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Eugene Peterson’s introduction to the Old Testament book Esther seems remarkably apt for today:

It seems odd that the awareness of God, or even of the People of God, brings out the worst in some people. God, the source of all goodness and blessing and joy, at times becomes the occasion for nearly unimaginable acts of cruelty, atrocity, and evil.

There is a long history of killing men and women simply because they are perceived as reminders or representatives of the living God, as if killing people who worship God gets rid of God Himself. We’ve seen an extraordinary frenzy of such “god” killings in the modern era. To no one’s surprise, God is still alive and present.

The book of Esther opens a window on this world of violence directed, whether openly or covertly, against God and God’s people. The perspective it provides transcends the occasion that provoked it, a nasty scheme to massacre all the exiled Jews who lived in the vast expanse of fifth-century-B.C. Persia.

Three characters shape the plot. Mordecai, often identified simply as “the Jew,” anchors the story. He is solid, faithful, sane, godly. His goodness is more than matched by the evil and arrogant vanity of Haman, who masterminds the planned massacre. Mordecai’s young, orphaned, and ravishing cousin, Esther, whom he has raised, emerges from the shadows of the royal harem to take on the title role.

It turns out that no God-representing men and women get killed in this story — in a dramatic turnaround, the plot fails. But millions before and after Esther have been and no doubt will continue to be killed. There is hardly a culture or century that doesn’t eventually produce a Haman determined to rid the world of evidence and reminders of God.

Meanwhile, Esther continues to speak the final and definitive word: You can’t eliminate God’s people. No matter how many of them you kill, you can’t get rid of the communities of God-honoring, God-serving, God-worshiping people scattered all over the earth. This is still the final and definitive word.

Recent Persecution

As we know, our ‘newsfeeds’ are so carefully controlled to ensure that our minds are ‘saturated’ with the ‘news’ that ‘they’ want us to hear. Here in the Daily Declaration, the editorial staff work tirelessly to push against this tide.

Let us not forget the Nigerian Nightmare: Christmas Eve Slaughter Kills and Wounds Hundreds or the Indian Genocide: The Present-Day Extermination of India’s Christians reported here recently. These are present-day attempts to exterminate Christians. We need not look further back than 7 October 2023 to see the latest uprising against the Jews.

As Eugene points out, it is remarkable that the followers of the God of the Bible are the targets of genocide. I am not saying that followers of other faiths have never been subject to ethnic cleansing; they have. I am simply highlighting the current wave aimed at the followers of the God of the Bible. ‘From the river to the sea!’ has been chanted all around the world now since 8 October 2023.

God-fearing, we are at war! “Far-Left Drives 44 Percent Hate Crime Increase Against European Christians“; “The Christian’s War Against Pagan Society“.

How might we respond? There are times when we should take the slander, ridicule and worse, and be led as a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7) with our mouths shut, just like Jesus. But there are times when we should take the courage of Esther and take a stand:

“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

My prayer is that we might have the wisdom to know ‘when’ we must take a stand.

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