The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city
of Susa was bewildered. Esther
3:15
I don’t know exactly why this struck me as funny. Maybe because we are presently in a state
where much of the populace is bewildered.
This verse is set in the time when Xerxes was king over 127
provinces stretching from India to Cush (the upper Nile region in Africa). He had become disenchanted with his queen
(Vashti), who had openly defied him, so he had disposed of her, and replaced her
with the winner of a beauty contest. The
woman who he made the new queen was Esther, who was a Jew.
Haman was one of Xerxes’ chief officials. He disliked the Jews in general and Mordecai,
who was Esther’s uncle, in particular.
Without being specific as to the fact he was describing the Jews, he
told Xerxes that there was a troublesome group of people who should be
annihilated. Xerxes went along with this
not knowing he was condemning Esther and her people.
After agreeing on the plot to wipe out the offending group,
Xerxes and Haman sat down for a self-congratulatory drink. The people of the capital city of Susa were
left in bewilderment. They probably knew
that Haman had it in for the Jews, and that Esther was one of them. This was something Xerxes had not yet figured
out.
Long story short, Esther intercedes for her people. Xerxes is enraged with Haman, and it doesn’t
end well for Haman. The Jews are allowed
to defend themselves and are saved.
I’m just thinking that sometimes our political leaders sit
down to drink with each other either literally or figuratively. They believe they have solved some knotty
problem and deserve a reward. The rest
of us are left scratching our heads.
What are they thinking? How is
this a resolution of the real problem?
Do they not understand the far-reaching practical implications?
At least Xerxes was approachable and able to see that he had
been hoodwinked. He listened to
reason. He could not reverse his
previous decree, but he gave his permission for a new one to be written that
provided a way out.
We need an Esther and officials who will listen to her.
Hi Ruthie this is Sandra Huntley, How are you and Bill doing? Francis and I are doing well. I was surprised to see your post. I am rereading my Bible from start ton finish. I was just reading about King Xerxes, He was something! I an past Kings and Even though I have read my
ReplyDeleteBible before the Thoughts and everything is so real to me now. Now it feels like a really good book that you can't put down.