Esther's Revenge: The Dangers of Victory

I just finished reading the book of Esther, and it continues to be a most puzzling piece of literature. I think it's a fantastic tale, and I like it a lot, but the ending feels a bit like a sucker punch. Most of the book is a typical good vs. evil, Jews vs. heathens, etc. But the book doesn't stop fast enough when the good triumphs over evil. Curiously, it goes on to describe in dramatic detail how completely the good Jews vanquish their opponents, to the point that the Jews start to look just as bad as the earlier wrong-doers. When the Jews have the right to defend themselves against those who attack them, they turn around and slaughter all they suspect of not being Jews. I wonder if God, through the writer of the book, wants us to hear about the dangers of victory.

I also can't help but hear resonances with the situation in the modern state of Israel. After centuries of persecution, the Jewish people have a homeland where they can prosper and survive. Yet rather than pursuing peace and defense only, some Jews, including the current administration in Israel, have pursued a policy of hostility and warfare against their Arab neighbors. Palestinians are certainly not innocent of aggression either, but the Jews clearly have the upper hand. Just as Mordecai and Esther against the native people of Susa, the Jewish leadership has instilled its own pogrom against its neighbors. Racism and ethnic warfare continue to be the bywords of the empire, no matter who is the most recent victor.

Christians have a different model in Christ. The God who defeated sin and evil forever does not turn around and declare war on non-Christians or sinners (notwithstanding fundamentalist Christian imagery such as The Passion of the Christ). Christ has the power to win, and also to refrain from seeking revenge against those who oppose him. Christ is the one who prays forgiveness for his killers, who stands as a slain Lamb at the end of history, redeeming all. In Christ the sword is truly beaten into a plowshare, so that the nations might not know war any more.