Deeper Commentary
Esther 8:2 The king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and
gave it to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman- The
gift of a "house" to a woman and this decision making by a woman was
unusual; but the whole story is about the overthrow of traditional,
conservative paradigms and legalistic approaches by the movement of God's
invisible Spirit. It is also a story of the subdued, obedient
young woman, always obedient to Mordecai and Hegai, being faced with a
case of "the need is the call". And this transformed her. She takes
initiative, and becomes the initiator rather than the manipulated and
used. Such transformations in character are often worked by God in a
similar way today.
Esther 8:3 Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his
feet, and begged him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the
Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews- This
presumably involved risking death again by going in to the king's audience
uninvited. But she had learnt the lesson- that she was not to merely seek
her own salvation but to continue to risk her life for that of others. She
begs "with tears", apparently more emotionally and passionately than she
did when she first asked about the matter. Her passion for the salvation
of others had now become stronger than her desire for personal salvation;
when according to our reflections on Esther 4:11 her initial reaction to
the news of the decree was to consider that she could save herself by
keeping quiet, and she had been unwilling to go to see the king uninvited.
Such spiritual growth over such a short period can be seen in the lives of
God's people today and is possible for each of us. Esther now
intercedes with tears, unlike in her first nervous request for her own
life. Her passion for the salvation of her people was greater than her
passion to save her own life. This is psychologically credible, and yet is
a pattern for us all- to not be spiritually selfish. Too many sit within
the bubble of church or denominational life, and are effectively
spiritually selfish. It could be argued that Esther's request for her
people is the only thing she does on her own initiative; and the only
thing she did that was not motivated by personal benefit for herself.
Although she does express it in terms of not wanting to see her own people
suffer.
Esther 8:4 Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther
arose, and stood before the king- The use of the sceptre shows she
was still approaching him uninvited and at the risk of her life.
Esther 8:5 She said, If it pleases the king, and if I have found favour in
his sight, and the thing seem right to the king, and I am 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 who are in
all the king’s provinces-
Esther's appeal failed. The letters were not reversed or withdrawn [Heb. shub]. Although the laws of the Persians could not change, there was also a law that said the king was sovereign and could do as he wished, above any laws. The laws of the Persians could be overridden by the king, and Esther clearly knew this, hence her request. It was only pride that stopped them exercising this right. Cambyses, desiring to marry his sister, was advised by his advisers that, although there was no law permitting such an act, yet there was one to the effect that the king might do as he pleased. But all the same, the king didn't reverse the letters of Haman. He simply gave another law that allowed the Jews to defend themselves. This consideration militates against any view of Esther as a gloriously successful heroine. And we ponder the lack of later allusion in scripture to Esther. There are Proverbs which allude to Haman's folly and pride coming before a fall (Prov. 27:1; 29:23), and possibly to the king's folly in listening to unwise advisors and acting hastily (Prov. 12:23; 29:20; Ecc. 10:1 are alluding to both the king and Haman). But there are no such allusions to Esther nor Mordecai. I find that significant. Christians are raised with the image of Esther winning a beauty contest [rather than a sex competition, as it actually was], and heroically saving her people through her faithful devotion to God. But she acted for her own salvation from force of circumstance and with fatalism more than faith. Getting the king drunk before making her request for her own life. And her attempt to save her people failed insofar as the decree about the pogrom was not reversed, as she asked for.
Clearly Esther did find favour before both the king and her God. But
this apparently contradicts earlier statements in the prophets. But the passion and love of God leads Him time and again to
apparently contradict Himself. He says that He will cast Judah out of their
land, they would go to Babylon and serve other gods there, “where I will not
show you favour” (Jer. 16:13). But actually Esther and her people were shown
favour there [s.w. Esther 4:8; Esther 8:5]. God was gracious [s.w. ‘show
favour’] to those in exile (Is. 30:18,9; Am. 5:15; Mal. 1:9). But Jer. 16
goes on to state that God would not ever hide His eyes / face from the
iniquity they had committed, i.e. the reason why they were in captivity
(Jer. 16:17). But actually He did do just that- He hid His eyes from the sin
of Judah and the sin of the exiles (Is. 65:16); the hiding of His face from
them was in fact not permanent but for a brief moment (Is. 54:8). God then
outlines a plan- He will recompense their sin double, and this would lead
them back to Him (Jer. 16:18). But this was to be an unrepeatable,
once-for-all program that would “cause them to know mine hand… and they
shall now that my name is The Lord” (Jer. 16:21). This double recompensing
of Judah’s sin happened in the exile in Babylon (Is. 40:2), and therefore
the joyful news was proclaimed to Zion in Is. 40 that now the Messianic
Kingdom could begin. But there wasn’t much interest nor response to the call
to return to Judah in order to share in it. The exile didn’t cause God’s
people to repent nor to know His Name. It wasn’t the once-for-all program
which He intended. Now none of this makes God out to be somehow not serious
or unreliable. Rather is it all an indication of His passion and how deeply
He wishes His plans of redemption for us to work out. He’s not ashamed to as
it were humiliate Himself, lay Himself open to petty critics, in His passion
for us. Thus God was so [apparently] sure that the exile would bring about
Judah’s repentance and return to Him: “Thy lovers shall go into captivity:
surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness”
(Jer. 22:22). But actually the very opposite happened. It’s rather like
“They will reverence my son” (Mt. 21:37)- when actually they crucified Him.
Esther 8:6 For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my
people? How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?-
Life lived solely for ourselves, even eternal life, is not endurable if
our brethren are not living it with us. This had multiple implications.
LXX "How can I survive the destruction...?" suggests she felt she would
die with those who died. Her life was bound up with the life of her Jewish
people, although previously she was but an ethnic Jewess who had totally
assimilated into the life of the Persians. But she in her heart would live
and die with them.
Esther 8:7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai
the Jew, If I have freely granted you all that was Haman's, because he
laid his hand on the Jews, and hanged him on a gallows, what do you
further seek?- We begin to tremour a little with Esther, wondering if
the king's patience has worn thin. But we see again the king's
shortsightedness and lack of empathy and appreciation of the implication
of events and statements. He considered that if Haman was dead, and he had
given the wealth of Haman to Mordecai, then there could be no other
problem. The king is basically saying that Esther has an open
cheque, just as he gave to Haman. Again and again, he is characterized as
being hasty and distant from actual issues. This would fit very well with
our earlier suggestion that he was alcoholic.
Esther 8:8 Write also to the Jews, as it pleases 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 not be reversed by any
man- The idea is that the first decree could not be reversed, but the
king could issue a second decree empowering the Jews to defend themselves.
Again, as explained on Esther 1:15, the king was caught up in his own
legalism. God was trying to nudge him towards realizing that he was not in
fact God; for that was the basis upon which they considered that royal
laws couldn't be changed, because they thought 'gods' were unchanging. But
he is repeatedly taught, and the readership are taught, that any such
system of legalism ends up limiting freedom of movement and ends up in
contradiction. What is being highlighted is that the God of Israel isn't
like that; He can and does change, even His own laws. Casuistic approaches
to law were bound to fail, because God Himself is dynamic; the only point
at which He doesn't change is His constant love for the sons of Jacob and
not punishing them as their sins deserve (Mal. 3:6). His comment that the
king's decree could not be reversed "by any man" may suggest that
he was slightly moving towards the acceptance of a personal God far
mightier than himself; for he may mean that "man" couldn't reverse it, not
even himself, but God could.
Esther 8:9 Then the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third
month Sivan, on the twenty-third day of the first month, which is Nisan;
and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews,
and to the satraps, the governors and princes of the provinces which are
from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, to every
province according to its writing, and to every people in their language,
and to the Jews in their writing and in their language- Seventy days have elapsed since the decree was given on 13 Nisan. The
persecution intended by Haman was part of the 'fishers and hunters' sent
to return Israel to their land. These 70 days surely connect with the 70
years of intended captivity before they returned. The connection is surely
to suggest that the response of the Jews should have been to return to
their land. But like men ignore bush fire evacuation orders in order to
remain with their property in the vain hope of saving it, so the Jews
remained in Persia.
Esther 8:10 He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the
king’s ring, and sent letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal
horses that were bred from swift steeds- There may have been an
attempt to outrun the carriers of the earlier decree, even though they
were also "hasted".
Esther 8:11 In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every
city to gather themselves together, and to defend their life, to destroy,
to kill, and to cause to perish all the power of the people and province
that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to plunder their
possessions- The second edict is worded in the terms of the first;
the Jews were empowered to do to their enemies what those enemies had
wished to do to them. This is the repeated basis for judgment in the last
day; thus throughout Revelation, the seals of judgment upon latter Israel
are then brought upon their abusers in the form of the trumpets and vials.
The LXX adds some detail; "he charged them to use their own laws in every
city, and to help each other". Haman had previously made a fuss about the
Jews' laws. Now they were encouraged to use their own laws, and to use
them as they were intended- to help each other, after the pattern of
Esther not thinking only of her own salvation. This was another prod of
the exiles towards obedience to the law as intended, and to turn to their
God more fully.
Esther 8:12 on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the
thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar- This
was the date which Haman had chosen by casting lots. And again the hand of
God was invisibly in that, for now the Jews had plenty of time to prepare
themselves.
Esther 8:13 A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in
every province, was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should be
ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies- Vengeance
on Israel's enemies was the language of the restoration prophecies and the
reestablishment of the Kingdom which was potentially possible at the
restoration. But the Jews in Persia were those who hadn't responded to
that. And yet it is as if God so eagerly tries to by all means achieve at
least a partial fulfilment of those prophecies. They were intended, of
course, to see the similarities and return both to their God and His land.
But they were content with the very partial fulfilment of what was at that
time potentially possible. See on :14; Esther 9:22.
Esther 8:14 So the couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened
and pressed on by the king’s commandment. The decree was given out in the
citadel of Susa- The parallel is clearly with the hasting of the
king's commandment to destroy the Jews. Esther is full of such inversions.
The impression given is that there was to be a complete reversal of their
fortunes. But this was the language of the restoration prophecies and the
reestablishment of the Kingdom which was potentially possible at the
restoration; see on :13.
Esther 8:15 Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal
clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a
robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad-
The colours and materials are those mentioned in the description
of the scene at the king's palace in Esther 1:6. Mordecai is, on one hand,
totally absorbed into the way of the Persian empire. Rather than being
back in Jerusalem where he ought to have been. The descriptions of his
clothing however recall some elements of the High Priestly clothing; he
too wore a crown. Zechariah's visions were of a king-priest dressed in the
garments of both king and priest, who would reign in Jerusalem when the
Kingdom was restored (Zech. 6:11,14; the "crown" is s.w. Esther 8:15).
Zerubbabel disappears from the record, as does Joshua the High Priest.
They were the intended fulfillments, but failed. I suggest Mordecai may
have been set up as another potential fulfilment; but he too failed,
preferring to remain in the secular glory of the Persian court.
Esther 8:16 The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honour- This
is the image of Ps. 97:11: "There is sprung up a light for the righteous". The
springing up of Judah's light is spoken of in Isaiah as happening at the
restoration, in terms of Zion's light coming to Jerusalem in the person of
Messiah. Likewise joy and gladness was to be Judah's experience in Zion.
But it seems what could have been the breaking in of the Messianic kingdom
for them even in captivity didn't lead to that Kingdom. For they preferred
their own kingdom of wealth in Persia. They remained there; and the true
light and joy of Zion wasn't experienced by them. See on :13-15.
Esther 8:17 In every province, and in every city, wherever the king’s
commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness, joy, a feast, and
a good day. Many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the
fear of the Jews was fallen on them-
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