Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Now the other Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and gained relief from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, July 11, 2026
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Um, yeah. I don’t think murder is really called for here. I mean, if the occupying forces of Ahasuerus were really attacking the Jews according to the original decree, I suppose they had to defend themselves. But to kill 75,000 people… well, the whole story has been way over the top. A 75-foot gallows, yada yada yada. The absurdity of it adds to the fun. Except I really can’t see this as fun. Yeah, yeah, I know. Context. Culture. Literary devices. I don’t want to discard it out of hand. But it gives me pause to think about all the ways our modern popular culture glorifies violence. How we love to see the bad guys bite hard. And I really don’t think it’s good for us.
At least “they laid no hands on the plunder,” which I think is meant to point out that the Jews were truly acting in self defense rather than using it as an excuse to enrich themselves. So there’s that.
In the end, justice, such as it is, has been done. The heroes win, the bad guys die, and the people party.
When I struggle with reading and interpreting Scripture, who do I talk to? Do I feel comfortable questioning what the Bible says?
