Putting away mischief.
There was great wisdom in Esther's application to the king. In appearing before him unbidden she did so, as before, at the risk of her life. But her confidence in the power of her charms over the king was not unwarranted. She was too prudent to ask Ahasuerus to revoke his own decree for the destruction of the Jews. She treated it as the decree of the wicked Haman, and implored him to "put away the mischief of Haman, and the device that he had devised against the Jews." This expression, "putting away mischief," is striking and suggestive.
I. THERE IS SOME MISCHIEF WHICH, ONCE DONE, CANNOT BE UNDONE. Set a huge stone rolling down a mountain's side, and you cannot stop its descent until it reach the lake below the precipice. Open the sluice, or make a breach in the dyke, and you cannot keep out the flood of waters. So if in anger you slay a man, if in lust you ruin a woman, if in wanton wickedness you corrupt and mislead a child, the evil is largely irretrievable. A bad book, once issued, does its deadly work; a false report, once spread, creates misery and distress.
II. THERE ARE CASES IN WHICH MISCHIEF MAY, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, BE PUT AWAY. A misstatement may be corrected; a calumny may be retracted; an alarm may be contradicted. Restitution may be made for theft; reparation for injury. Governments which have done harm by unjust and unwise enactments may undo something of the harm by repealing bad laws, and replacing them by laws that are righteous. Amendment and reversal are permissible, and are indeed morally obligatory, where evil has been wrought or intended.
III. THE WISDOM OF GOD HAS DEVISED A WAY FOR PUTTING AWAY THE MISCHIEF OF SIN IN THE WORLD. A God who is just, and the Justifier of the ungodly who repents and believes in Jesus, is a Being who demands our grateful and lowly adoration. In Christ Jesus he "reconciles the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them."
Practical lessons:—
1. The consideration of the difficulty there is in undoing mischief should make us cautious, and watchful, and prayerful that no evil in society may originate in us.
2. Yet this difficulty should not deter us from making strenuous effort to repair mischief when mischief has been done. Esther and Mordecai were, with God's blessing, successful in their efforts, partially at all events, to undo Haman's mischief. Let their example stimulate and encourage us in every benevolent task and undertaking.