Esther 9:24–32

Haman was the son of Hammedatha the Agagite (Esther 3:1-10; Esther 8:3, 5; Esther 9:24). Fürst says that Josephus explains Haman's Gentile name as meaning "Amalekite by race," and Jewish tradition says the same. That is, Haman was an Amalekite. This explains why Mordecai refused to bow down before Haman. He belonged to the race the LORD had sworn to fight for ever, and the race Saul had orders to destroy completely.

He must have the blood of all the Jews; his heart will not be satisfied by the life of the one who had refused to honour him. He must have the lives of the whole nation. He breathes the spirit of the enemy of Israel. That enemy later says, "Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!" (Ps. 83).

The Antichrist will rage against those who do not acknowledge his power and authority, and who refuse to bear his mark on their forehead and hands. Haman's fury is like it. It burns against a man who despises his person and refuses his yoke, and it knows no limits. But he would have scorned to put Mordecai alone to death. He must strike him down together with all his people. Haman cast Pur (that is, the lot) to learn when this extermination should take place. He believes in this superstitious practice. Later the Antichrist will do the same and consult the "god of fortresses" (Dan. 11:38). Even the most unbelieving man must have some religion: a fact we may observe every day.

The lot points to the twelfth month for the massacre of the Jews. Why not the third or the fourth month, to take away any chance of escape from the oppressed people? Is it not once again hidden Providence which directs everything as always? What can "the enemy of the Jews" (Esther 9:10, 24) do against the secret counsels of Providence? He must obey the lot he has consulted, and from that point his swift road to death and judgment begins.

The two-day feast the Jews set up at this time was called Purim, after Pur, the lot Haman cast with the aim of destroying the Jews. Very likely the Jews knew Solomon's proverb, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). Haman had expected demon power to back him up. But no doubt the Jews recognised that the Lord had stepped in with His own clear decision. The Jews did recognise the Lord's hand in this. Yet God still did not allow His name to be mentioned in public.

Amalek is always the bitter enemy of Israel. His final overthrow will come with the second coming of Christ... This Haman, the Amalekite, is later called "the Jews' enemy" (verse 10). He foreshadows that final enemy. That enemy rises to trouble Israel and tries to wipe them out before the King of Israel appears.

The Amalekite and his company cast the lot, the Pur, only to fix the day for this act of extermination. But as we know, the lot may be "cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Prov. 16:33). And so it was here. Eleven long months stand between the two dates. The lot was cast on the thirteenth day of the first month, and it fixed the slaughter of the nation for the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. That time was given so that God would ripen His purposes toward both His people and their enemies.

Verses 24-25 briefly retell the history of the plot of Haman the Agagite to wipe out the Jews. He cast Pur, that is, the lot, which in Haman's case meant consulting evil spirits. At first his scheme seemed to be working. Then Esther stepped in — the king not only respected her, he loved her — and the whole plot came out into the open. So Haman's wickedness recoiled on his own head, and he and his sons were hanged on the gallows he had put up for Mordecai.

God does not only use circumstances or events to carry out His purposes. He also uses people — whether godly people like Mordecai and Esther, or ungodly and wicked people like Haman... God's dealings with people never contradict or remove man's responsibility. Man is not a puppet in His hand... In the book of Esther this is seen in connection with the great enemy and hater of the Jews called "this wicked Haman" (7:6). In the end, his wickedness resulted in his own destruction and their salvation. People may call this irony, but it is nothing of the kind. It was God's hand and purpose. It was also the outcome of Haman's own free decision, and he was fully responsible for all his decisions and actions.

So the evil Haman planned came back violently on his own head, as Ecclesiastes 10:8 warns, "He who digs a pit will fall into it."

It is beautifully significant that Haman hangs on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. At the cross, Satan was defeated. Through death, the one who had the power of death was destroyed (Heb. 2:14). What looked like a great defeat turned out to be the greatest victory of all time — and the end of the adversary.

Here again, notice, the book holds to its character all the way through. Even here it does not name Him whom it would normally be the highest duty to proclaim. Yet the complete contrast shows up in man's own word. The Talmud lays down that at the feast of Purim a man should drink until he cannot tell the difference between "Blessed be Mordecai" and "Cursed be Haman."

Only one feast, the feast of Purim, is mentioned in this book: a new feast that will last forever in memory of the deliverance of God's earthly people... So ends this account. It brings us to the dawn of the glorious time that follows deliverance, and points us prophetically to the threshold of the millennial reign of Christ.

A feast, meaning 'lot or lots.' Haman cast lots to find a favourable day for the destruction of the Jews. When that danger passed, the Jews kept a yearly feast to remember their deliverance. Esther 3:7; Esther 9:24-32. It fell on the 14th and 15th of Adar.

God overruled among His people how the lot should fall... He could also direct it among the nations to work out His own purposes, as He did in the case of Haman. The result delayed his plan for so long that Esther had time to act. New decrees could go out all over the kingdom, so that the Jews might be saved from destruction. Esther 3:7; Esther 9:24.

Very likely the Jews were familiar with Solomon's proverb, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord" (Proverbs 16:33). Haman had expected demonic power to back him up. But no doubt the Jews recognised that the Lord had intervened with His own clear decision. Yet, even though the Jews surely did recognise the Lord's hand here, God did not allow His name to be even mentioned publicly.

In the book of Esther we have no more than the witness of secret providence in the face of the most extreme dangers. It looks on to that grand public outcome. Meanwhile it produces a striking and lasting ordinance of Him who delivers though unseen.

It is Mordecai who, like the future Messiah, orders joy and rest. The Jews submit themselves to the written word of a man who had been unknown and ignored by all, including themselves. God had now exalted him in the sight of everyone.

The memory of these days lives on from age to age. This book mentions only one feast, the feast of Purim: a new feast which will last for ever in memory of the deliverance of God's earthly people. Esther and Mordecai are in perfect harmony with the people; what Esther and Mordecai establish, the people establish for themselves... This account ends by leading us to the dawn of the glorious time that follows deliverance, and it leads us prophetically to the threshold of the millennial reign of Christ.

The New Testament never mentions this feast by name. Some suppose John 5:1 refers to it, but there is no hint of that, and such a feast did not call the Lord to go to Jerusalem.

The Talmud lays down that at the feast of Purim a man should drink until he cannot tell the difference between "Blessed be Mordecai" and "Cursed be Haman." "Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?" Judaism, and Christendom where Christ is ignored, both sink into the driest ditch of paganism. Both dare to approve a wild carnival where there had once been a holy feast.

A feast, meaning "lot" or "lots." Haman cast lots to find a favourable day for the destruction of the Jews. When that plan was stopped, the Jews marked their deliverance with a yearly feast. It fell on the 14th and 15th of Adar. The Jews still keep the feast. They read the Book of Esther, and they pronounce curses on Haman and on his wife, and blessings on Mordecai and on Harbonah.

The two-day feast the Jews established at this time was called Purim. The name refers to Pur, the lot Haman cast in order to destroy the Jews. Very likely the Jews knew Solomon's proverb, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord" (Proverbs 16:33). Haman had expected demon power to back him up. But no doubt the Jews recognised that the Lord had stepped in with His own clear decision. They surely did recognise the Lord's hand in this. Yet God still did not allow anyone to even mention His name publicly.

So the Jews established the feast of Purim and imposed it on themselves and their descendants. They took on the urgent responsibility of celebrating these days every year. The feast continued in every family of the Jews, wherever they were, so that they would never let the memory of this great occasion fade from their minds (vv. 26-28).

Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Persia. His aim was to confirm the yearly observance of the Feast of Purim at the appointed time. Esther was joined with this decree as well. From that time Israel has gone on observing the Feast of Purim, even where Jews are scattered in other lands.

The Jews read Esther during the Purim feast, on 14th and 15th Adar (February/March). So it is one of the best-known Old Testament books among the Jews. It also has the oldest surviving copies. The book of Esther has supported the Jewish people in their national hope, above all in days of persecution.

So the history here speaks of Purim as a feast of the Jews, not a "feast of the Lord." Leviticus 23:1 speaks of "The Feasts of the Lord." But in John 2:13 the Passover is called "the Passover of the Jews," and another feast of the Lord was called "the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles" (John 7:2). Why? Because the Jews were not seeking the Lord's honour first of all, but their own enjoyment.

The Talmud lays down that at the feast of Purim a man should drink until he cannot tell the difference between "Blessed be Mordecai" and "Cursed be Haman." "Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?" (Isaiah 2:22). Judaism, and Christendom where Christ is ignored, both sink into the driest ditch of heathenism. Both dare to sanction a drunken carnival where there had been a holy feast.

The memorial of these days is carried on from age to age. This book mentions only one feast, the feast of Purim. It is a new feast which will last for ever, in memory of the deliverance of God's earthly people... So ends this account. It leads us to the dawn of the glorious time that follows deliverance, and leads us prophetically to the threshold of the millennial reign of Christ.

The final part of this chapter tells of a message that Mordecai sent to the Jews in the provinces of the Persian kingdom. He told them to observe these days, the feast of Purim. Queen Esther also wrote with all authority confirming this second letter of Purim.

It is Mordecai who, like the future Messiah, orders joy and rest. "The Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them." They submit to the written word of a man who had been unknown and ignored by everyone, including themselves. God had now exalted him in the sight of all.

A feast, meaning 'lot or lots.' Haman cast lots to find a good day to destroy the Jews. When that plan came to nothing, a yearly feast marked their deliverance instead. It fell on the 14th and 15th of Adar. The Jews still keep the feast. They read the Book of Esther, curse Haman and his wife, and bless Mordecai and Harbonah.

Very likely the Jews were familiar with Solomon's proverb, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). Haman had expected demonic power to back him up. But no doubt the Jews saw that the Lord had stepped in with His own clear decision. The Jews surely did recognise the Lord's hand in this. Yet God still did not allow His name to be mentioned in public at all.

This book mentions only one feast, the feast of Purim. It is a new feast that will last forever in memory of the deliverance of God's earthly people. Esther, Mordecai, and the people are in perfect harmony. What Esther and Mordecai set up, the people set up for themselves. So this account ends. It leads us to the dawn of the glorious time that follows deliverance, and points us on to the threshold of the millennial reign of Christ.

Mordecai is a Jew who acts fully in the king's interest, and in the end the king exalts him. He represents Christ… Esther represents the true bride: the future faithful Jewish remnant.

Here again the book keeps to its character. Even now it does not name Him whom it would normally be the highest duty to proclaim. Yet man's word makes the full difference plain. The Talmud lays it down that at the feast of Purim a man should drink until he does not know the difference between "Blessed be Mordecai" and "Cursed be Haman." … Judaism, and Christendom where Christ is ignored, each sink to the lowest depths of paganism. Both dare to approve a drunken carnival where there had once been a holy feast.

The Jews set up the feast of Purim and laid it on themselves and their descendants. They took on the urgent responsibility of celebrating these days every year. The feast continued in every family of the Jews, wherever they were, so that the memory of this great occasion would not fade from their minds.

Esther and Mordecai are in perfect harmony with the people. What Esther and Mordecai establish, the people establish for themselves (v. 31). Every generation celebrates what was "written in the book" (v. 32) on the occasion of their fasting and their cry. So ends this account. It leads us to the dawn of the glorious time that follows deliverance, and it leads us in prophecy to the threshold of the millennial reign of Christ.

The king of the nations no longer appears on the scene except in dependence on Esther and Mordecai. They alone are in question until the end of the chapter. It is Mordecai who, like the future Messiah, orders joy and rest. "The Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them." They submit to the written word of a man who had been unknown and ignored by everyone, including themselves. God had now exalted him in the sight of all.

How this danger was turned aside by secret providence, without a miracle, and even turned into the destruction of their enemies, is the story of this book… So here is the ground of a feast, added to the original feasts of the law. That feast carried its own special record of a merciful intervention, on a day so evil that everything most excellent and cherished by faith went unmentioned.

Notice again that the book keeps to the character stamped deeply on it. Even now it does not name Him — the One whom it would normally be the highest duty to proclaim.

In all of these instructions it seems strange that God is not mentioned. Yet it is clear that God's hand of protecting care had been over the Jews, to deliver them from their enemies. Very likely the Jews did include God's name in their celebration. But Scripture says nothing of this, because the Jews at that time showed no evidence of obedience to God. In effect He was disowning them in public, while caring for them behind the scenes.

The language of verse 22 is beautiful and full of meaning. The Jews were to celebrate the 14th and the 15th day "as the days on which the Jews rested from their enemies", "the month that was turned to them from sorrow to joy", and "from mourning into a good day"… Finally, the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7) will be over. The Jews — long scattered and persecuted — will "rest from their enemies", and Israel will enter its sabbath rest.