Esther 9

The Explanation

The day everyone had been waiting for finally came. The thirteenth of Adar. Do you remember what was supposed to happen on that day? Haman had made a law that all the Jews would be killed. Men, women, children. Their enemies had been sharpening their swords for months.

But something strange had happened in between. The king had made a second law, that the Jews were allowed to defend themselves. So now two laws stood against each other, and everyone waited for that one dark day.

And then it turns out completely different than the enemies had thought. The Bible says it beautifully: "it was turned out the opposite happened." The people who wanted to attack the Jews are the ones who now lose. In the city of Susa alone, five hundred enemies fall. In the whole huge empire, seventy-five thousand. That is a lot. It is a heavy, bloody chapter.

Something is remarkable though. Three times the text says: "they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder." The Jews were allowed to take everything the enemies owned. They didn't do it. They didn't fight for money or stuff. They fought only to stay alive.

The ten sons of Haman also die. Haman, the man who had come up with the whole evil plan, sees his family disappear too. His plan turns against himself, exactly as king Ahasuerus had said.

After the battle comes rest. And after the rest comes a party. Mordecai writes a letter to all the Jews everywhere in the empire. From now on they must celebrate these days every year. They call the feast Purim, named after the "pur," the lot that Haman had once thrown to choose the day of destruction. That same lot now becomes the name of a feast of joy.

At Purim they give each other food, and they give gifts to poor people. Because a real feast is only complete when everyone can join in.

What Does This Mean?

This chapter is not easy. Maybe you think: why so much fighting? Why so many deaths? The Bible does not hide it. This really happened, and it was heavy.

But look what the story wants to show you. God's people were as good as lost. A whole nation was supposed to disappear from the earth. And exactly on the day when everything was supposed to go wrong, everything turns around. The word "opposite" is the key word of this chapter. Sorrow into joy. Mourning into a good day. Death into life.

You do not read the name of God once in the entire book of Esther. Not once. And yet you feel Him everywhere. He works secretly, behind the scenes, like a director you don't see but whose whole play you do see.

The Common Thread

Purim is a feast of turnaround. Of a day that seemed to bring death, but brought life.

That reminds us of another day. A Friday, long ago, when Jesus hung on a cross. That day too seemed the darkest day ever. God's enemies thought they had won. But three days later everything was turned around. Sorrow became joy. Death became life.

God is a God who turns things around. He did it for Esther and Mordecai. He did it much bigger through Jesus. And He still does it, also in things you may not understand yet.

For You

Maybe you know a day like the thirteenth of Adar. A day you dreaded. A test, a doctor's visit, a difficult conversation. You cannot always see beforehand how it will turn out. Sometimes it really is hard, and God does not make everything easy.

But you may know: God is not gone, even when you don't see Him. Just like in Esther, He is often at work in the background.

And look also at that other detail. The Jews did not take the plunder. They could have become rich, but they didn't. Sometimes you can get what you want, and yet choose not to. Because it is not about the stuff. Have you ever thought about that with yourself?

At Purim they also gave gifts to the poor. A real feast is a feast you share.

Talk About It

Why do you think the writer of Esther never once mentions God's name, while God is doing so much?

Have you ever experienced something turning out completely different than you feared? What was that like?

Praying Together

Lord God, thank you that you are also there when we do not see you. Thank you that you can turn sorrow into joy. Help us to trust you, also on days we are afraid of. And teach us to share, just like the Jews at Purim. Amen.