Commentary - Esther 9:1-19

Bird's-eye view

We now come to the great reversal. For months, a day of doom has been marked on the calendar for the people of God. The enemies of the Jews have been sharpening their swords, eagerly awaiting the day when the law of the Medes and Persians would grant them license to annihilate their neighbors. But God, whose name is not mentioned once in this book but whose hand is everywhere in it, had other plans. This entire chapter is about peripety, a sudden and dramatic turn of events. The gallows Haman built for Mordecai was used for Haman himself, and now the day appointed for the destruction of the Jews becomes the day of the destruction of their enemies. This is not a story of vengeance, but of righteous, God-ordained, government-sanctioned, defensive warfare. It is the story of the seed of the serpent bruising the heel, and the seed of the woman crushing the head.

What we witness here is the outworking of God's covenant promises. The conflict is ancient, going back to the Amalekites, and the victory is a foretaste of the final victory of Christ over all His enemies. The Jews act decisively, the civil authorities assist them, and the result is rest and feasting. This is the pattern of the gospel: through a great battle, God brings His people into a place of gladness and celebration.

Outline

Context In Esther

Esther chapter 9 is the bloody and triumphant climax of the book. The central conflict, instigated by Haman the Agagite in chapter 3, is now resolved. The edict of destruction he engineered is still technically law, but the counter-edict secured by Esther and Mordecai in chapter 8 has authorized the Jews to defend themselves. This chapter is the execution of that defense. It is the culmination of all the providential twists and turns: the sleepless night of the king, the reading of the chronicles, Mordecai's elevation, and Haman's fall. God's hidden hand is now revealed in the open and decisive action of His people, who move from a position of imminent annihilation to one of total victory over their enemies.

Key Issues

The Great Reversal

Esther 9:1

The day arrives. The twelfth month, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day. This is the date that Haman selected by casting the lot, the Pur, thinking it was a day of good fortune for his wicked scheme. The king's word and law were set to be done. But there were two laws now, one of annihilation and one of self-defense. The enemies of the Jews had a deep seated hope, a lust, to gain power over them. But then we have one of the great gospel sentences of the Old Testament: "it was turned around." The Hebrew word here is foundational. It means to be overturned, reversed. The hunters became the hunted. The intended victims became the victors. This is what our God does. He takes the plans of wicked men, He lets them proceed right up to the brink, and then He turns them on their head. The cross was the ultimate example of this. The day the enemies of God thought they had won was the very day of their ultimate defeat.

Esther 9:2

The Jews acted in concert. They assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces. This was not vigilante justice; this was an organized, legal act of self-preservation authorized by the king. They gathered "to send forth their hand against those who sought their calamity." Note the precision. They did not attack indiscriminately. They rose against those who were, at that very moment, seeking to destroy them. And the result? "No one could stand before them." This was not due to superior military training. The reason is given plainly: "for the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples." This is a supernatural act. This is the promised blessing of God on His people, that He would put the fear of them into their enemies (Deut. 2:25). God was fighting for them, and the first weapon He deployed was terror in the hearts of the opposition.

Esther 9:3-4

And it was not just the common people who were afraid. All the civil magistrates, from the highest princes and satraps down to the local governors and royal officials, were actively helping the Jews. They "advanced" them, meaning they supported them, facilitated their defense. The reason is again specified, and it is wonderfully political. It was because "the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them." Mordecai was now the prime minister, "great in the king's house," and his fame was growing. The bureaucrats and officials knew which way the wind was blowing. They knew who was in the king's favor, and they acted accordingly. This is a crucial lesson in the providence of God. God does not just work through miracles; He works through ordinary means like political influence and the self-interest of government officials. When God raises up a righteous man to a place of authority, it has a profound downstream effect on the entire culture.

Esther 9:5

Here is the summary statement of the battle. The Jews "struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and causing them to perish." There is no need to soften this. This was a real battle with real swords and real death. This was the consequence of a genocidal plot. And they "did what they pleased to those who hated them." This does not mean they engaged in wanton cruelty. In the context of the legal decrees, it means they carried out the judgment to its full and necessary extent. The pleasure was not in the suffering of their enemies, but in the deliverance God had granted them and the establishment of justice and peace.

Esther 9:6-10

The scene shifts to the capital, the citadel in Susa, the very heart of the empire. Here the Jews killed 500 men. This indicates how deeply the conspiracy ran; even in the king's own city, there were hundreds who rose up to destroy the Jews. Then we have the list of names. Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, and the rest. These are the ten sons of Haman. It is important that they are named. This is not an abstract report; it is a personal accounting. The line of Haman the Agagite, the adversary of the Jews, is now cut off. The judgment on the house of the wicked is complete. And then, for the first time, we get this crucial detail: "but they did not send forth their hand for the plunder." This is repeated three times in the chapter, so we had better pay attention. This was not a war for profit. This was about justice. By refusing the plunder, they demonstrated the purity of their motives. They were not looters. They were executing a righteous judgment. This stands in stark contrast to King Saul, who, when commanded to destroy the Amalekites, sinfully kept the plunder (1 Sam. 15).

Esther 9:11-14

The body count from Susa is brought to the king. Ahasuerus then speaks to Esther, recounting the facts: 500 men and Haman's ten sons are dead in the capital alone. He then asks what has happened in the provinces, before renewing his offer to her: "So what is your petition? It shall even be given to you." Esther's response is, to our modern sentimental ears, quite shocking. She asks for two things. First, that the Jews in Susa be given one more day to do what they did today. This tells us the threat was not yet extinguished in the capital. There were still enemies who needed to be dealt with. Second, she asks that Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows. They were already dead, so this was not a second execution. This was a public posting of the bodies. This was to make a public spectacle of the justice that had been done, to serve as a potent deterrent to any who would consider such wickedness in the future. It was a declaration that treason against the king and his people would be met with utter ruin. The king agrees, the law is given, and the sons are hanged.

Esther 9:15

The second day comes, and the Jews in Susa assemble again. They kill another 300 men. The nest of conspirators in the capital was large indeed. And for the second time, the text makes the point explicit: "but they did not send forth their hand for the plunder." Their motives remained pure. This was about securing their lives and their future, not enriching themselves.

Esther 9:16-17

Now the narrative pans out to the rest of the provinces. The Jews there also assembled "to make a stand for their lives and obtain rest for themselves from their enemies." The purpose is clear: self-defense leading to peace. They killed 75,000 of those who hated them. This is a massive number, and it reveals the terrifying scope of the anti-Semitic plot Haman had unleashed. And for the third and final time, we are told, "but they did not send forth their hand for the plunder." The point is hammered home. This was a righteous, defensive war, not a greedy raid. In the provinces, the work was done on the thirteenth, and so on the fourteenth, they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

Esther 9:18-19

A distinction is made for Susa. Because their battle extended for two days, the thirteenth and the fourteenth, they rested on the fifteenth. And so they made the fifteenth a day of feasting and gladness. This explains the two different dates for the celebration of Purim. The Jews in the rural areas, the unwalled towns, celebrate on the fourteenth, while those in walled cities (like Susa) celebrate on the fifteenth. The chapter ends by establishing the character of this new holiday. It is a day of gladness, feasting, and a holiday for "sending portions of food to one another." This is a tangible expression of covenant community. They had faced destruction together, they had fought together, and now they would feast together. Sharing food was a way of sharing in the great deliverance God had provided.

Application

The book of Esther is in the Bible to teach us how God governs the world. He does it through His exhaustive, meticulous, and often hidden providence. But when the time for action comes, He expects His people to act with courage and faith. The great reversal in this chapter is a picture of the gospel. The day that was meant for our death became, through the cross of Christ, the day of our deliverance and the death of our enemies: sin, death, and the devil.

We learn here the legitimacy of righteous self-defense. The Jews were not pacifists, and when their lives and the lives of their children were threatened by a genocidal plot, they took up the sword with the full sanction of the civil magistrate. We also learn that when God's people act in righteousness, God often grants them favor with the authorities and puts a dread in the hearts of their enemies.

Finally, we see the biblical pattern of battle followed by feasting. We fight our battles against sin and temptation, not with carnal weapons, but with the sword of the Spirit. And as we do, we look forward to the great feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb, where we will celebrate our final rest from all our enemies. Until that day, we remember God's deliverances, just as the Jews remembered theirs in the feast of Purim, and we send portions to one another, strengthening the bonds of our covenant community as we await our King.