Esther 8:8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.
9 Then were the king’s scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.
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.
As we have noted already, king Ahasuerus was not a hands on leader. He loved his place of power and riches. God would use this careless nature of the king for His glory. In verse 8 the king has transferred power from Haman to Mordecai. Esther had a great impact on the king. We have already noted that her union with the king was not according to God’s will. God does not force anyone to do His will. He shows us over and over again, the blessings that are there for those who will submit to His will. He also shows us the way those who do not want to know Him, will struggle to try to “manufacture” His blessings. They cannot do it. Those people will find a pseudo religion that will appease their guilty conscience, but do nothing to show them the truth.
God works with fallible people. He desires to bless people, but He will work with those who do not know Him as well. He will be glorified. The wise person submits to Him and benefits from His being glorified.
In our text, God was working to demonstrate His faithfulness to His promise made to Abraham many generations earlier. The Persian Empire had a law that what was written and signed for by the king could not be reversed. That was why the Jews were still in danger, even though Haman was dead. His letters, sealed with the king’s ring, were still out there, and they could not be repealed.
The only solution to this was to write a new letter that would counter the previous letter. This would create some confusion and again demonstrate the disorderly nature of the government of Persia.
We need God to govern us if we want an orderly government. This is true for our personal lives. It is true for a family and it is true in a local church and also in government.
We are currently witnessing that this is rarely the case. Most people refuse to be governed by the LORD. Many give lip service to Him, but few are willing to submit to Him. This is not good on a personal level nor on a societal level.
In verse 9 we see that the king’s scribes were now called in to work on a new letter that would counter the one sent out by Haman. This was now the twenty third day of the third month. Mordecai was not an irrational man like Haman or the king. He had greater discipline in his life than they did. He had some good qualities. However, he was lacking in the most important quality that any man needs. He did not walk in the fear of the LORD.
Mordecai had the authority of the king backing up what he wrote here. He had the king’s ring to seal the document. This was necessary to make the letter legitimate.
Once again we see that there were translators who could translate this letter into the many languages involved in that Empire. Keep in mind the Persian Empire was a world empire. It had taken over the Babylonian Empire and expanded it. It was easier to translate needed documents into the many different languages than to try to force the people to learn one language. The Persian Empire would not be around long enough to be able to accomplish this.
In Canada we are having an increasingly problematic situation where people are coming in from different countries, but they do not want to be Canadians. They do not want to learn the language of this country. This country has long been divided by the French. They want dominance and the English are too weak to say no to this unnecessary expense. Now we have the Indians finding out the weakness of the government and they are demanding streets be renamed with Indian names. Regular people cannot pronounce the names, but we spend millions of tax dollars to try to appease them. Then we have people coming into this country from other areas, mostly Muslim areas who do not want to join our country. They want to overthrow it.
A recent nomination in Ontario had a large non-Canadian population who do not speak nor understand English. The ballots had foreign writing on them. People had to be coached in who to vote for. It was corrupt and yet it was accepted.
Back in our text, in verse 10 we read that the letter that Mordecai had written, was sealed with the king’s ring and it bore his name on it. The king again consented to something without even knowing what was written. This letter was sent out with an urgency. The fate of the Jews was at stake. They needed time to organize their defence against the attack letter that was sent out by Haman.
In verse 11 we read that the letter granted the Jews the freedom to gather together and to stand for their life. He would not enlist his armies to defend the Jews. He did give them the authority to defend themselves. Not only that, but they could also take the spoil of those they defended themselves against.
In verse 12 we read that this authority was for one day, the “thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.” The threat against the Jews was real, but interestingly, the Gentiles would not be constantly seeking to destroy the Jews. They would wait until the time was granted in Haman’s letter.
This was different than what we see in Canada and across the world now. Jews are not safe any day. Even in Israel they have to be on guard against enemy attacks. This is all the result of their rejection of the Messiah — the Lord Jesus Christ. God will not allow them to be destroyed, but He is not stopping them from living in fear. They have chosen to reject living in the fear of the LORD, and the fear of man brings a snare.
The same is true for us as Gentiles. We need to understand the blessing of living in the fear of the LORD. That fear is not a crippling fear. It is a righteous fear that respects the authority of the true God. He is just and He is good. The wise person submits to Him. He is not like our wicked governments who seek to silence dissent through unjust means. God knows that disagreement with Him is not wise, but has chosen to show why submission to Him is wise. He does not force Himself on anyone. Many will regret playing games with God. It will not be pleasant for those who stand at the great white throne judgment. Thousands upon thousands will be there because they have chosen to reject the truth. There are thousands of false teachers who are spewing lies suggesting they are speaking on behalf of God. God does not give His “ring” to anyone. He has given us His Word. Corrupting His Word is extremely unwise and dangerous to the corrupters and to those who choose to accept the corruption. The wise person seeks out the truth. The Holy Spirit is working to reveal the Truth to all. It is important to let Him lead you to the Truth.
Pastor Bartel