Esther 9:15 For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.
16 But the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
18 But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.
As we look at the book of Esther, we see an empire that is functioning without the blessing of God upon it. We see an empire that is rudderless, from the human perspective. No one in the book of Esther can claim the high ground. No one was a testimony to the power of God at work in their lives. God was definitely at work throughout that period of history. He gave Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel dreams regarding what would happen in world history. Nothing is ever a surprise to God.
As we look at our world now, we are also in a time when there does not appear to be any nation that is functioning in a manner that demonstrates submission to the Lord. Every nation has its own agenda. Certain nations get together yearly at Davos and other world conferences to try to find agreement on issues they believe are important. The goal of the nations is to destroy the freedoms of the individual and to force all people to follow a world-wide state run system. The world tried this with the Wuhan virus. They were far more successful with that attempt than Hitler was in his day. A large portion of the world was led into a panic state and they put their minds out of gear and accepted the lies fed them by their leaders. Snitches were raised up to spy on those who did not bow down to the evil dictates.
Lost people are often involved in what can be called ‘group think’. They cannot think independently. They follow a leader. In Genesis 10&11 we read of a man named Nimrod. The Bible describes him as a “mighty hunter before the Lord”. He lived in defiance of the true God. He was able to convince the world of that time, that they should all work at building a tower that would reach heaven. Nobody offered any resistance to his evil plan. God stopped them and brought in the confusion of languages which would greatly hinder communication between different groups.
In the book of Esther, we have already seen that Haman was elevated to a very high position in the kingdom. The king had decreed that everyone was to bow before him if he passed by them. One man, Mordecai, refused to bow before this man. Everyone else was bowing, but not Mordecai. This greatly upset Haman. He could not stand any free thinkers. The people around Mordecai noticed that he did not bow and they wanted to know why he was not obeying the rules. He told them why and they did not accept that. They took the matter to the higher authorities to see if Mordecai’s reason would stand. The people could not accept anyone not falling in line with what they were “forced” to do.
The world loves rebels. They will get behind a rebel who says what they are thinking, but are afraid to enact on their own. This weekend there is an event in Winnipeg, called ‘MissionFest’. No born again Christian would want to be a part of that ungodly event. Some true Christian might see what is happening there in order to expose it, but it is certain that God is not in that event. It is an event that is further preparing the world for the Antichrist.
At the time of the Rapture, all the true saints will be removed from this earth. There will be none left behind. The Antichrist will be presented and he will be the long awaited ‘peace maker’ that the world has been looking for. There will still be false religion on this earth, but no saved individuals. Early on in that dreadful time, God will raise up one hundred and forty four thousand virgin Jewish men who will be evangelists to the world. They will be born again and they will preach the truth for a time. The Antichrist and the world will hate these men. God will also raise up two witnesses in Jerusalem who will also preach the truth at that time. They too will be hated by the Antichrist and the world. God will give the world, and the Jews in particular the opportunity to hear and respond favourably to the Gospel during that time. A few will be saved, but most will reject the truth and they will submit themselves to the wickedness of the Antichrist. ‘Group think’ will be on full display during that time.
In our text, Esther had arranged a second day for the Jews to attack Jew haters in Shushan. They would kill another three hundred men on that second day. Again we read that they would not take the prey. They were not interested in the wealth of the people. They were only interested in stopping the violence against themselves.
In verse 16 we read that seventy five thousand Gentiles were killed during the one day in the rest of the empire. In verse 17 we read that the Jews in the rest of the empire rested on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and they made it a day of feasting and gladness. They had stopped a massive slaughter of the Jews. They had turned that into a massive slaughter of Jew haters.
In Shushan the Jews took two days to stop the antisemite attacks. They rested and feasted on the fifteenth day of the month. The Jews in Persia developed a new holiday as a result of this event. King Ahasuerus had no objection to this new feast. He was a party animal himself. He did not seem to mind if people lived their own lives, as long as they did not interfere with his party life. As all this chaos was taking place, God was working behind the scenes to keep things from getting completely out of hand. It was certainly not a very safe environment for anyone at that time. The Jews had to arm themselves and go after Gentiles that wanted to kill them. The Gentiles had to live in fear as they did not know if the Jews would come and invade their homes and kill them. It was not a good time for anyone. This is what happens when God is not given His rightful place in our lives.
Events like the current MissionFest give rise to further rejection of true Christianity. If you buy into the devil’s lies you are accepted. If you stand for truth, you are despised. The Bible tells us that there is an automatic division between day and night. God created that division. There is also an automatic division between truth and error. God also created that division. It is foolish to try to make the truth fit in with the error. That is what the Jews had been doing in Israel prior to their exile. God did not allow them to continue to despise Him without suffering the consequences.
If they would have chosen to serve Him, they would never have been in Persia. They would never have faced this challenge. They could have been a light to the Gentile nations. They chose rebellion over obedience, and they found themselves in a place they never planned to be in. If it were not for God’s mercy toward them and His faithfulness to His own self, the Jews would long have been wiped off the face of the earth. They still have enemies all round them. They are still living in defiance to the truth.
Jesus Christ declared that He would do a new thing, which is to build His church upon Himself. Churches are supposed to be a light in a dark world. Churches are supposed to be a contrast to the darkness that is all around them. Events like ‘MissionFest’ are not light. They are darkness. They are promoting darkness all over the world. Darkness does not need to be promoted. Man is born in darkness. What these types of events do is preserve the darkness. They resist the light and they glorify the evil. Don’t be fooled by the hype and the noise.
Those who are born again have a calling from the Lord to be a light in this dark world. God is at work. However, if the saints want to try to hide from the world, how will the world come to the light? Don’t waste your life living for yourself. Choose life and glorify God. God wants to bless us. He wants us to know true peace and joy. True peace and joy come from knowing the true God. As we have noted, God is at work. Don’t miss out on His blessings. Submit to His will and know His peace and joy.
Pastor Bartel
