Preached Sunday, July 13, 2014 from Esther 9:1-19
Theme: This passage shows how much our Sovereign God is able to ‘turn the tables’ for those who trust Him.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We come this morning to—if I may say so—a hard passage to preach from. Because of our contemporary sensitivities, it’s a passage that I suspect most preachers would prefer to give only passing reference to and then move on.
But the more I have meditated on this passage, the more I have come to realize how much we would lose if we passed by it too quickly.
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The ninth chapter of Esther is a hard one because it deals with the story of how the people of Israel put to death many thousands of their enemies who had sought to kill them. It’s a bloody passage—one that, if we gave ratings to passages of Scripture, would probably receive an R rating for violence. But it reports a true story from history; one that God has told us in His word, ultimately, for our good and spiritual instruction.
This portion of Esther tells us an important part of the whole story. You can see that this is so from the very first verse; “Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed.” It goes on to tell us of how God reversed the situation of His harassed Jewish people while they were under the rule of the Median-Persian empire. It tells us of how—after the Jewish woman Esther had been raised to the position of queen to the mighty Persian king Ahasuerus; and after she was able to reveal to the king that his evil viceroy Haman had plotted to completely wipe out the Jewish race from the earth; and after Haman had been put to death and Esther’s godly cousin Mordecai was elevated to his position; and how Mordecai wrote a law in the king’s authority to counteract the decree against the Jewish people—the day finally came for the Jewish people to defend themselves. The story of Esther would, by no means, be complete without it.
But it is a bloody part of the story; because it tells of how the people of Israel rose up—with the authority of the king behind them—to put to death those who had sought to destroy them. It tells of how those who had taken the lead in the plan to destroy the Jewish people were executed. And it tells of how the king gave an additional day to the Jewish people to further secure themselves and slay those who sought to slay them. It’s a story that gives us the background for one of the most sacred holidays of the Jewish calendar—the Feast of Purim. It’s a holiday that the Jewish people around the world celebrate even today.
But I believe that what is most important about this part of the story—bloody though it is—is that it that tells us something about our sovereign God, and the providential care He is able to provide for His people. I like how the New International Version translates what it says in verse one; that on that day, “the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.” The ‘tables were turned’; and it was God’s doing.
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Have you ever heard that expression?—that ‘the tables have turned’? I tried to find out just exactly where it came from; and I found all kinds of different explanations.
Some have said that it came from the world of chess—that, when one player gains a sudden victory over another player, the side of victory has shifted; and it’s said that the chess table had ‘turned’. Others have said that it came from the playing of cards—that one player is dealt a hand that puts him at an advantage; and that the situation at the table has ‘turned’. Some folks (who, if you ask me, had probably seen too many old movies) say that it came from those occasions when there was deceit and treachery at the dinner table—that when someone poisons the drink of an enemy, and when their back is turned and the enemy switches drinks, it is said that he had turned the tables on his would be assassin.
The conclusion I have come to is that no one really knows for sure where the expression came from. But the meaning of it is pretty clear; isn’t it? It’s the idea of the fortunes in a situation being suddenly shifted in the opposite direction; so that the person who had been oppressed and disadvantaged suddenly—and almost due to circumstances that are outside their control—found that they held the advantage over their opponent. The tables had turned! And in this morning’s passage, we learn that our sovereign God is able—at any time—to come to the rescue of His oppressed people, ‘turn the tables’, and place His people at the advantage.
If you think about it, this is something that God indicates in the Scriptures that it is His pleasure to do—to suddenly changing the fortunes of His people so that they are delivered from their oppressors and are given the advantage over the ungodly. It’s not something they can do for themselves of course; because they are powerless to do so. Rather, it is something that God does for His own glory and for their good. This is made clear to us in Psalm 9:15-16; which says;
The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.
The Lord is known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands (Psalm 9:15-16).
Even Mary, the mother of our Lord, affirmed this when she rejoiced in God at the promise of the birth of the Savior and said of Him,
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly (Luke 1:51-52).
One of the great lessons we learn about our great God from the book of Esther is that He is the God of ‘tables turned’. He is able—suddenly, unexpectedly, and completely—to change a situation of oppression and utter despair into a situation of favor and overwhelming joy for His people. He is able to bring the wickedness of ungodly people upon their own heads, and set His people in positions of honor and authority. It’s a quality of our great God that should cause us to bow our heads in humble awe of Him, and to place our trust in His providential grace.
Let’s look closer at this passage; and see the different ways that our God is able to ‘turn the tables’ . . .
1. TO THE VICTORY OF THOSE
WHO HAD BEEN VICTIMS (v. 1).
Now; you’ll remember the decree that the evil man Haman had manipulated the king into signing—that of the complete destruction of the Jewish people throughout the 127 provinces of the world empire of Media-Persia. This decree had stated that, on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, all the Jewish people were to be destroyed, killed, annihilated—including women and children; and that all their possessions were to be plundered. This would have even extended to the Jews living in their homeland—because even they were under the domain of Media-Persia at that time. It would meant that all Jewish people everywhere were oppressed and doomed as the helpless victims of the Amalakite Haman—the most notorious anti-Semite in all of ancient history. It would have meant their doom.
But you’ll also remember how God had allowed Queen Esther to expose to the king that he had been fooled into destroying her own people; and how Haman had been hanged on the gallows that he had built for Esther’s godly cousin Mordecai; and how Mordecai was elevated to the position of authority once occupied by Haman; and how he was thus able to write a counter-decree that allowed the Jewish people to protect themselves on that same day.
Well; that day had finally come. And in verse one, we read;
Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them (v. 1).
“The tables were turned,” as the NIV puts it. It was the day of victory for those who had been destined to become victims! Only God could do that!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; when I think of this, I think of what we’re told in 1 John 5:4-5; “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” As great as the victory was for the Jewish people over their enemies living in Persia, God has guaranteed that those who are in Christ are destined to be the greatest victors of all. They overcome the world by faith in Jesus Christ! Even in the darkest time of human history that is yet to come—in the times of the reign of the devil’s man, the Antichrist—we’re told this about God’s redeemed people; “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11).
It is our sovereign God who turns the tables! And for those who are in Christ, He has promised that He will make victors out of those who were even the devil’s victims!
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Next, we see that God is able even to change the attitudes of people; so that those who were once looked down upon and despised by the ungodly of this world are lifted up to a place of esteem and honor and great authority. Our mighty God is able to ‘turn the tables’ . . .
2. TO THE FEARING OF THOSE
WHO HAD BEEN AFRAID (vv. 2-4).
The Jewish people had certainly been afraid. After the wicked decree of Haman had been published, we’re told that “in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes” (Esther 4:3).
What an attitude of fear it must have been that dominated the land! But oh, how the tables had turned! Now; we read,
The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people
(v. 2).
I don’t believe this new fear of the Jews was, necessarily, a craven, ‘negative’ kind of fear. Rather, I believe it was an attitude of deep reverential respect. The people of the king’s domain recognized that God had His hand on these people—His chosen people—who had only a short while before been doomed to destruction.
What’s more, the people were supported in their defensive efforts by the leaders and authorities of Persia themselves! And this was because of the high regard in which they now held Mordecai. We’re told,
And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent (vv. 3-4).
Our God of ‘the turning table’ is wonderfully able to do that! He can make His people—so despised by the world—suddenly to become objects of esteem and reverential fear. Now, of course; we need to understand this carefully. We should never expect to be respected if we live unfaithfully before God and man. We deserve to be disrespected if we do that. But when we live faithfully and honorably before God and suffer persecution for it, we should know that God can suddenly ‘turn the tables’. In Acts 2, we read this about the early church: that they were “praising God and having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:47). Later on, we read;
And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly (Acts 5:12-13).
Right now, we live in a time in which the cause of Christ is despised by the surrounding culture—a time when those who sincerely seek to follow Him are frequently held up for ridicule, and are viewed with contempt. But we can, nevertheless, be faithful to our Lord and bear shame for His name—knowing that our God is the God of ‘tables turned’. He is able, suddenly and completely, to cause His people and the message He has given them to be held in honor and respect—and not because of themselves, but because of the mighty God who has placed His love upon them.
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Now, of course; we know that some will never honor our God or His people. Some will, no matter what, always hate those who align themselves with Christ and His cause. In fact, Jesus warned, “’A servant is not greater than His master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). He even warned that “yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service” (John 16:2).
But another lesson we learn about our great God is that He is even able to ‘turn the tables’ . . .
3. TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THOSE
WHO HAD INTENDED TO DESTROY (vv. 5-10).
What we’re told in this chapter seems, from a superficial viewpoint, vengeful and violent. But we must remember that before God had turned the tables, untold of millions of Jewish people were scheduled—by official decree—to be slaughtered throughout the known world on just one day. Keeping that in perspective, then, we can’t help but marvel as we go on to read;
Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them” (v. 5).
Notice that in verse 6, it says, “And in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.” We’re told that this first act of defense only occurred in the capital city; and that they killed five hundred ‘men’. That’s important to remember. The decree had permitted Haman and those who were with him to kill all—women and children included. But the Jewish people limited themselves to only the men.
Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha—the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews—they killed; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder (vv. 7-10).
I believe that it would be important to stress that, as followers of Jesus, we live in a different dispensation of God’s working; and we are to handle things differently with those who mean us harm. We don’t rise up in violence against them. Vengeance belongs to God—not to us. Praise God for that! Our Lord taught us;
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:44-45).
But the lesson about our great God is, nevertheless, the same. He Himself is dreadfully able to do what He commands us not to do! Consider what it says in Proverbs 28:10; that “Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he himself will fall into his own pit; but the blameless will inherit good.” Or consider what it says in Proverbs 29:6; that “By transgression an evil man is snared, but the righteous sings and rejoices.”
Our God is fearsome in His justice. He is able to turn the tables to the destruction of those who mean to destroy His people.
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Not only this; but He is also able to turn the tables . . .
4. TO THE SECURITY OF THOSE
WHO HAD BEEN INSECURE (vv. 11-16).
Only five-hundred and ten men had been put to death on that fateful day—even though it had been formerly decreed that millions of Jews would be murdered on it. Most of the people throughout the empire rejoiced in this. But ‘the turning of the tables’ had, no doubt, raised the anger of many who had hoped for the destruction of the Jews—probably most likely the Amalakite peoples; who were the people of Haman and who had been the hostile enemies of the Jewish people from the time of Moses. That one day upset their plans; but it did not yet completely secure the Jewish people from future danger.
And so, we read;
On that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel was brought to the king. And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces?” (v. 11-12a).
I believe that, by this, the king meant that he only knew of what defense Esther’s people had made for themselves in the capital city; but was unsure what defense they had made for themselves throughout the rest of the 127 provinces of the empire. And so—without her even asking, it seems—he asked his Jewish queen;
“Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done” (v. 12b).
We’re not told that this was so; but I suspect Esther sought immediately to gain counsel from her cousin Mordecai. Afterward, she gave her answer to the king.
Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman’s ten sons (vv. 13-14).
Why were the bodies of the ten sons of Haman publicly hanged after they had already been killed? Perhaps it was to make abundantly clear to those who were still sympathetic to the wicked decree of Haman that the Jews—the people of the queen—had come under the king’s protection and favor; and that Haman’s evil plan had been officially thwarted and brought to an end. And then, the next day’s campaign to solidify the security of the Jews throughout the kingdom was completed.
And the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder (vv. 15-16).
This was not, I believe, a passion-driven act of revenge. It was a careful campaign to secure the defense of the Jewish people. 75,000 deaths were, of course, a staggering number of deaths. But it was far less than the number of deaths that the enemies of the Jews had intended for them! And although we’re not told so specifically—since the king, the leaders, and the people of the Persian empire were rejoicing over the turn of events—I suspect that those who were killed were primarily among the Amalakites, the people of Haman. They were the people that, long ago, King Saul had disobediently failed to put to death at the command of God (1 Samuel 15). And because the people of Israel at that time were commanded to not even spare the possessions of the Amalakites, I suspect that’s why we’re told repeatedly that “they did not lay a hand on the plunder”.
A tough story, isn’t it? But it’s a pretty vivid illustration of what God said in Nahum 1:9 to the ungodly of that prophet’s day; “What do you conspire against the Lord? He will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second time.”
Be sure of it! Our God is a God who turns the tables even to the permanent security of those who had been insecure.
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Finally, notice that our God can turn the tables . . .
5. TO THE PRAISES OF THOSE
WHO HAD BEEN OPPRESSED (vv. 17-19).
That’s how this part of the story ends—with praises! We’re told;
This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness (v. 17).
That’s what happened out in the various provinces throughout the empire. But things still needed to be made completely secure within the capital city. Once things were secure in the capital, they would be secure in the provinces. And so, we’re told;
But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another (vv. 18-19).
And so, as we’ll consider in more detail—Lord willing—in our next time together, the Jewish people commemorated this great event with a two-day feast; the 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar. To this day, the Jewish people celebrate the Feast of Purim on those days.
God truly turned the tables; so that those who had been oppressed were those who now praised!
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Let me close our time this morning by reminding you of the greatest ‘table-turning’ story of all.
The enemy of our souls—Satan—had sought to bring about the ruin of mankind. He caused our first parents to fall in the garden through disobedience to God. He thought he had the upper-hand. But God promised a Redeemer—one born from within humanity itself. God told the serpent about this promised Redeemer who would eventually come from the woman; “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Satan did, indeed, bruise His heel. That happened when Jesus suffered on the cross. But the cross of Jesus Christ became the cause of the defeat of the devil. Through it, God has ‘turned the tables’, and redeemed fallen humanity. All who trust in Jesus are snatched out of the devil’s hands. And do you know what Romans 16:20 promises us?
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly (Romans 16:20).
Oh how God has turned the tables! He makes His redeemed people, who the devil sought to destroy, to—one day—be the very ones whose feet God will use to crush Satan! He truly is the God of ‘tables turned’—and to the ultimate degree!
But be sure you will be found on the winning side of that turn! Make certain you have placed your trust in the cross of our Savior Jesus Christ!