Esther (Greek) 9:1-11: a reflection

1Now in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month, which is Adar, the letters written by the king arrived. 2In that day, the adversaries of the Jews perished; for no one resisted, through fear of them. 3For the chiefs of the local governors, and the princes and the royal scribes, honored the Jews; for the fear of Mordecai was upon them. 4For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all the kingdom. 6In the city Susa the Jews killed five hundred men, 7including Pharsannes, Delphon, Phasga, 8Pharadatha, Barea, Sarbaca, 9Marmasima, Ruphaeus, Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus, 10the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha the Bugaean, the enemy of the Jews; and they plundered their property on the same day. 11The number of those who perished in Susa was reported to the king.

On the very day appointed for the destruction of the Jews, everything is reversed: the day meant for their ruin becomes instead the day of their deliverance, the intended evil turned back. In the day that the adversaries of the Jews had hoped to prevail over them, the account says, the reverse happened, and it was turned to the contrary. The plot devised to destroy God's people utterly failed; the day of their intended destruction became the day of their preservation. Through the events God had quietly arranged, the evil planned against them was turned back, and they were delivered. This shows how God can reverse the evil intended against his people, turning the day of ruin into deliverance. God reversed the evil intended against his people. The day meant for ruin became the day of deliverance. God can turn back the evil planned against us. The intended destruction was reversed into deliverance.

Notice the reversal at the heart of this account. A day had been appointed, a plot laid, for the destruction of God's people; by every appearance, they were doomed. But on that very day, the situation was completely reversed: the evil intended against them fell back, and the day meant for their ruin became the day of their deliverance. Through the unseen working of God's providence, arranging events over time, what was meant for their destruction was turned back. This is a picture of how God can reverse the evil intended against his people. The story of Esther famously does not even name God, yet his hand is everywhere in the reversal, turning the tables so that the intended evil recoils and his people are delivered. This encourages us. Evil may be planned against God's people; things may look, by every appearance, hopeless. But God is at work, often unseen, and he can reverse the situation, turn back the intended evil, bring deliverance where destruction seemed certain. We can trust that God is able to reverse the evil intended against us, even when we cannot see how. God can turn back the evil intended against his people. What looks like certain ruin, God can reverse into deliverance. God works unseen to reverse the evil planned against us. Trust that God can turn the tables, even when things look hopeless.

That is worth resting in, for God can reverse the evil intended against his people, turning the day of ruin into deliverance, as the day appointed for the Jews' destruction became the day of their preservation. We can feel doomed when evil is planned against us and things look hopeless by every appearance; but on the very day meant for the Jews' destruction, everything was reversed, the intended evil turned back, through God's unseen working. God can turn the tables. When evil is planned against you and things look hopeless, remember that God can reverse the situation, as he did for his people. Rest in the truth that God can reverse the evil intended against his people, turning the day of ruin into deliverance, as on the very day appointed for the destruction of the Jews the situation was completely reversed, the intended evil recoiling and the day meant for their ruin becoming the day of their deliverance through the unseen working of God's providence; for evil may be planned against God's people, and things may look, by every appearance, hopeless and doomed, but God is at work, often unseen, as in the story of Esther where his hand is everywhere though he is not even named, and he can reverse the situation, turn back the intended evil, and bring deliverance where destruction seemed certain, so that when evil is planned against us and things look hopeless we can trust that God is able to reverse the evil intended against us, turning the tables even when we cannot see how.

Lord, on the very day appointed for the destruction of the Jews, everything is reversed: the day meant for their ruin becomes instead the day of their deliverance, the intended evil turned back. In the day that the adversaries of the Jews had hoped to prevail over them, the account says, the reverse happened. The plot devised to destroy your people utterly failed; the day of their intended destruction became the day of their preservation. Through the events you had quietly arranged, the evil planned against them was turned back, and they were delivered. This shows how you can reverse the evil intended against your people, turning the day of ruin into deliverance. Show me the reversal at the heart of this account. A day had been appointed, a plot laid, for the destruction of your people; by every appearance, they were doomed. But on that very day, the situation was completely reversed, and the day meant for their ruin became the day of their deliverance. Through the unseen working of your providence, what was meant for their destruction was turned back. The story famously does not even name you, yet your hand is everywhere in the reversal. This encourages me. Evil may be planned against your people; things may look, by every appearance, hopeless. But you are at work, often unseen, and you can reverse the situation, turn back the intended evil, bring deliverance where destruction seemed certain. Take that to my heart, for you can reverse the evil intended against your people, turning ruin into deliverance. When evil is planned against me and things look hopeless by every appearance, help me remember that you can reverse the situation, Lord, as you did for your people, working unseen to turn back the intended evil, so that I trust you are able to turn the tables even when I cannot see how.