On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them.
I’ve never been in a situation where my doom was imminent, but I can imagine that as each day approached I would feel it coming like a bass drum beat getting louder and louder until it was a deafening roar. For the Jews in Persia, it was a double-whammy because the day of the edict fell on Passover, the feast that celebrated God saving his people from Egypt. No doubt that connection weighed heavily on them as they waited for God to save them, too.
The day came, and with help from Mordecai’s reputation the Jews were able to protect themselves as well as kill 500 of their attackers in the citadel of Susa alone. In addition, they killed Haman’s 10 sons. Xerxes heard the report and asked Esther if there was anything else that she would like done; she asked for one more day of fighting and to have Haman’s sons impaled. This was granted and the Jews successfully overcame all odds to be victorious.
Seed Thought: Even though the name of God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, his faithfulness is written all over it. God hadn’t talked directly to the people in many years by this point, so to them it may have seemed that he abandoned his exiles in Persia. But who would have thought that an orphaned Jewish exile would rise to become a queen at such a time as to save her people? God puts the right people in the right place at the right time to accomplish his purpose–and he never disappoints!
