What happen to Jew haters

Esther 9:5-19

Often before making a judgment on the Jewish peoples actions, in verses 5-10, it would be helpful if we did a little research to see if they were not just doing what God had commanded King Saul to do.  Our real enemy is a thief, a liar, a deceiver, and a murderer, and if you are wise, you will understand he has plans to ruin your life, that his goal is to kill, steal, and destroy you and your family.

The very best commentator of the Scriptures is the Scriptures and with that said, let us look at verses 5-10.  “The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them. They did what they pleased to those who hated them. In the fortress of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. They killed these 10 sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. However, they did not seize any plunder.”

It was normal to take the stuff of the ones you had killed in that time, and I believe it was a clear message that it was not about enriching themselves, but only to defend and protect their lives.

The King is asking for a casualty report and told that 500 men were killed in the fortress of Susa, and he wants to know what was the tally in the other royal provinces.  The number does not seem to bother him but he does want to know if Queen Esther has any additional request, and she does?  You may think that she is one mean-spirited woman, because she wants another day to kill more Jew haters, and she wants to hang the 10 dead sons of Haman on the gallows he built.  But she was making sure that the ones who were out to destroy her people were defeated, and would not come back at a later date to attack.  The hanging of the 10 dead sons was a reminder of what would happen to Jew haters.

Verses 16-19, “The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces assembled, defended themselves and got rid of their enemies. They killed 75,000 of those who hated them, but they did not seize any plunder. They fought on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar and rested on the fourteenth, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing.

But the Jews in Susa had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. They rested on the fifteenth day of the month, and it became a day of feasting and rejoicing. This explains why the rural Jews who live in villages observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a time of rejoicing and feasting. It is a holiday when they send gifts to one another.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice