"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.