Esther 9:1-10:3
Points of Interest:
• ‘the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them’—with all of the momentum in the favor of the Jews, I imagine that the anti-Jewish militias are quite a bit smaller and more dispirited than they would have been otherwise. The potential members of these militias would be a combination of people like Haman, who had private grudges against Jews, and mercenaries lured by the plunder. When the chance of quick and easy revenge or profit disappears, so do many of the militia members. Unfortunately, enough remain that there is still a bloody fight.
• ‘all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king's administrators helped the Jews’—while they can’t prohibit the militias from fighting, the king’s officials do what they can to aid the Jewish defense.
• ‘they did not lay their hands on the plunder’—although the decree allows them to do so, they don’t plunder the property of the militia members. Apparently, they don’t think it appropriate to gain financially from this circumstance. It’s about them being saved from destruction, not about them making a quick buck. Since the only casualties mentioned are men, it also seems that the Jewish defenders don’t take advantage of the permission to destroy the families of the militias. Considering the circumstances, the Jewish defenders show a fair amount of restraint.
• ‘give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also’—apparently Haman’s sons are able to form something of a center of resistance in the city of Susa; so Esther asks for another day to completely defeat the anti-Jewish militias in the city.
• ‘These days should be remembered and observed in every generation’—the holiday of Purim is still celebrated today.
• ‘Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther’—Mordecai and Esther are quite a team. It’s like Batman and Robin, except that it’s hard to tell which one is the sidekick. Their names are used interchangeably: Esther and Mordecai, Mordecai and Esther.
• ‘all his acts of power and might’—this reversal of circumstances is not just good for the Jews. All of Persia benefits. With the partnership of Esther and Mordecai, Xerxes becomes a better king. When the story begins, Xerxes is not even a good husband, and he is manipulated by his own advisors. He nearly obliterates an entire group of people, simply because he’s not interested. But now, he effectively rules his entire sprawling empire.
Taking it home:
• For you and your family: what are some good things God has done for your family, your household, or your group of friends recently? Find some time today to remind one another of God’s goodness and to thank him together
• For your six: ask God to make you and your six partners together, like Esther and Mordecai. Ask God to give you the experience of bringing about something really good together.
• For our city, our country, our world: even with its effects minimized by the second set of decrees, Haman’s hatred has terrible consequences for many people. Pray against the power of hate in our society. Pray for an increase of grace, of love, and of self-control.
Sunday, September 30th
Saturday, September 29th
Esther 8
Points of Interest:
• ‘took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai’—this reward probably means more to Mordecai than riding around on the king’s horse. Xerxes hasn’t completely changed personalities in one night; he’s still going to be more of a hands-off style of ruler. This time around, though, he seems to show better judgment in his choice of lieutenant.
• ‘She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman’—Esther and Mordecai are now safe, and Haman has been personally defeated; but his plan to destroy the Jewish nation is still in effect. Mordecai and Esther are still far away from fulfilling their purpose. At least they are now in a much better position to do something about the problem.
• ‘no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked’—unfortunately, we once again run up against the extremely inconvenient rule against laws being revoked. The anti-Jewish militias retain whatever authorization and equipment they were promised. However, with the king’s approval, Mordecai is able to provide the Jews with the right and the ability to defend themselves.
• ‘the armed men’—whereas Haman’s decree is directed at all Jews, Mordecai’s only applies to militia members. Its purpose is defensive. It is true that Mordecai’s decree allows for the family of these militia members to be killed as well; I imagine the threat of destruction of their families is meant to make potential militia members think twice before joining.
• ‘the city of Susa held a joyous celebration’—apparently, the people of the capital approve of this change of administration. This is yet more evidence that only the king ever really liked Haman, and that Mordecai seems to have gained quite a good reputation.
• ‘there was joy and gladness among the Jews’—their grieving first changes to fasting and then to celebrating. Their prayers have been answered, and they are saved from being slaughtered.
• ‘many people of other nationalities became Jews’—Haman had intended to annihilate the Jews. His plot is so thoroughly foiled that their numbers actually grow. People change their nationalities to become Jews.
Taking it home:
• For you and your family: Esther’s story of saving an entire nation may be particularly dramatic, but I believe that God wants all of us to have the experience of making a big, positive impact on the people around us. Ask God to put you in a place, and to give you what you need, to be a source of blessing to as many people as you possibly can.
• For your six: a few days ago, we prayed that God would surround our six with good friends. Today, let’s pray that God would help our six to be good friends. Pray that they would have the same effect on the lives of their friends that Mordecai and Esther have on Xerxes.
• For our city, our country, our world: as we’re discovering once again to our deep regret, compensating for past mistakes can be extremely difficult and complicated. Especially with regards to the war in Iraq, pray for all of our political leaders that God would give them wisdom about how to move forward. Pray that neither stubbornness, nor arrogance, nor the desire to score political points would get in the way of doing what we can to recover from our mistakes.
Friday, September 28th
Esther 7
Points of Interest:
• ‘grant me my life—this is my petition’—the third time the king invites her to make her petition known, Esther finally answers. Her response is beautifully simple: she would like to live. Especially when half the kingdom has already been offered, it would be a hard request to deny. I imagine too that it would be shocking for the king to discover that someone is plotting against the queen and her people. He, of course, has no idea that he himself is one of the conspirators.
• ‘destroyed, killed and annihilated’—the exact words of the decree.
• ‘Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?’—technically speaking, it’s Xerxes who has dared to do it: it’s his seal on the decree. Esther wisely desists from placing the blame on him and focuses instead on the mastermind, Haman. Haman’s presence at the banquet gives Esther the opportunity to confront him directly in the presence of the king.
• ‘left his wine and went out into the palace garden’—I’m amused by the fact that the author describes just how enraged the king is by saying, ‘He couldn’t even finish his wine!’
• ‘got up in a rage’—it’s easy to see why Xerxes would be so angry. Not only has he just discovered that his queen’s life was in danger, but he’s also found out that his closest advisor has made a fool of him. He must feel betrayed by Haman, and sobered at his own mistakes. Perhaps this moment is the proverbial wake-up call for Xerxes.
• ‘Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining’—Xerxes takes a walk in the garden to cool off, but Haman makes things worse by practically attacking Esther as he desperately begs for his life. Being on the same couch as a member of the harem was a serious offense (Bible Background Commentary 489). We might be tempted to bemusement at their quaint sexual ethics, but to get the emotional impact of the moment, it’s probably more helpful to translate the scene into our own terms. I’d suggest, ‘The king walked in to find Haman lying on top of Esther and pawing at her breasts,’ would have about the right impact.
• ‘they covered Haman's face’—like pulling the covers over a patient who has just died (Bible Background Commentary 489). I think the author is trying to produce the effect of a lightning-quick death; the guards kill him so quickly that they’ve already shrouded his face before anyone can see what’s happening.
• ‘A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman's house’—here’s where I start to get the impression that Haman had not been particularly well-liked: they helpfully point out that there’s a perfectly good pole at Haman’s house they could use to impale his corpse; and they make sure to mention that he had been trying to kill the man who saved Xerxes’ life. Impaling the corpse was a way to publicly testify to a person’s crime, a somewhat more grisly version of filling the front pages with their picture and putting their name in the headlines: ‘Chief Advisor Haman Executed for Murder, Rape, and Conspiracy to Commit Treason.’
Taking it home:
• For you and your family: in this passage, Xerxes is given the opportunity to see his faults in a way that helps him to grow. Ask God if there’s something he’d like to correct in you. I don’t think we could even handle seeing all of our own weaknesses; so don’t ask God for a comprehensive list of your faults. Ask him, though, if there’s anything for which this is the right moment to change for the better.
• For your six: if any of your six are being attacked or accused by someone, ask God to protect them and rescue them. Pray for quick and dramatic changes in the situation.
• For our city, our country, our world: pray for our President, our presidential candidates, and other major government leaders. Pray that they would be surrounded by wise and good counselors. Pray that bad advisors would be exposed and disempowered quickly.
Thursday, September 27th
Esther 6
Points of Interest:
• ‘so he ordered the book of the chronicles . . . to be brought in and read to him’—it sounds like the king is asking for a bedtime story, but I think it’s more like he decides to work through the night since he can’t fall asleep. He’s basically going over his to-do list. Lo and behold, he discovers a major oversight: he’s never rewarded the man who saved his life.
• ‘Who is in the court?’—ironically the only person available to talk through Mordecai’s reward is Haman, who has come in early to ask for Mordecai’s execution.
• ‘What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?’—still on a high from his promotion and from his partying with the king and queen, Haman, of course, assumes it’s about him; so he goes completely over the top. It’s a situation perfectly set up to maximize Haman’s humiliation. He’s asked—at least, he assumes so—to say what he most wants in the world; then, he’s forced to give that very thing to his worst enemy. It reminds me of another saying of Jesus: ‘For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted’ (Luke 14:11).
• ‘a royal robe the king has worn’—Haman basically wants to play king for a day, riding the king’s horse and wearing his clothes.
• ‘Mordecai returned to the king's gate’—the gaudy display, perfectly tuned to Haman’s vanity, isn’t really Mordecai’s style. As soon as it’s over, he goes right back to his normal routine.
• ‘you will surely come to ruin!’—trouble helps Mordecai and Esther work even more closely together. Not so for Haman and his family; at the first turn in fortune, they drop him like a hot potato.
Taking it home:
• For you and your family: ask God to save you from the foolishness of pride. Ask God to help you to live humbly, and pray that he would show you the benefits of humility.
• For your six: pray that your six would find themselves the recipients of unexpected honor sometime soon.
• For our city, our country, our world: ask God to show his goodness in some way to people who are working late or getting up early today. Pray for especially good nights and early mornings for people who are up when everyone else is asleep.
Wednesday, September 26th
Esther 5
Points of Interest:
• ‘put on her royal robes’—she takes a different tack from Mordecai. Instead of sackcloth, she wears her very best clothes.
• ‘held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand’—this must have been quite a frightening moment for Esther. She knows that Xerxes does not respond graciously to what he considers to be presumptuousness on the part of his queen; that’s why she’s queen instead of Vashti. However, just as Mordecai and the Jewish community had prayed, Xerxes receives her well.
• ‘Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you’—this is not meant to be taken literally. It’s a meant to express the king’s magnificence and generosity, but politeness (and even a healthy instinct for self-preservation) would require that the petitioner ask for considerably less.
• ‘let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared’—Esther doesn’t blurt out her real request right away. Perhaps she wants to rebuild some familiarity between the king and her first; it has, after all, been thirty days since they last saw one another, while the king and Haman probably work together every day. Also, we know that the king likes a good party. He might be more grateful to her and more generously disposed toward her after this banquet.
• ‘Now what is your petition?’—the king knows that Esther has an agenda beyond just showing him a good time, and he repeats his willingness to grant her request. Interestingly, Esther decides to keep the game going a little longer. I wonder if this is nervous hesitation on her part, or a keen sense that the timing isn’t yet right. In any case, she follows up this spur-of-the-moment banquet with a more formal invitation for the next day.
• ‘I'm the only person Queen Esther invited’—Haman is practically giddy at his continued good fortune. Two nights in a row he is the only other guest at a private royal banquet. Little does he know that Esther is following the old proverb, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’
• ‘a height of fifty cubits’—that’s 75 feet. It strikes me as a bit of overkill.
• ‘ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it’—rather than talking him out of his irrational obsession with Mordecai or helping him concentrate on all of his good fortune, his friends and family throw gasoline on the fire.
Taking it home:
• For you and your family: do you find yourself knowing that there’s something you need to say, but scared of saying it? It could be because you’re intimidated by the person you have to talk to, or because of the importance or difficulty of what you have to say. Ask God to give you a good sense of timing, and to create the opportunity for your conversation to go well.
• For your six: think of the difference good friends can make in difficult situations. Mordecai encourages the best in Esther, but Haman’s family fuels the worst in him. Pray that your six would be surrounded by people who help them be their very best.
• For our city, our country, our world: revenge has a way of spiraling out of control. It can lead to horrible atrocities, to escalating gang violence, to exaggerated responses on a personal scale and on an international scale. Revenge only ever makes things worse. Pray for a spirit of peace and forgiveness in our city. Pray that we would be a place protected from revenge’s excesses.
Tuesday, September 25th
Esther 4
Points of Interest:
• ‘he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes’—these are the common signs of grief or mourning, apparently meant to simulate death (Bible Background Commentary 488). Mordecai would have a double reason to grieve: his people have been condemned to death, and it’s because of something he has done. While Mordecai can’t fairly be blamed for Haman’s monstrously exaggerated response, he must at this point regret his act of defiance. On the other hand, Mordecai’s judgment is proven to be good: Haman is indeed unworthy of respect.
• ‘no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it’—I don’t know whether it’s simply a matter of dress code (you must be dressed in formal wear to enter) or it’s considered inappropriate to mourn at court (because the privilege of being so near the king should be enough to make you happy, not matter what else is happening).
• ‘she was in great distress’—clearly, even small changes of behavior are noticed in this royal court. Perhaps Esther is afraid that Mordecai’s extravagant public mourning will draw unwelcome attention and speculation—in such a sensitive environment, his aberrant behavior could do real damage to his career. It’s also possible that she’s just trying to cheer Mordecai up. Of course, it’s clear that she hasn’t yet heard about Haman’s decree.
• ‘thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king’—even for the queen, access to the king is by invitation only. It’s been a while since the king has requested her presence; so she’s afraid that she might not get a chance to talk to the king in enough time to make a difference.
• ‘relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place’—Mordecai responds to Esther’s hesitancy by saying that this is a time for risky action. In fact, there’s no way to play it safe. She can either risk death by talking to the king without invitation, or she can wait for death to come because of the king’s decree. Interestingly, Mordecai doesn’t talk about her choice in terms of duty, but in terms of her own well-being. Somehow, even in the midst of his grief, Mordecai remains confident that God will in some way rescue the Jews from this calamity. If Esther tries to save herself, by hoping that no one finds out that she is a Jew, she will be opting out of God’s rescue plan and perhaps putting herself in greater danger. Mordecai’s statement here reminds me of a teaching of Jesus:
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? (Mark 8:35-36)
It does indeed seem a soul-forfeiting choice to try to save her life by neglecting to try to help an entire nation. I would think that such a life would be pretty much unlivable.
• ‘who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?’—Mordecai now brings up the topic of life purpose. Do the things that have happened to Esther have some larger meaning? I wonder if this is something she thought about much. I also wonder how she would think about her life apart from some bigger purpose. Would she think of herself as lucky? Would she think of her wealth, comfort, and status as simply something for her private enjoyment? It seems quite possible that she might think of herself as a victim of meaningless suffering: despite all of the material comfort, she essentially lives the life of a prisoner or even a sex-slave. Mordecai sees this emergency situation as an opportunity for Esther to move beyond both her suffering and her private enjoyment into a bigger life.
• ‘fast for me’—in this chapter, Mordecai has shown both inconsolable grief and a general feeling that things will work out well. Here, Esther asks Mordecai to move beyond both his grief and his vague optimism to apply himself to a very specific hope: the hope that God would give her favor with the king.
• ‘for three days’—I get the feeling that Mordecai would want her to rush right in to the king, and we’ve seen that Esther’s instinct would be to wait for the king to summon her. After their conversation, they move away from both rashness and extreme caution. Esther suggests that they spend three days praying and preparing before she takes action.
• ‘Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions’—several times, we’ve seen Esther taking advice from Mordecai. Here, we see that it’s not a one-way relationship. Mordecai listens to Esther as well.
Taking it home:
• For you and your family: Mordecai’s decision not to kneel to Haman had unforeseen consequences for the people around him. Have you done anything recently—either justifiable or not—that ended up hurting innocent bystanders? Ask God if he would be willing to make up for their loss. You might also want to ask God if there’s anything you can do to help.
• For your six: it makes a big difference to Esther to know that she might be where she is for a reason. Pray that God would be showing your six the larger purposes he has for them.
• For our city, our country, our world: pray that the number of people who are praying for the welfare of our city would increase, and that through the power of prayer we’d see positive change in our city.
Monday, September 24th
Esther 3
Points of Interest:
• ‘After these events’—immediately after Mordecai saves the king’s life, someone else gets promoted and rewarded. I would expect to read here about Mordecai’s reward, not Haman’s.
• ‘the royal officials at the king's gate’—Mordecai and these royal officials aren’t loitering on street corners and in doorways. ‘The king’s gate’ was the place where much of the work of government took place. It seems that it was sort of an outer court, where minor and mid-level functionaries did their business. Access to the inner court, where the king himself was, was limited to a much smaller number of high officials.
• ‘But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor’—it’s often thought that Mordecai refuses to kneel out of religious reasons (similar to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing to worship the golden image), but I’m not sure that’s what’s going on here. It seems unlikely to me that Xerxes is saying that Haman should be worshipped as a god, and we have plenty of indication in the Bible that paying honor to kings and other worthy people was a perfectly acceptable practice; one prime example is Daniel allowing Nebuchadnezzar to bow to him (Daniel 2:46). If not for religious reasons, why doesn’t Mordecai kneel? As is always the case among courtiers, diplomats, and politicians, there was a strict protocol in the Persian court for how people of different rank addressed one another (Bible Background Commentary 487); it’s similar to standing at attention and saluting in the military. By not kneeling, Mordecai is refusing to acknowledge that Haman outranks him. Since the king has just clearly declared Haman’s rank, this is quite a bold act of insubordination by Mordecai.
• ‘to see whether Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated’—the guards seem to think there’s enough question as to Haman’s and Mordecai’s relative rank that it’s worth asking Haman if he would allow Mordecai an exception. They apparently don’t know Haman very well.
• ‘for he had told them he was a Jew’—it’s difficult to know what Mordecai’s Jewish ethnicity has to do with the situation. New Bible Commentary makes the intriguing proposal that Jews tended to be more free-thinking, because they worshipped the King of kings and thereby recognized that there was a higher authority than any human king (447). In other words, it’s possible that the Jews were the hippies of the Persian Empire, and the guards are dismissing Mordecai’s refusal to kneel as another one of their crazy, new ideas. Whatever the reason for mentioning his Jewish background, it has the tragic result here of putting Mordecai’s entire nation in danger.
• ‘he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai’—it’s hard to fathom just how proud or insecure Haman must be that he would think it appropriate to punish Mordecai’s slight by wiping out an entire people group.
• ‘the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman’—the pur was a die that was rolled to determine lucky days (Bible Background Commentary 487).
• ‘who keep themselves separate’—Haman uses the Jews’ remarkable ability to maintain their unique spiritual and ethnic identity against them, citing it as evidence that they are disloyal to the empire. Seeing as Mordecai has just uncovered an assassination plot, it’s a patently false accusation.
• ‘I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king's administrators’—ten thousand talents was a huge amount of money, larger than the entire treasury of Athens, which was an important city-state of the time; so, it’s unlikely that Haman is offering money from his private wealth (Bible Background Commentary 487). It’s more probable that Haman is saying, ‘I’ve found some money in the budget for this project.’ This is easier to see in other translations. Whereas the TNIV translates the king’s response as ‘Keep the money,’ the NASB, for example, says, ‘The silver is yours’—in other words, ‘you can decide what you want to do with it.’
• ‘king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman’—the signet ring was sort of like the king’s official signature; and giving Haman the ring is sort of like telling Haman his PIN. Xerxes is saying, ‘You can act with my full authority.’ Xerxes is apparently more of a big-picture ruler; he doesn’t like to get bogged down in the details. With little reason and no evidence, Haman has claimed that it’s necessary to eliminate an entire people. Xerxes’ response is, ‘I trust you. You figure it out.’
• ‘to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews’—this decree is allows for militias to the recruiting and equipping of special militias, specifically for the purpose of wiping out the Jewish population.
• ‘the city of Susa was bewildered’—while Xerxes may not be bothered by Haman’s proposal of genocide, the rest of the capital city is quite troubled by this extreme and inexplicable policy. I wonder if they are aware that this horrible and just-plain-nonsensical action is motivated completely by Haman’s desire for personal revenge. They certainly seem to doubt that the government is in good hands.
Taking it home:
• For you and your family: do you feel like your contributions or accomplishments have been overlooked? Try mentioning your disappointment to God. What recognition were you hoping for? Why does it matter to you? Spend a few seconds listening for any responses from God.
• For your six: Haman can’t enjoy the honor being shown him because just one person refuses to participate. Insecurity has an incredible power to steal away our satisfaction at even the biggest accomplishments. Ask God to protect your six from the destructive power of insecurity.
• For our city, our country, our world: a big temptation for people in authority is to conflate their own interests with the public interest. I’m sure that almost everyone who finds themselves in a place of influence starts out with a desire to serve, wanting to make a real difference in society or to do what’s best for their company. A surprising number of those people end up using that influence to fly their families around on company jets or to build air-conditioned houses for their pets. In this passage, Haman ends up presenting his private desire for revenge as a matter of national security. I’m sure all of these people feel justified in their actions: ‘I give so much to (my country, my company, the church); they owe me this little perk.’ Pray for business leaders, church leaders, and politicians, that they would notice when they are making this slide toward personal entitlement and be able to resist it. Pray for all of us, that we would be able to resist taking unfair advantage of whatever smaller amounts of authority we have.
