Overcoming The Evil Decree
I want to begin by explaining what I mean by an evil decree. An evil decree is something painful and hurtful that may or may not happen unless you take action to stop it. Shortly I will show exactly that from the biblical book of Esther. But as a little background understanding I want you tell you about something observant Jews call Teshuva, which translates to repentance.
Judaism was given 7 major feasts by God, that can be divided into roughly two groups: those that begin the harvest year and those that end the harvest year. Teshuva has to do with the 2 last feasts in the harvest cycle. The first is called Rosh Hoshanna, and the second is Yom Kippur. Rosh Hoshanna is also called the feast of trumpets, and Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, and these 2 feasts are 10 days apart. Here is where it gets interesting...
Rosh Hoshanna is the beginning of the Jewish civil year, and it is believed that on that date certain things are determined to happen in your life in the year ahead. Who will live? Who will die? Who will die by fire, or famine, or water, or earthquake or plague. They seem to take notice of all the more difficult ways in which a person can die. Other things are determined also, your health, your finances, and in general they sum up all the bad things that could happen with the phrase, "the evil decree." So their belief is that at the beginning of year people have been assessed by God and according to the way they have lived God writes down what is going to happen to them.
As Christians we don't view life through that kind of filter. We believe our lives are designed and predestined to bring glory to God. That being true I still think there is something to the Jewish belief that certain things nice or painful may happen in the year ahead, and that we can do something about it to change it. While the Jews believe things are written down on Rosh Hoshanna they are not finalized by God til 10 days later on Yom Kippur, that 10 day period is called the, "days of awe," and Jews believe the evil decree can be averted by prayer, repentance and good works. Teshuva is the idea that an evil decree that is written against you can be removed in part by repentance. God gives them 10 days to change and avert the evil decree.
So what is written in the book of your life for the year ahead? Your children's life? Our nations life? Can we change what is written? Is the future so set in stone nothing can impact it? The answer seems fairly obvious that changes can be made otherwise the whole concept of prayer is foolishness. If prayer can't change things then it is stupid to pray. But the bible is consistent in the idea that prayer does change things. Let me point out a quick observation and then we will look at a situation where Jesus told the church to pray to change and impact a future event, and then we will look at the reversing of an evil decree as shown in the book of Ruth.
Observation: God knows the future and what He knows will not change. Yet God presents the future to us as one that is not set in stone but can be impacted by our actions, beliefs, prayers.
This observation is not the focus of my message, just an underlying truth. So rather than lay it out line by line and precept by precept let me show you just two verses that demonstrates that God knows the future but presents it as one with several possibilities:
John 6:64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
John 8:24 "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."
In John 6:64 He knew from the beginning who would betray Him and who didn't believe, but in John 8:24 He says to a group of people that the possibility of salvation was an open one.
This could get deep so we will leave it for a bible study.
Let's now look at a portion of scripture where Jesus very plainly says the future is not settled, and we could change it with prayer.
Mt 24:20 "But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath;
Mt 24:21 for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.
In this passage Jesus is talking about the coming invasion of Jerusalem by the Romans that would happen in about 40 years, where they would decimate the city, and not one stone would be left on top of another in the Jewish temple.
He is speaking to the believers and in effect is saying, "You are going to have to flee this city in 40 years. You better start praying now that it will not happen in the winter or on the Sabbath or else the destruction and suffering you will face will be exceptionally horrific."
Surely Jesus knew what time of year the Romans would come, because God knows the end from the beginning. (Is 46:10) Yet, He describes a future that can be affected by prayer. In fact He gave them 40 years to lay up enough prayer to make that future easier. So what happened in 70AD when did the Romans come? They came in Spring and the siege wrapped up in early fall, in other words the church had prayed away the most difficult scenarios.
I believe that when Jesus taught the church to pray (deliver us from evil), He was teaching them to bank prayers for tomorrow that could affect the overall difficulty of their lives. Have you ever consider that today you are living on prayers you banked years ago? How is that working out for you? Do you wish you had banked more? Start today. You, your kids, and your grand kids could avert a very difficult future and a winter time flight is we pray blessings into our future. It is much better to pray ahead than to try to get by with catch up prayers.
Now let's get to reversing an evil decree.
Let's look at an example of an evil decree in the bible:
Es 3:7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, they cast the pur (that is, the lot) in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
Es 3:8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, "There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king' laws; it is not in the king' best interest to tolerate them.
Es 3:9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will put ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business."
Es 3:10 So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
Es 3:11 "Keep the money," the king said to Haman, "and do with the people as you please."
In this passage Haman was a high official in the Persian court, everyone was required to bow to him, but a certain Jew by the name of Mordecai refused and that absolutely infuriated Mordecai. He was so angry he devised a plot to kill not only Mordecai but every Jew in Persia and was willing to pay 10k talents of silver, a multimillion dollar payment! That was one angry guy!
In verse 7 you will notice that lots were cast to determine the best day and month to attack and kill the Jews. I assume this was done by some priest or shaman that worshipped the false gods of Persia. As part of the casting of lots they probably prayed to their false god for direction and were guided with a specific day and month. What we are seeing in this story is the coordination between evil men and wicked principalities and powers conspiring to attack God's people. The Jews had a target on their backs! Perhaps you do as well. Perhaps you should bank some prayers to change that possibility.
So the King says to Haman, do what you want. Haman has an edict written and sealed with the kings signet that is sent out to the whole nation instructing the Persian people they can rob and kill any Jew, take their possessions and no charges will come against them from the government.
At this point Mordecai gets a copy of the edict, gets it to his niece Esther who was married to king and tells her, just because she is married to the king she has no reason to expect she won't be killed. She begins 3 days of fasting and prayer, and that action on her behalf set in motion events that would fundamentally alter the situation in the Jews favor.
Haman winds up being hung, and all his possessions are given to Esther. But still left the matter of the evil decree. Esther aware of the danger her people are facing approaches the king and says:
Es 8:5 Then she said, "If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king' provinces.
Es 8:6 "For how can I endure to see the calamity which shall befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?"
Es 8:7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews.
Es 8:8 "Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king' name, and seal it with the king' signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king' signet ring may not be revoked."
Notice in verse 8 that a decree written in the name of king and sealed with his signet may not be revoked. The authority was not to be found in the person writing the decree, but in the kings signet. This certainly has overtures to John 16:23 whatever we ask in Jesus name He will give us.
So there was a decree written that threatened the Jews in Persia with extinction, Mordecai was given authority to write a subsequent decree with anything he wanted on it, to provide protection for his people.
What would you see fit to write about your life, your families future? The authority is not in your writing but in the kings signet. We have been given the kings signet!
Es 8:10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus'name, and sealed it with the king' ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
Es 8:11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
Note they were given authority to stand, and to fight, they were not exempted from the possibility of fighting.
Notice the part where it says they could cause to perish "all the power of the people that would assail them." Not simply avoid this dilemma but to destroy all the enemies power, that is awesome!
They also instead of suffering loss reaped gain, because they included in their decree the right to take spoil: and here is their spoil:
Es 8:17 And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king' commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.
Many of the people of the land became Jews! People got saved as the evil decree was reversed and turned on its head.
There is a conspiracy in high places against God's people. What are you doing to invalidate it? What is written in your book of life for the year ahead. Es 8:8 write as you see fit, that is God giving you a blank check, what will you write on it?
Let us pray with authority we have been given the kings signet ring!
Let us pray against evil conspiraces against us, our family, our church, our nation, and our president and leaders.
Close: Pray for God to reverse evil decrees and seal it with God's signet ring: the name of Jesus, power in the blood, grace that comes through the new covenant.
