Esther 9-10 The Clash
Thanks to Esther, two edicts have been decreed to take place on the same day. It is the day of the clash between the Jews and those determined to end their lives.
Esther is in a place to help the Jews. Haman intended to see them all dead but he is dead instead. The day appointed by Haman and his supporters looms in the future. What will happen when that day actually comes? Can the Jews stand against those seeking their lives? Who will prevail in this clash? Or will there even be a clash? Knowing that the king has said the Jews can fight back, why not call the whole thing off? Let’s rejoin our story and watch as that fateful day arrives. Holy Spirit, direct our attention to what You would have us learn.
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It is nine months until the appointed day. The day when two competing edicts will be carried out. Esther and Mordecai are in positions of power, but they cannot stop the fateful day from coming. Not even Ahasuerus can repeal the edicts.
On the thirteenth day of Adar, those who wish to annihilate the Jews are allowed to come together and attack them. On that same day, the Jews are allowed to strike against ANY who will come against them.
Esther has never been a worrier, but this approaching day fills her heart and mind. She has no idea what more she can do to help her people. Mordecai doesn’t suffer from that same ailment. He knows exactly what he has to do between now and then. He has to rally supporters. He has to make it more advantageous for those who would oppose him, to favor him instead.
Mordecai begins making himself indispensable to the king. He helps resolve disagreements between struggling provinces. He ensures that all the provinces are sending their tributes to the king. ANYTHING the king raises the slightest interest in, Mordecai ensures that he receives it. Mordecai is working his way into the king’s heart and up the ladder of rank in the Persian Empire. By the time the twelfth month arrives, Mordecai is in a great position of power. The other leaders fear him. Those who originally supported Haman have turned away from his agenda of destroying the Jews. Now, they will actively help the Jews wherever they can.
The morning dawns bright and crisp. The morning dew makes the ground look clean, as though the world has had a fresh wash. In every city throughout the empire, the Jews have gathered together. Since the first rays of sunlight struck the ground, they stand ready.
The Jews don’t have formal weaponry. They have been slaves and you don’t arm your slaves. The weapons that they do have are mainly farm implements. There are some swords and daggers, but not many.
What they lack in weaponry, they make up for in confidence. Not in themselves but in their God to protect them. They KNOW that they would not be standing here today without His help. They have faith that He will fight for them in every way.
In another section of these same towns, those who are envious of the Jews gather together. This group is well armed and ready for combat. Many of them are hired soldiers. They have confidence too; in their own abilities. They laugh and joke with one another about the upcoming battle. “Farm hands against us! They don’t stand a chance.” Another voice calls out; “Let’s get this over with. I have chores I must return to in my own fields.”
The second groups advance on the first. The Jews hold fast until their enemy is in sight. As the second group closes in, a shout goes up from the Jews; “For the Lord and the queen!”
The Jews run straight into the fight swinging their ‘weapons’. Those opposing them wield their swords, but it is almost as if the Jews have no form or are made of steel themselves. Their swords either glance off or run right through without leaving a trace of blood.
The Jews’ weapons are doing extensive damage! Men are falling left and right with mortal wounds. The clashes rage on throughout all the cities in the province with the same results. This is NOT what was predicted by anyone but the Jews.
When the sun sinks in the sky, the battle ends. It will take time to count the dead and dispose of their bodies. There would have been more standing against the Jews, but the fear of them has fallen on the people. Only the most hardened saw fit to stand against them.
As the fighting ends, Ahasuerus turns to Esther. They have stood watch over the city all day. “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled” (Esther 9:12).
Esther searches her heart. She knows that an example must be set for those who would attack the Jews. “If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows” (Esther 9:13) she answers.
Ahasuerus calls a messenger and a scribe at once. He issues a decree and has it proclaimed throughout the town that very night. When the people rise the next morning, the Jews are ready to defend themselves again against those who would see them destroyed. Haman’s ten sons, even though dead, are hanged from the gallows. It is a symbol to any who would conspire against the Jews ever again. Their bodies remain suspended above the earth for the full day. When the sun sets, they are taken down and buried.
One thing the Jews throughout the land do surprises everyone. In all those they kill, none of the Jews take any of the spoils. Not a hand is lifted against the family or property of those who attacked them; even though it was decreed that the spoils were theirs for the taking.
Throughout the land, 75,000 men who sought to destroy the Jews lie dead. In Susa, 800 die in the two days given to the Jews to defend themselves. This is a day that the Jews, and the people around them, will never forget. God fought for His people. Their numbers and weapons mattered not; only their hearts and their trust in the Lord their God.
The Jews are excited and want to celebrate the victory that the Lord has fought on their behalf. On the morning after the battle, there is celebration in the streets of the provinces. Great feasts are quickly organized and everyone is invited to attend. Even the poor are cared for during this time.
In Susa, the celebrating also comes, but it is a day later. Those in Susa had two days to avenge themselves on those who would see them dead. But their joy is just as complete and their celebration as lavish.
Esther and Mordecai preside over the celebration in Susa. They lead the people in worship to their God and encourage them to build up their neighbors.
“I believe that we should make this day a holy day from now on forward. A day of remembrance of the Lord’s deliverance of His people” Esther tells Mordecai.
“I was thinking the same thing. We can name it Purim; in remembrance of Haman casting the Pur for a full year.” (Casting the Pur is the same as casting lots.)
Mordecai wrote out letters to all the Jews in the provinces the very next morning. “You are to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:21-22).
Esther also writes letters to the provinces. As queen, she affirms Mordecai’s letters to them. “You are to celebrate the deliverance of the Lord, and do as Mordecai has instructed you to do. ‘For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them. But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows’ (Esther 9:24-25). Therefore, these days shall be called Purim, after the term Pur.”
The Jews throughout the land obligated themselves to follow all that Mordecai and Esther had told them to do. These days and their meaning will live forever in the hearts of the Jews.
After all the excitement dies down, King Ahasuerus’ favor of Mordecai continues to grow. Mordecai becomes second only to the king himself. Mordecai looks out for his people as well as those who serve in Persia. Mordecai looks for peace wherever it can be found, and he enforces the king’s edicts and taxes, thereby prospering Ahasuerus.
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I was amazed to see that the Jews took no plunder, even though they were given permission to do so. I wonder why. Was it something they decided amongst themselves? Did they make this decision after their conquest or before? You can bet that, if those facing the Jews had been victorious would have taken ALL the spoils.
One thing I just noticed about Mordecai is, after the edict is written, he doesn’t simply sit back and watch. He too was put where he was for a purpose too. And he saw it through to the end. He would continue working towards peace for his people. And he would grow in authority over the rest of his life. He did God’s work to its fullest.
Father God, the task and path You have me on right now; help me finish it. Whatever “finished” looks like to YOU. Show me when it is enough and when to continue on. When this task is ‘finished’ though, give me another. I want to always be working for Your Kingdom in some way; until the day You take me home to be with You or until YOU tell me it’s time to rest.
