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CHAPTER 8 (ESV)
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.”…
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.
REFLECTION:
- The letters devised by Haman that he wrote to destroy the Jews in all the provinces of Persia had been sealed with the king’s ring and could not be revoked even by the king. This was the famous “Law of the Medes and Persians.” Now the king allowed Mordecai to issue another statute to offset (not revoke) the effectiveness of the previous statute. It was God’s work that saved the Jews from the disaster of genocide. God’s power is far above the power of the kings and rulers on earth.
- Mordecai wore royal robes with a great golden crown and received praise and honour from the people. Was he showing off himself? We should see that Mordecai devoted to serve the country for many years, suffered from Haman’s oppression, and risked his life to save his people. On the surface, he received the king’s reward, but it was actually God’s reward to him through the king. What he received was the crown from God. What he manifested was the glory of God but not boasting himself. Today if you want to be like Mordecai to receive God’s reward, are you willing to pay the commensurate cost?
PRAYER:
Give praise and thanks to God. Thank Him for the abundant providence in the past. Dedicate yourself to God, that you are willing to learn from Mordecai’s loyalty and commitment and you will not change even in difficulty and hardship. In this way you will receive God’s great reward in the future, as Mordecai did.
HYMN:
How Great Thou Art – www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0QVWzCv9k
