Can you imagine the pent-up emotions all the Jews in Persia must have felt? For months they lived on the ragged edge of reality, knowing that doom was approaching. Unable to escape from their homes or deny their heritage, they were trapped as a time bomb kept ticking. And then, virtually overnight, everything changed. The mastermind of that fiendish plot against them was killed, the Jewish Queen Esther stepped into leadership, Mordecai (another Jew) was appointed prime minister, and the king rewrote his edict. The new document not only put an end to the threat, it granted the Jews freedom to “avenge” themselves—to inflict just punishment on their enemies (Esther 8:13). Think of the relief…the liberation…the release…that came as that decision was published! Turning to this dramatic story, we remember that God’s justice may appear slow in coming, but His justice is sure when it comes.