God did not intend to completely destroy the Jews when He exiled them – He promised the exile would only last seventy years. However, while they were exiled, Satan attempted to kill all the Jews. If he was able to accomplish the task, the Messianic line would have been wiped out, and therefore the promises of God to His people.
The man Satan used to attempt a Jewish genocide was Haman, a servant of the king of Persia. One day he became incensed at a Jew named Mordecai, and his anger at Mordecai extended to all Jews.
All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage. Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?” Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. Esther 3: 2 – 6
Haman convinced the king to allow him to annihilate God’s people.
Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.” Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. The king said to Haman, “The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please.” Esther 3: 8 – 11
But it just so happened that God caused a Jewish woman to rise to the position of queen – Esther. Esther was able to talk with the king and stop Haman’s plot before it got under way.
Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. The king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. Then she said, “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews. Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.” Esther 8: 3 – 8
So Esther was able to save her people by appealing to the king – this is the summary of the story. But there is a story behind the story, when you take a deeper look at Esther. Consider the following details:
- She was raised by someone who was not her biological father.
- She had a lowly upbringing but was raised up to a position of authority and power.
- She was specifically raised up by God to save His people.
- She went directly to the sovereign king, and had his edict of wrath repealed.
- She saved God’s people from an evil one who desired to kill and destroy them.
These details should sound familiar, for if you replace the “she” with “he” and the “her” with “his”, you would have a summary of Jesus Christ.
He was raised by someone who was not his biological father.
When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph…Luke 3: 23
He had a lowly upbringing but was raised up to a position of authority and power.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. Luke 1: 31 – 33
He was specifically raised up by God to save His people.
She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1: 21
He went directly to the sovereign king, and had his edict of wrath repealed.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5: 9
He saved God’s people from an evil one who desired to kill and destroy them.
All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. John 10: 8 – 11
How amazing were the things that God enabled Esther to accomplish. And how amazing it is that those things also partake in the Messianic plot line – the Scarlet Thread – found throughout Scripture!
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