Esther 8:10  And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
11  Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to 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 prey,
12  Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
13  The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14  So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
15  And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
16  The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
17  And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

In verse 10 we see that Mordecai was now doing the same thing that Haman had done earlier. He was writing a letter in the king’s name. He sealed the letter with the king’s ring and sent the letters out by posts. The difference was in the content of the letter. This letter was to give the Jews protection from the attacks of the Gentiles against them.
We notice as well that the means of sending out the letters is given here. Mordecai enlisted men on horseback, mules, camels and young dromedaries.
The dromedary is a single hump camel and it is known for its speed. The message that Mordecai was sending out needed to get out quickly and thus the best types of transportation were enlisted.
The content of this letter was given in verses 10-11. Notice again that the king granted permission for the Jews to gather together and to not only protect themselves but also go on the offensive. The king did not see the letter, but he gave Mordecai permission to use his name and his seal. The Persian empire was being set up for unrest and loss of life. The day of this protective action was set for the same day as the assault first encouraged by Haman.
The letter was sent out to every province in the empire. There were 127 provinces and each one needed to be covered quickly. It was not a matter of typing up a letter and posting it on the Internet. These letters needed to go out by human transportation. They would probably had gone out quicker than our current postal system operates. There were no unions and no careless people involved in this service.
The Jews were encouraged to be ready to protect themselves on that particular day. Even though Persia was a pagan empire, the Jews would now have some protection against the antisemitism that had been promoted.
This would be different than what we are witnessing in Canada and the U.S. right now. The antisemites are running rampant and blocking roads and airports and holding protests and the Jews are feeling quite vulnerable at this time. Neither country is willing to stop the antisemite protests. Neither country is willing to defend the Jews. Some Jews are seeing the need to go back home. The world is not the friend of the Jew, nor is it the friend of the born again Christian. The Jews need to get saved and serve the Lord. There are some saved Jews, but not many. The born again Christians need to stand for truth and speak the truth openly and boldly.
In verse 15 we see that Mordecai now has the royal apparel. He even has a golden crown to wear. We read that the city of Sushan rejoiced and was glad to see this change. Even ungodly people get tired of the oppressive nature of some of the wicked. Haman was so full of himself that he was a danger to himself and to anyone who would cross him.
In verse 16 we read that the Jews had light, gladness, joy and honour. They were seen in a different light now. Sadly, they had not shown the true reason why they should have light, gladness, joy and honour. It was just a different view of secular Jews. The Jews were to be a light. They were to be a testimony of the goodness of God. It was God that needed to be elevated in Persia. This was not happening.
God had been good to the Jews. Yes, He had sent the Babylonians in to punish them. Many Jews were killed during those invasions. Others were taken captive. However, God was providing a way for the Jews to live in exile. He also promised to bring them back into their own land after the 70 years of exile. The Jews that were left in Persia at the time of Esther chose not to go back. They had grown comfortable in a foreign land.
In verse 17 we see that there was joy in every city where the king’s commandment went. There was also a feast and a good day. It was a sigh of relief that the threat of annihilation was abated. We read as well that many people became Jews, just to avoid the hostilities that were coming. You notice in the final sentence of verse 17, that the fear of the Jews fell upon them. It was not the fear of God, but the fear of the Jews. This would not resolve the longterm problem. In fact this would continue to build the division between the Jew and the Gentile. That division has been there for centuries. There are too many people who believe that the Jews are bad people who are crooks and that they are behind the evil in society.
It is true that some Jews have risen to places of great influence. It is also true that ungodly Jews can be just as ruthless as ungodly Gentiles. The solution to this is not to despise the Jews. The key to this is to proclaim the truth across the world and remind both Jews and Gentiles of the importance of knowing the true God.

Isaiah 48:22  There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

Isaiah 57:21  There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

Jeremiah 6:14  They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Jeremiah 8:11  For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

God does not lie. There is no peace apart from knowing the Prince of Peace. Those who are truly saved, need to be truthful in their behaviour and their words. Secular “Christianity” is just as wrong as secular “Israel”. Those who are saved have a very important and necessary function in the world. Let us be faithful in standing for the truth and serving the Lord in truth.
Pastor Bartel