Greetings to all
of you once again! Welcome back to Daily Bread to study the Book of Esther.
As we ended last time, Haman was just hung on the gallows that he had made
in hopes that Mordecai would be hung on it. His hopes were foiled when
Esther told king Ahasuerus that the people who Haman convinced the king to
have destroyed, were Esther’s people.
That day, the king
gave the estate of Haman to Esther, and Mordecai stood before the king
because Esther revealed that he was her cousin. The king took off his ring
that he had taken from Haman and gave it to Mordecai, and Esther put
Mordecai in charge of the estate of Haman.
Esther spoke with
the king once again, falling at his feet and begging with tears to stop the
evil of Haman and the plot that he began against her people. Ahasuerus held
out the golden sceptre toward Esther and she stood up in front of the king
and said, If it’s alright with the king, and if I’ve found favor in your
sight, let it be written to reverse the letters created by Haman to destroy
my people that are in all the king’s provinces. How can I bear to watch the
evil that will happen to them or see the destruction of my kindred?
AHASUERUS BIBLE STORY LESSON WITH AHASUERUS BIBLE
STORY EXPLANATION AND AHASUERUS BIBLE STORY SUMMARY
The king said to
Esther and Mordecai, I’ve given Esther the estate of Haman and hung him on
the gallows because he laid his hand to your people. You may write whatever
you like in the king’s name and seal it with the king’s ring, for anything
written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man
reverse.
Did you catch
that? That means that the writing that Haman made was also in the king’s
name and sealed with his ring, so it was unlawful for any man, even the
king, to reverse it. However, the king didn’t hesitate to say to Esther
and Mordecai, Sure, go ahead, write whatever you want in my name and put my
stamp of approval on it! That’s because the hand of the Lord was intervening
to save His people. The Lord provided a way for the king to reverse the
order ... without reversing it!
The king’s scribes
were called in on the 23rd day of the 3rd month,
called Sivan, and all that Mordecai wished was written to the authorities of
all 127 provinces, in king Ahasuerus’ name and sealed with the king’s ring.
The letters were sent by messengers on horseback, mules, camels, and young
dromedaries.
Now, let’s find
out what had to be written in order to thwart the devices that Haman had put
in place. Now remember that Haman’s writing to destroy Esther and Mordecai’s
people was to take place on the 13th day of the 12th
month, so they had 8 months and 23 days to get their message to the people.
The king’s grant allowed the Jewish people in every city to gather
themselves together and stand for their life, to destroy, slay and cause to
perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them,
both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prize on the
13th day of the 12th month.
So, now there’s an
order for the people to kill all of the Jewish people, and an order for the
Jewish people to stand for their lives and kill those who try and assault
them. A copy of the writing was published for all the people so they would
be ready for that day. The messengers went out hurriedly by order of the
king, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace.
AHASUERUS BIBLE STORY INFORMATION WITH AHASUERUS BIBLE
STORY MEANING AND AHASUERUS BIBLE STORY DISCUSSION
All
this, because one man’s pride was so strong that he couldn’t bear it when
another man wouldn’t bow to him. Now, as you may know, this all happened
after the children of Israel were scattered throughout these 127 provinces
after the carry out of Jerusalem. Perhaps this was one way that God used to remind
the Medes and Persians that although He allowed the captivity of His people,
they were still His people and His strength is still in them.
Mordecai left the
presence of the king dressed royally in blue and white with a great crown of
gold and a garment of fine linen and purple and the city of Shushan was no
longer bewildered, but they rejoiced and were glad. The Jewish people had
light, and gladness, and joy, and honor and in every province when they
heard the news, they had a feast. Many of the people of the land even
became Jewish because the fear of the Jewish people fell upon them.
As you’ve seen
many times before when God’s hand was with the people of Israel during the
conquest of Canaan, nobody could prevail against them, just as Zeresh,
Haman’s wife and his friends warned him. Who would you guess will be the
victors in this story? Come on back and find out, next time, at Daily Bread.
