It’s a lovely follow-on to the book of Ruth (or should I say Naomi’s Story?). But it contains the most shocking truth that absolutely does not fit in our culture today.
The book of Esther tells the story of young Hadassah (Esther was her Persian name), who was catapulted to the spotlight at a time when the persecution of God’s people reached a fever pitch. This story took place between about 475 BC and 470 BC, after the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and deported the wealthy and noble people of Judah (see the Book of Daniel for an example of this).
Forty-seven years later, the Babylonian empire fell to the Persians. This leads us to the king Ahasuerus, who came to the Persian throne 59 years later. He is better known by his Greek name “Xerxes” and his attack on Greece – where 300 Spartans stopped his enormous army at Thermopylae.
The story of Esther most likely happens around this 5-year conquest – perhaps her selection occurring before he left and her big request happening after he returned.
Influenced by the evil Haman, who hated the Jews, King Ahasuerus issued a decree that the Jews were to be attacked and killed to a person on a set date. Queen Esther risked her life to ask the King for relief from that death sentence.
What happened next is not at all what we would expect in today’s society. We might think the King would simply rescind the order and all would be well.
Nope. That wasn’t possible.
In Esther 8:8 we gain some insight into why Esther couldn’t have the King revoke the command:
But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”
When the King made an edict, it meant something. It was bound up with the honor and the authority of the King himself. To undo it, to revoke it, would then be the same as revoking the honor and authority of the King.
Such a thing would never be allowed to happen.
I call this the Immutable Voice of Command. Immutable means unchangeable. When that voice is used, it cannot be recalled or changed because to do so would destroy the authority and honor that made the voice worth obeying.
Faced with the Immutable Voice of Command, Esther could not undo what had been said. She was only able to issue a companion command that gave the Jews the authority to defend themselves from those who would attack them to wipe them out.
I think this one little piece of history is in our Bibles for a critically important reason. We need to understand about the Immutable Voice of Command. It’s not something that we can look around us to see. Today we change positions as needed to reflect new knowledge or changing personal preferences. Our leaders are able to flip-flop their positions on important topics and change the way that they vote or decide – without any real consequence.
But in Ahasuerus we see the older principle illustrated.
While he was a pagan King, he shows us a perspective that is also true of God. When God says something, He does not change his mind or take it back.
When God says “The soul who sins shall die,” He can’t take that back. When He declares “the wages of sin is death,” that judgment can’t be revoked.
The Immutable Voice of Command.
Many people think that it’s odd that God would make such an extreme statement. Wouldn’t it just be a lot easier for him to “change the rules” and make a more realistic set?
No. Because like Ahasuerus (even more than, actually), the decree regarding the consequences of sin couldn’t be taken back.
Because God’s word cannot be changed or altered, Jesus had to come and He had to die. There literally wasn’t another way. Anything less than that would have torn down the honor and holiness of God. The only other option was for all of humanity to spend eternity separated from God.
And this is where we see God’s love. Because He loved us, He took such an expensive action to sacrifice His Son. Because He had no other way to redeem us to Him.
So here’s my invitation for this week. Meditate on God’s command. Think about how once He said it, He couldn’t take it back. Consider how He had to take such an expensive path of redemption.
How would your life be if you had to stick to every thing you said? How would that change they way you speak if you had to honor every statement you made and couldn’t take it back?
This is the reality that lies behind the gospel. God’s actions on our behalf. May it lead you to a blessed week.
D
