Theological Commentary: Click Here
In the end
of the book of Esther, we hear the conclusion of the story. There is an uprising against the Jewish
people in the kingdom of Persia.
However, the Jews resist the uprising.
They not only resist, but they win the day. The enemies of the Jews are vanquished; the
uprising comes to an end. Mordecai is
elevated in the kingdom.
What I find
noteworthy about this story is that the Jews do not take any of the
plunder. I think that there are two
reasons for this. Naturally, there is
the high spiritual road. The Jews would
hopefully stay away from the corruption and taint of the world. Why risk incorporating the evil that led a
group of people to hatred into your own culture?
The second
reason is the high ethical road. The
Jews did more than what was permissible.
It was permissible for them to defend themselves. It was permissible for them to kill those who
came against them. It would also be
permissible for them to claim spoils of that struggle. The Jews, however, did not do this. They avoided the plunder. They defended themselves and stayed away from
the plunder. They took the high spiritual road and the high ethical road.
I think that
this is a place for us to stop and reflect, especially in our modern
world. The modern culture is growing
less and less concerned with what is right and more and more concerned with
what is permissible. We care less about doing
the right thing and care more about what I can get away with. That isn’t an attitude that God’s people
have. God’s people lift themselves up
above the standards of the world and try to live by the standards of God.
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