on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of 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 day of ruin becomes the day of rescue
The second decree keeps the date. What changes is what that day will produce, and who stands behind it.
H. L. RossierAnd 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)
Sent as far and faster
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.)
C E StuartAt 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.
Joy months early
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.
C E StuartWhat 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.
The day still had to be met
Confidence was not the same as passivity. The decree gave permission, but the Jews still had to use it on the day it named.
C E StuartBut 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.
A written word to be believed
Stuart turns from the story to the reader, and from a threatened life to a threatened soul.
C E StuartPassivity 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.
A picture of a coming day
Rossier finds the same pattern in what is still to come.
H. L. RossierEven 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.
Summary
- 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.