Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Esther 8 and Psalm 33

King Xerxes was faced with a conundrum. The previous decree, which had been written in his name and sealed with his seal by Haman, had called for the annihilation of the Jews. It could not be revoked legally. Yet he longed to protect the Jews now that he realised Queen Esther and Mordecai were among them. The king appears to have been lazy to do his own thinking and leading, and this time he gave authority to Mordecai to do the work on his behalf. There’s a lesson in there for all of us who lead in any capacity. There are some tasks we can correctly delegate to others, and there are some for which we may correctly seek the wisdom of others in order to come to a good decision. But delegation should never become abdication, because we are ultimately responsible for the decisions made under our watch. The king should never have allowed Haman to issue a decree on his behalf, and one wonders whether he should rather have taken counsel from Mordecai and then issued this decree himself.

Either way, the decree was written and the Jews were given the right to self-defence, “the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children. (v.11)”

Among the Jews this decree evoked great rejoicing. They had been delivered from a hopeless fate. Even though they would still need to fight for their lives, they had at least been granted the right to defend themselves, and the king’s command on their behalf had lifted their spirits and their standing in the eyes of their communities. “There was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them. (v.17 )”

We live in a fallen world that is broken by sin and filled with hurt. But our Saviour Jesus has promised us a day of victory over brokenness and death. In that day all things will be made new and right again. His resurrection from the dead, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts are our pieces of evidence that this day is coming. Let us rejoice in the blessed future hope we have, even though we are still surrounded by “days of darkness” (Ecclesiastes 11:8)

Lord, I long for the day of Your return. As I wait for that glorious Day, I rejoice in Your wonderful presence which is already with me by the Holy Spirit’s presence, and I pray for Your swift return. Come, Lord Jesus, come! Amen.