The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples.
The day chosen for the destruction of the Jews arrives — and the Jews are the ones left standing. The verse gives fear as the reason. It never says who sent that fear, and that is the question the chapter forces on the reader.
Fear no one could resist
The verse turns on a fear that spreads through an entire empire at once. One writer sees God's hidden hand behind it:
H. L. RossierThis chapter brings us to full deliverance. In Esther 8, the terror of the Jews had driven many people to become Jews to escape judgment. Here again we see the secret action of the providence of God in favour of His people. The nations of the empire could have joined forces against the tiny Jewish minority living among them. But no one could stand up to the fear of the Jews.
A rescue with no miracle in it
No miracle happens in this chapter, and God is never named in it. One writer makes that absence the point of the whole book:
William KellyHe who is unnamed did not fail when a greater danger threatened Israel than ever their fathers knew in the murderous tyranny of Egypt. How this was, by secret providence, without a miracle, not only turned aside but turned into the destruction of their enemies, is the story of this book.
The day of reversal
The outcome of the day was the reverse of what the enemies planned. The strength behind it did not come from the Jews themselves:
Leslie M. GrantBoth decrees named the same day. On it the enemies of the Jews expected to destroy all the Jews in the Persian empire. Instead the tables were turned completely. The Jews had the king's permission to fight for their lives, and God also gave them power to defeat and destroy all their enemies (v. 1). Since they were allowed to do this, the Jews gathered together to make a united stand against the many who sought their destruction. Their energy was such that no one could withstand them (v. 2).
Why the peoples were judged
The verse limits the Jews' action to those who sought their harm. One writer recalls what those peoples had wanted first:
H. L. RossierTo understand how severely the peoples were dealt with, we must remember how all the peoples of the empire felt about the Jews. They are overcome with fear once judgment is decreed, but that was not so while their hatred looked ready to have its fill. At that moment they were the "enemies" of the Jews and "hoped to gain the mastery over them" (Esther 9:1); they "hated them" and "sought their harm." This hatred had to meet its retribution.
A preview of a coming day
Commentators read the scene as more than history. A small, scattered people left unopposed points to a larger day:
William KellyThe Jews did gather themselves together and laid their hand upon all that sought their life. No one could withstand them. It is the clear picture of the day when the Jew will again be restored to his due and proper place throughout the earth.
The fear itself points forward too:
H. L. RossierThe situation will be the same at the end of the age; the fear that Christ will inspire will cause "kings" to "shut their mouths because of him" (Isa. 52:15) and will oblige them to obey Him.
Not a pattern for Christians
Readers who take Esther as a picture of the church run straight into a problem when the swords come out. One writer meets it head-on:
William KellySome take Esther as a picture of the Lord's dealings with the church. One sees at once what deep confusion that makes. Not so. It is the Gentile set aside and the Jew called in. But righteousness will be the character of the kingdom's reign in the coming day. Grace is what suits the church now. Carrying out righteous vengeance would not fit the Christian's calling at all. It would not fit the church's place.
The two deliverances take different roads:
William KellyThe Jews pass through the fires of that day, and those fires purify them. The church is simply caught up to be with Christ.
Summary
- Fear first. Before a single blow lands, fear falls on every people — a defeat won in the enemy's mind, not on the battlefield.
- Hidden hand. No miracle, no divine name, no visible rescue. The reversal comes by "secret providence," seen only in its result.
- Power given. The king's permission let them fight. The power no one could resist came from God.
- Empire-wide reach. A scattered minority stands unopposed in every province. Commentators see in it the coming day when the Jew is restored and kings fall silent before Christ.
- Right place, right time. Righteous vengeance belongs to that coming kingdom, not to the church. Grace is what suits the Christian's calling now.