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About Jesus Steve Sweetman Esther 9 and 10 ch. 9:1-17 ch. 9:18-31 ch. 10:1-4 Triumph
Of The Jews (ch. 9:1 - 17)
Note
in verse 1 the 13th day of the twelfth month of Adar.
Adar is roughly part of our February and part of our March. In
the first five verses of chapter 9 we note that the day had come when
the original edict of the king would take effect, and all those who
hated Israelis attacked them. A
number of people however didn't attack them because they were afraid,
mainly because of Mordecai being the second in command in all of the
empire. Note the term "the fear of Mordecai".
Part of the Mosaic Covenant stated that if The
text says nothing about Yahweh helping the Jews conquer their enemies,
but it is implied, especially sensed we saw the Jews fasting, and even
though the text doesn't say it, I believe they prayed as well, as
in chapter 4, verse 15. This
truly was the hand of the Lord. God
was working behind the scenes, which only makes sense, because what was
really happening behind the scene is that satan was attempting to
destroy the Jews. He is
still doing the same today. From
verses 11 through 15 we note that Queen Esther had yet one more request
of Xerxes, and that was to extend the edict one more day so the Jews
could kill all ten sons of Haman and, as the NIV states, hang them for
all to see. As I've been
saying throughout this commentary, hanging from the gallows in the book
of Esther isn't being hung by the neck as we understand hanging today.
What was really done was the ten sons of Haman were impaled,
stabbed and stuck at the end of a long pole that was hoisted into the
air for all to see as a warning for those who might think they would
oppose the Jews. Verse
16 simply states that throughout the empire the Jews killed their
enemies, yet as was the case throughout the empire, they did not take
any spoil from them. The
next day was a day of feasting, and is still celebrated to this day
among many Jews in what is called "the Feast of Purim".
Purim
Celebrated (ch. 9:18 - 32) Verse
17 told us that the Jews throughout the empire rested and celebrated on
the 14th day and here in verse 18 we see that the Jews in In
verses 20 to 22 we note that Mordecai sent out an official document
throughout the empire that the Jews would celebrate both the 14th
and the 15th days of Adar every year as a time to remember
their deliverance from the hands of their enemies.
It would be a time of celebration, gift giving, and helping the
poor. It's important to note
that this particular feast of the Jews has nothing to do with the Law of
Moses. It is not one of the
seven religious feasts that Yahweh requires Jews to keep.
This is a civil holiday and has been celebrated differently at
different times throughout Israeli history. Because
the text here says that Mordecai documented all of this into the
government records, many scholars suggest that it is Mordecai who
actually wrote the book of Esther, but again, we can't say that for
sure. We just don't know. As
seen in the rest of this chapter, we note that a second letter was sent
out to the Jews to announce this new feast, now called "the Feast
of Purim", was to be celebrated each and ever year of Jewish
existence. The
chapter closes with both Mordecai and Esther, the queen, signing on to
this letter of intent, that stated that all Jews must celebrate the
Purim on the 14th and 15th day of Adar.
From chapter 9 we note that the Feast of Purim that is still
celebrated today finds its origins in the political arena of The
Greatness Of Mordecai (ch. 10:1 - 4) These
4 verses that make up chapter 10 are simply a testimony to the Law of
Moses and the faithfulness of God, even though the word "God"
does not appear in the book of Esther.
I say that because according to the Law of Moses, when Israel
sought after their God, as they did here, they would be elevated in
society. They would be the
head and not the tail as the Law of Moses stated. (Deuteronomy 28:13) On
the surface, the battle in the book of Esther is between Haman and the
Jews. In a more general
since, because I'm sure more than Haman hated the Jews, the battle was
between paganism and Judaism. That
being said, there's more to this battle than that.
The real battle is what is raging behind the scene.
The real battle is between God and satan.
The battle ground is
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