Esther 8:1-17

God is in control

Book of Esther

Robert Bryce

Chapter 8

v1 That same day, King Xerxes gave to Esther all the property of Haman. (Haman had been the enemy of the *Jews.) And Mordecai came to see the king. Esther had told people now that Mordecai was her relative. v2 And the king took off his ring of authority, which he had taken back from Haman. The king gave his ring of authority to Mordecai. Esther gave Mordecai responsibility for the property of Haman.

Verses 1-2 The king took the property of Haman and he gave it to Esther. Esther appointed Mordecai to look after it. Also, the king gave Haman’s authority to Mordecai. The ring of authority showed that Mordecai had authority to make new laws. So the king made Mordecai very important in the place of Haman.

So Haman died on the *gallows that he had built for Mordecai. But Mordecai received Haman’s property and his importance.

v3 Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and she wept. Haman, the *descendant of Agag, had plotted against the *Jews. So Esther appealed to the king to stop this evil plan. v4 The king held out his gold stick to Esther. So, she got up and she stood in front of the king. v5 She said, ‘I hope that I am important to the king. I hope that he is pleased with me. I hope that the king will listen to my request. I know that the king will do the right thing. I hope that the king will like this idea. Please write a declaration to stop the plot that Haman made. (Haman was the son of Hammedatha, the *descendant of Agag.) Haman wrote letters that ordered the officials to kill all the *Jews in all the king’s districts. v6 Otherwise a very evil thing would happen to my people. And my whole family would die. It would be awful if I had to watch such terrible events.’

Verses 3-6 Haman was dead. But there was still a problem. Nobody could ever change the laws of Persia and Media. (See Esther 1:19.) The king would certainly protect Esther, but the other *Jews were still in danger. Esther appealed to the king to protect them. Although she was asking for something impossible, she was very wise. She blamed Haman, and not the king, for the evil law. Also, she reminded the king about something. The *Jews, who were in danger, were her family.

v7 Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the *Jew, ‘I have given to Esther all the property of Haman. My officials have hanged him on the *gallows, because he wanted to kill the *Jews. v8 Write whatever you both want with regard to the *Jews. Write it in the king’s name. And give it the mark of the king’s ring of authority. Nobody can change a law that has the king’s name and the mark of the king’s ring of authority.’

Verses 7-8 The king’s reply is hard to understand. Maybe he said that he had done everything possible for the *Jews. He had dealt with Haman and given Haman’s property to Esther. He reminded Esther and Mordecai that nobody could change the law. However, he did give Esther and Mordecai the authority to write another law.

v9 This happened on the 23^rd day of the third month (the month called Sivan). At once, they called the king’s writers. The writers wrote all that Mordecai told them to write. They wrote to the *Jews. They wrote to the important people. They wrote to those who ruled over all the people in all the 127 districts from India to Cush. They wrote in the language of each district. They wrote to the *Jews in the language of the *Jews. v10 They wrote in the king’s name. They used the mark of his ring of authority. They sent the letters by horsemen on the king’s own fast horses.

v11 In these letters, the king allowed the *Jews in every city to gather to defend their lives. They could destroy the army of any nation or district that attacked them. They could kill the women and children and they could take their property. v12 This would happen on a certain day. The day was the 13^th day of the 12^th month (the month called Adar).

v13 The letters announced the law to all the people of every district. The *Jews would be ready on that day to defend themselves against their enemies. v14 Because of the king’s command, the horsemen rode quickly on the royal horses. They also announced the law in the palace at Susa.

Verses 9-14 The writer tells us the date when this happened. It was more than two months since Haman wrote his evil law. (See Esther 3:12.) Now Mordecai wrote a new law. It was important that everyone in the country heard about this new law. It was important that they understood it. They wrote this new law in all the languages of the *kingdom. They wrote it in the language of the *Jews. Maybe Haman did not write his law in the language of the *Jews. (See Esther 3:12.) Horsemen on fast horses took the new law to all the nations of the *kingdom.

This new law allowed the *Jews to gather in order to defend themselves. It also allowed them to take the property of their enemies. Verse 11 says that they could kill women and children. But the words might mean: ‘They could kill anyone who attacked their women and children.’ It seems that the *Jews killed only men. (See Esther 9:15-16.) The law allowed one day for this to happen. It was the same day that Haman’s law allowed people to kill the *Jews.

v15 Mordecai left the king. Mordecai was wearing blue and white royal clothes. He was also wearing a large gold crown and an expensive purple coat. And the people in the city called Susa shouted. They shouted because they were so happy. v16 For the *Jews, it was a time of happiness and joy. It was a time of delight and honour. v17 In every district and every city where the people heard the king’s command, the *Jews had great happiness and joy. They had parties and a holiday. In fact, many people from other nations now became *Jews because they were afraid of the *Jews.

Verses 15-17 Mordecai dressed in the royal colours. That showed his importance and authority. He was second in rank to the king. (See Esther 10:3.) Because he was important, the *Jews were happy and confident. But, when the other people heard about the new law, they were happy too. They had not been happy when they heard about Haman’s law. (See Esther 3:15.)

Jews ~ people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
gallows ~ a wooden structure where people used to hang criminals or enemies in order to kill them. Or, a wooden structure where people would hang the dead bodies of criminals or enemies.
descendant ~ a child, grandchild, and so on; a person in your family who lives after you are dead.
kingdom ~ the place or territory or land where a king rules.