June 11, 2025, Ester 8:1-17
8 On that
day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of
the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he
was to her. 2 And the king took off his signet
ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set
Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 Then
Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with
him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had
devised against the Jews. 4 When the king held out
the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. 5 And
she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight,
and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes,
let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite,
the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the
provinces of the king. 6 For how can I bear to
see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the
destruction of my kindred?” 7 Then King Ahasuerus
said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther
the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he
intended to lay hands on the Jews. 8 But you may
write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and
seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and
sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.”
9 The
king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the
month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to
all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the
governors and the officials of the provinces from India to
Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to
each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their
language. 10 And he wrote in the name of King
Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the
letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the
king's service, bred from the royal stud, 11 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. 13 A
copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being
publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to
take vengeance on their enemies. 14 So the
couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king's
service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. And the decree was
issued in Susa the citadel.
15 Then
Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and
white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and
purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 The
Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. 17 And
in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict
reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a
holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves
Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.
Esther’s courage and
Mordecia’s wisdom lead to the reversal of the deadly decree Haman set. Now the
Jews can rejoice in the knowledge they are allowed to defend themselves, their
homes and their heritage.
These verses serve as a
reminder to us that even when we fail to hear God or think he’s invisible, he’s
actually at work to accomplish his will.
Will you commit to trust
in faith that God is indeed working his perfect plan for you? “Be still and
know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Robin Adams
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