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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Thursday, 29 January 2026:
Esther 9:1-5 — On the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred….
The chapter opens with one of the clearest statements of reversal in all of Scripture. The day carefully selected by Haman for Jewish destruction becomes the day of Jewish deliverance. The text emphasizes timing: on the very day. Evil’s apparent precision collapses under God’s greater sovereignty. What seemed inevitable is overturned, not by chance, but by providence.
This reversal is not the Jews’ triumph over their enemies by raw strength; it is the outworking of a king’s decree backed by sovereign authority. The Jews are permitted to defend themselves, and the outcome reveals a deeper truth: fear changes sides. Those who once feared the decree now act with courage because authority has shifted. The fear of the Jews falls on their enemies because God has aligned power, justice, and protection in their favor.
This anticipates the gospel pattern. Sin, death, and evil aimed to destroy God’s people. The cross appeared to be their victory. Yet on the very day death claimed Christ, the decisive defeat of death itself was set in motion. What evil intended for mastery became the means of its undoing. The resurrection declares the same reversal Esther 9 proclaims: the outcome is not determined by apparent power, but by God’s sovereign decree.
Esther 9:2 — The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples.
When God’s people are united and committed to God’s purposes, nothing can stop them. When a church is divided or disoriented to its mission, it is weak and ineffective, defenseless against the power of the world.
Esther 9:3 — All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.
When God’s people are established as leaders in society, even the ungodly will obey them and support them for their own self-interest. Christians should strive to be the leaders in society to bring glory to God and to preserve order, peace, and justice.
Esther 9:4 — For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.
Mordechai did not seek fame or fortune, but his quiet, humble, faithful work behind the scenes eventually brought him power, popularity, and position.
Esther 9:5 — The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them.
The Jews knew how to fight and were prepared to defend themselves. They did not seek a battle but remained ready to win one. Self-defense is more than a right, it is a responsibility.
Esther 9:6-10 — In Susa the citadel itself the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men… but they laid no hand on the plunder.
The text slows to emphasize restraint. Three times the chapter notes that the Jews did not take the plunder. This detail matters. Their actions are not driven by greed, vengeance, or self-enrichment. They act only within the bounds of what the king allowed and justice required.
This restraint distinguishes justice from revenge. The Jews defend life; they do not exploit death. Their obedience reveals that deliverance has not turned them into mirrors of their enemies. Victory does not corrupt them because it is governed by purpose, not appetite.
The gospel carries the same moral clarity. Believers are not delivered so they can dominate others, but so they can live free from the tyranny of sin. Grace does not authorize indulgence. It trains restraint. Freedom under Christ is never license; it is power rightly ordered.
Esther 9:11-15 — The number of those killed in Susa… Esther said, “If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict.”
Esther’s request may feel unsettling at first, but the context clarifies its purpose. This is not cruelty; it is completion. The threat was systemic. Haman’s network extended beyond one day. Esther seeks to ensure that the decree is fully executed so that lingering danger does not reemerge.
This reflects a principle repeated throughout Scripture: partial obedience leaves seeds of future destruction. Saul spared what God commanded him to destroy and later paid the price. Jesus taught that sin left untreated regrows stronger. Holiness is not cruelty; it is clarity.
Spiritually, this mirrors the call to put sin to death decisively. Grace forgives completely, but discipleship addresses sin thoroughly. Half-measures preserve hidden strongholds. Esther’s request underscores that true deliverance aims not merely at survival, but at lasting peace.
Esther 9:16-19 — The Jews who were in the provinces gathered to defend their lives… and they rested from their enemies and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
Deliverance leads to rest. The text highlights a shift from survival to celebration. The people do not remain in a posture of constant vigilance; they enter rest and joy. This rest is not denial of what occurred, but gratitude for what God has done.
The gospel promises the same trajectory. Those justified by faith have peace with God. Rest is not the absence of conflict in the world, but the end of hostility with God. Joy follows deliverance not because life becomes easy, but because fear no longer governs identity.
Notice also that joy is communal. The people feast together. Deliverance creates shared memory and shared gratitude. Faith is never meant to be isolated; joy matures when it is celebrated together.
Esther 9:20-28 — Mordecai recorded these things… that they should keep the fourteenth and fifteenth day… as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies.
Deliverance is intentionally remembered. Mordecai institutionalizes memory so that future generations do not forget what God has done. Purim is not a spontaneous party; it is a disciplined remembrance. Memory safeguards identity.
This matters because forgetting grace always leads to distortion. When people forget what they were delivered from, they become proud. When they forget who delivered them, they become anxious. God repeatedly commands remembrance because memory fuels humility, gratitude, and obedience.
The New Testament follows the same pattern. The Lord’s Supper is a commanded remembrance. The gospel is rehearsed not because God forgets, but because we do. Grace remembered sustains faith lived.
Esther 9:22 – …as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
The Jews celebrated what God had done for them by giving to others. We love God when we love others in His Name.
Esther 9:29-32 — Queen Esther… confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded.
The book closes this chapter by emphasizing authority and permanence. What began as threat ends as testimony. What was meant to erase a people becomes a celebration defining their identity. Deliverance is not only experienced; it is affirmed, recorded, and secured.
This final affirmation reminds us that God’s work is not fragile. He does not rescue temporarily. He establishes enduring joy. Evil does not get the final word, even when it appears organized, authorized, and inevitable.
The gospel is the ultimate Purim. The cross, intended to erase the Son of God, becomes the center of eternal celebration. What was meant for death becomes the source of life. What looked like defeat becomes everlasting victory.
Regular festivals of worship help generations remember all that God has done for them.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 29 January 2026: Examine where you may be living as though the outcome is still uncertain when God has already spoken. Ask honestly: Where am I allowing fear to persist even though deliverance has been secured? Where do I need to exercise restraint so that victory does not turn into self-indulgence? Choose one action today that reflects confidence in God’s decree rather than anxiety about circumstances—rest where you have been striving, give thanks where you have been fearful, or obey decisively where you have been hesitant.
Pray: “Father, You are the God who brings reversals that no one can engineer and deliverance no one can earn. Thank You that what evil intends for destruction, You transform into salvation. Teach me to live from the certainty of what You have already decreed, not the fear of what I cannot control. Guard my heart from pride in victory and from anxiety in waiting. Help me remember Your grace, celebrate Your faithfulness, and walk in joyful obedience as one who has been delivered. Thank You for Christ, in whom the final reversal has already been secured. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 