Divine Appointments: Cause for Celebration

Transcript

JROT 37
11/24/2024
Divine Appointments: Cause for Celebration
Esther 9:20 – 10:3
Jesse Randolph

Here we are. Finishing up our study of the Book of Esther. And as Pastor Mike mentioned, it has taken 7 months. It’s been a study really in two phases. We had the spring phase and we had the fall phase. But we’ve made it. For tonight’s purposes we’re finishing the book of Esther.

Now, last time in our study of the first 19 verses of chapter 9, we worked our way through a description of what essentially was a holy war, as the people of Israel living in the Persian kingdom, who at one point had been consigned to death by wicked Haman’s evil decree, now had been given this right to fight for their lives. They could take action, up to the point of killing those in the Persian kingdom who hated them and wanted to see them, the Jews, dead. Last time, we worked our way through some various historical matters, as we saw these multiple connections to the story of King Saul way back when in the book of 1 Samuel and his battles against Agag and the Amalekites, and how in many ways Mordecai and Esther were completing the task and finishing the job which their descendant, King Saul, failed to do. Last time, we also worked through some moral and ethical matters including Esther’s request in verse 13 of chapter 9 for a second day of fighting, to kill more opponents of the Jews. And where we ended last time was on this high note of a new holiday being established, a day of celebration and feasting known as Purim.

And that’s where we’re going to pick it up tonight. Purim. Our narrator is giving us this description of how, after it was celebrated the first time back in verses 18 and 19, this Jewish holiday of Purim came to be. So we will start right away in verse 20. Where we’re told, this is Esther 9:20, “Then Mordecai wrote down these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far.” So Mordecai, now second in command in the Persian kingdom took down these events. It says he “wrote down these events.” Which events? There’s some debate about this. Some have argued, though it’s a minority, that “these events” is referring to the entire book of Esther, which would mean that Mordecai was the human author of Esther. I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t find that persuasive. More likely I think in context is that “these events” mentioned in verse 20, refers to those events immediately preceding and immediately following what is written here in this section of the Book of Esther which explains how this holiday, this feast of Purim came to be.

Now, up to this point in the book, apparently only spontaneous celebrations of Purim had taken place. And what Mordecai does here in verse 20, is he confirmed the perpetual nature of this celebration for generations to come. This two-day feast was to be memorialized and remembered for the sake of remembering the goodness of God through a number of different circumstances to protect His people, the Jews, from extinction. And so Mordecai we see here writes this proclamation, confirming that this event was to be celebrated by the Jews annually, with eating, with rejoicing, with giving food and even sharing with the poor. And then note the scope of this writing. It says, “he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far.” Meaning, all 127 provinces of the Persian Kingdom from India to Cush.

And then look at the purpose of Mordecai’s letter, in verse 21. The purpose was “to establish among them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually.” Recall from last time how this worked. There were these two decrees. The first from Haman, allowing for the extermination of the Jews. And that decree was to be carried out on the thirteenth day of the month Adar. And there is this second decree that comes from Mordecai that allows for the Jews to defend themselves on that same day, the thirteenth day of the month Adar. And then the fighting, we saw last time, was carried out on that day, the thirteenth day, with 500 opponents of the Jews, all 10 of Haman’s sons and more in Susa being killed. And also there were another 75,000 opponents of the Jews that were killed all throughout the Persian kingdom. So 75,510 casualties at the hands of the Jews. And then what we saw last time at Esther’s request, this is the moral, ethical matter I mentioned earlier, a second day of fighting was ordered. And that second day of fighting was carried out on the fourteenth day of Adar. So what happened was the feasting and the celebration took place in two parts. For those whose fighting finished on the thirteenth day, they celebrated on the fourteenth day. And for those whose fighting finished on the fourteenth day, they celebrated on the fifteenth day. That’s what happened in practice, in real time, when the Jews in the Persian Kingdom were spared.

And now we have Mordecai, in verse 21 memorializing these dates in a letter. A letter he likely wrote in the ensuing months after these military victories, but before the one-year anniversary of these events when they originally took place. Note again what it says in verse 21. That the purpose of the letter was “to establish among them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually.” This was to be an annual celebration. On the same two days, each and every year. Like the feasts of old, it was to be celebrated annually as a reminder to succeeding generations of Jewish believers of God’s incredible deliverance of them.

And then in verse 22, we’re given this explicit purpose for the celebration. It says “because on those days the Jews obtained rest for themselves from their enemies, and it was a month which was turned around for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor,” lest anyone think that this holiday of feasting and celebration was to commemorate violence and warfare and bloodshed. The real reason for the holiday is very clearly laid out here. The purpose of this was to celebrate the fact that the Jews had “obtained rest for themselves from their enemies,” relief from their enemies in this dramatic turn of events that we’ve seen over the last several Sunday nights. This holiday, in other words, wasn’t about military pomp. Its central feature was not that the Jews had exacted vengeance upon their enemies. Its central feature instead, was that the Jews could now experience rest from their enemies. That theme by the way, of rest from one’s enemies, is a theme we see developed all over the Old Testament in reference to the Jews.

Listen to Deuteronomy 12:10. This is God speaking to the Jews through Moses. “Now you will cross the Jordan and live in the land which Yahweh your God is giving you to inherit. And He will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security.” Or in Joshua 11:23 it says, “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus the land was quiet from war.” 2 Samuel 7:10-11, it says, “And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and not be disturbed again; and the unrighteous will not afflict them any more as formerly, even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies.” So rest is commonly referred to going back and back through the generations.

Well, back to Esther’s day, the people of Israel had been living for months now in a state of unrest. They had been living under the cloud of this ominous and frightful decree which sought to eliminate them. But now as we have seen in the last couple of messages as we have worked through the later portions of Esther, that cloud has passed. And now there is reason and cause for joy and gratitude and celebration. And on this day of celebration the Jews were really doing two things. First, they were remembering. They were remembering the remarkable providence of God and His saving intervention and the gift that He’d given them of relief from their enemies. And not only that, they were rejoicing. Rejoicing over the fact that their sorrow had been turned into gladness and that their grieving and mourning had turned into a holiday. That their worrying for their lives had turned into enjoying these days of feasting and gladness. This evil plot hatched by this evil man which was designed to destroy them instead becomes this festival to unite them and sustain them as a people for years to come. The Jews had been delivered and rescued and this was a cause for perpetual praise and rejoicing and celebration!

Now, another thing Mordecai appears to be doing as he writes these letters mentioned here in these first few verses of our section for this evening, he’s apparently mediating some sort of dispute that might have been brewing amongst the Jews as to when to celebrate this holiday of Purim. Recall from last time that Purim was being celebrated initially on these two different days with some celebrating on the fourteenth day of Adar and some celebrating on the fifteenth day. And through his language here, Mordecai appears to be adjudicating some sort of dispute with what he says in this letter by urging them all whether country folk or city-dwellers in Susa to celebrate both days. Whether they are out in the country or in the city limits, celebrate both. Verse 21. The charge here was “to establish among them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually.” The entire Jewish population had been given deliverance and rest so the entire Jewish population should enjoy both of these days of celebration and feasting.

And to leave no doubt as to what that means, Mordecai concludes his letter, verse 22, with a description of what this celebration should entail. It says that “they should make them days of feasting and gladness and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” In celebrating then, the people were to do two things. First, they were to celebrate by feasting. Which is an appropriate outcome to come out of the Book of Esther, where we see feasts of all sorts being celebrated for a variety of different reasons. We have seen feasting throughout this book. Remember back in Esther 1:2-4, there was the king’s feast for the officials of the empire. Later in Esther 1 there was the king’s feast for the men of Susa. Then there was the feast in Esther 2 to commemorate Esther being now installed as the queen. In Esther 5 there was Esther’s first feast for the king and Haman, in Esther 7 there was Esther’s second feast for the king and Haman. Then there was the feast in Esther 8 to commemorate Mordecai’s rise. There was the first feast of Purim for Susa, in Esther 9:18. And then there was the second feast of Purim, for the whole empire, in Esther 9:19. Meaning, nothing could be more fitting than for feasting to be the main event in Purim celebrations for years to come.

So this new holiday was to be marked by feasting. It was also, we see here in verse 22, to be marked by gifts of food to one another as well as to the poor. That’s what it says at the end of verse 22, that celebrants were to “give portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” Again, even this makes sense in the context of this holiday of Purim. This holiday came about through certain events where the Jews had been threatened with this prospect of having everything taken away from them. Recall their enemies were plotting to put them to death and to plunder all their goods. So now in remembrance of these events, and in remembrance of what they had been delivered from, the Jews were to send goods, namely, food items away to those who were more deprived. So by caring for the poor in this way, they are not setting up some sort of welfare system. Rather the people of Israel were remembering how they would have lost everything had God not providentially intervened on their behalf and for their benefit. So now they are to be overflowing in their generosity toward others as a reflection of the overflowing generosity God had shown them by delivering them.

Now as we come to verses 23 through 28, we arrive at another major section of chapter 9, where we learn of the Jews’ response to Mordecai’s letter. We’ll start in verse 23 and take this verse by verse. “Thus the Jews fully accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them.” There is a double acceptance being mentioned here where it says the Jews fully accepted of “what they had started to do.” Meaning, there was an acceptance by the Jews themselves of the spontaneous celebrations which were already starting to break out in their midst soon after they experienced victory and deliverance. Not only that, and second, there was acceptance of what Mordecai had written about these matters in his letters in verses 20-22. What Mordecai wrote down and the letters he sent as we see in verse 20, were sent to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,” those letters were received by the Jews and were accepted by the Jews.

Then in verses 24 and 25, we get into the heart of the purpose of these celebrations and really the history of these celebrations. And what we see here is really this summary, this truncated version of all that we’ve covered thus far in the book of Esther. Look at what it says, verses 24 and 25. It says, “For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to cause them to perish and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to throw them into confusion and cause them to perish. But when it came before the king, he said by letter that his evil scheme, which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.” Now this obviously, these 2 verses here, is not some sort of an exhaustive, blow-by-blow account of all that we’ve studied so far in the book of Esther, but it does hit the highlights. And it does give us an accurate summary statement of the two main divisions in this book. First, there was that evil scheme which Haman had devised to eradicate the Jews. And that scheme stemmed, we have seen, from Haman’s own imbalanced sense of self-importance and his unchecked and prideful ambition and his easily-bruised ego, which was especially bruised when Mordecai the Jew failed to bow down before him. Each of those events, and more of the specifics that we’ve covered is wrapped up in this summary statement in verse 24 where it says, “For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to cause them to perish and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to throw them into confusion and cause them to perish.”

And then what verse 25 does is that it captures in summary form that whole radical reversal and turn of events that we have seen in the second half of the book of Esther whereby the evil with which Haman “had devised against the Jews,” it said instead was “returned on his own head,” this is all in verse 25, so that “he and his sons,” were themselves, “hanged on the gallows.” Now, we don’t have time this evening to go back through all of the details of the circumstances surrounding this radical reversal. That’s what we’ve been studying in detail the last few Sunday nights. And you can always go back and listen to those messages on-line to see all of the detail there. But what’s really interesting just to highlight here tonight is how the role of the king is stressed here in verse 25. It says, “But when it came before the king, he said by letter that his evil scheme,” which would be Haman, “which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.” The narrator here is making it sound like King Xerxes was Mr. Saved-the-Day. He is painting the king here in an awfully positive light. And I think he is doing so for a reason. I actually think the narrator here is being playful, almost sarcastic, as he highlights the fact that it wasn’t really Xerxes who did anything at all, rather it was the unnamed God who sits over all of the events and all of the circumstances named in this book who did all of it. Xerxes did none of it. The unnamed and unseen God did all of it.

Now, moving into verse 26. We see these words, “Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur.” This is a bit of a digression here in verse 26 as the narrator leaves the context of the overall flow of his story and leaps into the setting of his day to explain why that day of celebration is called Purim. What is meant first of all, by “these days”? “Therefore they called these days Purim.” Well, the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar during which the Jews were already celebrating and feasting in light of the victory over those who hated them and sought to kill them. And the feast we see was called “Purim,” why? “After the name of Pur.” What’s that all about? Of all things to call this holiday why would you name it Purim? Well, it’s in reference to Haman’s use of the “pur,” the lot, plural lot, purim, to determine the time of the Jews’ extermination.

Go back with me to Esther 3. You may have forgotten this part of the narrative. This was in phase one of our study of Esther back in the spring. It goes way back to Esther 3:7, where we see the name Purim comes from. It says, “In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day and from month to month, until the twelfth month, that is the month Adar. Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, ‘There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not do the king’s laws, so it is not worth it for the king to let them remain. If it seems good to the king, let it be written down that they should perish, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who do this work, to bring into the king’s treasuries.’ Then the king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the adversary of the Jews. And the king said to Haman, ‘The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them according to what is good in your eyes.’”

Note how this distressing set of circumstances all began with the casting of the lot, the pur. By this time the lot (pur) had become this symbol of God’s using circumstances to deliver His own people. In fact, there are over seventy Old Testament references to the casting of the lot before the dating of Esther. So you see many references to lots being cast. And none is more significant I think, to our study of Esther than Proverbs 16:33. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every judgment is from Yahweh.” And what all of this tells us is that the naming of this feast Purim was quite appropriate, considering the strange and surprising providence of God and how it worked out in various events and circumstances, once that lot was first cast back in Esther chapter 3. Think about it. The casting of the lot just happened to land on a certain date where the King of Persia just happened to be having one of those sleepless nights. And he just happened to be reminded that night of an assassination plot from years ago and the rest, as we have seen, was history.

So back to Esther 9. We see here that “they,” meaning the Jews of Mordecai and Esther’s day, “called these days Purim after the name of Pur.” The name “Purim” would have reminded the Jewish people that it is God and God alone who determines how things turned out in their lives and in the world. It is God and God alone who determined the lot of His people in Persia back then and it is God and God alone who continues to determine the lot of His people for each and every generation.

Now the rest of verse 26 and all the way down to verse 28, we are given a couple more details about this feast of Purim, including a statement about its perpetuity and a statement about its inclusivity. Let’s read it as a whole, and then break it down. I’m starting in the second sentence of verse 26. “Therefore, because of the words in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had reached them, the Jews established and accepted a custom for themselves and for their seed and for all those who joined themselves to them, so that celebrating these two days according to what was written down and according to their fixed time from year to year would not pass away. So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; thus these days of Purim were not to pass away from among the Jews, nor their memory come to an end from their seed.”

Now, what you see here is a lot of repetition, especially as it relates to the perpetuity of this holiday, this feast of Purim. The same idea is being repeated over and over. “The Jews,” its says, “established and accepted a custom for themselves and for their seed.” The feast was to be celebrated it says, at a “fixed time from year to year.” The feast was not to “pass away.” “These days are to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city.” “These days of Purim are not to pass away from among the Jews, nor their memory come to an end from their seed.” Do you hear that repetition? Why say in a paragraph what you could say in a sentence? I think the answer is found back in Leviticus 23. Why is the narrator here so long winded in verses 27 and 28? I think the answer comes if you go with me back to Leviticus 23, Leviticus 23:1. I think there is a hint here as to why the narrator of Esther is so wordy in our passage. It says, “And Yahweh spoke again to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The appointed times of Yahweh which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed times are these.“ And then, you see it there. He goes on to list out. The Sabbath in verse 3. The Passover in verses 4-8. The Feast of Harvest in verses 9-14. The Feast of Weeks in verses 15-22. The Feast of Trumpets in verses 23-25. The Day of Atonement in verses 26-32 and the Feast of Booths in verses 33-44. In other words, the Jewish calendar of feasts and days of remembrance, of festivals had long ago been fixed. And to establish a new holiday, and a new feast, that was a really big deal.

So, back to the question at hand. Esther chapter 9. Why the need for this repetitious language in verses 26-28? The answer, I think, is this. If a new feast or holiday was going to be added to the Jewish calendar of feasts and holidays, there had to be a very good, crystal clear and compelling reason for doing so. No doubt, this whole account that we have seen in the book of Esther, of the Jews’ preservation during these days of Esther and Mordecai, that was a compelling reason for inaugurating this new festival of Purim. So now what this narrator of Esther is doing in this very repetitive language in verses 26-28, is doing so with this aim of being crystal clear as to why this was happening. He’s laying out these very good and compelling reasons for why this new holiday was being celebrated and recognized. He’s hammering the nail firmly into the wood to make sure we get why this new holiday is being established.

So, in verses 26 through 28, we have these statements about the perpetuity of the feast of Purim. Verse 28 it says, “So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; thus these days of Purim were not to pass away from among the Jews, nor their memory come to an end from their seed.” So we have these statements of perpetuity.

But I also mentioned we have these statements of their inclusivity. And we see that in verse 27 where it says, “the Jews established and accepted a custom for themselves and for their seed and for all those who joined themselves to them.” The simple truth to extract here is that it was anticipated that there would be others later in history who would attach themselves to the Jewish community of faith. We saw this already back in Esther 8:17 where it says, “And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.” And when that happened, when others from outside the Jewish community would eventually attach themselves to the Jewish community, whether in the past or in the future, it was to be their “custom” as well, that’s what we see here in Esther 9:27, to celebrate the feast of Purim.

But the key concept in this entire section, if we are remembering one thing about this whole section, it’s really brought out in verse 28, which is that the Jews were to “remember” as they celebrated these days. That’s a common refrain in the Old Testament, as God dealt with His people, the nation of Israel, to remember. Exodus 13:3, “And Moses said to the people, ‘Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a strong hand Yahweh brought you out from this place.” Exodus 20:8, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Deuteronomy 5:15, “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm.” Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years.” Deuteronomy 8:18, “But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 32:7, “Remember the ancient days, consider the years from generation to generation.”

And why did God have to give the Israelites so many reminders to remember? Well, as we see throughout the Old Testament, they like us, tended to forget His promises, His goodness, His provision and forget His ways. And so it was with the events of Esther’s and Mordecai’s day. God didn’t want them to forget all that had happened and all that had transpired. He didn’t want them to be neglectful in their remembrance. So he moved the human author of Esther, to state, repeatedly, that the feast of Purim was a feast which was to be celebrated in perpetuity. And, we’ll get there in a moment, but the feast of Purim is still celebrated today. This year in 2024 the day would have been March 23 and 24. And next year in 2025, it will be celebrated March 13 and March 14.

Now when we get to verse 29, there’s a transition in the narrative. So far what we’ve been studying this evening has all to do with what Mordecai wrote down as he sent what he sent out to all the provinces of Persia, which resulted in this formal establishment of the feast of Purim among the Jews. Now in verse 29, we learn that Esther wrote a second letter. “Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to establish this second letter about Purim.” This is the second time in this book that Esther is referred to as the “daughter of Abihail.” Abihail, her father, was Mordecai’s uncle as we learned back in Esther 2:15.

And note here that Esther “wrote with full authority.” And as the Queen she is referred to here as “Queen Esther.” So letter number one goes out at the hand of Mordecai to all the Persian kingdom. Letter number two goes out at the hand of the Persian Queen to confirm the contents of Mordecai’s letter. Kind of ironic and interesting now having these Jewish members of Persian royalty, sending out these letters to the entire Persian Kingdom. These were Jews who not long ago were totally consigned to death and who had nothing to celebrate. But now they are writing letters to the entire kingdom about the necessity of celebrating for years to come the deliverance that God had brought.

Now, here’s an interesting little wrinkle. In both the Legacy Standard Bible from which I am reading, and in your New American Standard Bible, the next verse, verse 30, appears to shift the focus back to Mordecai. Look at the first few words of verse 30. We have just discussed Esther in verse 29, but then verse 30 now says, “And he sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth.” So it reads like on first glance is verse 20 Mordecai is sending out his letter. In verse 29 Esther is sending out her letter. And now it swings back to verse 30 and its back to Mordecai doing whatever he’s doing with another letter.

Except I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. There is a masculine verb in verse 30 in the Hebrew language, which explains why many good Bible translations have it the way we have it here “and he sent” which would suggest now switching from Esther to Mordecai. But a couple of things to note. First, Mordecai’s not mentioned by name there. It doesn’t say, “and Mordecai sent.” And second, that verb that we see here can be taken as linking with the impersonal object of the verb. Namely the “letters” that are mentioned there. And the word “letters” there in Hebrew is masculine. All that means is, it is perfectly legitimate to translate this either as “he sent,” like the LSB and the NASB has. Or you could even say it more passively, like the letters were sent and leave out the “he” or the “she” in the whole process. That’s actually how the ESV translates it. That letters were sent. And in that case the narrator would still be Esther because we are still connecting this to verse 29. I actually think that makes a lot more sense.

I take that latter interpretation. I think the ESV has this one right. I think that verses 29 through 32 represent one continuous line of thought. So you have verse 29 here which says, “Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to establish this second letter about Purim.” And then in verses 30-32, and still in reference to Esther and her letter, it says, “And he sent letters.” I would translate it, “letters were sent,” and then we pick it up with the rest of verse 30, “to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their seed with words concerning their times of fasting and their crying out.” So just like Mordecai’s letter went out, verse 20, “to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,” Esther’s letter, verse 30, goes out “to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus.” And her letter, end of verse 30, brought “words of peace and truth.”

And those words, “peace and truth,” are not freestanding. Instead they are defined by what we see in verse 31. Words of peace and truth “to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times.” In other words, Esther’s letter brought “words of peace and truth,” through their recognition and establishment of the feast and Purim. A feast which remembered the peace the Jews had been given from their enemies, specifically those in the Persian kingdom who had previously sought to eliminate them. And a feast which remembered the truth that it was God who ultimately delivered them.

Now, as we turn to verse 32, we’re told this, “The declaration of Esther established these words concerning Purim, and it was written in the book.” That book is likely a reference to the chronicles of the kingdom, the royal archives, which we see a few different times in the book of Esther. In fact, we will see it again in Esther 10:2. Esther wrote a letter which fixed the celebration of Purim and whatever she wrote in writing was then put into the royal annals. And though we no longer have those records, they would have served as one of the original source materials for our book of Esther.

That now takes us to Esther chapter 10 and the final three verses of the book. Where we see these words tacked on, almost like a postscript to the true end of the story. We will read the whole thing then we will go through the 3 verses individually. Esther 10:1-3, “Then King Ahasuerus set forced labor upon the land and the coastlands of the sea. And the entire work of his authority and his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had made so great, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus and was great among the Jews and pleasing to his many fellow brothers, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the peace of all his seed.”

So the two letters go out establishing Purim, one from Mordecai and one from Esther. Then we have this in Esther 10:1, that “King Ahasuerus set forced labor upon the land and the coastlands of the sea.” Here reading from the NASB, what you see there is that “King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land and on the coastlands of the sea.” Those sound like different concepts and they are. The king “laid a tribute” or the king “set forced labor upon the land.” But the word in the Hebrew has a wide enough range of meaning that can mean either. Contextually, I actually favor the NASB translation there. I think it fits better with the overall context and the flow of this book.

What I think is happening here is the narrator is telling us that life was getting somewhat back to normal at this point in the Persian kingdom. You may recall, back in Esther 2:18, that at the time of Esther’s coronation as queen, there was this kingdom-wide remission of taxes. All hail the queen, no more taxes. Here’s how it reads, “Then the king held a great feast, Esther’s feast, for all his princes and his servants; he also held a remission of taxes for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king’s hand.” But now, fast forward to Esther chapter 10, after all of the events we’ve seen described in this book, life is finally getting back to normal including the payment of taxes. It’s almost like the author of Esther knew what Benjamin Franklin would say later about the certainty of 2 things, death and taxes. Things are back to normal. Wars and battles and fighting are expensive. And now that things were settling down in the kingdom, and the chaotic time in the kingdom is sort of leveling off, the king goes back to levying taxes on his subjects. Likely to pay for all of the fighting and the warring that had been happening.

Now, as we turn to verse 2 a couple of different things to point out here. First, you’ll notice that there’s a reference to “the entire work of his authority and his might.” And that’s in reference to King Xerxes. Or as it says in the NASB, “all the accomplishments of his authority and strength.” Once again I actually think the narrator of Esther is being a tad facetious, sarcastic, a little cheeky with his word choice here. And here’s why I say that. Throughout the book of Esther, what we have seen over and over through this narrator’s pen is this demonstration of how King Xerxes was impulsive. He was reluctant to make any conclusive decisions. He was overly reliant upon his many foolish counselors. He was asleep at the switch as it related to these plots and plans of wicked Haman. He was generally the last one we have seen to figure out what was happening all around him, even though he is the king and he had the power over the kingdom. In other words, Xerxes practically demonstrated anything but “might” in this story. What he demonstrated throughout this story was his own incompetence and foolishness. This sense of being oblivious to all that was happening around him.

So I think our narrator here, in Esther 10:2, is actually referring to Xerxes’ authority and his might with a little bit of a ‘wink-wink.’ He’s pointing out what we all know to be true, which is that Xerxes was neither authoritative nor mighty in his rulership over the Persian Empire. Now surely the official royal records, what we see here in verse 2, “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia,” they would trump up Xerxes’ and his conquests and victories and all those sorts of things. But we, having read Esther, we all know the real story. We all know the real Xerxes. He’s been exposed in the book of Esther as being neither strong nor mighty.

Now for Mordecai the story is different. Look how the narrator describes him in Esther 10:2. I don’t think there’s any sense of sarcasm or irony or facetiousness when he points out that Mordecai, the key word here, is “great”. Note how it reads. After pointing out the so called authority and might of Xerxes, there’s this reference to “the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had made so great.” This expression of Mordecai’s greatness is more fully fleshed out in the final verse, verse 3 where it says, “For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus and was great among the Jews and pleasing to his many fellow brothers, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the peace of all his seed.”

We’ll get to verse 3 in a moment. But for now while still here in verse 2, I’d like us to note something. Back in Esther 6, that whole scene where King Xerxes is having this sleepless night. “Sleep,” Esther 6:1 tells us, “had fled from the king.” And recall that Xerxes orders this sleep aid to help him with sleeping. And what he orders is this record of “the book of memoranda, the chronicles.” It was through having that book read to him that he figures out Mordecai years before had weeded out this assassination plot on the king’s life.

Well, now what we have in this second-to-the-last verse of the whole book, is a remedying of what happened before. In a former time, Mordecai’s name, his loyalty, his bravery, had all been swept aside and forgotten. Well, no longer. Now that the tables had turned and that wicked Haman had been eliminated and now that Mordecai had been elevated, “the full account of the greatness of Mordecai” would be remembered in “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia.” A book, no doubt, that the human author of Esther, the narrator, would have consulted as he wrote and laid out the book that we know as Esther.

Now we turn to verse 3, the final verse of this great book. Which tells us, that “Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus and was great among the Jews and pleasing to his many fellow brothers, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the peace of all his seed.” What the narrator is doing here is closing the loop not only on this story as a whole, but on one integral part of that story. That contrast between Haman and Mordecai. Haman was a Persian. Mordecai was a “Jew.” Haman pushed his way into a seat of power, Mordecai was rightly given a position of power. The same position, in fact, that Haman once held, that second-in-command position, right under the king himself. Haman sought the destruction of God’s people, the Jews. Mordecai, we’re told in verse 3, “sought the good of his people.” He “spoke for the peace of all his seed.” Or as the NASB has it, “he spoke for the welfare of his whole nation.” Haman was a man of great dishonor. Mordecai was a man of great honor. Haman was wicked. Mordecai was great. Haman was self-centered and self-indulgent. Mordecai was someone who spoke and worked for the good of others. Haman earned himself the title, “the enemy of the Jews.” Mordecai was highly esteemed by his fellow Jews. Haman’s life was committed to the task of evil and destruction. Mordecai’s life was directed as we see here toward goodness and peace.

That brings us to the conclusion of our study of the book of Esther. And as we wrap up our time here this evening, I just want to take some time to point out a few important, concluding matters. First, a reminder, since it’s been so long, of the title of this series, “Divine Appointments.” What we’ve seen over and over in our study of the book of Esther is this truth that the original Jewish readers of this book would have been struck by from going through it, as they navigated their way through this book. One simply cannot read the book of Esther and reach any conclusion but that God was sovereignly protecting His people the Jews during the time that they lived under this rulership of the Persian kingdom.

Queen Vashti, a Persian, was deposed so that Esther, a Jew, could become queen and get involved in the government. Haman, once exalted, was brought low. And Mordecai and the Jews, once hated, were exalted and honored. A decree that would have wiped out the Jews was counteracted by another decree which led to the destruction of more than 75,000 enemies of the Jews. If there’s one key takeaway to take from the book of Esther, it’s that God is present, God is sovereign, and God is ruling even when it seems like He is not there. Even in a book like Esther, where His name is not even mentioned one time. That’s take away #1.

Second, a word about God’s protection of the Jewish people throughout history. From the very beginning, we know, Deuteronomy 7, God set His love upon the Jews. They were, as Zacharius tells us, and are, the “apple of His eye.” But that hasn’t stopped people group after people group, nation after nation from opposing the original people of God. It started with the various “ites” of the Old Testament. The Perizzites. The Hivites. The Jebusites. The Amalekites. Each, in some way, sought to oppose God’s people. And how’d that go for them? Not well. I’m guessing none of you have ever met a Perizzite, a Hivite, a Jebusite or an Amalekite. None of us has ever met one because they don’t exist. They have been wiped out, wiped off the face of the earth.

And then, moving forward in history, throughout the centuries and across the continents, there have been continual efforts to oppose and suppress and conquer and eradicate the Jews. Babylon attempted it. Assyria attempted it. Egypt attempted it. How is that going for them? The glory of those nations now lies in the dust. And of course, we can’t miss that link between the book of Esther and the feast of Purim and the more recent historical black eye of the Third Reich in Germany, 100 years ago. You know that Adolf Hitler outlawed the observance of Purim in Nazi Germany. In a speech that was delivered on November 10, 1938, this is the day after Kristallnacht, that was that night of rioting against the Jews, a prominent Nazi named Julius Streicher declared that, just as “the Jew butchered 75,000 Persians one night, the same fate would have befallen the German people had the Jews succeeded in inciting a war against Germany. The Jews would have instituted a new Purim festival in Germany.” Basically that was his way of saying we need to wipe them out before they wipe us out.

It’s also notable that many of the Nazi attacks against the Jews, coincided with the festival of Purim. There are many records of this. In 1942, on Purim, ten Jews were hanged in one Polish city by German forces to avenge the hanging of Haman’s ten sons. In a similar incident on Purim of 1943, the Nazis shot 10 Jews in a Polish ghetto. On the eve of Purim that same year 1943, over 100 Jewish doctors and their families were shot by the Nazis in another Polish town. Hitler also banned the possession of the book of Esther. In fact, he declared it a capital offense if anyone were to be found in possession of this book. At Hitler’s command, Nazis would kill on the spot any Jew in the prison camps who possessed a copy of the book of Esther.

Well, that only led the incarcerated Jews in those prisons and death camps to memorize it. So precious were its promises, they memorized it because it reminded them that they, not their captors or executioners, as a people would ultimately triumph. The book of Esther promised the survival of their race despite Hitler’s attempts to annihilate them. And of course, while under the Nazi regime there were horrible atrocities committed against the Jews of that time. What the Nazis called “the final solution” ultimately did not prevail. Nor would it have prevailed, nor could it have prevailed. And that goes all the way back to God’s original promise to Abram, in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.”

A third observation, a word about the celebration of Purim today. You recall back in verses 9:26-28 of our chapter this evening, there were these words about the timelessness, the perpetuity of the celebration of Purim. Purim is to be celebrated in perpetuity. And it has been ever since the days of Mordecai and Esther. Now admittedly there’s some groups where there’s a lot more secularization in the celebration. But there is still celebration happening in different pockets with differing degrees of Jewish orthodoxy. It’s celebrated in our month of March. On the Jewish calendar, their year begins and ends in our March. It begins with a celebration of the Passover. And it ends with a celebration of Purim. Meaning, it begins with a celebration of how God delivered His people from the oppression of Pharaoh in a foreign land and it ends with a celebration of how God delivered his people from the oppression of Haman in a foreign land.

So Passover and Purim on the Jewish calendar are like these bookends marking out the preservation of God’s people, the Jews. Now, in terms of the mechanics of the feast there is a fast day on the day before the feast day of Purim. It’s sundown to sundown. And on the evening, as Purim officially starts after the fast, a word of blessing is declared. And the word of blessing is “Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe, who has contended for us and defended our cause, avenging us by bringing retribution on all our mortal enemies and delivering us from our adversaries. Blessed are You, Lord, who delivers His people from all their adversaries.”

Then after that blessing is read, then the book of Esther is read. And whenever the name of Haman is uttered as they read the book of Esther, people stomp their feet and hiss and they curse Haman’s name, saying, “Let his name be blotted out. The name of the wicked will rot.” And then when they are done reading the book of Esther, the people say, “Cursed be Haman; blessed be Mordecai!” That’s all on that evening that the feast begins, the first sundown.
Now, the next morning on the morning of Purim, the book of Esther is read again. But this time, the mood is much lighter. And depending on the level of orthodoxy involved in this service, there will be children dressing up as the main characters of the story. There will be singing of songs. There will be gifts sent, including gifts of food for friends and family. Charitable donations to the poor and then a relaxing time of meal and fellowship for families together. Again it’s all in remembrance and recognition of God’s providential protection and deliverance of His people, the Jews.

Last word about Esther and this one goes to reading Esther as followers of Christ today. Christians throughout church history have had a very interesting, I might even say tortured, history with the book of Esther. In his massive institutes on the Christian Religion, John Calvin cited the book of Esther only once. The great Greek grammarian Erasmus said of Esther that it “deserves to be regarded as non-canonical.” Martin Luther once said “I am so great an enemy to Esther, that I wish [it] had not come to us at all, for [it has] too many heathen unnaturalities.” The book of Esther is not quoted in the New Testament. The feast of Purim is not mentioned in the Gospels. So, what are we to make of all of that?

The answer is nothing. First of all, God saw fit to include the book of Esther in the canon of Scripture. Yes, Esther is a very Jewish book. But it is a part of the Christian canon. Meaning, Esther is no less profitable for the follower of Christ today, than the books of Galatians or Romans or Mark or Hebrews. All Scripture, including Esther, is profitable for the follower of Jesus Christ.

Second, the book of Esther is a rich treasure trove for the follower of Christ. In light of what it says about God’s providence and God’s sovereignty, we can all find great comfort and assurance and peace and joy in knowing that our God is sovereign. God is not named in the book of Esther, but it is so clear as I hope you have seen in this study, that He is sovereignly ruling over every single event in this book. And not only that… He is the same God yesterday, today, and forever, who is sovereign over every detail of our lives.

Third, we cannot forget that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, came from the line that was preserved in Esther’s day. The Jews who were then living in the Persian Kingdom. That’s the line our Savior came from. So while in its immediate context, the book of Esther is about God’s preservation of the Jewish people. We can’t lose sight of the fact that our source of worship, the object of our faith, the anchor of our soul is a Jewish Messiah. Had the Jews of Esther’s day been eradicated, there would be no hope. Not only for the Jews, but for the world, for any one of us. But thanks be to God, there is hope. There’s hope found in the God of Israel. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There’s hope found in the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was and is the Messiah of Israel. And there’s hope found in His Word, from books like Esther, which were first given to Israel, but according to God’s goodness and grace, have also been delivered to us. Well, that wraps up our time and our study in the book of Esther. I’ve enjoyed preaching through it. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning from it. And pray we have all been transformed by it. Let’s pray.

Father, thank You, for Your kindness to us, Your goodness to us, and allowing us to make it through this study of the book of Esther. It’s an oft overlooked book. It’s sometimes a maligned book. But God I pray that we have been enjoying how You have revealed Yourself and Your sovereignty, providence and goodness, not only to the people of Israel, the Jews in the original context, but You certainly are good and sovereign, providential over every detail of our lives. So God I pray that the study has enriched us as followers of Christ. I pray that it has deepened our love for You and for Your Word. I pray that we can, like Spurgeon said over and over, we can rest our head on the pillow at night knowing You are a sovereign God. And I pray that would give us rest and comfort and joy. Thank You for this evening. Thank You for this day of worshipping You and fellowshipping with one another. May You be glorified in the week ahead in our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.