Topic: Complete Victory For Complete Rest [Saturday April 4, 2015]
Text: Esther 9:13-19
Key Verse: “Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this day’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows” (Esther 9:13).
The powerful anti-Semitic Haman hatched a malicious plot to exterminate the Jews. Misrepresenting the Jews before the king, he cunningly obtained a royal approval to deal ruthlessly with them. He drafted a terrible decree to kill all the Jews and affixed the king’s seal on it. The decree was circulated to all the Medo-Persian provinces to mobilize executioners. The ethnic cleansing and genocide would have been dastardly if hatched.
The decree was reversed through divine intervention. Haman was hanged in the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Another decree was signed by the king empowering the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies.
On the appointed day, the Jews slew their aggressors in Shushan and all the king’s provinces. In Shushan, 500 men were slain by the Jews. Esther’s request here for a repeat of the exercise in Shushan the following day was not borne out of bloodthirstiness but to forestall a potential mistake.
Following the counter edict from the king, some of the Jews’ enemies went into hiding only to resurface the next day when the edict would have expired. Those murderous men remained a threat to the Jews. On that 2nd day, 300 of them were killed in Shushan and the bodies of Haman’s sons were publicly hanged upon the gallows to deter others from repeating their evil. Thus did the Jews eliminate all their enemies and had rest.
In our fight against Satan and sin, nothing less than total victory will do. Take nothing for granted. Deal with every present and potential threat to your soul’s well-being.
Bible in One Year: Psalm 24-30
Thought for The Day: The sin you spare will never spare you.
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
