As in any good story; the plot expands and rises to a peak. At the peak, we see the injustice of the weak and know the ones who do evil and get away with it!  We have seen each circumstance play out as their manipulative plan to overcome and have it all is succeeding!  With each step of evil’s success, evil gains confidence and strength as evil ones get their own way!  

Readers and/or the audience boo in disgust; but they are mere bystanders.  As portrayed in the old black and white movies, the evil leader stands confidently with smirk on his face as he twirls his big black moustache over each evil deed done. His cronies laugh while stepping over the weak they have beaten down.

Ah, but the story isn’t over!  We know this but our hearts still quicken!  At the peak; the story takes a slow dive and begins to descends into the revelation of truth as the Enemy is exposed.  The story is now providing resolutions of justice to the weak in the story!  In the old movies, it is the good guy in white clothing wearing a white hat while riding a beautiful white horse.  He knows the Truth with power to correct the wrongs and bring justice to the downtrodden. This is the “plot twist” we have been waiting for!  As the story peaks with the enemy winning a sudden shift is made.  We become hopeful as we watch!  Injustices are finally revealed to the King who listens and has the authority and power to right the wrongs. 

Truth is told as the curtains are pulled back to reveal all the dastardly deeds meant to do harm to good people.  We heave a huge sigh of relief as evil gets what we thing they deserve and the good people of the town get to live without constant harassment just because of who they are.

It is not lost on us that the story of Esther proceeds in this way to demonstrate the glory and power of our Almighty God who consistently writes His story of His faithfulness to all who believe. His story of truth always reveals real love, true justice, with unending mercies and relentless grace.  This is who God was, is and always will be.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

Esther 8

The King’s Edict in Behalf of the Jews

That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. ² The king took off his signet ring, which he had   reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.

³ Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. ⁴ Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him.

⁵ “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. ⁶ For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”

⁷ King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up. ⁸ Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”

⁹ At once the royal secretaries were summoned—on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. ¹⁰ Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.

¹¹ The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children, and to plunder the property of their enemies. ¹² The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. ¹³ A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

¹⁴ The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.

The Triumph of the Jews

¹⁵ When Mordecai left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. ¹⁶ For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. ¹⁷ In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Because we always look for the one on the white horse; God reveals through John this warning of truth in chapter 6. John speaks as he sees:

“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.” Revelation 6:1-2

The rider on the white horse in Revelation 6 is widely interpreted as the Antichrist or a false messiah, symbolizing deceptive conquest and false peace, in contrast to the true Christ in Revelation 19. This figure on the white horse comes with a crown and bow (but no arrows), representing a political or religious leader who initially appears peaceful and victorious, leading many astray before bringing judgment.

Later (chapter 19), the angel of revelation from God spoke to John and told him Who to look for as the real Son of God;

Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

¹⁰ At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

The Heavenly Warrior Defeats the Beast

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”^[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING of kings and LORD of lords.

Not all white horses are alike—Don’t be misled, scammed, or confused by the “masquerader of Light”—whom Jesus calls the Deceiver, Destroyer, and the Prince of Lies.  Paul warns the church of Corinth who was wildly confused by good and evil;

“And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, ESV

Satan disguises himself as an “angel of light” to deceive and scam people. False teachers, manipulators of God’s Word to suit their purpose or even “servants of righteousness,” doing good expecting great favors in return only mimic truth to lead followers astray, appearing good or righteous while promoting harmful, false doctrines. 

According to N. T. Wright, theologian; Jesus had Satan in mind when he warned the twelve in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

If you’re merely looking for anyone on a White Horse, don’t! Look first to Jesus instead! —Now and in the end!

All is well when God is leading obedient believers to His glory, no matter the current circumstances on earth!

Bottomline:  Esther asked that her people be allowed to live. King Xerxes granted her request and had Haman hanged. The Jews were rescued.  But it was God who orchestrated all the details through His trusting and obedient people.

The story of Esther reveals the heart of God for His created. As believers, how close are we to having a heart like Esther’s or God’s? Is the burden for condemned, lost, and confused people greater than anything else in our lives?  As always, our behaviors reveal what we truly believe.

Lord,

What a journey you have taken us on with your story of Esther!  There is much to learn and we have only gone a few inches below the surface of Truth!  Teach me Your Word. Cleanse my heart, remove all that is not of You. Renew my mind. Refresh and feed my soul. Restore the joy of your work of salvation within me.  I’m yours. And I’m listening.

In Jesus Name, Amen