Esther Review

In the time that the Book of Esther was written, the Jews were once again in bondage.  This happened quite often when they failed to obey God.  We as followers of Christ are God’s people today, but if we refuse to obey Him, we will once again find ourselves under the bondage of sin, even though we have been set free from its power as long as we are faithful to our calling as Christians. 

Women especially had limited power in that time as they do in many parts of the world today.  Yet, God was going to use one of His daughters to save all the nation of Israel.  Esther was going to be put in this position because of the former queen having been seen as disrespecting the king and then being divorced and disinherited for her actions.  God used this fact to help Esther become queen. 

Mordecai and all the Jews were under a death sentence because of the fact that Mordecai would not bow down to Haman, even if by law he may have been required to do so.  We cannot give in to man’s laws if they are contradictory to God’s law, even if it leads us to a death sentence here in the world.  We are forever saved spiritually if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and that is all that matters. 

Mordecai did not use his power in the world to enrich himself, but he only sought for the Jews to not be killed.  We don’t serve God for our own personal material wealth, but we only serve Him for His honor and glory and to help our fellow Christians in their time of need and to reach out to the world with the gospel. 

 

 

 

 

 

Esther 10:1

Esther 10:1 says, And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.  King Ahasuerus put a tribute, or tax, on all the land.  This would have included the Jews.  They may have escaped the death sentence on them, but they were still under the authority of King Ahasuerus.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we have escaped the spiritual death sentence that sin brings, but we are still subjected to the law of the government, unless it contradicts the law of God.  We cannot claim that since we are Christians that the laws of man do not apply to us.

Verse two adds, And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?  The question is then asked if all the acts of Ahasuerus about his might and declarations of greatness of Mordecai after he was put in a position of power are not found in the books of chronicles of the kings of the Medes and Persia.  We can assume that they were, but we do know that if they were, these books are not a part of the Bible, but we have the important things concerning Esther and Mordecai preserved for us in the Bible, God’s written word to us today.  All the other acts of Ahasuerus are not of any real importance, just as any acts that those in power or even the lowest of person in the eyes of the world performed outside of God’s will and for the advancement of His kingdom are really unimportant today.  No matter how great we may be viewed by the world, it is only the things that we do for God that He is going to record as being good.  Everything else will be forgotten if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ or will be used to condemn us if they have been done out of sin. 

Verse three concludes, For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.  Mordecai was second in power to King Ahasuerus.  He had come a long way after being under a death sentence that was procured by the jealousy of Haman.  The Jews had seen him as a great man, but he was really just standing up for God and His people after Esther was made queen.  There is not much else written for us about whatever else he did, though it does say he sought for the wealth and peace of all his brothers and sisters, or his fellow Jews.  Once again, as Christians, we should not serve God for our own glory, but for His glory, and we can only do this if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ. 

 

Esther 9:22

Esther 9:22 says, 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.  The Jews went from mourning at their upcoming doom to celebrating their victory.  They began to feast in joy.  As followers of Christ, we have been restored from the doom of everlasting punishment for our sins to restoration to a right relationship with God, so how much more we should rejoice in Him.  They also shared with their fellow Jews and gave gifts to the poor.  We need to share in worshipping spiritually with all Christians and we are also told to help the poor around us. 

Verse twenty-three adds, And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;  The Jews began to attempt to do as Mordecai had written for them to do.  We as Christians need to start attempting to live by God’s word under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  The more that we do this, the easier it should become to make that the way we live each day.  We will at times fail, but that doesn't mean that if we do, we should then just quit trying. 

Verse twenty-four continues, 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 consume them, and to destroy them;  They celebrated because Hamn had devised a plot against them by casting the lot, or Pur, claiming it was a god who had directed this action.  People who are doing things that are against the will of the one true God may often claim to be doing them in the name of some false god.  We as Christians must stand in opposition to this and proclaim the truth of God, even if it brings trouble to us in the world. 

Verse twenty-five states, But when Esther came 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.  It is just restated that because of Esther’s intervention, what Haman had devised as a way to destroy the Jews was turned on him instead.  We can be sure that one day, all the plans that men have made to destroy God’s people will lead to their own destruction when God’s judgment comes. 

Verse twenty-six adds, Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them;  The feast was called the feast of Purim referring back to the way Haman had used the Pur to claim that the Jews were to be destroyed. 

Verse twenty-seven continues, 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, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;  The Jews established these two days to be observed forever by their descendants.  This was so that their descendants would not forget the great things God did for His people.  We don’t have a lot of feasts to help us remember the good things that God has done for us as His followers, but Jesus Christ did institute the Lord’s Supper to commemorate what He did for us.  We also observe Christmas as the day the birth of Jesus and Easter as the day of His resurrection, but the Bible really doesn’t specify that we are to do so.  This is not to say that we shouldn’t observe these two days, and I believe it is good that we do, but the Bible does not decree that we should as it does with the Lord’s Supper. 

Verse twenty-eight concludes, 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 fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.  This is a further statement that these feast days should be observed by the Jews forever.  We as Christians celebrate Jesus Christ dying for our sins and we need to share His gospel with the next generation so that He will always be worshipped as they accept Him as their Savior and Lord. 

Verse twenty-nine says, Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.  Esther as queen and Mordecai by the fact that he had been honored for saving King Ahasuerus were now in positions of authority and they wrote the second letter of Purim.  There had been quite a change in their status, from a slave girl and a condemned man, to positions of power in the kingdom.  We have quite a change in status when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, from a slave to sin and under a death sentence because of it to a forgiven child of God.  This doesn’t mean that we are in charge of everything though. God will always be in charge, but we are to observe times of worshipping Him.  Verse thirty adds, 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,  The word went to the Jews in all the provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus.  We likewise need to share the gospel with all the world today and not just with certain countries.  Wherever we are in the world, as followers of Christ we are all brothers and sisters spiritually.

Verse thirty-one adds, 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 themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.  These days of Purim were to be observed from then on, by those alive then and their descendants.  We are to share the gospel and teach God’s laws today and in the generations to come as we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. 

Esther 9:15

Esther 9:15 says, 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.  The Jews continued to gather together and defend themselves and kill those who would have killed them.  I don’t believe that they went out looking for their enemies to kill but simple killed them while defending themselves.  I do know that we are not called on to go out looking to kill those who oppose us or even those who might want to kill us as Christians, but we can defend ourselves if we are attacked.  They still didn’t take any of the material goods of their enemies. 

Verse sixteen adds, 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,  Throughout the provinces, the Jews stood together and killed their enemies, killing seventy-five thousand of them.  They were able to do this because God was with them in the battle empowering them.  If we today are to be successful as followers of Christ, we must stand together with our fellow believers under the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Once more, it is stated that they didn’t do this to profit materially but only to protect themselves.  Matthew Henry points out that they had been authorized to kill all those who opposed them as well as their wives and children, but they only killed those who were armed against them.  They were also authorized to take all their goods, but Matthew Henry says they left them for the women and children to live off of.  We can never fight against sin in the world simply hoping for material rewards but must do so for the glory of God and we should never leave widows and children of our enemies without a way to live.

Verse seventeen continues, 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.  After defeating their enemies, the Jews then rested and feasted in gladness.  Our enemies have already been defeated if we put our faith in Jesus Christ and we need to simply rest in the peace of the Holy Spirit and give God the praise. 

Verse eighteen states, 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.  It seems that those at Shushan gathered and had a feast the day after the other people did.  They both celebrated the day after their work of defending themselves was finished, and we need to celebrate every day because the work of defending ourselves spiritually has already been completed by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Verse nineteen adds, 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.  The people of the areas surrounding Shushan made the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a day of celebration ever year.  We have various days that we celebrate events in the life of Christ, but I don’t believe that we need days to celebrate particular days that we have had success in our spiritual life.  We are to celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death every day. 

Verse twenty continues, 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,  Mordecai, instead of being killed, had become a voice of authority for the Jews.  Jesus Christ, instead of just being killed, arose again to become the voice of authority for those who put their faith in Him. 

Verse twenty-one concludes, To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,  Mordecai established both of these days as a yearly celebration.  They are not called holy days Matthew Henry points out because we are not told that God established them.  Matthew Henry also points out that Nehemiah gave God the credit openly for all that was done and that Mordecai didn’t mention Him at all in his writing of these events, but that God was still at work.  He didn’t force them to choose one or the other but chose to have them celebrate both.  We were not all saved on the same day, but we should all celebrate not only our salvation but the salvation of others as well, and we do this when we celebrate Easter.  We may or may not always openly give credit to God for all the good in our lives, but we should never forget that He is responsible for everything good.