IN THE DAYS OF QUEEN ESTHER:
Prophets and Kings, p. 598-606
COMFORTABLE IN BABYLON
"Under the favor shown them by Cyrus, nearly fifty thousand of the children
of the captivity had taken advantage of the decree permitting their return.
These, however, in comparison with the hundreds of thousands scattered
throughout the provinces of Medo-Persia, were but a mere remnant. The great
majority of the Israelites had chosen to remain in the land of their exile
rather than undergo the hardships of the return journey and the
re-establishment of their desolated cities and homes.
TROUBLE IS COMING: GET OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE
A score or more of years passed by, when a second decree, quite as favorable
as the first, was issued by Darius Hystaspes, the monarch then ruling. Thus
did God in mercy provide another opportunity for the Jews in the
Medo-Persian realm to return to the land of their fathers. The Lord foresaw
the troublous times that were to follow during the reign of Xerxes,--the
Ahasuerus of the book of Esther,--and He not only wrought a change of
feeling in the hearts of men in authority, but also inspired Zechariah to
plead with the exiles to return.
"Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north," was the message
given the scattered tribes of Israel who had become settled in many lands
far from their former home. "I have spread you abroad as the four winds of
the heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the
daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath
He sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you
toucheth the apple of His eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon
them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that
the Lord of hosts hath sent me." Zechariah 2:6-9.
SOME CHOOSE TO LISTEN AND LEARN: A REMNANT
It was still the Lord's purpose, as it have been from the beginning, that
His people should be a praise in the earth, to the glory of His name. During
the long years of their exile He had given them many opportunities to return
to their allegiance to Him. Some had chosen to listen and to learn; some had
found salvation in the midst of affliction. Many of these were to be
numbered among the remnant that should return. They were likened by
Inspiration to "the highest branch of the high cedar," which was to be
planted "upon an high mountain and eminent: in the mountain of the height of
Israel." Ezekiel 17:22, 23.
SOME FLEE FROM THE CITIES BUT THE MAJORITY STAY
It was those "whose spirit God had raised" (Ezra 1:5) who had returned under
the decree of Cyrus. But God ceased not to plead with those who voluntarily
remained in the land of their exile, and through manifold agencies He made
it possible for them also to return. The large number, however, of those who
failed to respond to the decree of Cyrus, remained unimpressible to later
influences; and even when Zechariah warned them to flee from Babylon without
further delay, they did not heed the invitation.
REFUSING THE WAY OF ESCAPE NOW THEY FACE DEATH
Meanwhile conditions in the Medo-Persian realm were rapidly changing. Darius
Hystaspes, under whose reign the Jews had been shown marked favor, was
succeeded by Xerxes the Great. It was during his reign that those of the
Jews who had failed of heeding the message to flee were called upon to face
a terrible crisis. Having refused to take advantage of the way of escape God
had provided, now they were brought face to face with death.
HAMAN IS A TYPE OF THOSE WHO WILL HATE ALL SABBATHKEEPERS
Through Haman the Agagite, an unscrupulous man high in authority in
Medo-Persia, Satan worked at this time to counterwork the purposes of God.
Haman cherished bitter malice against Mordecai, a Jew. Mordecai had done
Haman no harm, but had simply refused to show him worshipful reverence.
Scorning to "lay hands on Mordecai alone," Haman plotted "to destroy all the
Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of
Mordecai." Esther 3:6.
ESTHER AND THE LAST DAY EVENTS, PAGE 2 |
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