This is the Bible Book Club.

The book of Esther.

Welcome to the club.

Last time in chapter six and seven of Esther, it was the beginning of the great reversal that was

triggered by the king's insomnia.

Because the king providentially couldn't sleep, he discovered that he had never rewarded

Mordecai for saving his life from the assassins. Haman providentially then showed up at the palace

and was told to honor Mordecai whom he hated because Mordecai never honored him.

It was humiliating and Haman never recovered. From there, he was whisked off to his second

banquet with Esther. At that dinner, the masks came off. Esther revealed her identity as a Jew.

Haman was revealed as the villain, and the king realized

he had been a fool. So the last chapter was a victory of divine justice, and while we can all

cheer the villain's demise, his murderous edict is still very much alive. And the king is in a

predicament. Now, in Persia and other ancient cultures,

an edict from the king could not be reversed. This was because kings were looked at like gods

and could do no wrong. To reverse an edict would have meant that the king had made a mistake,

and they didn't make mistakes

because they were like gods. Therefore, the decree Haman wrote, the one ordering the annihilation

of every Jewish man, woman, and child across 127 provinces, that death warrant was still

in effect. It's sealed with the king's signet ring, and according to Persian law, not even the king himself can reverse it.

There were just nine months left before the Jews would legally be attacked and plundered.

But all is not lost because there are always options options and King Xerxes made a way for the

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