On the thirteenth day of
Adar, a law giving command to destroy the Jews was to be carried out
all over the Persian empire. However, a subsequent law allowing the
Jews to defend themselves was issued, and when the day came, Jews
were victorious over their enemies and many of those who opposed them
were slain. King Ahasuerus of Persia asked his queen, Esther, who was
a Jew, if she desired anything else of him, and her answer was that
the Jews have an additional day to defend themselves. The king
granted her request, and in chapter nine and verse fifteen we see the
Jews' victories on the fourteenth day of Adar. We read:
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.
The
verse begins, “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;” We may
remember that the ten sons of Haman were hung in the streets of
Shushan as a reminder to everyone to never come against the Jews in
the manner of Haman again, and this must have been a huge backdrop to
what happened on this fourteenth day. The boldness of the Jews to
defend themselves must have been at an all-time high, so they
“gathered themselves together” and “slew three
hundred men at Shushan”. We might also recall that they already
slew five hundred men who were in the palace at Shushan, so the
number of the enemy casualties continued to grow. Rather than be
destroyed, the Jews were destroying those who dared stand against
them.
The
verse goes on to say, “but on the prey they laid not their
hand.” Once again we are told that the Jews did not partake of
the spoils. This was not normal as those who won in battles usually
gathered any valuables that belonged to their enemies. Rather than
take of the worldly goods, it was as though the Jews desired their
preservation and victory be noted as their gain. They were entitled
to the spoils, but they chose to honor the fact that they were alive,
and their enemies' desire for their demise failed.
We too
have enemies who desire to destroy us. These enemies are spiritual
enemies whom Paul the apostle speaks of in the book of Ephesians
chapter six and verse twelve:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
These
enemies desire that we never know Jesus Christ as our personal Lord
and Savior, and when they can't stop that, their mission is to
destroy our testimony and lives. Let us take inspiration from the
Jews as we contemplate the battle with our enemy. Let us “gather
together” and begin to “slay” them in the name of Jesus, and
rather than seek the earthy valuables which might be available after
the victories, let us simply rejoice in the fact that Jesus has made
us “more than conquerers”.
Next
time we will see a huge number of the Jews enemies slain, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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