Esther Appeals for the Jews
“That same day King Xerxes awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai entered the king’s presence because Esther had revealed his relation to her. The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over the estate of Haman.
And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.
The king extended the gold scepter toward Esther, and she arose and stood before the king.
“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order be written to revoke the letters that the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. For how could I bear to see the disaster that would befall my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”
The Decree of Xerxes
So King Xerxes said to Esther the Queen and Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews. Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”
At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush —writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.
By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions. The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. (This was the same day on which the Jews were to be destroyed according to the edict written by Haman.)
A copy of the text, issued as law throughout every province, was distributed to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be prepared on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.
Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, of joy and honor. In every province and every city, wherever the king’s edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.”
WOW! When God turns things around, he doesn’t waste time! First, King Xerxes orders Haman to be hanged, awarding his estate to Esther. Next, Esther formally introduces Mordecai to King Xerxes, and Xerxes gives Mordecai the signet ring he had earlier handed to Haman. That ring gives Mordecai absolute power to issue edicts.
Then Esther, who has remained relatively calm during this entire ordeal, collapses in tears at the feet of King Xerxes, begging him to revoke Haman’s evil pronouncement. But King Xerxes still has to extend the golden scepter to Esther before she can make her request. Even at this point, Esther may still be put to death, should Xerxes fail to extend the golden scepter.
The original edict cannot be rescinded; however, Mordecai issues orders that give the Jews permission to defend themselves. “By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions. The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. (This was the same day on which the Jews were to be destroyed according to the edict written by Haman.)
Suddenly, Mordecai becomes the second most important person in the kingdom and leaves the palace with a large gold crown and dressed as a prince in royal robes of blue and white with an over-robe of fine purple linen, a material reserved for royalty. When the citizens of Susa see Mordecai in these robes, they shout and rejoice because they know Mordecai is a man of God with good judgement. All the other minority ethnic groups in Susa who have been fearing for their lives are celebrating; after all, had Haman survived, whom might he have targeted next?
Throughout all the Persian Empire, the Jews hold massive celebrations and many others decide to become Jews to avoid extermination. It’s also possible that these recent converts also have become Jews because they have seen what the God of Israel can do; after all, their pagan gods have failed to help them. One of the most beautiful lines in this chapter is this one: “For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, of joy and honor.”
APPLICATION: “A time of light and gladness, of joy and honor-which of us does not need such times? In the Persian Empire, the Jews went from being a despised minority to a highly respected one overnight. Not only has Esther saved her own people, but she has undoubtedly saved any number of other small ethnic groups from destruction. Those people groups are probably also celebrating their deliverance.
There might be another reason people are celebrating: Mordecai is not a drinking man. Reading the Book of Esther closely, you realize that Xerxes has been making many of his decisions through an alcoholic haze. Xerxes is the archetypical mean drunk, and nobody knows the next disastrous decision he might take.
Sometimes God delivers us from situations and sometimes God delivers us in the midst of situations. Obviously, we would far rather be delivered from trying circumstances. In the old TV show “Star Trek,” the star ship crew had a special means of instantly transporting people from one location to another. Scotty was the engineer on the Star Ship Enterprise. The captain was always requesting, “Beam me up, Scotty!” indicating that Scotty should activate that means of instant tele transport. Given the opportunity, who would not like to ask God to “beam me up” out of a bad situation?
Spoiler alert: Most of the time, God chooses to deliver us in our problems rather than from them. Most of us learn far more from suffering and mistakes than we do from pleasant circumstances. When our circumstances are pleasant, we blithely assume that we deserve comfort and leisure; we fail to recognize that God is giving us respite. Sadly, most of us are like the mule in the story that is told about a man who had a mule he wanted trained. When the trainer arrived, the first thing he did was to take a 2×4 board and whack the mule up alongside the head with it. “What are you doing?” cried the outraged mule owner. “Oh, that was just to get his attention,” replied the trainer.
God is also infinitely patient, and when we fail to learn our lessons the first time around, God brings us into similar circumstances again until we get it right. Moral: become a fast learner and suffer less!
May God help us to pay attention so that we don’t have to have the equivalent of a whack from a 2×4 before we will start learning the lessons God has for us. And may we too enjoy times of light and gladness and joy and honor.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, give us teachable spirits so that You don’t have to do something drastic to get our attention. Help us to listen closely to Your blessed Holy Spirit and help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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