Esther Chapter 8
“Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.
He made a pit and dug it out,
And has fallen into the ditch which he made.
His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall come down on [e]his own crown.” (Ps 7: 14 – 16)And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom 8: 28)
These two passages aptly describes what went on in this chapter. Though the threat of Haman is no longer present with his demise in chapter 7, there remains a bigger threat posed by the enemies of the Jews. As the king could not rescind his order (to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions), he allowed Esther and Mordecai to issue another command, in his name, that will allow the Jews to gather together to defend and protect themselves.
All at once, the utter gloom and despair, hopelessness and fear felt by the people transform into light and gladness, joy and honour. They were no longer sitting ducks, waiting for the time of slaughter. They were no longer a race that will soon be wiped off the face of the earth. And all these are possible, because of the faith and courage shown in times of adversity. But what about us? Will we be found to be of similar faith by our Lord when faced with similar (or even worse) predicament? (See Luke 18: 6 – 8).
The last sentence of chapter 8 is rather intriguing “then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.” There is an encouraging knock-on effect produced in the people of the land, which contributed significantly to the success of the Jews in the fight against their enemies. If the people of the land remain hostile to the Jews, and so stand on the side of their enemies. Instead, because of the awe and fear of the Jews, they not only do not stand against, but willing stand with the Jews.
Do we exert the same sphere of influence to the people around us? Can we win them over with our conduct? May we be the channels of blessings to the people.