans - - and by verse 19 of chapter 9, the enemies are extinguished and God’s people - in a pagan nation - have peace and gladness and feasting. God has been working behind the scenes the whole time – putting Esther in just the right position, FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS … putting Mordecai in the right place at the right time … keeping the king awake at night so that …

v. 1 - “… on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occured: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.”

Does anybody else see a foreshadowing here of THE GREATEST REVERSAL in HISTORY.

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ - engineered by the devil and people under his control - in a monumental effort to get rid of the threat posed by the Son of God, taken on human flesh.

But that was God’s plan all along - His plan to save guilty sinners like you and me. , “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

It was God’s plan before He even spoke this world into being … that He would break into this world He was going to make, that He was going to suffer and die my penalty … so that He could take away my sin and guilt.

This is no Plan B - this is the God of the Great Reversal doing His thing.

Dr. Hormoz Shiriat was born into a Muslim family in Iran, but had to flee the country after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. While he was studying at university in the States, he came to faith in Jesus Christ and several years later, planted a church, in California, particularly targeting Muslims who need to know the Savior.

Listened to an interview with him yesterday on the state of persecution in Iran – Very interesting.

In Iran, the persecution is mainly by government and not by family and friends. In fact, the average person on the street has a very FAVORABLE view of Christianity.

It took 40 years to get to this place. Iran is the only country in the world that is led by Islamic clergy - and at the beginning of the revolution, people in the country said, ‘No, there’s nothing wrong with Islam – the problems in the country are only because the government isn’t implementing Islam properly.

But after 40 years, now the people have woken up to the reality that i… nope – it’s not the government – ISLAM really IS the problem.

At the same time as Islam is being discredited in Iran, Christianity is becoming more and more RESPECTED.

He says people becoming very critical about Islam – not just the leaders, they’re way past that point – these are Muslims – and they have become very disillusioned with Islam itself – critical of the Koran and even Mohammed. On the other hand, when Jesus Christ’s name comes up – they speak very highly of him.

The only thing holding them back from Christian – is fear – fear of the government. And a sense of fatalism – “I was born a Muslim, so I guess I’m stuck.”

Meanwhile the government is ruling in fear … they see that they have lost the hearts of the people – When you lose the hearts of your people, the only way to keep your power through fear. Violence is the weapon of fear.

Story – High Court Judge in Iran … came to see his daughter in the States. Daughter a Christian – shared her faith with her dad. He listened but didn’t respond. After a couple of more visits – he put his trust in Christ.

Still serving the high court in Iran. Asked how the government there is feeling about the spread of Christianity - - they don’t know what to do.

The Christian message of God’s love is impossible for them to fight against. Christians aren’t attacking – aren’t punching back … they are sharing the Good News that God … “So LOVED the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Many are coming to Christ.

Dr. Shiriat told of a phone call he recently received, from a young man in Iran. He wasn’t in when the call came in – but his staff answered. The young man was insistent on talking to him. It had to be him. He put off the call – the caller insisted. He asked his staff to find out who this fellow is. Found out that the young man became a Christian, listening to one of his radio broadcasts, when he was 19. By the age of 22 he had 4 or 5 house churches. He was arrested and sent to prison for 5 years. He was just released – he is only out for 1 week to get medical attention – then he has to go back to finish his sentence. “He’s going to call back later and he wants to talk to you.” Well, Dr. Shiriat says how much he was dreading the call – this young man has been in jail and tortured for years – didn’t know what he would say to him. He was anticipating being asked questions like …

“IF God is God and I am serving Him – why did He allow me to be arrested?!” “If God is God – why did He allow me to be tortured?” “Where is God when I’m being tortured.” “Where are YOU when I’m suffering – safe in America … what are you doing telling us to give our lives to Jesus Christ and share the good news with others?”

Picked up the phone – and a sweet voice on the other end said, “I insisted on talking to you, so that I can encourage you. You are doing the right thing. Never give up.”

“Don’t worry about us. When we get arrested, Jesus doesn’t leave us … he prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.”

He said, “I had the honor of experiencing in my jail cell. The torturers were there … but my sweet Jesus was also there.”

“It is an honor to suffer for Christ.”

One Christian leader, being tortured in jail, turned to the guard inflicting the suffering on him and said … “I’m so sorry. You could have been with your family today – it’s your day off, but instead you had to get up early to come here and torture me.” There are prison guards, watching how the Christian prisoners endure and forgive … and ask for prayer.

400 Christian prisoners in Iran right now. But it is the government that is living in fear, because …. To use an Iranian term:

Christianity is “killing Islam with a cotton blade”.

“Killing with a COTTON blade”.

Compared to roughly 500 known Christians in 1979, there are now approximately 500,000 (some sources say up to 1 million secret believers). According to Elam Ministries, an organization founded in 1990 by Iranian church leaders, more Iranians have become Christians in the last 20 years than in the previous 13 centuries put together since Islam came to Iran.

The government has the police. It has the military … it has the weapon of violence in its hand.

But the Church has the Sovereign God. The Church has Jesus Christ who said, I will NEVER leave you, nor will I forsake you.”

Who also said, “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

So don’t fear, Christian. Don’t fear.