Esther 8:3-4 And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet… I. EVIL OUTLIVES ITS FIRST CONTRIVERS. 1. Haman is dead, but the mischief he devised still hangs over the Jews. A passing stranger may loosen a stone in an embankment, and go on his way; but a whole province will bewail his folly. An infidel father trains most carefully an infidel son; the son becomes an eminent writer and spreads through a whole generation the poison he imbibed on his father's knee. An English colonist, filled with pity for the Caribbaeans, introduces slavery into the West Indies — doing evil that good may come — and for centuries those fair islands are cursed by his device. 2. Evil tends to permanency. (1) Because of the natural corruption of the heart. (2) This principle is assisted by the solidarity of our race. What affects one affects all. II. EVIL YIELDS BEFORE HOLY SELF-SACRIFICE. Esther was — 1. Intensely solicitous. 2. Persistent. 3. Boldly self-sacrificing. 4. Successful. III. EVIL CRUSHED BUT NOT KILLED. IV. PRACTICAL LESSONS. 1. The folly of infallibility. 2. The power of intercession. 3. The awful nature of sin. (W. Burrows, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. |
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