Esther 8-10, The Occasion of Purim

Esther 8: The advancement of Mordecai.

·       8:3: Esther spoke to the king about the decree.  Mordecai and Esther are now safe.  But they are “others-centered.”  Esther is touched by the deep emotion of her people.

·       8:5: Esther’s wisdom is seen again.  There is another speech, with poetic construction (alternating parallelism, 1&3, 2&4). 

·       8:5-6: Her request is made known, laying all the blame on Haman, not on the king. 

·       8:8: The king gave Esther the privilege of writing what she wanted to say in his name.

·       8:11: Many feel Esther was cruel in this decree.  She wasn’t.

o   The Jews were given the right to defend, not attack.

o   Both “little ones and women,” this is a quote from Haman’s decree.  Some feel this was unnecessary, but it was necessary.  There was a certain part of the population that hated the Jews and wanted them destroyed. 

§  Note 9:11: there was an attempt in the capital to destroy them;

§  9:15: the next day 300 more were killed;

§  9:16: 75,000 were killed after an attack on the Jews.

·       8:11: The Jews weren’t interested in taking spoils.  Again, in 9:10, they killed Haman’s sons but did not take the spoil.

·       8:15: Shushan rejoiced because Haman was gone, and Mordecai was Prime Minister.  They were opposites.  They also rejoiced when the purge was over.

·       8:17: The “fear of the Jews.”  1) It could be fear of Mordecai and Esther.  2) Better yet, fear of the Lord.  The Jews had had a miracle in the sight of all.

Esther 9: Delivering of the Jews.

·       9:3: Mordecai had a great influence on other leaders.  Note: no nation has been persecuted and been in danger of destruction as the Jews.  But they continue.  The answer? The providence of God.  This was promised and prophesied in Genesis. (Ed. note: Gen. 12:1-3; and numerous other places in the OT and NT alike.)

·       9:13: Some think Esther was blood-thirsty.  Rather, it was wisdom.  There had been attacks after Haman’s set time limit.  So hers was extended also.

·       9:26: The Feast of Purim is introduced.  Purim is the plural of the word “poor.”  It begins with a “fast of Esther” for one day.  The second day, they go to the synagogue where Esther is read.  The next morning they go back, read Exodus 17:8-16, the destruction of the Amalekites.  Then they pray and read Esther again.  It is a feast according to custom, not law.   

·       10:1-3: The book closes with the greatness of Mordecai and Ahasuerus.