Have been reading through Esther this week. Always enjoy this read. Always intrigued by the absolute absence of any mention of God — how creative is my God? . . . Esther too is a God-breathed, forever God preserved piece of holy writing, that never mentions God . . . unreal! And, I’m always thrilled to see God all over the “circumstances” and “coincidences” of this story. But this morning, what excited me were three words that popped off the page that summarize the events of the story of Esther. Three words that capture the workings of God . . . three words that speak of the essence of redemption.

“Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.”          (Esther 9:1 ESV)

“The reverse occurred” . . . three words in the ESV. Three words in the NKJV, “the opposite occurred.” Four words in the NIV, “the tables were turned.” That, in a nutshell, is the story of Esther and the Jews salvation from their enemies. And, isn’t that also a fitting tag line capturing the implications of our story of redemption, as well?

Esther, aka Hadassah, an orphan of Jewish exiles . . . destined to live as a nobody . . . but the reverse occurred and she became queen. Haman, on a meteoric rise to the top ranks of the Persian government . . . a man of great influence . . . a man of great pride . . . a sworn enemy of Mordecai, the Jew . . . he had built a gallows, seven stories high, to hang Mordecai upon, to make Mordecai an example . . . but the opposite occurred and, instead, Mordecai was strung up for all to see. The thirteenth day of the twelfth month set as the day of destruction for all Jews . . . an edict of the king of Persia which could not be revoked . . . a day to be the last day of all who had been carried away from Jerusalem . . . but the tables were turned . . . the Jews were given power to rise up against their enemies . . . the Jews defeated those who had determined to destroy them . . . rather than a day of defeat, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month had become a day of great victory and celebration. The reverse occurred.

Ok . . . so run with that . . . tell me that isn’t the story of my redemption. A nobody . . . a sinner . . . separated from the promises of God . . . excluded from the kingdom of heaven . . . with no thought or hope of every entering it’s gates . . . but the reverse occurred and I’m now I am a child of God . . . a co-heir with Christ . . . raised up and seated with Him in the heavenly places. I was hounded by an enemy . . . a being of great power and pride . . . determined to destroy body and soul . . . for the wages of sin is death . . . but the opposite occurred and, instead, the enemy was defeated . . . death was conquered . . . and the victory won through the resurrection of the Son of God became mine.

And the tables are turned again and again. Once I was blind, but now I see. Once I was mastered by flesh, but now I am Spirit run. Once I was an enemy of God, but now through His blessed Son I am called a friend. Once I was without hope in the world, but now I have a confident expectation that the best is yet to come. Once I was without power, but now I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And the list can go on and on. Amen?

Praise God for the book of Esther. Praise God for this book, which is part of a compilation of books intended to reveal Him, which never mentions Him once . . . but which cries out repeatedly of His Sovereign workings and grace. Praise God for this book which never mentions redemption, but redemption is written all through it. Praise God for tables turned . . . for nobodies made part of the King’s court . . . for sinners made saints . . . for death turned into life . . . for defeat turned into victory.

The reverse occurred . . . for the benefit of men . . . and for the glory of God!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2Corinthians 5:17 ESV)