[Esther 9] Act 3 Scene 3: The Heroes and The Good Guys Celebrate

Why do we celebrate holidays? Typically, holidays are established in order to commemorate some kind of good, wonderful event that happened in the past, whether it be for a religion or for a nation. Even more somber holidays come with a joyous undertone. For example, Americans celebrate Memorial Day to somberly remember the military men and women who had died in American wars, yet the holidays a joyous undertone of celebrating the freedom Americans have due to their sacrifice. If you think about it, the purpose of the holiday is to annually continue the goodness that happened on the commemorative event. For Christmas, to commemorate God’s gift to mankind, Jesus Christ, we give gifts to other people. For Thanksgiving, to commemorate the Pilgrim’s thankfulness for surviving in the New World, we share our thanks. In the Old Testament, God commands Israel to celebrate 7 holidays. Just as we defined “holiday,” the purpose of these holidays was to commemorate what God had done for Israel. Also as stated above, while some of these holiday reminded Israel of bitter times in their history, they had joyous undertones. Passover would remind the Israelites when they were slaves in Egypt, yet it celebrates how God rescued them and freed them from the hand of Pharaoh. Yom Kippur would remind Israel of its sins, yet it would celebrate that God had forgiven them.

In Esther 9, a new holiday will be established. If you remember where we left off in Esther 8, we discussed that Esther 8 was mostly planning. We didn’t see a lot of action happen. Now that plan will come into action. Not to spoil what happens, but it will end good, so good that Esther and Mordecai will decide it deserves to be celebrated for years to come as an annual holiday.

If you can recall how we concluded last chapter, we talked about how God’s providence involves role reversal. Well, that’s exactly where Esther 9 picks up the story. Esther 9:1 confirms the roles were reversed. About 9 months passed since the events of Esther 8. The day that Haman picked by lots finally came. With Haman’s law backing them, the enemies of planned to overpower and annihilate the Jews. Instead, with Mordecai’s new law, the Jews turned the tables and got the upper hand. To put in the words of the New Bible Commentary, “The victims had become the victors.”

Esther 9:2-4 goes into deeper detail on how the Jews turned the tables and got the upper hand. Some of you might have wondered while reading the book of Esther, “If the Jews knew someone was out to kill them on a certain day, wouldn’t they defend themselves anyway? Why wait for a law to be passed?” Well, why did over 6 million Jews march into the Hitler’s concentrations camps, knowing they’d be worked to death (quite literally)? True, we do hear stories of Jews resisting the Nazis during World War II, but those stories are in the minority. The Persian law now backed the Persians Jews with the Persian government. The enemies of the Jews, who wanted to still carry out Haman’s law, must have seen the Persian government stand behind the Jews and then realized they had no such backing. That alone must have struck them with enough fear to back off. Although God’s name is absent from the book of Esther, this has God’s signature on it, for the Lord used fear to help the Israelites win over their enemies in the past. Esther 9:4 reminds us this all only possible through the Lord’s providential plan to make Mordecai second in command. Without Mordecai second in command, the Persian government would not have helped out the Jews, and they would been annihilated.

Esther 9:5-15 records the results of that day. Because Persian laws cannot become totally negated, carnage was inevitable. Despite his death, Haman’s supports probably stood behind his beliefs and readied themselves to attack the Jews. A civil war would break out. When all is said and done, the Jews struck down, killed and destroyed 500 enemies that hated the Jews in Susa alone. This may seem like a lot, but from historical and archaeological records, this is only a small percentage of the city. This means that most of city supported the Jews (or were at least too afraid to attack), and only a minority attacked the Jews. The passage does not mention how many Jews died, hinting that not a lot did die, especially now they could defend themselves. The text also mentions the Jews in Susa killed Haman’s 10 sons, naming each one of them. The sons of Haman must have sought to avenge their father’s death by carrying out and leading their father’s evil plan. Esther 9:7-9 makes it clear that God sided with the Jews and against Haman, for God also sides against Haman’s family when they try to commit the same sin. Naming each son affirm each’ son death, symbolizing total defeat of Haman and his family. If you remember Esther 5:11, Haman brags to his wife and friends about his great number of sons, his great wealth and his great position. Haman now loses his wealth to Queen Esther, as seen in Esther 8:1, his position to Mordecai, as seen in 8:2 and 9:4, and finally his sons in 9:7-9. The destruction of Haman has now come to full completion.

Note in Esther 9:10 the Jews did not plunder any of these enemies, although the law gave them permission to do so. The Jews weren’t in it for the money. Unlike Haman, who sought total domination over all races and ethnic groups in the Perisan Empire, in both power and wealth, the Jews did not seek to become wealthier than any other race or ethnic group in the Persian Empire. They just wanted to defend themselves. Perhaps it is because they knew they didn’t need any national law to receive such blessings, for they knew the Lord would provide them. Shadowing Abram in Genesis 14:23, the Jews did want people, especially enemies making them rich, but God making them rich. Also consider the historical occasion and paralleling Esther 9:10 with 1 Samuel 15:19-21. King Saul, an ancestor of Mordecai, plundered King Agag, the possible ancestor to Haman. This action might have caused generations of anger, conflict and tension. The Jews in the time of Esther made sure they didn’t make the same error.

At the end of the day, the total number of fatalities is reported to King Xerxes. I can’t imagine King Xerxes happy to hear so many people within his capital city of Susa dying. He fears what could happen in the rest of his providences. But he must have understood the necessity for saving the Jews. He asks Queen Esther for further advice on what more could also be done. Esther does not ask for “up to half the kingdom,” but she does ask for a lot. Esther suggests to extend Mordecai’s law for an extra, after Haman’s law expires, to make sure that no one else wants to harm a Jew. Esther also must have been aware that her next request might further infuriate some people, causing further attacks on the Jews. She also suggests that Haman’s dead sons be hanged on the gallows, right beside their father. A note must be made here to understand the culture. Hangings in the Old Testament were rarely to execute by asphyxiation. More often, the person was executed by a different method, then the person was hanged, on either a tree or a gallows, to send a clear message to people: “Don’t commit the same crime, or else you will face the same fate.” Both of Esther’s suggestions are meant to send the same message: “The king sides with the Jews. Don’t mess with the Jews.” King Xerxes takes Queen Esther’s advice. On the second day, 300 more enemies that hated the Jews died. Once again, Esther 9:15 repeats that the Jews did not take any plunder, reaffirming that the extension of the law was merely to further ensure the Jews’ protection and self-defense, not to become more powerful or wealthy.

Esther 9:16 records what happened in all the other providences of Persia. In this 1 verse alone, the reader sees the Jews have the upper hand again. In that 1 day alone, the Jews killed 75,000 enemies that hate the Jews across the Persian Empire. This huge number causes the reader to reflect on how God’s providence has given them a great win. For a third time, the reader hears the Jews did not take any of the plunder. The Jews in the other providences of the Persian Empire reflect the same feelings as the Jews in Susa. They do not participate in this law in order to become richer or more powerful. They just seek protection and self-defense. I call you to remember the book of Esther takes places during the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Remember the Jews back in Jerusalem are struggling to rebuild the temple and rebuild the city walls, against much opposition from enemies surrounding the city. Take the phrase “get relief from their enemies” (NIV) as literally as possible! How relieved these Jews must have felt to see now the Persian government and Persian military was on their side, defending them. Now the Jews in Jerusalem could truly focus on their reconstruction projects. Comparing the Jews in Jerusalem to the Jews in Susa, the reminder that the Jews did not plunder has a stronger impact the third time around. I imagine it’s possible that the Jews in Susa might have been wealthier than the Jews in Jerusalem, living in a wealthier city (after all, the king’s palace resides there). They wouldn’t really need any plunder. But war had left the Jews in Jerusalem all in the middle class. Plundering their enemies could have increased the city’s gross capita. Instead, they saw God’s blessing not in wealth, but rather in the protection He gave them.

Most Bible start off the section about the Purim festival in verse 20. I believe it starts in verse 17 because verses 17 to 19 establish the reason why the rural Jews celebrate on a different day than the city Jews. In both instances, the festival happens the day after the slaughtering. Since the rural Jews only killed 13 day of Adar, they celebrate on the 14^th of Adar. Since the city Jews annihilated their enemies on the 13^th and 14^th of Adar, they celebrate on the 15^th of Adar.

Esther and Mordecai saw what God had done for them, and they recognize it needs to be celebrated. So Mordecai commands all the Jews to celebrate with a festival. Mordecai decides to name it Purim, after the Hebrew word pur, meaning lot. This references the lot Haman cast to decide the day on which to execute his law. It’s cool to see that when Mordecai saw God’s providence going into action. Esther 9:19-22 depicts what celebrating Purim should look like. On the appropriate day (14^th of Adar for rural Jews, 15^th of Adar for city Jews), the Jews were to give gifts of food to everyone, give gifts of all kinds to the poor, and have a big feast. If you’re reading out of the New American Standard Bible (NASB) or the English Standard Version (ESV), you’ll notice that verse 21 says Mordecai “obliged” the Jews to celebrate. In fact, the ESV uses another form of the word, “obligated,” down in verse 27, and twice more in verse 31. This strong word, along with the strong emphasis in verses 28 and 31, reveal to the reader that the Jews were required to celebrate Purim, for it’s commanded with the same force as the festivals in Leviticus.

Devout Jews today still take this command very seriously, and they still celebrate Purim. Today, they have universalized to 1 day, the 14^th of Adar, with a few important Jewish cities, like Jerusalem, also celebrating it on the 15^th of Adar. Since the Jewish calendar does not sync up perfectly with the Gregorian calendar, the date fluxuates slightly every year, but it typically is mid-March, more specifically March 15. Jews worldwide celebrate Purim universally the same, just as it is recorded in Esther 9:19-22. Jews send food gifts to friends and family. The give donations to the poor and charities. They hold a big feast with special Purim foods (just Google it or Wikipedia it for more information). Although not recorded in Esther 9, yet rightfully practiced, the book of Esther is read aloud by a woman. When Haman’s name comes up, the audience rattles noisemakers to “blot out” Haman’s name. When they read Haman’s sons’ names in Esther 9:7-9, they read it in 1 breath because Haman’s 10 sons died all at once. Depending where the Jewish community is, additional festivities are celebrated. Some Jews will greet each with such greetings as “Happy Purim,” “Have a festive Purim,” “Blessed Be Mordecai,” and “Cursed Be Haman.” Some Jews wear masks to represent how Esther hid her Jewish ethnicity and how God was hidden in the story. Synagogues will put on dramatizations of the book of Esther, in the form of plays or puppet shows. Some Jews will even go as far as burning an effigy of Haman! Some others start the observance of Purim before the actual holiday. Just like Advent before Christmas or Lent before Easter, the 3 days before Purim is a time to prepare for Purim. Following the example of Esther in Esther 4, some Jews will fast and lament to prepare themselves for Purim.

Looking back on Esther chapter 9, Esther and Mordecai saw God’s providence fully work out in the first half of the chapter. They responded to God’s providence by celebrating it in the second half of the chapter. Esther 9 teaches us God’s providence is worth celebrating. Throughout our study of Esther, I’ve been challenging you to think and meditate over how you have seen God’s providence in your life. Have you celebrated them? Have you at least praised God for them? A celebration is an act of praise! Now that you have gathered together all your memories that you see as God’s providence, I now encourage you to praise God for them and find appropriate ways to celebrate them.