Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Esther 6-10
Esther 8:11
Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
You’ve heard the term “workaround?” A workaround is needed when an obstacle is in the way of accomplishing a task and the workman finds a way around that obstacle. How many have used a flathead screwdriver as a chisel or prybar? That tool was not made to be used as a chisel or prybar, but the worker doesn’t have the proper tool, so they create a workaround. In today’s verse we find a workaround that saved a nation.
Ahasuerus, on the recommendation of wicked Haman, proclaimed a law that all Jews should be executed (chapter 3). According to the law of the Medes and Persians, no law of the king could be altered. This meant that even if the king wanted to rescind his law to destroy all the Jews, he couldn’t. They/he needed a workaround, and they found one. King Ahasuerus proclaimed that the Jews in every province that he ruled could defend themselves and take the spoil of them for a prey.
This they did. Not only they, but many of the people of the land became Jews and helped, and the rulers of the provinces, the lieutenants, deputies, and officers of the king helped them. The Jews were saved! Thanks to a cagey workaround.
This is often how God works. For example, His law, which cannot be changed, demands death to anyone who sins, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ provides a defense against that law. By receiving the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, anyone can escape the certainty of eternal death by obtaining eternal life. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9) In Ahasuerus’ day the law of death to the Jews was not eliminated, but their ability to defend themselves was given. Likewise, death being the wage of sin has not, cannot be eliminated, but the gift of eternal life is offered as the greatest workaround the world has ever known. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23) All have sinned, but all also have the right to life instead of death through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice of himself as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
For his part in the drama of Esther, her cousin Mordecai was promoted to be second to the king and he was held as being great among the Jews (10:3). Why? Because he sought the wealth of his people and spoke peace to all. He stood in a day of danger, prayed, and spoke wisely. Now, any leader that will do that will be honored, promoted, and followed.
Our Lord God often must give us a workaround to accomplish that which we wish, pray, and hope for. Forgiveness is one of His workarounds, so are grace, mercy, and faith. For every instance wherein His people find an obstacle, He finds a way. As the gospel song “Did I Mention” states: “When I can see no way, He makes a way.” Yes, indeed! When the unstoppable force meets the unmovable object God always finds a way. Always!
Dr. William T. Howe
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