The Story of Esther — David Guzik

We're very grateful for these ministries that the Lord has given us and I'm very grateful to pastor Pat And miles who arranged the invitation for me to come and share with you this morning. And so if you're not too bleary-eyed from the losing an hour of sleep last night from the time change I hope we can spend some profitable time in the Word of God together.

Esther 9 and the Story's Historical Setting

So I'd like you to open up in your Bibles to the book of Esther chapter 9. We'll take a look at the first couple of verses of Esther chapter 9. But let me tell you why it is that I want to talk to you about the book of Esther this morning.

A few weeks ago I got a call from a German friend of mine. His name is Yaakov Jacob and Jacob called me and he wanted to know if I could help him out. Because Yaakov is a man who ministers to Russian Christians from a Jewish background who live in Germany if you could follow that well enough and He gets invited oftentimes to minister at Messianic congregations in Germany that are made up largely of Russian immigrants who were Jewish in People in Russia, but have converted once they come to Germany.

Well in any regard. Yaakov asked me if I could help him out because he inadvertently Had scheduled himself to speak in two places on the same evening and that just can't happen. And so he asked me if I could come and speak at a messianic Congregation in Koblenz, and I told him well.

Yeah, my schedule was open. I'd be happy to do it, and then he said you know it's Purim that day or that week. Would you speak to the people about Purim and Purim has to do with the story of Esther. Of course and after all I mean I write Bible commentary, and I'm a Bible college teacher.

I know all about the story of Esther or at least I thought I did. I Opened it up, and I said well if I'm gonna teach about Esther I should read the story a couple times ahead of time, and I and I was so thrilled all over again About this beautiful story of how God worked in the days of Esther that I'm just plain old Excited about this story in the book of Esther, and I always think it's good whenever you're invited to speak somewhere.

It's good to speak about something that you're excited about and so I want to share with you from the book of Esther. We'll just take a look here at chapter 9 verses 1 and 2 and then I'll tell you the story about how it all led Up to that point here.

We go Esther chapter 9 verses 1 and 2 now in the 12th month. That is the month of Adar on the 13th day. The time came for the king's command in his decree to be executed on. The day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them the opposite occurred in that the Jews themselves Overpowered those who hated them.

The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm and no one could withstand them. Because fear of them fell upon all people.

Let's pray together Lord. We know you're a faithful God. You're so faithful and true to us. And we ask this morning that as we give attention to your word that you'll speak to us. You've been so faithful to do this from this pulpit through pastor Pat and others before Lord we trust that you have something to speak to us here right now this morning in Jesus name.

Amen. The Story of Esther takes place at the very end of the historical account of the Old Testament. It's one of the last books in the historical chain that makes up the Old Testament books. And it was not a bright time in the history of Israel.

As a matter of fact, it was a very dark time. It was a dark time because the two nations that had come forth from the twelve tribes the northern kingdom Which was known as the kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom Which was known as the kingdom of Judah by the time of the story of Esther both of those kingdoms were gone.

They had been wiped off the map. The northern kingdom of Israel was wiped off the map by the Assyrian Empire who came and Scattered the citizens of the kingdom of Israel into exile into different cities all around the Middle East.

It was a forced repopulation. Then about a hundred and fifty years later the same thing happened in the southern kingdom of Judah except this time it was the Babylonian Empire that came and they took almost everybody who was in the southern kingdom of Judah and they Forced them to remove themselves and be citizens in exile in different cities all around the Middle East.

Eventually as the Assyrian Empire had passed and the Babylonian Empire had raised up. One day the Babylonian Empire passed and the Persian Empire Replaced it and the Persian Empire was bigger than any of the previous ones.

It was bigger than Egypt bigger than a Syria bigger than the Babylonians. It encompassed almost all of what today we know as the Middle East. Therefore of all the Jewish communities scattered all over the Middle East.

Almost all of them were within the territory of that ancient Persian Empire. They didn't have their own kingdom to call their own. But they were scattered throughout these cities in the midst of that kind of dark day for the people of God.

God raised up a shining light you might say that God raised up a morning star To shine in the darkness and this morning star was this woman named Esther. Well when the book of Esther begins, it's not immediately about Esther.

It's about a king named King Ahasuerus in history. He's known as King Xerxes. But the Bible calls him King Ahasuerus and Ahasuerus was reigning over this vast Empire of the Persians and one day he decided to have a series of feasts he scheduled three special feasts just to I don't know celebrate himself or celebrate something in the Empire and During one of these feasts when it was just him and all of the guys him and his cronies I suppose they all got drunk and they demanded to see the queen of Persia Queen Vashti and demanded that she come in and there was something Immodest or immoral about their request therefore Vashti said I won't do it.

I'm the queen of Persia. I'm not going to go into a room full of drunken men and present myself in some way that is somehow Immoral or immodest. I refuse to do it. Well when King Ahasuerus heard that his queen refused to obey this command he was furious and the book of Esther even tells us that they were concerned that news of this would go all around the Empire and Nowhere in the Persian Empire after that would women obey their husbands if they heard that Queen Vashti goddess got away with disobeying her king.

Her husband the king of Persia. And so they decided that Queen Vashti would be taken away from her position as queen over Persia. She would be dethroned or deposed from her position. Well at some time after that they decided to have a replacement queen, but how do you find one?

I mean obviously if you're the king of Persia you don't have a hard time meeting girls. But they decided that they would have a special Contest to find the next queen of Persia you could have called it Persian Idol or something like that.

Where they would have a big talent show so to speak where they would collect all these people and get the most beautiful women of the Persian Empire together put them together in a big competition and whoever won would be the next queen of Persia except.

There's a big difference between our modern sort of talent contest and this ancient one in the days of the Persian Empire. The one in the days of the Persian Empire was not voluntary. They basically shanghaied the 400 most beautiful women in the Persian Empire and they said whether you like it or not you're in the contest and One of the women that they selected was a Jewish woman named Esther.

Now Esther was born in the Persian Empire. But her parents were both Jewish and so she was part of this Jewish community living in exile scattered throughout all these various cities of the Persian Empire and Unfortunately for Esther her parents died when she was young and so she was raised by her cousin named Mordecai.

Mordecai somehow or another got a job in the government service of the kingdom of Persia. And so he was had a good job and could support things and things were going along well until one day you wonder how they Wondered how this would turn out.

Esther's Rise to the Persian Throne

It must have been a problem for them to discover that Esther had been forcibly made a part of this contest to become the next queen of Persia. Well, what was it like to be part of this contest? Well the book of Esther tells us that you would enter into the harem of the Persian king.

And you know what they had to do basically, they had to endure a Years worth of beauty preparations before they were even allowed to have their interview with the king. Did you understand what this was?

Basically, it was a year's worth of daily spa treatments that the women went now. I've never been to one of these places. But my wife has she got a gift sometime or someplace to go to one of these spas and she really enjoyed it.

I don't really know what happens at these places. I Cover you with mud or something you like that. They give you massages. They wrap you with seaweed. They put vegetables on your face. I don't understand that.

I Really don't get the thing where they put the rocks on your back. I don't understand this but the women apparently like it and you know. It was a wonderful time for Esther and the other 400 women who were part of the preparation for their special Interview with the king, but if it was good for them, it was especially good for Esther.

Because God gave her favor as part of this group of 400 women now for some reason. It was never revealed that Esther was Jewish. I guess if they had an application that you had to fill out when you came to the group.

They didn't have a little box to check, you know. Are you Jewish or something like that? Nobody asked and she never told so it was never really known that Esther was Jewish. But she was part of this group and she was a very beautiful woman as a matter of fact in chapter 2 it tells us specifically about Esther that she was beautiful in her form and in her appearance to Translate that into our modern way of speaking.

It would say that she had a beautiful figure and She had a beautiful face. She was just an absolutely stunningly beautiful woman and you can imagine what she would be like after a year of constant beauty preparations.

Esther had it better than any of the other ones because God gave her favor with the man who ran the harem and He gave her extra beauty preparations. I guess when they were handing out the mud she got more when they were handing out the vegetables for the face.

She got a few I don't know how they did, but she got more. God gave her so much favor with that man that he gave her Seven special Assistants whose job was just to wait on her hand and foot probably literally probably one for each hand and one for each foot.

It would just take care of every manicured pedicure and hair and everything all the for the year. It was really a blessed year for Esther now if it sounds like the job of a lifetime. To be a part of this group, you know who was destined for the contest.

You should remember the destiny of these women. If you were picked if you were the winner among the 400 wow, that was great you won you're the next queen of Persia. Congratulations to you if you lost.

You were still Obligated to the king of Persia. You could never marry anybody else. You could never be with anybody else you were in that harem for life and you would probably Never see the king again.

Maybe once or twice the rest of your life. And so basically you had to live as a widow for the rest of your life in the king's harem. So sure you had a great year of daily spa treatments, but the destiny of your life didn't look all that great.

What you can imagine all these things weighed very heavily upon Esther. There's probably a lot of stress that whole competitive thing between the women. But here was the day when she was going to stand before the king and have her Interview and the Bible tells us in Esther chapter 2 verse 17 that when she had her appointment with the king.

It says and I'm quoting now that the king Loved Esther more than all the other women and she obtained grace and favor in his sight. More than all the virgins the idea there is wonderful in the ancient Hebrew.

The idea there is that the king was impressed by more than just Esther's beauty now I'm sure she was beautiful. I'm sure we would say that she was a knockout that she was absolutely Gorgeous, but the king was impressed by more than that.

He saw more than her physical beauty. He also saw her goodness and her character and because of all those things He said Esther you are my queen. She won the contest and So there she was a success one chosen among 400 other women to be the next queen of Persia.

Mordecai, Haman, and the Threat to the Jews

Now at some time after this Esther's cousin Mordecai Uncovered a plot to assassinate the king. And so what did Mordecai do? Well being a loyal subject in the kingdom of Persia. He notified Esther. He said Esther There's a plot to kill the king.

Esther told her husband her husband notified the guards or the police or whatever. They called him back then and he went out and got out the people who were in launching the plot. They stopped it and they made a notation of what happened in the records of the kings of Persia.

Well at the same time another thing was happening in the kingdom a man named Haman was rising to prominence. Haman was a man who was very ambitious a very hard worker and he rose to such prominence that he became the second most powerful man in the kingdom behind King Ahasuerus himself and Everybody bowed down to Haman to show their respect to him when he walked down the street even if it was a crowded marketplace everybody when Haman came by would bow down and show their Reverence to King excuse me, not to King Haman he was virtually a king but to this man who was second in all the kingdom and This made Haman a very proud man a very arrogant man.

But it also meant that there was one man who didn't respect him in the kingdom and his name was Mordecai the cousin of Esther. See everybody else would bow down to Haman, but not Mordecai at first. Haman didn't even notice at first Haman, you know would see a thousand people bowing down to him and for some reason he didn't see the one man who didn't.

But his assistant saw it and his assistants came to Haman and they said hey. Did you notice this one guy who doesn't bow down to you? Well after that, you know, just like I do that. There was only one man that Haman ever saw in the crowd.

It wouldn't matter if there were ten thousand people bowing down to him. He saw the one man who didn't and it made Haman crazy with anger. Haman said I hate this man. I want to destroy him and it's not enough just to destroy him.

I want to destroy all of his people and so I want to launch a plot to kill the Jewish people in the kingdom of Persia. Well as I said before at that time. Virtually all of the Jews in the world Lived under the domain of the kingdom of Persia.

Not all of them. But just about all of them. If you were to kill all of the Jews in the Empire of Persia. You'd be killing virtually all the Jews on the face of the earth at that time. But Haman was so crazy with anger that he launched a brilliant plan.

He said listen, what we'll do is we'll get private citizens to kill the Jewish people. How do you get them to do that. He says well I know that it won't work because you know, if you have a Jewish neighbor and they say go and kill your Jewish neighbor.

Why would you want to do that? You've been friends with the man's for years your children have played together. Why would you want to go kill that Jewish family that lives next door. Haman was very clever.

He said I know what I'll do. I will make it in the law to where if you kill your Jewish neighbor you get all of his property and Instantly that introduced a great motivation for everybody to actually carry out these vicious attacks on the Jewish people.

Haman was very clever. And so he said great. I've got a plan. I know what I want to do. It's going to be the greatest day of victory for me ever. Not only will I get Mordecai I'll get all of his people, but when should we launch this attack?

When should we do it? So, you know what he did he cast lots he rolled the dice. He essentially went to a fortune-teller and they decided that they would do this attack in the 12th month. Now at the time all this took place.

It was the first month and so they said we're not going to do it next month. We're not going to do it in two months. We're not going to do it in six months because of the lots that were cast the fortune that was told so to speak.

We're going to do this in 11 months time in the 12th month great. Then Haman went to the king and he basically tricked the king into passing the law. I don't know if the king sort of lacked some smarts or maybe Haman was just very clever.

But he was able to trick the king into passing this law and it seemed like everything was perfect. Everything was going according to plan and especially because in the laws of the ancient Persians. Once the king passed the law it couldn't be changed.

That's it. You couldn't change the law. So when Haman was successful in getting the king to pass the law, he thought everything's great. Everything's going according to plan. Well when the Jewish people in the kingdom of Persia heard the story they were absolutely filled with sorrow.

They mourned and they prayed and their fasted and Mordecai challenged Esther. Esther. You've got to do something with this talk to your husband the king and get something done about this get this lot Changed or get something done.

You need to help us. Otherwise all the Jews in the Empire of Persia will be dead. And do you know what Esther told Mordecai her cousin? He said she said Mordecai. You don't understand how things work around here.

Esther Risks Her Life Before the King

I Can't go into the king's presence unannounced, even though I'm his wife. I Can't go and see him unless he invites me. If I go in without an invitation without an appointment He can have me killed and we know that this king doesn't remind replacing his Queens so I don't know if I want to do it and Mordecai spoke to Esther and gave her some of the most remarkable words in the book of Esther.

I'm going to read you from Esther chapter 4 verses 13 and 14 and Mordecai told them to answer Esther. Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews.

For if you remain completely silent at this time Relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place. But you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Esther I believe this is your moment of destiny and I know it's dangerous for you to go into the king unannounced. But God has raised you up for this particular time and place and it was a great challenge for Esther.

But she said to Mordecai. Okay, if you get the Jewish people to pray for me and to fast for me I'll go in and after three days of prayer and fasting behind her Esther said I'm gonna go in Unannounced and see the king you can imagine how nervous she was, right?

She put on that dress, you know the dress that she wore when she won the contest I imagine and she made herself all up and put on all the right perfumes and She stood there with those doors in front of her.

She's gonna walk through those doors and walk into the king's, you know court unannounced uninvited and just walk in and see him. And so she opens the doors and she walks in and there's the king right in front of her on the throne.

And she looks at the king's face and he's puzzled. Esther what are you doing? Why are you here without an invitation? And I don't know if he could see her face and see maybe it was fear. Maybe she's trying to look confident.

She's probably trying to give a lovely smile. Hi King. I just wanted to see you. It's been so long Esther told Mordecai that it had been a whole month since she had last seen the king. It's not like they spoke, you know on the pillow talk every night.

It just didn't happen that way. By the way, it had been a whole month since she had seen the king and she won the contest you can imagine what it was like for the poor women who lost and. So anyway, she came in so full of Wondering how this was gonna turn out and the king looks at her and he's surprised and he's wondering what's gonna happen.

And and what's gonna happen? Is he gonna hold out his hand towards what you've seen it like and maybe those old Roman gladiator movies. Where Caesar stands up in the stands and he puts out his hand and it's either live or die.

And that's exactly what it was for Esther at that moment, wasn't it? So the king stretches out his hand and then a big smile comes upon his face and he says Esther. How wonderful to see you. What can I do for you?

Anything that you want? I'll give to you. I'll give to you up to half of my kingdom. What would you like? Well, this was Esther's moment wasn't it Esther to go before the king and maybe get down on her knees and beg him.

Oh king. Please don't kill me and please don't kill my people which would have come to a big surprise to the king because he didn't even Know that Esther was Jewish. He didn't even know that she was under this law that was going to take an effect in in 11 months.

But when she had this appert opportunity to ask whatever she wanted of the king of Persia, do you know what she said? She said king Would you like to come to dinner tonight? You and me and Haman let's all come to dinner.

The king smiled. He knew that that's not what Esther really wanted, but he said Esther I'd be delighted to come to dinner with you tonight. Let's come together. And so that's what they did. They got together with dinner that night and do you know how pleased Haman must have been to get that invitation?

I mean he got the invitation to come to a special dinner with him the king and the queen and he knew that he was The top guy in all of the kingdom next to the king and the queen. So he goes to the dinner that night and oh, it's a wonderful scene, you know Esther arranged everything just right.

She used all of her, you know decorating charms and all of her fashionable things and everything just to create the right atmosphere and there it is the king and the queen and Haman together and the King knows, you know Esther.

I know this isn't what you really wanted. I know you want something else Esther. What do you want? Anything you ask up to half of my kingdom and I'll give it to you. This was Esther's moment. Esther's moment to plead for her life for her and for people but for some reason.

She says king Could you come to dinner again tomorrow night? You and me and Haman. For some reason she didn't make the request even at the banquet. My wife Inga Lill is a very gifted teacher of the Bible.

She's a big part of our Bible College staff and the Lord's given her a ministry all over the place of teaching women. She thinks that Esther didn't make the request because well She just knew at that moment that it wasn't the right time and she just had that womanly Instinct and discernment from the Holy Spirit and just from wisdom to know it's not the right time.

I'm not gonna ask right now and maybe that's it. Probably right because my wife is usually right about such things. But it's also possible that Esther didn't ask just because she was scared, you know, it was a big request.

It was the make it or break it moment, and I don't know about you. But sometimes I at those kind of moments, I've just procrastinated right you want to put it off a little bit and delay. So I don't know the exact reason maybe it was just out of that anointed wisdom and discernment.

Maybe it was a mixture of fear and procrastination. I don't know but she said at the bottom line Let's do it tomorrow evening at another banquet. So the King smiled Oh Esther I know something's up your sleeve.

I know something is in the works, but I'd be pleased to come to another dinner with you tomorrow night and Haman as well. Well, can you imagine how great Haman felt when he went to the home that night he said man I am the most privileged guy in all the kingdom.

Everywhere I go people bow down to me. Everywhere I go I get respect and now I've been invited to a special dinner with the king and queen and if that's not enough They want me to come back tomorrow night for a special private banquet with them.

I'm in the best place in all the kingdom and as he's walking home people are bowing down to him left and right. Yes, Lord Haman. Yes, Lord Haman except for one guy Mordecai the Jew and he's standing and he's watching Haman go by and you can just imagine what it was like when their eyes met just the Look that would go between them and by the time Haman got home instead of being happy because it was the best day of his Life he was absolutely miserable.

So I says what's wrong and Haman says I hate my life. I Everything. I have all the money. I want of all the power I want. I have people bowing down to me left and right. I get special dinners with the king and the queen.

I've got everything but none of it is any good as long as Haman the Jew doesn't bow down to me and His wife and his friends were sick of hearing this for months and months. So they finally said listen just kill the guy.

Don't wait until that day comes 11 months from now. Just kill him right now. We suggest that you make a gallows 75 feet high and hang them on the gallows and that'll be the end of Mordecai. I Need to explain to you what's meant by that idea of the gallows.

When we use the English word gallows, we think of a wooden structure perhaps where somebody is hung by the neck. Right, isn't that what we think of? Execution by hanging. That's not what it means in the ancient Hebrew what they're talking about building a gallows 75 feet high.

They're talking about building a giant platform. With a wooden log that sharpened on the top. If you easily grossed out you might want to close your ears right here. How they would execute people on this stake is they would just jam their body on top of that pointed wooden stick and Leave them there until they died.

Build a gallows, but you know what? I mean by gallows, right build a gallows 75 feet high and stick Mordecai on it and then you'll be happy and Haman says yes. Then I'll be happy and he cheered up again.

He said all I got to do is go to the king and ask for the permission to do this to Mordecai and everything will Be great and Haman felt much better. Well, meanwhile back at the palace the king couldn't sleep that night.

Maybe decided to go to bed early tried to count sheep that didn't work. Tried a glass of warm milk that didn't work. He still can't sleep. Isn't that funny? He's the master of the greatest empire on earth, but he's not the master of ten minutes of sleep.

God's Providence in Mordecai's Vindication

And so he decides well, I need somebody to read to me a story. Somebody they'll get my mind off of it and you know that and then maybe I can fall asleep. And so he claps his hand and he tells an assistant go get something to read to me.

The assistant runs into another room where they've got the library the archives and he's looking over this shelf with all these books or all These scrolls and he finally says well, I'll pick This one and he runs back into King Ahasuerus and he says well, I need to start reading somewhere.

I'll start Here and he starts reading and you know what story he starts reading at it's the story of Mordecai and how Mordecai saved the king's life by uncovering this assassination plot. Well, the king says I love this story.

This is great. This guy saved my life. Man, I love this. Can you read it again? And he reads it again. Wow, man. This is a great story this man Mordecai saved my life. I like that. We want to encourage this kind of behavior.

I Want people to say we need to reward this man Mordecai. Hey, what did we do for that Mordecai guy who saved my life? Well, the assistants looked at each other and they said King We didn't do anything for him.

And the king says oh, that's bad. We we want people to be excited about saving my life. This is the kind of behavior. We want to encourage We have to do something to honor Mordecai, what should we do get me one of my assistants so that we can talk about this.

Well just at that moment Haman walked into the outer courts of the king and Somebody said, you know Haman just walked into the outer courts and the king says great bring him to me. Can you imagine if you're Haman somebody runs up to you in the outer courts?

Hey, the king wants to see you. Well Haman came to ask for the permission to execute Mordecai. And he's thinking oh, this is great. This is the best day ever. I don't even ask to go see the king. He wants to see me.

I'm just gonna walk right in and get it done and Mordecai. I'll be dead. So they lead Haman in to the king's bedroom and the king says Oh Haman. I'm so glad to see you. Isn't it wonderful that you've just come here.

It's just great. He goes. Hey, I've got a question for you What should I do for the man who I really want to honor? Now, you know Haman right what's he thinking he's thinking oh he wants to honor me. This is great.

And it shows you how childish it is. Okay. What do we do for the man whom the king wants to honor and you can just think of the little thought balloon going up. Up up above Haman's head right there and he pictures himself Clothed in the king's robe and he goes.

Oh, well first King you should put your robe upon him. Oh, that'll look so good. And then what he does next is he says listen King put him on your horse. Yeah. Let him ride your royal horse and then third he goes Get a man of high standing in the government and have him lead the horse all around the city square.

Shouting out. This is what the king does for the man. He wants to honor and all the while Haman is thinking Yes, that's gonna be me. He can almost smell the horse right then and there right? So the king hears this and he says Haman, that's a great idea.

Go find Mordecai the Jew and you lead him around the city square and shout out. You know up until that point Haman had been having the best day of his life. It suddenly turned into the worst day of his life and.

So that's what he had to do in just a few hours later. There was Mordecai dressed in the king's robe sitting on the king's horse and worst of all Haman has to lead the horse around the city square like a servant boy and cry out to everybody.

This is what the king does for the man that he wants to honor. Can you imagine I just picture Mordecai looking down at Haman and saying gee Haman. I didn't know you felt this way about me. I Always thought you kind of didn't like me, but I guess we're friends now.

Poor poor Haman. He went home after that Torturous ordeal feeling like it was the worst day of his entire life and he walks in there. He says oh, you can't believe it to his wife. The worst thing happened today and he explains her the whole story and the wife says listen Haman.

Don't talk to me about your problems. You got another banquet to go to at the king's palace. It's the night of the second banquet. Haman says you're right. So he changes his clothes he gets ready to go and he goes into the king's palace there in time for the second banquet.

Esther's Intercession and Haman's Downfall

So there you are at the second banquet, right? You have the king you have Esther you have Haman. Haman's the one who looks depressed and they're all sitting around the table eating the meal and the king knows, right?

The king knows that Esther has yet to make a request. So he says, okay Esther. What is it? I know this isn't just about banquets. What do you want? I'll give you anything you want up to half of the kingdom.

Esther Phrases it just in the right manner using all of her wisdom. Some of her charm too. I'm sure and she comes before the king and she says King Just don't kill me. Please don't kill me and my people now remember up to this point the king never even knew that she was Jewish.

And the king says what what are you talking about. Esther who wants to kill you. You're the queen of Persia. Anybody who wants to kill my wife that you better tell who is it that wants to kill you and your people.

Esther looks over at Haman. That's the one who wants to kill me in an instant the king knew exactly what had happened in an instant the king knew that he had been Tricked into passing that law and that Haman was the one who deceived him.

But that he couldn't change it because this was the law of the Persians that you can't change the law once you pass it. And he was so filled with anger that he had to leave the room just to collect his thoughts for a minute.