WWUTT 799 The Conclusion of Esther?

Though we are faithless, God remains faithful. We see this in the Old Testament even, when the people of Israel were faithless, yet God was faithful to keep His promises and deliver them when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our Q &A on Friday.

Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Esther’s Climax and the Problem of the Irrevocable Decree

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study of the book of Esther, and we'll finish our study today with chapters 8, 9, and 10. Now you would think that we've already come through the climax of the story, and we just have resolution, which apparently stretches for three chapters.

If you remember back to last week when we were in chapter 7, Esther had prepared a feast for the king, and Haman was also invited, and it was at this feast. It's the second one that she had prepared. She exposed Haman's wicked plot that he had conned the king into doing, and that was to wipe out and annihilate all the Jews.

Oh, bonus information, Esther happens to be a Jew herself. Well, the king was absolutely incensed, and so he walked out from the feast. Haman goes to Esther to beg for his life because he saw in the king's face that the king meant harm against Haman.

So Haman's begging for his life, and in the process of doing this, he ends up falling on the queen. When the king comes back, he sees Haman in this posture, Esther looking a little bit panicked, and, oh, the king is just enraged.

He has his guards come and throw a hood over Haman's face, and his sentence has already been declared. Well, a servant said that Haman had prepared a gallows to hang Mordecai from, Mordecai, the guy who had saved the king's life.

He was going to be hung from a 75-foot gallows because of Haman's wicked pride, and the king declared, nope, you're going to hang Haman on it instead, and that was ultimately Haman's.

End.

So the story has reached its ultimate climax, right? Everybody lived happily ever after. The wicked guy that was attempting to wipe out the Jews, including Esther and Mordecai, he has been dealt with.

In fact, he fell into his own pit. Everything that he tried to do ultimately led to his own destruction. So everything's over, right? We can just live happily through the rest of this book. Well, no, because there's still the matter of this law that the king had passed that sentenced the Jews to destruction.

And even though Haman is dead, there are still many people who hate the Jews. There's still a lot of enemies against the Jews. We read about this in Nehemiah, when there was all this hostility from the surrounding peoples as Nehemiah was leading the Jews to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

So they even had to be armed while they were rebuilding the walls, lest their enemies come against them. So there are people who are anxiously looking forward to being able to carry out this decree of the king and wipe out the Jews, even in the capital city of Susa, where Esther and Mordecai and the king lived.

So that's where we're going to pick up the story here. What are they going to do next about this problem? This decree issued by the king that is still in effect. So chapter eight, verse one, on that day, King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews.

And Mordecai came before the king for Esther had told what he was to her. So now Esther is transparent about everything. I'm a Jew. Mordecai is my my cousin. And the king took off his signet ring, verse two, which he had taken from Haman.

And he gave it to Mordecai. And Esther said Mordecai over the house of Haman. So because of what Haman had done to Esther, it looked like he had attacked her, at least when the king came back in the room.

The king gave all of Haman's property, everything that belonged to him. It went to Esther and Esther in return gave it over to Mordecai. So now all of that belongs to Mordecai and he is going to end up becoming second in command over the kingdom, being assigned Haman's position that he once held.

All of this is being given over to Mordecai. Haman was so wicked and full of pride and wanted to honor himself. And he just hated that there was this one guy, this Jew that would not bow to him. And because of his pride, eventually it led to his own destruction.

But Mordecai has been patient all this time. He has never sought his own glory. He has never proclaimed himself over anyone else. And because of his humility and his patience, he is richly rewarded. Verse three, then Esther spoke again to the king.

She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman, the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king.

And she said, now, before we get to what she said here, this is a completely different approach that Esther has now to the king than she had the first time when she had to go before the king and and plead for the lives of her people.

She didn't show her emotion like this. There were no tears, at least what we have in the narrative of the book of Esther. She had simply invited the king to a feast while she was trying to formulate in her mind how she was going to do this, how she was going to tell the king of Haman's wicked plot and plead for her people.

So then she ended up doing this twice. She had one feast, didn't say what this was for. Then she had a second feast. And that was where she pointed out that Haman is the wicked man who has put together this plot to kill my people.

So now Esther has a completely different posture before the king, knowing once again that coming before him uninvited could cost her her life. Yet even this time, she has tears and has fallen on her face.

And the king once again holds the golden scepter out to her, which shows his favor to Esther and she cannot be harmed. As Esther had told to Mordecai previously, if he does not hold the golden scepter out to me, well, it could mean my end.

He could kill me, even though I'm the queen, because I was not summoned before the king. But the king continues to show favor to this woman. So she rose and she stood before him and said, if it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, in your sight, and if the thing seems right before the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.

For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people, or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred? Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman and they have hanged him on the gallows because he intended to lay hands on the Jews.

But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews in the name of the king and seal it with the king's ring. For an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.

So the king is saying a couple of things here. First of all, he's saying you can do what you need to do to ensure the safety of the.

Jews.

But he's also saying that he cannot revoke the edict that he had passed before. The one that Haman had kind of conned the king into passing, which would lead ultimately to the destruction of the Jews when carried out.

The king is saying, I can't turn it back. Now, this kind of creates the illusion of integrity, like we are going to be a people who sticks to our word. Whenever we say something, we're going to do it.

But it's actually really foolish that the kings of Persia behaved in this way. It's extremely prideful and very self-centered, very haughty for them to declare that they could perceive any possible outcome to this law that is going to be passed.

Therefore, whenever a law is passed, it cannot be revoked. That was the law in Persia. This isn't the only place in scripture that we read about this. This was also in the book of Daniel. When Darius was king over Persia, he had some men who worked in his court who hated Daniel.

And so they got the king to pass this law. They said, let's establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction. Whoever makes a petition to any God or man for 30 days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.

And the king said, OK, let's do it. Well, this was all a trap to catch Daniel because they knew he was a man of God who prayed and they even caught him praying so that he could be seen by others. And as it so happened, this edict that had been passed by the king cannot be reversed.

The wise men said to him, and this is Daniel 615, no, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed. So Darius felt like his hands were tied and he had Daniel arrested and thrown into the lion's den.

But he said to Daniel, may your God whom you serve continually deliver you. And because Darius loved Daniel so much, he couldn't sleep all night long. And then at daybreak, he ran to the den of lions and and the den was opened up.

And the king declared to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the den of lions? And then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever.

My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him. And also before you, O king, I have done no harm. Daniel had not sinned before God and he had not sinned before the king either.

So this is mentioned even here in the book of Daniel, that once a law was passed by the king in Persia by the Medes and the Persians, it could not be reversed. But it's it's ridiculous. Any law that is passed by man can be reversed.

There's no such thing as a law that can be passed by any human being and cannot be reversed. Again, this is just the the pride of the Persians to declare such a thing that that our laws are set in stone and you absolutely cannot change them.

There's nothing that you can do to reverse them. And furthermore, that kings would have such foresight that they would know any possible outcome of this law. There's no way that this could possibly go wrong.

So therefore, we're going to make it a law among the Medes and Persians that any law that's passed cannot be reversed. But obviously, we see here in the book of Daniel and in the book of Esther just how ridiculous it was that the Persians were so full of pride in this way.

Very clearly, several of their laws that they passed went wrong in Psalm 82. I'm going to go ahead and read the whole psalm because it's just eight verses long. This is a psalm of Asaph. Here is what we read.

God has taken his place in the divine council in the midst of the gods. He holds judgment. And here is what God declares. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless.

Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They have neither knowledge nor understanding. They walk about in darkness.

All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you. Nevertheless, like men you shall die and fall like any prince. Arise, O God, judge of the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations.

What is being declared here is God saying to those who are rulers and leaders of the lands, I have made you as gods in the sense that you have become judges over all the peoples. But you're still men.

You're fallible. The words that you declare and the laws that you pass are not permanent. And many of them are not even just, as such is the case with the law that has been passed here in Persia that would sentence the Jews to death.

So God is saying, again, this is verses 6 and 7, you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you. Nevertheless, like men you shall die and fall like any prince, exposing their fallibility. And that every leader on earth, no matter how great, no matter how high his perch, no matter how incredible his power, he will have to answer to the judge of all judges.

And that is God himself. God has taken his place in the divine council in the midst of the gods. He holds judgment. So he has judgment over those who would have judgment over the peoples. There is no king too high that he will not have to answer to God.

So here in this particular instance, what we're reading here in the story of Esther is the Persians have passed this law that they will be judged for because they did not consider the plight of the weak and the needy.

Instead, they showed partiality to the wicked, even with the king saying here, I can't reverse the law, but you do what you need to do in order to protect the people. The king himself is not doing what needs to be done to protect the Jews.

But Mordecai and Esther, they do what needs to be done. Let's go on here. Verse nine. The king's scribes were summoned at that time in the third month, which is the month of Sivan on the twenty third day.

And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty seven provinces to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language and also to the Jews in their script and in their language.

Now, this is looking a lot like something that we read in chapter one. So it shows the influence that Mordecai has been put in. And this is all according to the providential hand of God. Verse ten. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring.

And he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bread from the royal studs, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples. And the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. So the couriers mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king's service rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command.

And the decree was issued in Susa, the citadel, the capital city of Persia. Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white with a great golden crown and a robe, a robe of fine linen and purple.

And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday.

And many of the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews for fear of the Jews had fallen on them. Remember what we read in the book of Romans in Romans chapter two, verse twenty eight. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.

But a Jew is one inwardly and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man, but from God. Even though this is a very secular book and God is not mentioned, our understanding should be that when it says that there were many peoples that declared themselves Jews, what we're reading here is that the fear of God had fallen upon them and they themselves became the people of God because they feared God, not because they were Jews, but because they feared the Lord who was with the Jewish people to deliver them from the hands of their enemies.

The Jews’ Deliverance and the Feast of Purim

Going on now into chapter nine. Now in the twelfth month, oh, there's something that I forgot to mention. Chapter eight, verse nine is the longest verse in the Bible. So I just kind of read through that really quickly and forgot to mention that.

Esther eight, nine is the longest verse in the Bible. OK, now we now we're on to chapter nine, verse one. Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar on the 13th day of the same, when the king's command and edict were about to be carried out on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred.

The Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm and no one could stand against them for the fear of them had fallen on all the peoples.

The only place we see that mentioned in the Old Testament is any time that the hand of God was working in favor of the Jews and the Lord had had stricken their opponents with.

Fear.

So we know that's what is happening here as well. All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents who helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.

Mordecai was great in the king's house and his fame spread throughout all the provinces for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful. The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them and did as they pleased to those who hated them.

In Susa, the citadel itself, the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men and also killed the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they laid no hand on the plunder. That very day, the number of those killed in Susa, the citadel was reported to the king and the king said to Queen Esther in Susa, the citadel, the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the ten sons of Haman.

What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled. And Esther said, if it pleased the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow to do according to this day's edict and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.

So the king commanded this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were also in Susa gathered also on the 14th day of the month of Adar and they killed 300 men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder.

Now why is this significant that it's being mentioned here that they laid no hands on the plunder? Well, if you'll remember back to first Samuel, when it had been instructed to Saul to wipe out the Amalekites, he was not to take any of the plunder for himself.

He was supposed to devote the Amalekites completely to destruction, which Saul did not do. And then Haman becomes a descendant of the Amalekites. If Saul had wiped them out as he was supposed to have done, then this wicked plot against the Jews would not have taken place.

But here we see the Jews killing all those who meant harm to the Jews, including all of Haman's sons, and they did not touch the plunder. So the Jews here, you know, however many years later this was, 500 years later or something like that, over 500 years, they're being more faithful to the command of God than Saul had been.

And they were devoting the Amalekites completely to destruction, even though that name isn't used here because Haman was descended from the Amalekites. So what is being fulfilled is something that God said in Exodus 17, 14.

The Lord said to Moses, write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. And that declaration made in Exodus and repeated in Deuteronomy 25 is carried out to its fulfillment here in the book of Esther.

How about that? So going on here, verse 16. Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king's provinces also gathered to defend their lives and got relief from their enemies and killed 75 ,000 of those who hated them.

But they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the 13th day of the month of Adar. And on the 14th day, they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the 13th day and on the 14th and rested on the 15th day, making that a day of feasting and gladness.

Therefore the Jews of the villages who live in the rural towns hold the 14th day of the month of Adar as a day of gladness and feasting as a holiday and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another.

And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to keep the 14th day of the month Adar and also the 15th day of the same year by year as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

So the Jews accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadathah, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast pure, that is, lots, to crush and destroy them.

But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term pure, therefore because of all that was written in this letter and of what they had faced in this matter and of what had happened to them, the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation in every clan, province and city, that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.

Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abahel, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim. Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth, that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting.

The command of Queen Esther confirmed these practices of Purim and it was recorded in writing. Chapter 10. King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea and all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai to which the king advanced him.

Are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Medea and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all of his people.

The Enduring Word of God and the Faithfulness of God’s Promises

And that's the conclusion to the book of Esther. You know, it mentions here that all of these things are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Medea and Persia. Well, we don't have those books.

They have been lost to the sands of time and we may never recover them, but we still have the scriptures that have endured. Thus Jesus said in Mark 13 31, heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away.

The Jews were delivered just as God declared the Jews would be delivered. And so as we read in the Old Testament that God has been faithful to to keep his promises. So we know that he is keeping his promises to us even now, that all who are believers in Jesus Christ have been forgiven their sins and given eternal life.

Amen.

For more about our ministry, visit us online at www .utt .com.