Esther 9: 1 – 17
Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them, but which had been changed to a day when the Jews would gain power over their foes, the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who had sought their ruin; and no one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. All the officials of the provinces, the satraps and the governors, and the royal officials were supporting the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. For Mordecai was powerful in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering, and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In the citadel of Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred people. They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews; but they did not touch the plunder.
That very day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king. The king said to Queen Esther, ‘In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed five hundred people and also the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.’ Esther said, ‘If it pleases the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.’ So the king commanded this to be done; a decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed three hundred people in Susa; but they did not touch the plunder.
Now the other Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and gained relief from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.
Reflection
This passage fits neatly into a story where tables have been turned but is hard to read in our current context. We started considering Vashti who refused to obey her husband and Esther who, through obedience, manipulated her (rather idiotic) husband to save her people. We see Haman killed on the gallows he erected for Mordecai and admire the neatness of the plot twist but today’s passage seems to describe wanton slaughter for no good reason.
Since Hamas’ dreadful attack last October on Israelis going about their lawful business, the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces have felt to many as wanton slaughter. Security for Israel is being sought through ruthless might which has included murder and mayhem. What might have been appropriate in the mythical days of Esther and Mordecai doesn’t feel right in the 21st Century. Yet it’s hard to comprehend the horror of living in Israel with continual attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah and hard to contemplate the fate of Palestinians whose state was sacrificed by European guilt following the Holocaust.
The Book of Esther contains a good story; it’s told and retold to children each year, though it only appears once in the three year cycle of readings which make up the Lectionary. It’s a story which is simultaneously known and mysterious, fun and horrific, appealing and appalling. As such it’s like the complexities of life – and the complexities at play in the Middle East. It’s an ancient narrative which needs to inform but give way to a new story so that Israeli and Palestinian might live together in peace and security; where Haman’s gallows and Esther’s revenge are set aside so that olive and orange grove might flourish, and children live in safety.
Prayer
God of story and turned table,
of security and flourishing,
bless those seeking peace is Gaza and Israel,
that trust, lives, and buildings might be rebuilt,
and that your children might run free.
Amen.