The narrative of Esther is one we find endlessly fascinating. She is a Jew but no one knows. As a result, through her beauty and her character, she becomes the queen who replaces the rebellious Vashti before her. In that time, Esther, described as the daughter of Mordecai’s uncle (which, I think, would actually make him and Esther cousins) was in great favor with the king. Mordecai, who raised Esther, had displeased a high ranking official named Haman. Haman was an Agagite, a descendent of King Agag, an Amalekite, whom the prophet Samuel had killed after King Saul had neglected to do so. Thus, Haman had a blood-feud memory of the Jews and wanted to annihilate them. Because King Ahaseurus had elevated Haman to an exalted position in the kingdom, Mordecai’s lack of obeisance toward him gave Haman the incentive and means to have the king order all Jews destroyed.
Esther led the Jews in prayer and fasting in response to this, and God heard their pleas for mercy. In a wonderful twist, Haman must honor Mordecai for his having previously saved the king’s life. Although Haman’s family had encouraged him previously to the point that he built a gallows in his own yard so as to have the pleasure of hanging Mordecai, when his wife and the others learned how Haman had to show respect to his enemy, they were rightly concerned. In Esther 6:13 we see this:
And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”
Their apprehension is warranted. Judgment will come to Haman.
I wanted to relate this account briefly like this because of a meeting I was part of last night. Many parents around the country have been outraged to learn how leftist school boards have been bringing in curricula that is Marxist and profoundly anti-God at its core. This has included extreme sexual materials and those based on Critical Race Theory. For many years schools have been indoctrinating students in these radical ideologies without the parents’ knowledge or consent. Sadly, most parents have been asleep in this regard, but the giant has awakened. Parents everywhere are outraged and are confronting their school boards.
We had a similar parent-school board meeting yesterday in my community. As the various videos seen primarily on Fox News have shown, the school boards are generally very dismissive of parental concerns, taking a high-handed approach that they know better what to teach the children than the parents do. This has righteously angered many parents. Just like in other areas, last night’s meeting was quite contentious.
It remains to be seen how this will play out here where I live as well as in all these other towns. However, I can draw conclusions based on the incident surrounding Esther, Mordecai, and Haman.
Enemies of God – who these school boards clearly are for their disdain for God’s intended purposes – often rise up in seemingly victory. They have their day of acclaim and think nothing can touch them. They are arrogant in their ignorance of God and His wrath, which He pours out on all – without reservation – to those who oppose Him. This wrath may happen in this life where such people receive their comeuppance for all to see, or it may occur later in some less visible way. If justice isn’t served in this life upon such people, we know because of God’s character that it will come upon them at the ultimate Judgment.
It is good to see many pushing back against the forces of darkness. It is a necessary part of the Christian’s obligation to occupy until Jesus comes, and in so doing, to be salt and light to a lost and dying world.
My prayer is that God will smite those who oppose Him; yet in so doing, I pray that He will change the hearts of His enemies so that they might turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. There is no one beyond God’s reach. As much as we want justice to be done, we have to remember that one aspect of this is the salvation of those who remain valuable in God’s eyes. When we keep the proper perspective ourselves, He will honor and bless us in return. What could be better?