9And the scribes of the king were called in the time of the that in the month of the third, it [was] the month of Sivan in the third and twentieth in it, and it was written according to the all of which Mordecai commanded to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the princes of the provinces which [were] from India and until Cush, seven and twenty and one hundred provinces, province and province, according to the writing of it and people and people according to their language and to the Jews according to their writing and according to their language.
I have been studying clear through verse 14, however, I do want to record a thought from what I see in verse 9 itself. Incidentally, it might be fun to note that this is the longest verse in the English Bible. The verse divisions are not inspired, of course, but it is certainly odd that whoever was making the decisions here didn’t at least break this once in the middle. But then, looking ahead, apparently the same person decided that chapter 9 should have thirty-two verses while chapter 10 gets only three. Odd. And, for whatever it’s worth, Rev. 4:20 is actually the longest verse in the original languages.
However, back to our verse: It begins “And the scribes of the king were called…” Think about it. Here are these fellows called “scribes.” Somehow or another, as a young person, they ended up trained to read and write. We’re told that the majority of the people in the ancient world were illiterate, and therefore, those who did learn to read and write could end up doing that as their profession. The fellows here in verse 9 no doubt have wives with children and homes to maintain. They’re real men with real lives just like you and me. These particular men somehow ended up in the employment of the king himself. So this is their job—to do whatever writing and recording and probably reading the king needs them to do, whenever he needs them to do it.
And so, on a day like any other day, “the scribes of the king were called.” These are probably the same guys we saw in 3:12, when Haman was issuing his decree and “the scribes of the king were called.” This leads to my point. These guys get called to write an evil decree one day, then called again on another day to write another undoing it. They’re just doing their job. They’ve probably written the text of many decrees all along the way. When they’re called, they come, then they write down whatever they’re told to write down, write out however many copies are needed, then they go home to mow their grass and attend their daughter’s dance recital, eat supper, go to bed, and get up tomorrow and do it all again.
We don’t know their names. We know absolutely nothing about them. As far as they know, they’re just living their lives, plying their trade, and this day is no different than any other.
What they do not realize is that
they are actually participants in a grand eternal plan. Little could they have
ever dreamed we’d be sitting here reading about them 2,500 years later in a
culture on the other side of the world. Little could they have ever dreamed
their work would be recorded in the very Word of God! And yet, here it is: “And
the scribes of the king were called…”
Most of them, no doubt, are living in this “world without God.” If you asked them, I’m sure they think that’s all there is. This is my life. I live it the best I can. I go to work. I take care of my family. I was born. I will die. And there you go. That’s it. Perhaps they would acknowledge “the gods,” but, like most people, it is unlikely they’d really believe it was all the work of a single great, good God who “rules in the lives of men and nations” and is guiding all the events of our world according to His plan.
Is their situation not exactly the same as ours? Does it not appear to us too that we live our lives, we do our best, we go to work, we take care of our families, we’re born, and we die? And it appears “that’s it”? In a world without God, are we not just biological accidents that arbitrarily appear somewhere in time and space, only to soon disappear back into that same oblivion we came from? Will it matter 2,500 years from now whether you or I lived? Will it matter whether I worked hard to do good to others or whether I was a notorious serial-killer? If it’s really true, “that’s it,” then the idea anything matters is nothing less than an idealistic delusion. “And the scribes of the king were called…” So what? Our text even identifies the very date, the 23rd of the month of Sivan. This is apparently the year 474 B.C. and, according to John Whitcomb, it would be our June 25th. But then, who cares?
How much different to live in a world with God! Because God is very real, what happened to these guys on this very specific day actually got recorded for all eternity. It did matter. There was a sweep of enormously important human history happening that very day, and these guys were called to be a part of it. They didn’t know it. They couldn’t possibly see it, but it was true nevertheless, and why? Because there is a God and to Him everything matters!. It is the dignity of human beings that we get to be a part of His great eternal program. One could say, “That’s just as true of animals.” Yes, but the animals get no choice in the matter. That is precisely where the dignity comes in. It’s our choice.
In a world that might seem meaningless, faith gives us the eyes to see that, in spite of appearances, our lives do matter. No one around us is a biological accident. People matter. What I do matters. It is my choice, but those choices I make matter. I can either see my good God above it all and sincerely try to be a willing and positive part of His plan, or I can ignore Him and do as I please. I can be a Haman or I can be an Esther, but one thing is for sure: It will matter. In Jesus’ day, there was a Peter and there was a Pilate. Peter may have been a constant bungler, but at least he was trying. Pilate just goes down in history as the man who callously ordered the execution of a man he knew to be innocent, and a man who turned out to be God Himself.
It mattered.
“And the scribes of the king were called…”
It mattered.
If I may be allowed to belabor my point just a little longer, for those of us who do want to have faith, who do want to see God above it all, who do want to see that my life is a part of a great eternal plan, may I digress to point it out again, “And the scribes of the king were called…” What are these guys doing? Their job. Their job matters. What they do at their job matters. My fear is that we believers can read this and even note it, then think it still only applies if we’re doing something “important.” I somehow need to be a Billy Graham or a Mother Theresa or at least be doing something “important!” No. Your job matters. What you do all day every day matters.
For me, this isn’t the 23rd day of Sivan in 474 B.C. It’s December 18th of the year 2021 A.D. Just one more date on the calendar. It’s a Saturday. I plan to just be here at home, to do a few projects, fix a few things, help Joanie do some cleaning. Does that matter? Yes. Do I necessarily get to see what it matters? No, probably not, but I can head into this day assured that all I do matters.
And for me, what matters most is whether I’ll be a willing part of God’s plan, or not.
I have my marching orders: “Love God and love people.” All day today, that will be my choice, wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, but whatever it is, it will matter.
“And the scribes of the king were called…”
Meaningless? Hardly.
God give us the eyes to see You above all of this. Give us eyes to see that all we do is important, that every other person around us is someone You love and that You would have us love them for You. Maybe that is our job, or maybe it’s changing a baby’s diaper, but may we live knowing it matters.
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