Esther 8

“The city of Susa shouted and rejoiced, and the Jews celebrated with gladness, joy and honor.  In every province and every city, wherever the king’s command and his law reached, rejoicing and jubilation took place among the Jews.  There was a celebration and a holiday.  And many of the ethnic groups of the land professed themselves to be Jews, because fear of the Jews had overcome them.” Esther 8:15b-17 (HCSB)

Break out the Manischewitz!  The city of Susa was in the middle of a party that rivaled the one that opened the Book of Esther.  To this very day, the Jewish holiday of Purim is a festive occasion and one of the happiest events on the Jewish calendar.  As one Jewish comedian put it, “Purim is like the Jewish Halloween” because everyone dons costumes rattles noisemakers, and sends presents & food to one another.  It is amazing what happens when God’s people esteem His Word over their own self-preservation instincts.  Talk about transformations!  Esther did more than change her attitude; she became tenacious toward what she was formerly timid.  She became a “wolverine,” as it were.

Wolverines are built with powerful legs that propel them mile after mile in search of food.  They possess tremendous strength and determination.  Once they set their mind on their target, they press on despite all odds, seemingly never giving up until they achieve their goal.  This describes Queen Esther.  Once she made up her mind to secure the deliverance of her people, Esther tenaciously pressed forward until she achieved that end.  Even after victory over Haman was secured, Esther forged ahead to ensure that her enemies were thoroughly defeated and that her own people established a permanent means to remember their amazing victory.

But we must remember that the Jews were simply a small people group within a vast kingdom that spanned from India to Ethiopia.  So, what was the reaction of the other peoples within Achashverosh’s kingdom?  There was sheer fear and dread of the Jewish people…to the point where people declared themselves Jewish, simply to escape potential harm.

Years ago, I pondered (as many of you may have) the source of anti-Semitism.  Why have so many people groups hated the Jewish people; why have so many world leaders sought to destroy them?  In short, Satan hates the Jewish people.  Historically, Satan tried to kill off the Messianic line of David because redemption for the World would come through Messiah, Jesus.  But as God’s affection for the Jewish people endures (Romans 11), enraged envy and jealousy still wells up within the evil one, Satan.  Haman was undoubtedly a representative of the antichrist, as were Hitler, Stalin, and a host of others.

But how could anti-Semitism infect the Church?  Where were the seeds of anti-Semitism?  Today’s chapter ends with the reaction of the Medo-Persians toward the Jewish people: Fear and dread.  Now, picture several generations later when Roman heralds ride throughout the Empire, announcing that Constantine has decreed that every pagan Roman citizen is now a Christian and must worship the Jewish Messiah…