[stating] that the king granted the Jews that were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that might assault them, [their] little ones and women, and to [take] the spoil of them for a prey,
This verse holds the counter-decree: Haman had fixed a day to slaughter the Jews, and Mordecai's letters name that same day as the day they may fight back. Persian law could not be recalled, so how could a second letter save them?
Persian law allowed no recall. So rescue had to come by adding a law, not by removing one.
These letters authorised the Jews in all these places to gather together to protect their own lives. They now had permission to destroy, kill and annihilate any people who assaulted them. The day set for this was the 13th day of the 12th month — the same day the first decree had authorised the killing of the Jews (vv. 11-12). So, although the laws of the Medes and Persians could not be changed, the second edict made the first one useless in practice, and did so legally.
Both letters carried the same authority, because both carried the same seal.
In Esther 3:12 and Esther 8:8 we find two letters of King Ahasuerus. The first came from Haman's influence and scheming, so that men should rise up and wipe out the Jews. The second came under Mordecai's guidance, and authorised the Jews to destroy anyone who dared lay hands on them. Both letters went out in the king's name and carried the seal of the king's ring, and neither was cancelled. No one may reverse writing that is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring. So the seal meant the unchangeable purpose and will of the one whose seal it was.
The wording of the second letter did not deny the first. It set something beside it.
The proclamation of death stood, but a proclamation of life now stood beside it. They did not need to die. Their enemies were given into their hands. They acted on this second proclamation and believed what it said. The first decree stood and no one could revoke it. Yet they learned that the second decree set them free from death and gave them liberty.
The first decree went out with the king's consent. The second went out with something more, and the animals chosen for the ride said so.
When the first decree went out, the king's command hurried the couriers on (3:15). This second time we read that Mordecai "sent letters by couriers on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries" — the swiftest animals went into the service, and the king's command hurried the messengers on (8:10, 14). Everyone could see the king's agreement to the first decree; everyone could notice his warmth in making the second one known.
Nothing about their danger had changed when the letters arrived. Yet they feasted.
Perplexity gave way to gladness; feasting took the place of fasting. Why? The thirteenth of Adar had not yet come. The first decree stood unrepealed. Why this change? The written word of that second decree had made all the difference. Relief had come; a way of escape from that dreadful doom was offered to the Jews. They believed it, and they acted as if they believed it. They were now free to stand for their lives, and to destroy, to kill, and to wipe out all the force of any people or province that would attack them. That freedom assured them of safety from death. So they could wait in complete confidence for the day they had once dreaded.
Believing the letter was not the end of it. They still had to use what the letter allowed.
But notice: the first decree still threatened them with doom. To escape it, they had to stand up for their lives and kill their attackers. They had to be active, in line with the terms of the second decree. If they let themselves go slack, death would be their portion.
Commentators see in the two decrees a picture of Israel's future — and of the gospel.
This is a very striking picture of the way Israel will be preserved and blessed through the Tribulation. Her sins against God have by law earned the solemn sentence of death. But God in great mercy will step in to give life instead of death. It is the same for all mankind today. The law of God has passed the sentence of death on all men. But God has stepped in. He sent His own Son to bear sin's penalty on Calvary, for the blessing of all who will receive His Son as Saviour and Lord.
- Sentence — Persian law allowed no reversal. The first decree was never cancelled, so the death sentence on the Jews still stood on the day of rescue.
- Seal — Rescue came by a second letter. It carried the same ring as the first, so it carried the same unbreakable authority.
- Life beside death — The death decree remained, and a decree of life stood beside it. The Jews did not need to die. Their enemies were handed over to them.
- Faith — Their joy came months before the danger passed. It rested on nothing but a written word they believed.
- Action — The decree gave permission, not rest. They had to stand for their lives; going slack would have cost them everything.
upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, upon the thirteenth of the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
The new decree names the very date the first decree had set — the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month — and sends it to every province of the empire. The first decree could not be cancelled. So how could a fixed day of doom become a day of rescue, with the date left untouched?
The second decree keeps the date. What changes is what that day will produce, and who stands behind it.
And so, the day determined for Israel's ruin becomes the day of their deliverance, but through judgment and vengeance on their enemies. The king associates himself with everything that takes place. He is the one who stretched out the golden scepter to Esther and received all her requests in grace. Now he puts his word into action, so that what he promised happens quickly. (v. 14)
The same couriers who had carried the death sentence now carried the rescue. Commentators notice a difference in how the two went out. (The commentator quotes verse 10 from an older translation.)
At the announcement of the first decree, the couriers went out, hurried on by the king's command (3:15). On this second occasion we read that Mordecai "sent letters by couriers on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries." The swiftest animals went into the service. The king's command hurried the messengers and drove them on (8:10, 14). Everyone could see that the king agreed to the first decree. Everyone could notice how eager he was to spread the second one.
The date in this verse was still far off when the letters arrived. Nothing had yet happened to the Jews' enemies. Still, the mourning stopped at once.
What a change had taken place! Confusion gave way to gladness; feasting took the place of fasting. Why? The thirteenth of Adar had not yet come. The first decree stood unrepealed. Why this change? The written word of that second decree had made all the difference. Relief had come; a way of escape from that dreadful doom was offered to the Jews. They believed it, and they acted as if they believed it.
Confidence was not the same as passivity. The decree gave permission, but the Jews still had to use it on the day it named.
But notice: if they were to escape the doom threatened by the first decree, they had to stand up for their lives and kill their opponents. They had to be active, as the second decree required. If they let themselves grow slack, death would be their portion. For they had enemies, even though the king's decree showed he was in favour of their welfare. And the thirteenth day of Adar told its own story. It bore witness to the doom that would have overwhelmed them if God had not stepped in and moved the king's heart to grant Esther's request. At Shushan the Jews killed 800 of their enemies, and in the provinces 75,000.
Stuart turns from the story to the reader, and from a threatened life to a threatened soul.
Passivity in standing up for his life would have cost a Jew dearly in the reign of Ahasuerus. Passivity about the soul's salvation now must end in everlasting ruin, unless it is corrected. Did any Jew doubt his danger when he read the first decree? Did any doubt his deliverance from death when he read the second decree? ... Every Jew knew that the king had accepted Mordecai. That acceptance was the assurance that everyone connected with him — that is, all the Jews — was accepted too.
Rossier finds the same pattern in what is still to come.
Even before vengeance falls, the Jews rejoice. Rest and perfect confidence are born in their hearts when He appears. He alone can turn wrath away from the head of the people. In just this way, the appearance of Christ will end the great tribulation, even before the final blow falls.
- Same day. The second decree keeps the date. The day fixed for ruin becomes the day of deliverance.
- Same reach. The second letters went as far as the first, and faster. The king agreed to the first decree; he was eager about the second.
- Same word. Nothing changed on the ground. A written word changed everything, and fasting turned to feasting months before the date came.
- Same demand. Believing the decree meant standing up for their lives when Adar came. Passivity would still have cost them everything.
- Same pattern. Rest comes when the deliverer appears, before the blow falls. Commentators see here a picture of Christ's appearing.