We Need Reminders of the Great Reversal

The story of Esther ends with a celebration. The feast of Purim is inaugurated in Jewish life and still remains to this day. So cool. But evidently, some people needed reassurance that the threat against them was indeed over and they had the king's authority to defend themselves AND that they should CELEBRATE. 

Esther 9:29–32 (ESV) Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim. 30 Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth, 31 that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting. 32 The command of Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

A second letter is necessary for the Jews to hear the news of their victory and authority. Why? Because it was hard to imagine it was true when for months the world seemed intent on killing them.  You see, for the Jews in Esther's day, they had seen for a long time what Persia represented (see Esther 1) - extravagance, decadence and excess. They saw the god-like worship and power bestowed upon king Xerxes and they assumed that the world would always be that way. Gone forever were the glory days of David's kingdom. Now they were a footnote on history. 

But the opposite had suddenly become true. God used the threat of Haman to overturn the dire forecast of the Jews. God brought Haman's evil down on his own head. God reversed the curse they faced and now was time to believe!

This is the Bible's theme by the way. The Lord takes what the enemy intends for evil and uses it for our good. The gallows of Haman became the end of Haman. The death of Jesus became the end of death for all who are in Jesus. The story of the Gospel is the story of great reversal!

We also need reminders to reassure our hearts that all of this is indeed true. That our enemy is defeated and there is no eternal threat on our lives any longer. We also need reminding that indeed our lives have the authority of the King! This is why Paul prays for the Ephesians to have a heart and mind to know this:

Ephesians 3:14–19 (ESV) For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

We need our inner being strengthened with power that Christ would indeed dwell within, seal us in the love of God and comprehend all that we have in Christ. This is Paul's SECOND prayer in Ephesians around this same idea. He already prayed in Ephesians 1:

Ephesians 1:16–21 (ESV) I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Perhaps what Paul patterns for us is what we need to practice in our own lives - regular prayers for our hearts and minds to have full assurance that the war is over and the kingdom of God is here and we are victorious through Christ Jesus!

The end of Esther recounts the ascendency of Mordecai who we have already discussed is a Christ figure throughout this book. 

Esther 10:3 (ESV) For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

Another recurring theme of the Bible is that those who bear the evil of this world become the pivots of great reversal and rise to "second" in command. Think of Joseph and David. Mordecai follows suit - showing us the path of Jesus who bore the evil of our sin on the cross and was raised to the right-hand side of God the Father (second in command). He is our true Mordecai - guaranteeing our victory, speaking peace, and seeking our welfare.

Thanks for reading... If you like more content about seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, Check out my FIRST book: MOVE!