O How the Tables Have Turned ~ Esther chs. 9-10

 

Chapter 9 begins with a statement about a major reversal of fortune for the Jews. It says in vs. 1 “but now the tables were turned.” And that table turning refers to the Jews gaining the upper hand over those who had wished for their destruction and their subsequent response to do the destroying themselves.

9:2 ² The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them.

9:5 ⁵ The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.

9:13 ¹³ “If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.”

10:1 King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores.

And last week we began to struggle with such a response. We noted that as followers of Jesus there were parts of the story that we must say, “No” to. Well, that will continue this week but from a different perspective for we find in our text both violence and rest, both killing and care. We find, in other words us.

So as we end this amazing book the first thing I want to remind us of is that we sometimes read Scripture to apocalypse us. Apocalypse as word means to peel back, to uncover, to reveal what something or someone is, what is really happening. And so we read Scripture to show us that we have good and evil in us. We read it in order to confess, apart from our nice clothes and washed faces, “We did that. We do that. We want that.”

Alexander Solzhentisyn, the Russian novelist, once captured this perspective: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts.” We are heroes and we are villains. We are helpful and we are hurtful.

One of my favorite bands, Toad the Wet Sprocket, also echoes this idea. “It's hard to rely on my good intentions, when my head’s full of things that I can’t mention.”

“I’m a bad Christian,” she lamented to me over the phone. I responded, “There is no such thing as a bad or good Christian. There are only those who are honest or dishonest. The apocalypse of Scripture is to remind us that all of us, even followers of God, are messed up and marvelous, brutal and beautiful.

The book of Esther and it’s ending drama of violence, vengeance, and pain reminds us that sometimes – sometimes – we read Scripture not to learn how to live or what to do but we read it to learn what kind of people we are. We are the beautifully broken ones.

One of the most oft-mentioned verbs in the Old Testament is “to remember.” The argument from Scripture is often that the quickest path to sin is forgetfulness. So we read Scripture, especially the hard parts, not because we are intended to follow them. You are not to follow Esther and Mordecai in their violence nor or you to judge them. You are to remember honestly, confessionally, seriously, that you are them, capable like them of pettiness, revenge, hatred and harm. The Bible’s talk about sin doesn’t intend to say your horrible. It hopes to remind us that the hatred and violence of the world is rarely utilized by a mass of people who wish to play the villain but often by well-meaning people who think they are the good.

In that spirit one of the things that Esther should remind us is that we must speak to power without becoming power. Power allows you to do whatever you please and let’s be honest – that’s rarely a good thing. Vs. 5 reminds us of that terrible temptation: “The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.”

We must be careful with our words. We already discussed how in 7:4 Esther makes a seemingly throw away comment about slavery in order to ingratiate herself to the King. We must be careful of the things we say, the things we imagine don’t matter. 10:1 involves a truly devastating reality, “King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire to its distant shores.” This is a comment most likely about slavery and we see its effects in Neh. 9:36-37. ³⁶ “But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. ³⁷ Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.” Sin is such a tricky thing.

So we read Scripture to raise doubts about the things that we might want, even perhaps the good that we might wish to do. It makes us wary of how it easy it is to turn the tables and move from being oppressed to being oppressors.

But hey, there’s a profound hope in this as well that is worth celebrating. Yes, we are the violent ones. Yes, we are the ones who get scared and want to do to our enemies what they have wished to do to us. We are. But Esther also wants to make a more profound point. That even there. Even with us. God uses us, turns the tables, seeks to orchestrate goodness. Dr. Nail story.

So we also read Scripture to experience the mystery of God in the apocalyptic mix – who works among us, with us, and in spite of us.

Three things stand out from the final two chapters that reflect what God wants for everyone:

1)   Words of goodwill and assurance. “And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom – words of goodwill and assurance -  . . .” (9:30)

We read Esther to remember that God loves us so much that he’ll use you even when you’re not at your best. So thank God for using the less-than-perfect. Thank God for allowing us to question our heroes and having their faults and not simply their triumphs written in our book for all to see. Thank you God that we can without judgment, for we are all broken, nevertheless correct one another in love. The apocalypse of Scripture is to remind us what Joseph discovered: “What you intended for evil, God intended for good.” (Genesis 50:20). Be brave and willing to share goodwill and assurance with others.

2)   Relief and rest. ²⁰ Mordecai recorded these events, . . .  to have them celebrate annually . . . as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, (9:20)

And then on the fifteenth they rested . . . (9:18)

When we read the book of Esther, it’s interesting that the celebrate Purim often in the passive voice – not glorifying military victory but consequences of peace and rest that they are not actively involved in. We become mindful of a God who is at work even when we don’t see, even when we don’t know. This doesn’t mean that we are to be complacent, this doesn’t mean that we don’t have choices or actions that matter. It does mean, though, that we can rest assured that we are not the only ones at work. The Bible never charts out the function of God’s providential love for all creatures. It simply shows it mysteriously, intriguingly, cunningly. And this means that we can lean into relief and rest believing that God isn’t just good but that he wills and wants the good. It means that we can do the best we can and believe that God is not thwarted by us.

3)    Joy and gifts. [Mordecai] wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. (9:22b)

When we read the book of Esther, we must learn to celebrate reversals with one another and recognize a God who wants for us joy and gifts. Think about such a reversal in your own life. When have you experienced a personal Purim? When have you experienced the tables turning in your own life? We need to learn from our brothers and sisters of color to celebrate more. I’ve experienced Purim in my life, have you? My own divorce was a terrible thing but you can look on the front row and see my joy and gift. We must tell these stories and we must listen to stories of Purim in waiting - those who are still in need. We must be a place where both joy and sadness experience the gift of attention and listening.

Who do you know who needs any of these things? Words of goodwill and assurance, relief and rest, joy and a gift?

Be brave and share joy. Be brave and give gifts. Be brave and speak goodwill.

"Yes!" and "No!": How to Read the Bible with Esther, Paul and Jesus ~ Esther, chs. 7-8

 

Is Esther a story for us?

Well, hopefully you are discovering a resounding “yes,” an ancient story that engages our current context in shockingly relevant ways: bad-faith political leaders, the evils of sex-trafficking, the promotion of female empowerment, the reality and function of “privilege,” and the sneaky actions of God who is at work even we don’t see him. In many respects we have found wisdom, courage, and words to live by. And chapters 7-8 continue to not disappoint us by Illustrating brave followers of God and a God who works behind the scenes, even in the face of great evil, to thwart it, to bring about the good. The Old Testament scholar Marion Ann Taylor points out how certain Scriptures provide helpful theological commentary for the story:

·       “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.” (Proverbs 25:15) [Esther’s wise and careful speech to help her people]

·       God’s hidden activity and dramatic reversals in thwarting evil:

The Lord sends poverty and wealth [Mordecai receives Haman’s estate];
    he humbles and he exalts [Mordecai is made second-in-command].
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap [Mordecai casts off his mourning clothes];
he seats them with princes [Esther’s and Mordecai’s relationship with Xerxes]
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.

“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
    on them he has set the world.
⁹ He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness [Esther’s safety and Haman’s defeat].

“It is not by strength that one prevails;
¹⁰     those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
    the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.

“He will give strength to his king
    and exalt the horn of his anointed.” [Esther’s elevation as one anointed by God “for such a time as this”]

Is Esther a story for us? Well, yes.

And yet – and yet – were any of you also uncomfortable about these chapters? Did anything strike you as a bit challenging?

·       Perhaps the brutal death of Haman (7:9) by a drunk, clownish King who gets off scot-free, though he was certainly complicit.

·       Perhaps a counseled violence that seeks to “destroy, kill, annihilate” any “who might attack” including “women and children” (See also 9:2, 5, 13, 16)

·       Perhaps the fear of Persians who fearfully pretend to be Jews or convert under fearful circumstances

The translators of the NIV were so uncomfortable with the second point that they took the extraordinary step of translating 8:11 differently from almost all other mainline translations (NRSV, NASB, NKJV) obscuring the fate of women and children. The NIV reads:

¹¹ The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city 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, and to plunder the property of their enemies. The NIV translation, unlike all other translations or commentaries, makes the "women and children" Jewish rather than Persian, thus removing the intended point that Persian women and children were also subject to Jewish violence and revenge. Compare with the NRSV: ¹¹ By these letters the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, with their children, and their women, and to plunder their goods.]

The consensus of scholars and translators is that the Mordecai/Esther edict intends to mirror the Haman/Xerxes decree against the Jews (3:13) in its brutality including “women and children” because it serves to bring about the (failed) punishment spoken of in 1 Samuel 15: 2-3, against the Amalekites: ² This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. ³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

What do we do with that? Does God sanction such genocide and the killing of children? Is Esther a story for us?

The question is hardly abstract. Christians have used such passages to kill people of other religious traditions and even other Christians for millennia, even in our own contemporary age: early Christian explorers to this country justified their slaughter of Indigenous peoples by claiming that they were “Amalekites” resulting in the loss of 95% of 100 million people. Moreover, Christian Hutu pastors in Rwanda used 1 Samuel 15 to spur the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis. One pastor said: “If you don’t exterminate the Tutsis you’ll be rejected. If you don’t want to be rejected by God, then finish the job of killing the people God has rejected. No child, no wife, no old man should be left alive . . . Amen.”

Well, as I prayerfully wrestled with this I had a moment when I imagined a conversation with Jesus and the Apostle Paul, who gently came to me and said: “On this issue, Esther is not a story for you. This story is not for us.” What would Jesus and what would Paul say to Esther and Mordecai? How would they preach these words? What might they say?

“Have you not read?” A constant indictment against the Pharisees in theological debates was Jesus’ astonished question: “Have you not read . . .” So, Jesus read and knew the Old Testament. He loved it, revered it, and studied it, carefully. Don’t hide from it; not even from books that might seem scary or from stories that might not seem pertinent. Jesus loved to quote the book of Leviticus a lot and even made one of its verses: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:34) one of the quintessential elements of his platform. The Old Testament was the Bible of Jesus and Paul and they quoted it frequently as a cornerstone of Christian spirituality and ethics. And there are Old Testament passages which offer a counter-testimony than to sanctioned killing: Isaiah speaks of beating swords into ploughshares and the end of war, Ezekiel 33:11 becomes interesting counterpoint for the death of Haman: ¹¹ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!”, for example. Remember, this isn’t a book but a library of faith with plenty of voices and perspectives. Some voices, Jesus and Paul will assert, because of God’s intended work are more valid and pertinent than others.

·       “You have heard it said, but I say to you . . .” But, once you’ve read it then, listen to Jesus. And Jesus willfully, intentionally, intelligently, didn’t do parts of it. Matthew 5 is emblematic of this way of reading Scripture:

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,^[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you . . . (5:21-22)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’^{[h] 39} But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. (5:38-39)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[i] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (5:43-44)

We’ve seen how in John 8 Jesus will ignore the law’s position on death for an adulterer; despite Leviticus’ clear warning, Jesus will touch lepers; despite stalwart Scriptures enshrining Sabbath Jesus will intentionally break it for the sake of people. So we must read like Jesus and recognize that he privileges passages from the Old Testament that heal and liberate people, or that allow them to change.  

Both Jesus and Paul identify the purpose of Scripture and the proper way to read it as “loving others.”

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[c] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[d] 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[a]

I understand that saying “love” is our interpretive lens doesn’t settle the argument but it certainly should frame it. Love fulfills the law and people must be loved. Reading it towards forgiveness and enemy love is the proper way to read it.  

Finally, as I was reading chapters 7 & 8 with all of this mind another reversal occurred. I'm talking about the great reversal through which we must read all of Scripture. Jesus appeared in chapters 7 & 8 and it was no longer Esther who presided over the banquet but Jesus. And it was no longer Haman who was pierced it was Jesus. The wine that caused drunkenness and violence was held and Jesus said, “This is my blood shed for you. Do this . . .” and then Jesus stops Harbona and says, “No, that pole is not for Haman. I will take his place.” Not long ago Noel Bryant guest preached here and gave a powerful word: The crucified one doesn’t wish to crucify anyone.

Be brave and read the Old Testament, even the hard parts.

Be brave and be willing like Jesus to say, “no” to some parts and “yes” to others.

Be brave and remember that the God of the Universe and the author of Scripture gave his life so that all hostilities should cease. The God of the Universe and the author of Scripture wishes to offer us a different banquet.