Commentary - Esther 8:7-17

Bird's-eye view

This passage marks the great turning point in the book of Esther. The immediate threat of Haman has been dealt with, as he has been hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordecai. But the machinery of his genocidal plot is still in motion. The law of the Medes and Persians, once sealed, cannot be revoked. This section details the brilliant and divinely orchestrated counter-move. The king, having given Haman's authority to the very people Haman sought to destroy, now empowers Mordecai to write a new, superseding decree. This new law does not cancel the old one but rather arms the Jews, giving them the legal right to defend themselves and to inflict upon their enemies the very destruction that was planned for them. The result is a complete reversal of fortune. The edict of death is answered by an edict of life and self-defense. The passage concludes with the exaltation of Mordecai, the joy of God's people, and the fear of the Lord falling upon the surrounding pagans, leading to conversions. It is a masterful display of God's ironic providence, where He uses the unchangeable laws of a pagan empire to accomplish the unchangeable purpose of preserving His covenant people.

At its heart, this is a story about how God's irreversible decree of salvation overcomes the world's irreversible decree of condemnation. The solution is not to pretend the first decree never happened, but to issue a more powerful one that brings life. The cosmic Haman has been defeated at the cross, and the King has given all authority to our Mordecai, the Lord Jesus. He now sends out His decree, the gospel, to all nations, empowering His people to stand and see their enemies routed. The result is light, gladness, joy, honor, and the nations joining themselves to the people of God.

Outline

Context In Esther

This passage is the direct consequence of the events of chapter 7, where Esther successfully exposed Haman's plot, leading to his swift execution. Chapter 8 is the pivot upon which the entire book turns. The first half of the book builds up the threat, culminating in the seemingly unstoppable edict for the Jews' annihilation in chapter 3. The second half of the book, beginning here, details the complete and total reversal of that threat. Mordecai's refusal to bow in chapter 3 led to the death sentence for his people; now, his exaltation leads to their deliverance. The irrevocable decree of chapter 3 is now met with the irrevocable counter-decree of chapter 8. This chapter provides the legal and practical mechanism for the victory that the Jews will achieve in chapter 9, and it sets the stage for the establishment of the Feast of Purim as a perpetual remembrance of this great deliverance.

Key Issues

Reversal by Royal Edict

The central problem facing Esther and Mordecai is a fascinating one. The king is on their side, and the villain is dead. But the villain's work lives on. The decree to annihilate the Jews, written in the king's name and sealed with his ring, is still the law of the land. And according to the proud tradition of the Medes and Persians, such a law cannot be turned back. The king himself is bound by his own word. This predicament is a wonderful illustration of a deeper theological reality. The law of God, which declares that the wages of sin is death, is holy, just, and good. It cannot be simply set aside or revoked. God does not save us by pretending the law does not exist. Rather, He issues a second, more powerful decree. He sends His Son, who in the king's name and sealed with the king's authority, establishes a new law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which sets us free from the law of sin and death. The first law still stands, but the second law gives us the authority to stand against it and win.

Verse by Verse Commentary

7-8 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had sent forth his hand against the Jews. Now you write to the Jews, according to what is good in your eyes, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a written decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be turned back.”

The king begins by summarizing the reversal that has already taken place. Haman's property is confiscated and given to Esther, and Haman himself has been executed. The principle of lex talionis, an eye for an eye, is already in motion. He was hanged on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai. Now, the king addresses the remaining problem: the unchangeable decree. He does not, because he cannot, revoke the first edict. Instead, he delegates his absolute authority, symbolized by the signet ring, to Esther and Mordecai. He tells them to write a new law to solve the problem. This is a picture of God the Father entrusting all authority in heaven and on earth to the Son, our exalted Mordecai, to enact our salvation.

9-10 So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces which extended from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every people according to their tongue as well as to the Jews according to their script and their tongue. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring and sent letters by the hand of couriers on horses, riding on steeds sired by the royal stud.

Notice the glorious authority of Mordecai here. The decree is written "according to all that Mordecai commanded." The man who recently sat in sackcloth at the king's gate is now dictating imperial policy. The scope is immense, from India to Ethiopia, and the logistics are impressive, with customized translations for every people group. This is a foreshadowing of the Great Commission, where the decree of the Great King is to be taken to every nation, tribe, and tongue. And just as this good news was sent out on the fastest horses from the royal stables, so the gospel is to be spread with all urgency. The authority is absolute, sealed with the king's ring.

11-12 In them the king gave the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to make a stand for their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish the entire military force of any people or province which would act as their adversaries, including little ones and women, and to plunder their spoil, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar).

Here is the content of the decree, and it is crucial that we understand it correctly. This is not a license for indiscriminate vengeance. It is a royally sanctioned right to self-defense. The Jews are authorized to fight back against "any people or province which would act as their adversaries." The language, "to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish," including women and children, is shocking to our modern ears, but it is the precise language used in Haman's original decree (Esther 3:13). This is perfect justice. The king is saying, "Whatever they intended to do to you, you are now legally permitted to do to them when they attack." This is the sword of the civil magistrate being used to protect the innocent. The date is also the same. The day that was to be the Jews' destruction is now appointed as the day of their enemies' destruction.

13-14 A copy of that which was written down to be given as law in each and every province was revealed to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers, hurried and hastened by the king’s word, went out, riding on the royal steeds; and the law was given out at the citadel in Susa.

The decree is made public. This is not a secret plot; it is the declared law of the land. This serves two purposes. First, it prepares the Jews, giving them time to organize and arm themselves. Second, it serves as a warning to their would-be attackers. Anyone thinking of enriching themselves by plundering the Jews on the thirteenth of Adar now knows they will face organized, legally sanctioned, and lethal resistance. The urgency is again stressed. The king's business requires haste. The good news of deliverance is rushed to the farthest corners of the empire.

15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and fine white, with a large crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa cried aloud and was glad.

This is the visible manifestation of the great reversal. Mordecai, who was clothed in sackcloth, is now clothed in the royal colors of Persia. He who was threatened with death now wears a great crown of gold. He is the picture of the righteous man whom God exalts. His exaltation is not a private affair; it is public, and it brings public joy. The city of Susa, which had been thrown into confusion by Haman's decree (Esther 3:15), now rejoices. The principle is this: when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice (Prov 29:2).

16 For the Jews there was light and gladness and joy and honor.

If the pagan city rejoiced, how much more the people of God? The author gives us a beautiful four-fold description of their state. They had light in place of darkness and gloom. They had gladness in place of fear. They had joy in place of mourning. And they had honor in place of the shame and contempt that Haman had sought to put upon them. This is a portrait of salvation, a foretaste of the joy of the redeemed.

17 And in each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s word and his law reached, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.

The joy was not confined to the capital. Wherever the good news of the king's decree went, it brought celebration. And here we see the evangelistic impact of God's mighty acts. Many of the pagans, the "peoples of the land," became Jews. They converted. Why? Because "the dread of the Jews had fallen on them." This was not a fear of being attacked indiscriminately. It was a holy awe. They saw that the God of the Jews was the true and living God, a God who could turn the decrees of the most powerful empire on earth inside out to save His people. They wanted to be on the side of this God. This is a wonderful Old Testament picture of the fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom, leading the nations to abandon their idols and join themselves to the people of God.

Application

The story of Esther is our story. We live in a world where a decree of death has gone out against all mankind because of sin. This decree is righteous and cannot be revoked. But our King, in His love for His bride, the church, has not left us to perish. He has defeated our great enemy, Satan, and has stripped him of his power. And He has given us, in the person of His Son, a new decree, a royal edict called the gospel.

This gospel does not erase the law of sin and death, but it gives us the authority to stand against it. It gives us the right "to make a stand for our lives." It tells us that on the great day, the enemy who comes to accuse and destroy us will himself be destroyed. Because of this, we are to live as Mordecai did after his exaltation. We are to walk in the authority and honor that Christ has won for us. Our lives should be characterized not by the sackcloth of fear but by the royal robes of our status as sons and daughters of the King. And as we live this way, with light, gladness, joy, and honor, a holy dread will fall on the world around us. They will see that our God is with us, and many will cast aside their idols and join the people of God. This is the pattern of victory God has set for His church, and we are to live in the joyful confidence of it.