Esther 9

I thought I already posted this but turns out.... I never pressed publish... so here it is:

Hey Guys! Today is Chapter 9! Our second to last chapter of Esther!

Esther 9:1-3

"So on March 7 the two decrees of the king were put into effect. On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king's provinces to attack anyone who tried to harm them. But no one could make a stand against them, for everyone was afraid of them. And all the nobles of the provinces, the highest officers, the governors, and the royal officials helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai." (NLT)

I love this verse! It really shows the strength of the Jews. They did what seemed impossible! What makes it better, is that they did it through God. Everyone feared them because they knew the Jews had God on their side. Even the high powers helped Jews because they knew Mordecai was a Jew and feared for their lives aswell. I think this all shows that God has a purpose for everything. God used Haman's wickedness to bring about a crisis that lead to great change for Jews. Joseph would never have become next to the King without being sold into slavery first. God is at work all the time even though we may not understand his ways.

As the chapter continues, it tell that the Jews killed 500 men and Haman's 10 sons. It also says that the Jews did not plunder. That means that the families of the men that were killed got to keep their land and riches, despite the fact they had permission from the king to do so. People could see that the Jews were only seeking justice, not trying to get rich at their enemies’ expense. Lust and greed were not part of the picture.

Esther 9:12-16

"He called for Queen Esther. He said, 'The Jews have killed 500 men in the fortress of Susa alone, as well as Haman's ten sons. If they have done that here, what has happened in the rest of the provinces? But now, what more do you want? It will be granted to you; tell me and I will do it.' Esther responded, 'If it please the king, give the Jews in Susa permission to do again tomorrow as they have done today, and let the bodies of Haman's ten sons be impaled on a pole.' So the king agreed, and the decree was announced in Susa. And they impaled the bodies of Haman's ten sons. Then the Jews at Susa gathered together on March 8 and killed 300 more men, and again they took no plunder. Meanwhile, the other Jews throughout the king's provinces had gathered together to defend their lives. They gained relief from all their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not take any plunder." (NLT)

Esther 9:22

"He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy." (NLT)

After all of this happened, the Jews celebrated their victory and that God had rescued them. They deemed those days as a holiday called Purim because Purim

The chapter begins to close out with a review of all the events that occured in Esther.

Esther 28-32

"These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants. Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote another letter putting the queen's full authority behind Mordecai's letter to establish the Festival of Purim. Letters wishing peace and security were sent to the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of the empire of Xerxes. These letters established the Festival of Purim—an annual celebration of these days at the appointed time, decreed by both Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther. (The people decided to observe this festival, just as they had decided for themselves and their descendants to establish the times of fasting and mourning.) So the command of Esther confirmed the practices of Purim, and it was all written down in the records."

That's it for Chapter 9! The final chapter of Esther will be up tomorrow morning! BYE :) :) :)