Esther 9:1-32
1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)
2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.
3 And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officersa of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.
6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.
7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.
11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.
13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this day's decree, and let Haman'sb ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.
14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
15 For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.
16 But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
18 But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.
20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
21 To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consumec them, and to destroy them;
25 But when Esther camed before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur.e Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,
27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail,f that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;
28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not failg from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.
29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority,h to confirm this second letter of Purim.
30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselvesi and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
THE JEWS VICTORIOUS
(vv. 1-17)
On the day prescribed in both decrees, when the enemies of the Jews expected to destroy all the Jews in the Persian empire, the tables were turned completely, for besides having the king's permission to fight for their lives, the Jews were given power from God to defeat and destroy all their enemies (v. 1).As it was permitted them, the Jews gathered together to make a united stand against the many who sought their destruction, and their energy was such that no one could withstand them (v. 2).In fact, all the officials of government helped the Jews because Mordecai's position of prominence influenced them greatly (v.3).In a coming day too the greatness of the Lord Jesus will have wonderful effect in turning Gentiles to seek the true blessing of Israel.
At this time Mordecai's greatness increased tremendously throughout all the kingdom of Persia (v. 4).Though Christ today is still despised and rejected of men, yet God knows how to change that fact amazingly, as He will when Israel bows to His authority.Then not only Israel will be blessed, but the nations of the world will give allegiance to Him who is "King of kings and Lord of lords."
Thus the victory of the Jews was complete.We read of no Jews being killed, but the number of their enemies killed was great.In Shushan alone on that day 500 were killed.Ten men are mentioned by name who were evidently leaders, as well as the ten sons of Haman.Interestingly, the Jews did not take any plunder from their enemies (v. 10), which shows they were not moved by lust for gain, a picture of the pure justice that will characterize the establishment of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus.
When information was given to the king as to the number killed in Shushan, the king spoke of this to Esther and asked her if she had any further petition (vv. 11-12). She asked that another day be given in order to rid Shushan of the Jews' enemies, and also to have Haman's ten sons hanged (v. 13).Of course, this was after they had been killed, therefore intended to impress the populace with the enormity of Haman's guilt.The king gave his consent to this.Haman's sons were hanged, and the Jews gathered together the next day, killing 300 enemies of the Jews. It must have been that those 300 had before shown themselves to be the Jews' enemies.Again, the Jews did not take any plunder.
Only at Shushan did the second day's slaughter take place.The Jews throughout the rest of the land in gathering together, killed 75,000 of their enemies in the one day, the 13th day of the month Adar, and they also took no plunder (v. 16).On the 14th day they rested and made the day one of feasting and gladness (v. 17).God had made their victory complete, though even then His name is not mentioned.
THE FEAST OF PURIM INSTITUTED
(vv. 18-32)
The Jews at Shushan, however, having engaged for two days in destroying their enemies, rested on the 15th day of the month, making it a day of feasting and gladness (v. 18). Since those in the surrounding villages had done this on the 14th day of the month (v. 19), Mordecai wrote letters to all the Jews that both the 14th and 15th days of that month were to be considered holidays for the Jews from that time every year, a time for giving gifts to one another and to the poor(vv. 20-22).The Jews accepted this as a yearly feast because they considered that the memory of this whole occasion should not be allowed to fade from their minds.Thus, verses24-25 recount briefly the history of the plot of Haman the Agagite to annihilate the Jews, casting Pur, that is, the lot, which in the case of Haman,was identified with the consultation of evil spirits.But though his scheme at first seemed to be successful, by the intervention of Esther whom the king not only respected, but loved, there was a complete exposure of the whole plot, with the result that the wickedness of Haman recoiled on his own head, he and his sons being hanged on the gallows he had erected for Mordecai.
We are not told who wrote this book of Esther, but whoever it was was conversant with the Jewish captivity in Persia and knew this history well. It seems he would not deliberately avoid using God's name in the book; but the book is a vital part of God's word, who would not publicly link His name with Israel, though working for them behind the scenes.
The feast of two days at this time established by the Jews was called Purim, referring to Pur, the lot cast by Haman with the object of destroying the Jews.Very likely the Jews were conversant with Solomon's proverb, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord" (Proverbs 16:33).Haman had expected demon power to be exerted in backing him up; but no doubt the Jews recognized that the Lord had intervened with His own clear decision.Yet, while the Jews surely did recognize the Lord's hand in this, still, God did not allow His name to be even mentioned publicly.
The feast of Purim was thus established and imposed by the Jews upon themselves and their descendants with the urgent responsibility of celebrating these days every year, and continued in every family of the Jews, wherever they were, that the memory of this great occasion should not be allowed to fade from their minds (vv. 26-28).
We may be sure that news of this occasion reached the returned remnant of Judah in
Jerusalem with little delay.Though they had shown devoted faithfulness to the Lord in returning to the land, they would surely not have hard feelings toward those who had not returned, rather would be concerned as to how their brethren fared in the foreign country. Out of love for their brethren, no doubt they would gladly adopt the celebration of the feast of Purim.Indeed, through all the centuries this feast has continued among the Jews.
In all of these instructions it seems strange that God is not mentioned, though it is plainly evident that it was God's hand of protecting care that had been over the Jews to deliver them from their enemies. Very likely the Jews did include God's name in their celebration, but scripture says nothing of this because the condition of the Jews at that time was really lacking in any evidence of obedience to God.He was virtually disowning them publicly though caring for them behind the scenes.
Thus, the history here speaks of Purim as a feast of the Jews, not a "feast of the Lord." Leviticus 23:1 speaks of "The Feasts of the the Lord," but in John 2:13, the Passover is called "the Passover of the Jews," and another feast of the Lord was called "the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles"(John 7:2).Why?Because it was not primarily the Lord's honor that the Jews sought, but their own enjoyment.What sad disrespect for the Lord's feasts!
Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Persia with the object of confirming the yearly observance of the Feast of Purim at the appointed time. Esther also was identified with this decree. From that time the observance of the Feast of Purim has been continued in Israel, observed even where Jews are scattered in other lands.