Esther 8:3-8

B. Monarch's Reparation

TEXT: Esther 8:3-8

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And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

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Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.

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And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king's provinces:

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for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?

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Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.

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Write ye also to the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring; for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.

Today's English Version, Esther 8:3-8

Then Esther spoke to the king again, throwing herself at his feet and crying. She begged him to do something to stop the evil plot that Haman, the descendant of Agag, had made against the Jews. The king held out the gold scepter to her, so she stood up and said, If it please Your Majesty, and if you care about me and if it seems right to you, please issue a proclamation to keep Haman's orders from being carried outthose orders that the son of Hammedatha the descendant of Agag gave for the destruction of all the Jews in the empire. How can I endure it if this disaster comes on my people, and my own relatives are killed?
King Xerxes then said to Queen Esther and Mordecai, the Jew, Look, I have hanged Haman for his plot against the Jews, and I have given Esther his property. But a proclamation issued in the king's name and stamped with the royal seal cannot be revoked. You may, however, write to the Jews whatever you like; and you may write it in my name and stamp it with the royal seal.

COMMENTS

Esther 8:3-6 Dilemma: Haman has been properly dispatched. He is no longer a problem to the Jewish people. However, his wicked machinations still exist in the form of a Persian decree. Persian laws cannot be changed. So Esther falls at the feet of the king begging him with tears to take royal action and reverse the decree Haman tricked the king into publishing throughout the empire. The king indicated his readiness to do what he could to fulfill Esther's plea by holding out to her the royal scepter. He signaled that he would give her the full force of the throne to help her.

Esther may have had some doubts, now that the king knew she was a Jewess that she would be pleasing to the king for she said, If I have found favor. She also appealed to the king's pragmatic instincts when she said, ... and the thing seem right before the king. The Hebrew word kasher does not mean right in the sense of ethical right, but in the sense of advantageousness, successfulness, propriety. It is the word used by modern Hebrews to designate kosher food, etc., meaning ritually clean, legitimate, or that which is sanctioned. She had earlier cautioned the king that Haman's genocide of the Jews would be economic disaster to the Persians.

But she and her people are on the horns of a dilemma. The law of the Medes and Persians cannot be changed. Not even the king can change what has been decreed and sealed with the royal signet ring (cf. Esther 3:7-15 and Daniel 6:14-15).

Esther 8:7-8 Deliverance: The king points out to Esther that he has done what he could without violating a fundamental policy necessary to sustaining the very structure of Persian government. The king has executed Haman, the arch enemy of the Jews, and given Haman's position and power over to Esther and Mordecai to wield. The king cannot, without destroying the very fibre of Persian government, rescind his former edict for the massacre of the Jews. But the king has a suggestion that will not only make possible the saving of the Jewish people but will also keep the most fundamental law of all Persia intact. He suggests, or infers: It is impossible to grant your request to rescind my former edict, because any edict sealed with the signet ring of the king is irrevocable, and the edict Haman made against the Jews was sealed with my signet ring. However, I have given you the power of my signet ring now. Surely you can, with all the royal power at your disposal, devise some way to save your people. The king is apparently hinting that Esther and Mordecai compose another decree that will provide some way for the Jews to counteract the decree authorizing the Persians to attack them. The Hebrew word tov is translated pleaseth in the ASV, but more correctly means, good. In other words, the king said, You write to the Jews what you think would be good for them in these circumstances, and seal it with the king's ring. So the king repaired, in a sense, the disastrous decree made previously by giving both the power and the suggestion as to what to do. This was all Esther and Mordecai needed.