On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
Haman is dead, but the Jews across the empire are still under sentence of death. On the same day his estate passes to Esther, and the man he meant to hang comes before the king.
The Day the Danger Was Not Yet Over
The fall of one man did not make the Jews safe. Their danger reached every province of the empire, and so did God's care for them.
William KellyGod did more than catch the cruel enemy of His people completely in his own trap. He would also care for the Jews throughout the whole of the king's dominions, where they were still under sentence of death. The deliverance was not yet complete. The chief enemy was destroyed, but they were still in danger; and so Mordecai, it says, came before the king. "For Esther had told what he was to her." The king takes off his ring and gives it to Mordecai. So the Jew now comes into the place of government on the earth.
The Enemy's House Handed Over
The house of the man who plotted against the Jews now belongs to the queen he targeted. She does not keep it. Writers see more than family generosity in what she does next.
Leslie M. GrantKing Ahasuerus at once gave Esther all the possessions of Haman. Plundering the enemy left great plunder for God's chosen one. Esther also revealed her relationship with Mordecai to the king, and the king gave to Mordecai the signet ring he had previously given to Haman, in effect appointing Mordecai prime minister of Persia. Esther then committed to Mordecai the responsibility for the house of Haman. So when the authorities of this world honour the Jewish remnant, the remnant will pass that honour on willingly to the Lord Jesus.
What He Was to Her
The verse does not spell out the relationship Esther revealed. One writer names it.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinShe revealed what Mordecai was to her — her uncle and foster-father.
Esther had already named where she came from. Now she names what she owes to one man.
H. L. RossierDeliverance is at hand; but first, Esther declares what Mordecai is to her — no longer merely her origin and the people she belongs to. This is the highest confession of the Jewish wife. She openly declares the ties that bind her to the one who brought her up when she was an orphan, who advised her and redirected her in all her distress.
From the Gate to the Presence
Through the earlier chapters Mordecai sits at the king's gate. That changes here, and the ring marks the change.
J. G. BellettMordecai, instead of being any longer at the king's gate, now comes before the king and takes his ring, the seal of office and of authority, from his finger. So the Jew is lifted up at the end. All Scripture prepares us for this; and here it is illustrated. Here the historical scriptures of the Old Testament end, and here, as in a picture, the history of the earth ends.
Kelly puts the same shift in one line: the gate is behind him and the administration of the kingdom is in front of him.
William KellyMordecai no longer stays at the gate of the court, but is brought forward worthily to administer the kingdom here below, after service of the utmost value against treacherous men of blood.
A Picture of a Later Reversal
Writers read this scene forward. The pattern here — enemy fallen, property handed over, authority given — points to something still to come for Israel.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinMordecai is lifted high in this chapter. Haman's possessions are handed over to the queen and her uncle, and both receive authority. In all this we have a fine foreshadowing of what will take place when the final Haman is overthrown. That will be when the times of the Gentiles are past and the King, our Lord, has come back. Then Israel will receive her great blessings. A covenant-keeping God promised them long ago.
Summary
- The day — Haman was dead, but the Jews across the provinces were still under sentence of death. The rescue had to go further.
- The house — the enemy's wealth became plunder for the one he targeted. Esther received it and passed it on.
- The confession — Esther had already named her people. Now she names her guardian, the man who raised her as an orphan and steadied her in distress.
- The ring — Mordecai moves from the gate to the king's presence. The king gives him the ring Haman once wore.
- The kingdom — a fallen enemy, transferred wealth, granted authority: writers read this pattern as a sketch of Israel's blessing when the final Haman falls.