Reflections on Esther 9

 Esther 09 (Contemporary English Version)

1. The first law that the king had made was to be followed on the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month. This was the very day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to do away with them. But the Jews turned things around,
2. and in the cities of every province they came together to attack their enemies. Everyone was afraid of the Jews, and no one could do anything to oppose them.
3. The leaders of the provinces, the rulers, the governors, and the court officials were afraid of Mordecai and took sides with the Jews.
4. Everyone in the provinces knew that the king had promoted him and had given him a lot of power.
5. The Jews took their swords and did away with their enemies, without showing any mercy.
6. They killed five hundred people in Susa, but they did not take anything that belonged to the ones they killed. Haman had been one of the worst enemies of the Jews, and ten of his sons were among those who were killed. Their names were Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.
7. (SEE 9:6)
8. (SEE 9:6)
9. (SEE 9:6)
10. (SEE 9:6)
11. Later that day, someone told the king how many people had been killed in Susa.
12. Then he told Esther, "Five hundred people, including Haman's ten sons, have been killed in Susa alone. If that many were killed here, what must have happened in the provinces? Is there anything else you want done? Just tell me, and it will be done."
13. Esther answered, "Your Majesty, please let the Jews in Susa fight to defend themselves tomorrow, just as they did today. And order the bodies of Haman's ten sons to be hanged in public."
14. King Xerxes did what Esther had requested, and the bodies of Haman's sons were hung in Susa.
15. Then on the fourteenth day of Adar the Jews of the city got together and killed three hundred more people. But they still did not take anything that belonged to their enemies.
16. On the thirteenth day of Adar, the Jews in the provinces had come together to defend themselves. They killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies, but the Jews did not take anything that belonged to the ones they killed. Then on the fourteenth day of the month the Jews celebrated with a feast.
17. (SEE 9:16)
18. On the fifteenth day of the month the Jews in Susa held a holiday and celebrated, after killing their enemies on the thirteenth and the fourteenth.
19. This is why the Jews in the villages now celebrate on the fourteenth day of the month. It is a joyful holiday that they celebrate by feasting and sending gifts of food to each other.
20. Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces
21. and told them: Each year you must celebrate on both the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar,
22. the days when we Jews defeated our enemies. Remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying. Celebrate by having parties and by giving to the poor and by sharing gifts of food with each other.
23. They followed Mordecai's instructions and set aside these two days every year as a time of celebration.
24. Haman was the son of Hammedatha and a descendant of Agag. He hated the Jews so much that he planned to destroy them, but he wanted to find out the best time to do it. So he cast lots.
25. Esther went to King Xerxes and asked him to save her people. Then the king gave written orders for Haman and his sons to be punished in the same terrible way that Haman had in mind for the Jews. So they were hanged.
26. Mordecai's letter had said that the Jews must celebrate for two days because of what had happened to them. This time of celebration is called Purim, which is the Hebrew word for the lots that were cast.
27. Now every year the Jews set aside these two days for having parties and celebrating, just as they were told to do.
28. From now on, all Jewish families must remember to celebrate Purim on these two days each year.
29. Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, wanted to give full authority to Mordecai's letter about the Festival of Purim, and with his help she wrote a letter about the feast.
30. Copies of this letter were sent to Jews in the one hundred twenty-seven provinces of King Xerxes. In the letter they said: We pray that all of you will live in peace and safety.
31. You and your descendants must always remember to celebrate Purim at the time and in the way that we have said. You must also follow the instructions that we have given you about mourning and going without eating.
32. These laws about Purim are written by the authority of Queen Esther.

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The amount of power and freedom the Persian king gave Mordecai seems amazing. He had such power that the governors throughout the provinces feared him. Because of it, they aided the Jews on this day given to them to defend themselves against their enemies. This was not the first time, however, that a pagan king gave extensive power to the exiled or enslaved Jews under their jurisdiction. Joseph's power in Egypt would be the first example. Though the Jews were not enslaved by Egypt at the time, Joseph was a foreigner in Egypt. Daniel would be another example under Babylonian rule when the Jews were exiled in Babylon. His rule extended into the Persian takeover of Babylon and may have provided a precedent for Mordecai's ascension to power. Each example came about through God's intervention to bring help to His people.

On the day that Haman's decree would have brought annihilation to the Jews, under Mordecai's decree it brought destruction to the Jew's enemies. But just for one day. On that day the Jews were allowed to congregate which they were normally restricted from doing to keep them from being capable of doing what they did on that day. In Susa on that day they killed 500 men including Haman's 10 sons. It is not clear whether the Jews attacked only those who first attacked them or if they went looking for those who had previously been hostile to them. We are simply told that they, "attack those who intended to harm them." (9:2) No one was able to withstand them and it struck fear on every other nationality living in the provinces of Persia.

The events of that day must have raised questions as to whether the Jews were taking over power of Persia. It would seem that even the king might have had some concern about this, for when the number of people killed in Susa was reported to him he asked Esther what had been done in the rest of the provinces. But still, he told Esther, "Whatever you ask will be given to you." (9:12) Esther did make an additional request, asking that the law allowing the Jews to defend themselves be extended one more day in Susa, and that Haman's sons be hanged for public display. God must have placed a great amount of trust in the king's heart for Esther and Mordecai and for the Jewish people.  To further encourage that trust, it is repeatedly reported in these verses that the Jews "did not seize any plunder." (9:15) They made it clear that they did not intend to profit from any of this.

Meanwhile, outside of Susa, throughout the rest of the provinces, the Jews killed 75,000 people on the one day provided by the law. No extra day was given in those areas. Then the Jews celebrated their good fortune, those in Susa on the 15th day of Adar and those outside Susa on the 14th day. Mordecai made a decree that they were to celebrate this event every year on both the 14th and 15th days of Adar.

Then what happened? It would seem that things returned to normal except that the Jews now had a better status than before. Esther also sent out a letter confirming Mordecai's letter telling them to celebrate these days they now called Purim after Haman's use of the Pur (lots) to determine when to kill the Jews. However, Esther's letter also encouraged the Jews to live in peace and to be faithful.