Peter's Pensées

Paradox and irony have a place in the story of Esther. Mordecai, a patriot and a disciple, saved the king from assassination but refused to bow to Haman, a high-ranking official of the king’s court. Esther was queen, yet law-breaker:

     “And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (4:16)

The “one law” governing unauthorised entry into king’s inner court carried with it a death sentence:

     “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law; put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden sceptre , that he may live.” (4:10)

Esther risked her life by acting contrary to law, hanging on to uncertain clemency of the extended sceptre. She had a choice to not to hazard her life, but the death sentence she would avert had already been passed on to her people, the Jews. Being the sole-survivor after the planned massacre was not her idea of purposeful living. For what had she come to the palace? For what had she hidden her identity? To save herself when all known Jews perished?

The survival of an entire race of people hinged on just one of them – one single woman. And she was not even officially one of them. Would she perish with them if she were to disclose her identity? If she were to keep silent she would certainly not be tagged for destruction. But her undisclosed Jewishness would ultimately perish with her.

The final choice – live or die, I must stand by my people! So finally, it was her Jewishness and her disclosure of it, that saved the Jews, for she told the king:

     “Let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.” (7:3-4)

     “For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?” (8:6)

Mordecai had said, “If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.” (4:14)

Now Esther replied, “If I perish, I perish!”, not because she intended to remain silent, but she would go headlong to break the law. And deliverance did come, not from elsewhere, but through her courage and her faith.

Ezra was learned and Nehemiah was determined. Esther was brave.

Now at last Jerusalem’s wall is repaired. Not a breach, not a crack, and with well-secured gates (7:1-3). Hanani, at the start a bearer of bad news – of broken wall and burnt down gates – is now tasked to keep the fortified city’s gates shut and guarded.

But the stony wall, however forbidding, cannot keep out the wiles of the ancient foe, for souls can only be protected by a fiery wall around the holy city (Zech 2:5).

The Book of the Law is opened in the sight of the people (8:5). In the very pages of this Book is mentioned a “fiery law” from God’s right hand, an expression of love for willing recipients of His words (Deut 33:2-3). So in the open square that morning, the beloved people of YHWH, gather “as one man” to hear the words of law (8:1). This fiery law melts their stony hearts even before the midday sun could warm their skin, so they weep, one and all, in front of the Water Gate (8:3,9).

Even as the words are read to the people from the platform by the priestly scribe, the Levites go round to the masses to explain the meaning (8:4-8). Hence a fiery wall is built around the listeners, a protective, purifying wall, keeping them from lawlessness and sin.

Through His words, God Himself becomes a “wall of fire” around Jerusalem, just as His presence signified by the temple, makes Him “the glory in her midst” (Zech 2:5). Thus YHWH is both a shield and shelter to His people (Ps 5:12; 61:3), a fact they celebrate in the Feast of Tabernacles (8:13-18).

But alas! The human heart is wont to stray. Twelve years of hardwork on Nehemiah’s part is quickly undone during his brief absence (13:6). Upon his return, he observes that the sacred articles in the temple has been removed so as to accommodate an abominable Ammonite, the holy tithes due to Levites are not given, forcing them to abandon their sacred tasks for the secular, the Holy Sabbath is profaned and the holy seed of Judah corrupted by alien race! The wall of stone still remains, but where is the fiery wall of separation? Enraged, the illustrious rebuilder Nehemiah now turns boisterous reformer. The wall of faith must be rebuilt, lest history repeats itself too soon, and the failure in faith materialises, leaving a heap of stony ruin, once again.

How blessed are we, the church of God, to have the Spirit and Truth. And the gates of hades shall not prevail against her (Mt 16:18).

“The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire”, these words resound in the ears of Nehemiah, the cupbearer in the palace of the Persian Empire. The man whose name means “Comforted of Yah” now begins to weep, sharing the distress of his kinsmen in the ancient Jewish capital, “the city of the great King” (Ps 48:2).

Calling out from the depths of his soul, Nehemiah affirms his faith in the One Whom his fathers trusted. He is Elohim, YHWH, and  Adonai,  (1:4,5,11) – the Mighty, the Absolute, the Master. The vastness of heaven does not prevent the great and awesome God from relating to His creatures, for He covenants with His people, and shows mercy to those who love Him. Surely His ear is attentive to this pleading servant. So Nehemiah prays and waits.

Days roll into months. Jerusalem’s broken wall sits in contrast to the promise:

“Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.” (Is 60:18)

The restored  Temple in their midst keeps the godly ones united and focused. But the lives of the people are as broken as the city wall. There is no sense of security, for foes have unhindered access into their living space, to wreak havoc in their lives. Even their religion is compromised, since there is no way as yet to keep foreign elements out.

“Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!” writes the sweet Psalmist David of old (Ps 122:2). But now, there is no gate to talk about.

So Nehemiah continues to weep, to fast, and to wait.