The God of Great Reversals

We are going to look at chapter 8 under four headings.

I. From Disgrace to Honour (Esther 8: 1,2,15)
At the beginning of the day, Mordecai had been a nobody. But now he was recognized as the one who had saved the king’s life, and he was the prime minister, wearing royal robes and a crown and the king’s signet ring.
By nature, we are all like Mordecai, we are like the Jews languishing under a death sentence, condemned to die because of our own rebellion against the King of kings.
But then through the gospel, when we trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ, there is deliverance, there is redemption. We are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. From being under condemnation, we become joint heirs with Christ. From children of wrath to Sons of God. All that can happen in a day.

II. From Cowardice to Courage (Esther 8: 3-6)
The Esther who out of fear had previously kept her Jewish identity hidden from the king was now not afraid to die. Now we see an Esther who is concerned, not for her own well-being, but for the plight of her people.
Didn’t Jesus say, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” A new Esther has arrived.
As New Testament believers we have the promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He transforms every part of our being.

III. From Death to Life (Esther 8: 7-14)
The king could not revoke the edict written in his name and sealed with his ring. But he gave Esther the permission to draft another edict, one that would effectively cancel the effects of the first edict.
Esther and Mordecai wasted no time. They drafted a counter-edict. They could not overturn Haman’s edict, but they could level the playing field.
The first decree was a decree of death. The instruction was to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, and to plunder their goods. The counter-decree allowed the Jews to defend themselves and preserve their lives. The two decrees stand side by side. There has been a reversal in what was in store for them. Death could now be reversed and they could have life.
God pronounced the decree of death in the Garden of Eden against humanity. God’s decree cannot be revoked. Therefore, God himself issued a counter-decree of life, the gospel of Jesus Christ. His counter-decree necessitated the incarnation of his Son and the Son’s death on the cross. We were meant to die but God turned it around and gave us life.
Remember, although the counter-decree provided the way of escape it did not automatically spare them all. The people had to proactively take steps to protect themselves, or they would perish. If they had decided not to act on the opportunity they were given, they would have died. We too must obey God’s call and accept the way of deliverance that God has provided. If we do not, we will perish.

IV. From Mourning to Celebration (Esther 8: 15-17)
Mordecai coming out from the king’s presence in royal robes was a tangible evidence of the deliverance God was providing. The Jews identified themselves with Mordecai who was their deliverer and rejoiced. We as New Testament believers can identify ourselves with Jesus Christ who as our Saviour ascended into heaven and sat down in the place of honour at the right hand of God. We can identify with Jesus and rejoice in His exaltation.
The Jewish community that had responded to the first edict with four kinds of distress— mourning, fasting, weeping, and wailing (4:3) —now responded to the second with four kinds of delight: "light and gladness and joy and honour" (Esth. 8:16). What a reversal!
From the Bible we come to believe that God governs the world, that everything happens by His ordering. Everything He does, He does for a purpose; and everything, including struggles and trials, will ultimately work for the good of those who are called according to His purpose, those who love Him because He first loved them.