“In the fortress of Susa itself, the Jews killed 500 men. But they did not take any plunder. Then the Jews at Susa gathered together on March 8 and killed 300 more men, and again they took no plunder. Meanwhile, the other Jews throughout the king’s provinces had gathered together to defend their lives. They gained relief from all their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not take any plunder.”
Esther 9:6a, 10b, 15-16 NLT
Once, in the process of rescuing his nephew (Lot) from captivity, Abraham also brought back all the captives from Sodom, along with the plunder that had been taken. Afterwards, the king of Sodom came to Abraham and offered him all the plunder he had recovered. Abraham refused, saying this:
“Abram replied to the king of Sodom, “I solemnly swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take so much as a single thread or sandal thong from what belongs to you. Otherwise you might say, ‘I am the one who made Abram rich.’”
Genesis 14:22-23 NLT
There’s another interesting story involving the prophet Elisha. When Elisha was used by the Lord to heal Naaman of leprosy, Naaman offered to reward him for what he had done, with great treasure. But, Elisha refused any payment.
“But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts.” And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused.”
2 Kings 5:16 NLT
The thing is, Elisha had a servant, Gehazi, who decided to run after Naaman’s chariot to get for himself some of the gifts he had offered Elisha. He tells Naaman a lie about Elisha having changed his mind about the gifts. Then, after acquiring the gifts for himself and hiding them, he returns back to his master, who immediately confronts him, asking where he had gone. Of course, he lies again and says that he had not gone anywhere. But, the prophet knows better and pronounces a curse of leprosy on Gehazi.
“Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman’s leprosy forever.” When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow.”
2 Kings 5:27 NLT
Saul was another person who failed to resist the temptation to take what the Lord had told him not to take; and it resulted in his kingdom being stripped from him.
“Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?” Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.””
1 Samuel 15:19, 23 NLT
In our opening scripture we see that the Jews—having succeeded in destroying their enemies—refused to take any plunder. Apparently, they considered victory over their enemies enough. They most likely didn’t want it to appear that they had done what they did to enrich themselves. Now, we don’t know that the Lord specifically told them not to take the plunder; but apparently, they felt convicted that they should not do so.
Remember, there will always be the temptation to compromise in some way to enrich ourselves, or otherwise advance ourselves. However, we must refuse to take anything or do anything God has not ordained. Doing so, basically opens us up to being cursed. Let’s trust the Lord to give us what we need and never take something, or take part in something, He does not approve.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
“And all the nobles of the provinces, the highest officers, the governors, and the royal officials helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai. For Mordecai had been promoted in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as he became more and more powerful.”
Esther 9:3-4 NLT
Until recently, most people in the West were unfamiliar with religious persecution in terms of being a Christian. Indeed, for a long time, Christianity was nearly synonymous with many nations, including our own. However, in recent days, with the news coverage from all over the world, we know about the atrocities being perpetrated against Christians in Nigeria, China, Pakistan, and many other nations. Additionally, we have seen our own country fall under the leadership of those who seem to despise true Christianity.
From an early age I heard stories of people dying for their faith in Jesus Christ. The people I heard about were the people of my father, the Armenians. Armenia was the first nation to embrace Christianity and to rule under the cross of Christ. Tragically, over 1,500,000 Armenians were slaughtered under the Ottoman rule by the Turks. Indeed, the Armenian genocide is considered the first genocide of the 20th century.
I remember one story in particular my father told of an uncle who was starved and then forced to drink a large amount of water. In front of his family, they bashed open his swollen belly with the commentary: “This is what Jesus will get you.”
The stories of atrocities could go on and on; but the focus of this kind of horror must be on Jesus and what these people were willing to endure for His sake.
People may question why the Lord allows events like this. The fact is, we live in a fallen world where abuse, rejection, torture, and death, have been—and will be—inextricably connected to serving the Lord.
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]”
John 16:33 AMP
The Lord warned that this world would often be a very hostile place for the true Christian. But He also reminded us that we are in very good company.
““If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.”
John 15:18-20 NLT
In our opening scripture we see that the Jews are victorious over those who sought to destroy them. And, Mordecai—the former object of distain and an evil plot—is now feared because of his rise to power.
Remember, suffering for Christ is an honor. Being rejected because of Him is a compliment. And, not only will the faithful reign eternally with our Lord, we often see that in this life, there can be a sudden change in the power dynamic, benefiting God’s people.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
“So on March 7 the two decrees of the king were put into effect. On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies.”
Esther 9:1 NLT
It seems ironic to me that so many people in the world who do not believe in God and/or in His judgment use the term, “Armageddon,” to indicate something that is terrible and large in scope.
Now, whether or not people believe in an actual Armageddon, a final battle, it will happen. Indeed, in one way or another, this very event is prophesied all throughout the Bible.
“I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land. “Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the Lord, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all.”
Joel 3:2, 12 NLT
The above scripture from Joel speaks of the valley in which this final battle against the enemies of God and His people will be staged.
“So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and harvested the grapevine of the earth, and threw the grapes into the great wine press of the wrath and indignation of God [as judgment of the rebellious world]. And the grapes in the wine press were trampled and crushed outside the city, and blood poured from the wine press, reaching up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of sixteen hundred stadia.”
Revelation 14:19-20 AMP
We know that the final battle will be brutal and bloody.
“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.” Revelation 19:11, 13, 15, 19, 21 NLT
And we know that the One fighting this battle will be Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The scriptures we have considered here are just a few of the many found throughout the Bible confirming that there will be a final showdown, a final battle, between the Lord and His enemies.
Make no mistake, this final battle will be precipitated by all the nations of the world gathering against Jerusalem.
“On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.”
Zechariah 12:3 NLT
Sadly, many people—even Christians—still choose to minimize or ignore the importance of Israel to the Lord. They don’t know that it’s never a good idea to bet against the people of God or against the nation chosen to be His own.
In our opening scripture we see that the day intended to be a day of destruction of all the Jews, became a day when the enemies of the Jews were destroyed!
Haman plotted to destroy the Jews. He is now dead and all those who have gathered together against the Jews, will face destruction.
As we saw yesterday many of the people who were not Jews, became Jews, for fear of the vengeance of God. And, considering the final battle that is coming, people need to heed the warning to make things right with God through Jesus Christ before that terrible day.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!