Esther 8-10: “Mordecai Is Promoted And Esther Gains The King’s Permission And The Jews Destroy All Of Their Enemies”
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1. TIMELINE:
These graphs depict the timeline of the Old Testament, and note that the events in the book of Esther cover a period of history after the Babylonian captivity that most believe occurred during the third year of the reign of king Xerxes, or approx. 484-483 BC.
Graph of Persian kings & Jewish companies sent out by them to Judea:
2. In our last study, we looked at chapters 6-7 of the book.
2.1. We saw how that Haman and Mordecai change stations in life because of the Lord exalting the humble and bringing down the pride.
2.2. We saw more of God’s providence as a sleepless night for king Ahasuerus caused him to ask for the book of records to be read before him, and then he realized that Mordecai, Esther’s uncle and guardian, needed to be rewarded for saving his life after Mordecai had earlier discovered and revealed to Esther an assassination plot.
2.3. We saw how wicked Haman got coming to him exactly what he had planned on doing to Mordecai, he was hanged on the gallows at his house, and, we looked at the recompense and judgment of God that is promised for all, a judgment for rewards for the Christian but the judgment of condemnation and eternal suffering for the unbeliever commensurate with the things that he has done.
3. In our study today, we are going to look at chapters 8-10 of the book of Esther.
3.1. Mordecai is exalted by King Ahasuerus and given all of the clothing and garb of royalty, plus the king’s signet ring.
3.2. The queen will again appear before the king and intercede to him for the Jews, asking that the edict which Haman had written up for the destruction of the Jews be averted. The king will extend to her his scepter but then remind her that the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be revoked.
3.3. The king will allow Mordecai and Esther to pen their own irrevocable edict in the king’s name to spare the Jews. The edict is then written and disseminated to all of the provinces of Persia allowing for the Jews on the fourteenth of Adar to assemble and fight and destroy any who attack them, as they will, and also that they may take the plunder for themselves.
3.4. This edict is sent to all of the provinces, and the Jews rejoice and have feasts at this news.
3.5. The fourteenth day of Adar finally comes, and the Jews end up conquering all of their enemies in all of the Persian provinces, and Haman’s ten sons are killed.
3.6. Esther then requests and is granted from the king another day for the Jews to carry out the edict in the city of Susa, and for the ten sons of Haman to be hanged in plain sight on the gallows. The Jews in the rest of the provinces rest on this second day, feast, and rejoice.
3.7. The details of how the holidays of Purim were established by Mordecai and Esther at this time are discussed.
4. VS 8:1-2 - “1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had disclosed what he was to her. 2 The king took off his signet ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.” – King Ahasuerus gives the house of Haman to Queen Esther and takes off his signet ring which had been in Haman’s possession, and gives it to Mordecai, then Esther places Mordecai over the house of Haman
4.1. It was common in this day for a capital criminal to have his house and possessions given away to the one he had wronged. So, King Ahasuerus determined that the house that Haman owned now belonged to queen Esther because Haman had written up the decree in order to have Esther and her people, the Jews, killed.
4.2. Haman had been willing to pay for the destruction of the Jews in all of the provinces of Persia, so he had to be a very wealthy man. Haman’s house must have been an incredible place.
4.3. Esther couldn’t just give away the gift that the king had given her, so instead of giving the house of Haman to her uncle Mordecai, Esther now just set Mordecai ‘over the house of Haman.’ She placed Mordecai in charge of it.
4.4. The Lord exalted humble Mordecai after bringing down the proud Haman, just as Psalm 113:5-9 tells us He does these things: “5 Who is like the Lord our God, Who is enthroned on high, 6 Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 To make them sit with princes, With the princes of His people. 9 He makes the barren woman abide in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord!”
5. VS 8:3-6 - “3 Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. 4 The king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. 5 Then she said, “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. 6 “For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”” – Esther again came before the king, fell at his feet, and wept and implored him to avert the edict that Haman had written up that called for the destruction of the Jews, and the king again handed to the queen his scepter
5.1. Evidently, queen Esther again came into the king’s presence unannounced, for we read here that the king again extended out to her his golden scepter and thus kept her from being killed.
5.2. It is amazing that Esther again subjects her life to the possibility of dying as she again comes before the king unannounced. What a godly woman she was, one who was committed to the Lord and to her people.
5.3. Esther’s tearful intercession for the Jews here is very touching as we see her falling at the king’s feet weeping and imploring him to avert the scheduled destruction of the Jews that was to occur because of the king’s edict.
5.4. Esther is wise here in her interceding to the king for she doesn’t call the edict “the king’s edict,” she refers to it as ‘the evil scheme of Haman.” She asks him not to avert his own foolish edict, but Haman’s.
5.5. Esther’s plea is wise also in the way that she shows great respect for Haman: ‘if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to...’
6. VS 8:7-8 - “7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews. 8 “Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.”” – The king tells Queen Esther that he has already given the house of Haman to Esther, and hanged Haman on the gallows, therefore she may write a decree as she sees fit, but one that also may not be revoked
6.1. The king doesn’t come right out and state that the decree that he has imposed cannot be reversed, instead he just tells her that he has already given the house of Haman to her, and had him hanged on the gallows. Then, he tells her that she could write out another official decree for the empire, as long as it did not contradict any previous ones. Then, he tells her that she could use his signet ring to cause it to be accepted as a decree of law from the king himself.
6.2. The king decides that it would be better to not break the law of the Medes and the Persians by annulling a decree of law that had previous been made, but instead give Esther and Mordecai the opportunity to write some sort of a decree that would avert the Jews destruction.
6.3. Evidently, Mordecai and Esther had been considering for quite a while what they could request if the king was not willing to annul the decree that he had already written concerning the destruction of the Jews. They realized that if the Persians simply gave the Jews the opportunity to assemble and defend themselves that they could trust the Lord to give them victory over all of their enemies, much as Israel had been victory by the Lord over their enemies in the land of Canaan under Joshua. They probably considered that the Jews were healthy and fit and would be able to defend themselves well if given weapons and the chance to do so.
6.4. I think that the situation in Persia was similar to what it was in Egypt when the Israelites were enslaved there. Slaves work hard and are in good condition. A nation doesn’t typically want to have a civil war against a very large segment of slaves because they are likely to lose such a war.
7. VS 8:9-12 - “9 So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors and the princes of the provinces which extended from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every people according to their language as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language. 10 He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horses, riding on steeds sired by the royal stud. 11 In them the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate the entire army of any people or province which might attack them, including children and women, and to plunder their spoil, 12 on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar).” – The scribes were called to the palace and Mordecai had them write an edict from the king that was to go to all 127 provinces of the Persian empire, and the edict stated that the Jews were granted in every province to assemble at will and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all of the people of any province which might attack them, including women and children, and to plunder their spoil
7.1. It is interesting here to see that King Ahasuerus has issued two decrees whose fulfillment required a civil war between two different parties within his kingdom. The king must have had some regrets for his foolishness in issuing that first decree and thereby bringing about such mayhem within His kingdom.
7.2. Seeing the king’s first decree being issued and the consequences of that foolish decision makes me consider that in our lives as God’s people we need to be aware that there are consequences to some of our actions that cannot be undone, no matter how hard we may try to fix them after the fact. So many of our foolish decisions of time past hinder and effect adversely our lives today. How we need to learn to be prayerful, wise, and prudent in all of the decisions that we make.
8. VS 8:13-14 - “13 A copy of the edict to be issued as law in each and every province was published to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14 The couriers, hastened and impelled by the king’s command, went out, riding on the royal steeds; and the decree was given out at the citadel in Susa.” – The edict that the Jews could defend themselves written by the scribes at Mordecai’s dictation was published out to all of the peoples in the entire Persian empire by couriers riding on royal steeds
9. VS 8:15-17 - “15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 For the Jews there was light and gladness and joy and honor. 17 In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.” – Mordecai went out from the king in royal robes of blue and white, and with a crown of gold and a garment of fine line and purple, and all of the people of the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced, and, for the Jews there was light, gladness, joy, and honor, and in every province the Jews were filled with gladness and joy and feasted and declared a holiday, and many among the peoples became Jews because the dread of the Jews had fallen on them
9.1. Notice here how that Mordecai was exalted by King Ahasuerus even to a greater degree than Mordecai had been exalted. Mordecai now wore a ‘crown of gold’ on his head as only a king would wear. When the eyes of King Ahasuerus were finally opened so that he saw Haman for what he was, and how that he had been duped by not only Haman but the rest of his trusted advisors, and now that he had a man in Mordecai that had been proven to truly be worthy, King Ahasuerus did not spare anything in exalting Mordecai.
9.2. It is incredible to see how that Mordecai became exalted almost overnight in the sight of all of the Persian empire.
9.3. There had been confusion when the edict had been issued declaring the destruction of the Jews, now we see that everywhere throughout the whole Persian empire there was rejoicing because of this new decree to allow the Jews to defend themselves, and also because a righteous man in Mordecai had been raised up to rule.
9.4. The result of the issuing of this new decree, as well as the exaltation of Mordecai, caused a ‘dread of the Jews’ to fall upon all of the Persians, and we see that ‘many among the peoples of the land became Jews.” God was using this situation that initially seemed to spell doom for the Jews, to even result in many being issued into God’s kingdom as proselytes to the Jewish religion.
10. VS 9:1-3 - “1 Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them. 2 The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm; and no one could stand before them, for the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples. 3 Even all the princes of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who were doing the king’s business assisted the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them.” – When the day came for the king’s edict to be executed and the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary and the Jews gained mastery over all of their enemies and all who sought their harm, for the dread of them fell on all of the peoples and all the princes, satraps, and governors in all of the provinces assisted the Jews
10.1. We saw in the previous chapter that the decree that was sent out to all of the provinces in the Persian kingdom, was sent out in the, “third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day’, but now the date was eight months later when the Jews were to be destroyed but could defend themselves, for it was, ‘in the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar) on the thirteenth day.’ The Jews had now been able to pray and also prepare to defend themselves from attack for eight months. This fact also explains why this holiday that ended up being created was named after the “Pur,” or lot, it was because of the fact that wicked Haman was superstitious and kept drawing the lot to see what day it was, and no day was picked by lot until one eight months later, a date far enough away that God could work and undo these wicked plans, and also so that the Jews could prepare to defend themselves when the day came. You can be sure the Jews practiced military exercises when time allotted during those eight months.
10.2. Proverbs 16:33 tells us about how it is the Lord who works through the lot when it is thrown, “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.”
10.3. The ‘dread’ falling on the enemies of the Jews which led to the Jews being victorious in their battles is reminiscent of the battles in Israel prior to this time. Whenever God’s people were doing God’s will God’s way, the Lord always gave them victories over their enemies, and the Lord had delivered His people, the Jews, time and again.
11. VS 9:4-13 - “4 Indeed, Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater. 5 Thus the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, 7 and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 11 On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa was reported to the king. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall even be granted you. And what is your further request? It shall also be done.” 13 Then said Esther, “If it pleases the king, let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”” – Mordecai became great in the king’s house and his fame spread out even throughout all of the provinces, and the Jews destroyed their enemies and did what they pleased to those who hated them, and in the city of Susa, the Jews killed five hundred men, and the ten sons of Haman were killed, but the Jews did not take the plunder, and then the king asked Esther if there was any further request, and the queen requested that the Jews in Susa have another day be granted to them, that Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows
11.1. When the day finally came, the Jews enemies began to attack, but the Lord was with His people, the Jews. Mordecai and his fame had spread throughout the empire, and the dread of Israel fell on all of the people causing them to lose all of their confidence and might, and the Jews conquered everywhere they fought.
11.2. Some have wrongfully called the Jews the aggressors here in this story, however they were only defending themselves when they were attacked.
11.3. In Susa, the royal city, the Jews killed ‘five hundred men,’ and ‘the ten sons of Haman’ were also killed. The Jews continued to have victory and victory throughout the Persian empire.
11.4. Finally, the king asks Esther if she has any further requests for him, and she requests of him that one final day in the city of Susa would be granted to the Jews to destroy their enemies. Further, she requests that the Jews be allowed to hang the ten sons of Haman upon the gallows. They had been killed on the previous day, but Esther asks for their bodies to be hung.
11.5. Both on the first day of this civil war, as well as on the second day, it is mentioned that though the Jews had been given permission to plunder those whom they destroyed, that it says that what happened instead was, ‘but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.’ In fact, this phrase is repeated two more times in the verses that follow. The Jews wanted to show that they were not motivated by greed, they simply wanted to be free of repression. We’re not sure if in allowing the Israelites to conquer their enemies if they were not also freed from slavery. Who else would want to attack them and take away their possessions if not their owners, but only if they thought the slave was rebelling? Would not a slave’s owner seek to protect his slave (his possession) if others tried to kill the slave? The Jews had to have possessions otherwise why would anyone care to plunder them? It seems as if the Jews must have been in different stations in life, some probably were slaves, but all were of the lower caste of society.
11.6. It is an interesting fact that the ten sons of Haman had been killed on the first day of the fulfillment of the decree, but they then were hanged on the second day. For scores of years the Jews have believed that there is a reason for this oddity, and I take this information from this website: http://rinah-shalom.tripod.com/id48.html. The Jews believe that there are many things encrypted within the text of the scripture itself. In verses 6-9 here, there is an interesting detail that the Jews have believed for decades contains a future prophesy that is encoded. The names of the ten sons of Haman are list vertically in the original text. Four of the letters in the seventh name appear smaller than the rest. When those letters are added up they are equal to 707 (400, 300, and 7). The Jewish calendar did not start over after Jesus died, and thus that date could represent the Jewish date of 5707. But, this is the date of 1946 that at the Nuremberg trials held after WWII had ended, ten Nazi war criminals were executed by hanging, and hanging was not the usual method of execution in that day and time. Julius Stricher, who has been called “The Beast of Franconia,” was one of the men hanged that day, and he evidently knew about this encoding in the scripture and that the Jews thought it prophetic. As he went to the gallows he yelled out with hatred in his voice, “Purim Fest 1946,” in acknowledging its fulfillment.
12. VS 9:14-18 - “14 So the king commanded that it should be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged. 15 The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 16 Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces assembled, to defend their lives and rid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 17 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. 18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.” – The king granted Esther’s request that another day would be granted the Jews in the capital city of Susa, and that Haman’s ten sons would be hanged on the gallows, and the Jews in Susa killed another three hundred men, while the Jews in the rest of the province rested, having killed 75,000 of their enemies, and the Jews again did lay hands on the plunder
12.1. It is interesting here to see that there were three days that were involved in the carrying out of this decree in Susa, yet only two days in the rest of the provinces. Evidently there was some distinctions involving the carrying out of the decree in Susa verses the rest of the provinces.
13. VS 9:19-22 - “19 Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a holiday for rejoicing and feasting and sending portions of food to one another. 20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, 22 because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” – Mordecai recorded these events, and sent letters to all of the Jews in all of the provinces of Persia, obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth of the same month annually, because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and for them sorrow was turned into gladness and mourning into a holiday, therefore they holidays were to always be a time of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor
13.1. Here we get a window into what this holiday of Purim really meant to the Jews from their perspective of how their nation was spared through the faithful intercession of a young Jewish girl who was willing to risk her own life in order to intercede for her people: ‘it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.’
13.2. I like that it says here that the people were moved to not only give presents to each other, but also to give ‘gifts to the poor.’ This reminds me of what our Christian holiday of Christmas has been about throughout history.
13.3. We Christians need to learn from Esther’s story that God causes all things to work together for our good, as the word promises us in Rom. 8:28. God is always working providentially behind the scenes in our lives as His people. No matter how dark the light at the end of the tunnel may seem to be at any given time, we need to realize that God has placed us where we are, and He will also provide for us right there. Plus, he has a reason for all that He allows to come into our life. We need to learn to pray without ceasing and learn the truth that the only limits to our praying is what we are willing to trust God for. Paul wrote that the Lord is able to do increasingly beyond whatever we may ask or even think when we pray, and He promises that whatever we ask believing that we shall receive. We need to trust in Him and pray for our needs right where we are, and this is as we live just one day at a time and not worry about what tomorrow may bring.
14. VS 9:23-32 - “23 Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and destroy them. 25 But when it came to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. And because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and made a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all those who allied themselves with them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days according to their regulation and according to their appointed time annually. 28 So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to fail from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their descendants. 29 Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, 31 to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions for their times of fasting and their lamentations. 32 The command of Esther established these customs for Purim, and it was written in the book.” – The story of how the holidays of Purim were established because of how the Jews rescued from all of their enemies
14.1. This is the only holiday that the Jews observed which was invented not by divine initiative, but rather by man, Mordecai and Esther. Yet, the Lord sanctioned what they decreed because it was determined to bring glory to God in remembering how He worked providentially in preventing the nation of the Jews from being destroyed.
15. VS 10:1-3 - “1 Now King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. 2 And all the accomplishments of his authority and strength, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his whole nation.” - Then, king Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land and the coastlands of the sea, and all of his accomplishments of his authority and strength, as well as the full account of the greatnes of Mordecai and how the king advanced him, are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Pdersia
16. CONCLUSIONS:
16.1. Remember to remain humble for the Lord exalts the humble but is opposed to the proud, just as the scripture says.
16.2. Learn from King Ahasuerus’ mistake that the consequences of some of the decisions we make as people cannot be stopped, therefore be careful and prayerful in the decisions you make.
16.3. Remember to follow Esther’s example and in everything that comes across your path to consider that you too might have been placed in such a position for a time such as this. God may very well want to use you and work mightily through your life.
16.4. God is always working providentially behind the scenes to provide, protect, guide, etc., and all things are always working together for good in our lives (Rom. 8:28).