Esther 10:1

Esther 10 is a kind of appendix. It sums up in a few words the final result of the events that came before. After the deliverance of the Jews, the sovereign power that Ahasuerus represents sees all the land submit to him and pay him tribute. It sees far more than that: the isles of the sea, which never belonged to the king at the start, submit and pay tribute as well. This is a faint image of the kingdom set up over the whole world.

From an inferior to a superior… This also took the form of tribute, an acknowledgement of submission… When Solomon reigned supreme, "all the earth" sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom, and brought presents, as did the queen of Sheba. This is a picture of Christ's kingdom set up on earth. Then all nations will send presents to the Lord Jesus as willing tribute.

The throne that had exalted the Jew, and put down his oppressor, now rules over everything. It lays a tribute on the land and on the isles of the sea. We know that, by and by, the king in Zion will have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

The book ends with a beautiful view of the great king whose authority reached over the land and the isles of the sea. In man's hand this always comes with a tribute laid on all his subjects. They must give to him, rather than he to them. The just balance never will and never can be reached to God's glory until He fills the place of the giver openly and beyond dispute. He surely purposes to do this, and will do it, in Christ the Lord. Christ has already proved it for life and eternal redemption, and He will come to display it in the kingdom soon.

This remarkable book closes by announcing the greatness of the Persian Empire under King Ahasuerus. As with every other kingdom of the nations, however, this magnificence was only fleeting. Alexander the Great was swiftly raised to the head of the Grecian Empire, and he overcame and displaced the Persian Empire, just as the Lord had prophesied through His servant Daniel. But for a brief time Ahasuerus accomplished great things, and especially because he had advanced Mordecai the Jew to a position of great prominence. Mordecai is a picture of the Lord Jesus being given His place of great power in the coming kingdom. It is always true that when this blessed Son of God is given His true place, whether in a nation or in the history of an individual, the result is great blessing.

All of these points prefigure the coming exaltation of Christ among His people, the Jews… The time of the Gentiles will have come to an end — the time when the nations trample Jerusalem… Christ will reign supreme, not only in Israel, but to the ends of the earth. It will be God Himself who "advances" the Man of His counsel to such glory.