Esther 9:5

Both decrees named the same day. 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). They were permitted to act, so they gathered together to make a united stand against the many who sought their destruction. Their energy was so great that no one could withstand them (v. 2).

In Esther 9:2, "no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples." Here again we see the secret working of God's providence for His people. The nations of the empire could have formed a coalition against the tiny Jewish minority living among them. Yet no one resists in the face of the fear of the Jews. To understand why the peoples were punished so severely, we must remember what all the peoples of the empire felt toward the Jews. Fear overcame them once judgment was decreed. It was not so earlier, when their hatred seemed about to be satisfied. At that moment they were the "enemies" of the Jews and "hoped to gain the mastery over them"; they "hated them" and "sought their harm." This hatred had to meet its retribution.

As for Mordecai, he "was great in the king's house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful." He is a good picture of the Lord advancing with power into possession of His earthly sovereignty. It was the same with David when he rose to the throne. This sovereignty is not set up by one splendid, dramatic blow, to use a human expression. His royalty has not yet been established, but it is forming. It will not be final until after the last victory over his enemies. Yet his supremacy is acknowledged before all the nations are subjected to him.

Only the people "laid no hand on the plunder," in keeping with what had been prescribed concerning Amalek or the enemies of Israel. It is only a matter of executing God's judgment, without any profit for those who execute it.

Interestingly, the Jews did not take any plunder from their enemies (v. 10), which shows they were not moved by lust for gain, a picture of the pure justice that will characterize the establishment of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus.

The Jews did gather themselves together and laid their hand on all who sought their life. No one could withstand them. It is a clear picture of the day when the Jew will again be restored to his due and proper place throughout the earth.

It is the Gentile set aside, and the Jew called in. But righteousness will mark the reign of the kingdom in the time to come. Grace is what suits the church now. Carrying out righteous vengeance would be completely out of keeping with the calling of the Christian — with the church's place. But for the Jew, called in to share the kingdom in the time to come — called into the honours of the kingdom — it is exactly in season.