Verses:
Esther 8 : 1 - 17
My thoughts about the verses:
Esther is given everything that was Haman's. Mordecai is even given the King's ring and a
royal crown. He is placed over the
possessions of Haman. Yet, Esther is
still sad. For the decree has already
been set out that will destroy the rest of the Jews. So she bends down and begs the King to help
her people.
The King cannot take back the order that was already
given due to customs. Yet, he tells
Esther and Mordecai to make a new law that would help the Jews. The tide was changing for the Jewish
community at this point. The new law
stated that they could fight back if they were attacked. They were allowed to
take the possessions of anyone who would attack them.
When the Jewish community heard this there was great
rejoicing. They knew that they would
have a fighting chance if they were attacked.
The conquered people would be able to stand up against anyone that came
to fight them. Ironically people that
were not Jews were so afraid that they changed and became Jews. This would be a very strong witness to
anyone. A conquered people were being
given the chance to fight back. How
often do we see that in today's society where the marginalized are given the
chance to fight back?
I recently watched a documentary on a young woman
who went back in to Nazi occupied territory to help the Jewish community. She had made it out of her country before the
Nazi's took over power. She made it to
Israel and to a group of people that were going to fight back and help all they
could. She became only one of three
female paratroopers from this newly formed group of soldiers. They landed in an unoccupied country and had
to safely make it across the border to help as many people as they could escape
before the country was overthrown by the Nazis.
Yet, through miscommunication she did not make it. Turns out she and the rest of the group were
three days late.
When she was captured she was tortured along with
her mother. She ended up dying in a Nazi
camp. Yet, her heroics and bravery were
remembered well past her time. Finally
after several decades her body was returned to Israel where she was properly
laid to rest. Just imagine how brave you
would have to be to try and save a community when there are only a handful of
people with you. That is true heroism.
There are many other stories of heroism around the
world. There are many stories where one
or two people have overcome great battles to help those less fortunate. To help the people those are forgotten. Their
stories are much like the events happening in the book of Esther. This was a small minority group that was just
trying to survive. They had been held
captive for so many years yet they still held on to their religious
beliefs. They won the right to fight
back because of two brave souls. Two people who were put in the right place at
the right time to serve God.
Prayer:
Dear beloved Savior we thank you for your sacrifice
on the cross. We thank you for loving us
so much that you put your life second so that we may live. We ask right now that you help us stand up to
injustice in the world. Help us be witnesses
to people that are struggling. Let our
voices unite so that people do not have to live in tyranny and fear. In the name of the most High we pray. Amen
Questions:
Have you ever helped someone who was struggling? Have you ever accepted the call to protect
those less fortunate? Are you willing to
arm yourself with truth and justice?
Will you step out in faith today to help those that are persecuted
around the world? Are you following
Christ example in the way that you interact with the world?
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