“In every province and every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.”
– Esther 8:17
Now Esther 8:17 is a major reversal from the way this book started. Near the beginning of this book, a decree goes out from the king that all the Jews are going to be killed, and now, as we get near the end of this book, a decree goes out that is good for the Jews, that they can defend themselves, basically that they would not be killed and there was gladness and joy among them, a feast and a holiday.
You got people who are even saying I’m going to be Jewish, declaring themselves Jews because the fear of the Jews had fallen on them. Like this is a total reversal and it’s a picture of the provision of God for his people. God is faithful to save his people. God is faithful to show his power, to show his grace, to show his mercy, on behalf of those who trust in him.
The Joy and Wonder of the Gospel
Let’s stop and pray with joy and gladness at the wonderful of the gospel. Jesus has saved us from sin and conquered death that we may live with Him forever.
I read Esther 8:17 and I just think about God’s faithfulness in my life, God’s grace in my life. I want to encourage you to do the same. Let’s stop today in light of this text and praise God with gladness and joy for his love, his faithfulness, his salvation, his grace, his mercy. He has saved us from our sin. He has saved us from eternal death, from everlasting suffering. God has saved us. Let this bring joy and gladness to your heart in a fresh way today. Don’t let this ever get old.
Oh God, we praise you today. With joy and gladness, we praise you for saving us from our sin. Jesus, we exalt your name. We glorify, we praise you right now, for dying on a cross for our sin, for rising from the dead, for giving us eternal life. All glory be to your name. We love you, we praise you, we honor you, we celebrate your grace with joy and gladness in our hearts. Yes, yes, we pray for the spread of this to others too.
God Saving The Jews In Esther 8:17 Is A Picture Of Jesus Victory Over Sin In Our Lives
God, we pray for the spread of your salvation, your joy, your gladness to others. Here, others around the world. God, we pray that you would spread the gospel to the Shaikh people of Nepal, that they might have joy and gladness in you. We pray that you would spread the gospel to the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, God for the Hui in China, for the Pashtun in Pakistan, God please, we pray for the spread of your joy and gladness to all the peoples of the world. Even as we celebrate your joy and gladness in our own lives.
Jesus, thank you for saving us. We praise that you would save many others through us, through our proclamation, our sharing of the gospel, that they might have joy and gladness in you also. All be to your name. In Jesus’ name we praise you. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
