TWO DECREES

My beautiful wife conscripted me to write a devotional for a children's camp that she's leading at Park Springs this weekend. I figure that since it's written I may as well share it on the blog. The theme of the week of camp comes from the book of Esther. Most disciples of Jesus are familiar with the very famous line from chapter 4 and verse 14 as delivered from Esther's cousin Mordecai to Esther herself: "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" It's pretty difficult to stray from this theme, but I have bucked tradition. There's another important theme in this beautiful story.

This is the problem in the story: Haman convinced the king to give permission to the nations of the whole world to attack and kill the Jewish people. A decree (that means a written command of the king that could not be undone) was written and sent to all the nations under the king’s rule. Here’s what the decree said:

Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods (Esther 3:13 ESV).

This first decree encouraged all the people of the king’s empire to kill all the Jews and to steal their houses and other belongings. The decree was sent to all the nations from Ethiopia to India. That’s a huge area with 127 countries where many Jews lived. Look at the arrows on this map to see how far this decrees was sent:

The other important thing to know is that God said that the Jews deserved this decree because they turned away from Him and did many things to hurt Him. Long before it happened, God warned the Jews about this through Ezekiel, a Jewish prophet of God. This is what God told Ezekiel to tell the Jews:

Say this to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence (Ezekiel 33:27 ESV).

You know that through Esther’s obedience and courage the Jew’s were saved from the this first decree. However, the decree was correct. The decree was sent. God said the decree was deserved and would happen. The decree was fixed and authoritative. So how were they saved? This is how they were saved: a second decree. The second decree gave permission to the Jewish people to defend themselves. And that is exactly what happened. Esther asked the king to write a second decree that was just as authoritative as the first which saved them. Here’s what it said:

. . . saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods . . . (Esther 8:11-12 ESV).

God also told the Jews through Ezekiel long before it happened that this second decree would come. Here’s what God told Ezekiel to say:

They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid (Ezekiel 34:28 ESV).

This is beautiful! The Jews were so deserving of punishment that a decree had to be made, but God loved the Jews so much that a more important decree was made to save them!

Do you know that our story with God is the same? We have done so many things that hurt God that a first decree had to be written. Here is what the first decree says:

. . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . (Romans 3:23 ESV).

&

. . . the wages of sin is death . . . (Romans 6:23a ESV).

We don’t deserve a second decree, but God loved us s much that he wrote a more important decree:

. . . but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23b ESV).

Thank you God for your second decree, written in the blood of Christ and sealed by your Spirit to save me.