Old Testament: Esth 8.15–17

To read the Bible in a year, read Esther 7–10 on June 23, In the year of our Lord Christ 2022

By Don Ruhl 

People, especially Haman, in the Persian Empire looked forward to the opportunity to kill God’s people, the Jews, in the kingdom of Persia. However, the Lord turned the curse into a blessing, and Esther and her cousin Mordecai became exalted in the eyes of the Persians, as the writer shows: 

So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor. And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

– Esther 8.15–17 

The Jews were not the dominant people in the land, yet, those with greater power sought to eliminate them. However, the Persians saw how things turned around for the Jews, and that made everyone happy, so much so that many Persians became Jews! 

Mordecai and Esther did not plan for this to happen, but when the extinction of the Jews in the Persian Empire became a probability, the two of them knew what to do, and they acted upon it. 

We want to see the same thing happen. We want people in our nations to become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we often feel powerless to cause such a change. Let us be patient, for you never know what the future holds. Some disaster or something else may happen that will awaken the people, and when that happens, you should know what to do and be ready to act upon it. 

Questions: 

• Why did Mordecai rear Esther? 
• What nation today is modern Persia? 

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Don preaches with the Savage Street Church of Christ in Grants Pass, Oregon. 

Listen to his sermons here: GrantsPassChurchOfChrist.com