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Esther 6-10    Listen

Surprise, surprise, surprise! (Esther 6)

1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
3 Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” ¶ And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
4 ¶ So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5 ¶ The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” ¶ And the king said, “Let him come in.”
6 ¶ So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” ¶ Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”
7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.
9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’|”
10 ¶ Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”
11 ¶ So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”
12 ¶ Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.
13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.”
14 ¶ While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

Our story continues from Esther 5 (see notes).
King Ahasuerus can't sleep. Quick! Somebody read to the king so he can fall to sleep! Reading material is scarce; he has them read to him the accounts of memorable events since he has been king. Hey! Here's one: Remember when Mordecai uncovered the assassination plot against the king? Well, it just so happens that this account is read to the king; it occurs to the king that nothing was done back then to reward Mordecai for this noble deed. "Find me somebody to take care of rewarding Mordecai!" the king commands. It just so happens that Haman is up early this morning; ironically, he's outside the king's chamber getting ready to ask for Mordecai's execution - got the gallows built and just needs a few papers signed. Haman gets the call to appear before the king. The king wants to honor somebody...royally. How best do we proceed, Haman? Haman mistakenly thinks the king is talking about Haman himself as the one to be royally honored, and he accordingly comes up with an elaborate list of actions for this occasion.

You simply must pay close attention to verses 7-9 where Haman recites his five-ways-to-honor-a-guy list to the king:

7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.
9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’|”

It would have been a picture-perfect moment to see the look on his face when he finds that he's being charged with honoring Mordecai just that way - the Jewish guy for whom he is seeking an execution - not himself. This probably isn't a good time to ask for that execution. Haman performs his Mordecai-honoring duties according to his own specifications that very day. And that evening his wife and advisors astutely point out that this could possibly derail their kingdom-wide Jew extermination plans. "Oh, well - still got that special banquet at the queen's house tonight. That should turn my day from gloom to glory!" Haman probably thought. Haman doesn't realize it yet, but that banquet's not going to be much fun either.

Haman! Enjoy your last banquet! (Esther 7:1-6)

1 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther.
2 And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
3 ¶ Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
4 For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”
5 ¶ So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”
6 ¶ And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” ¶ So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

What a difference a day makes. This time yesterday, Haman was on top of the heap (he thought); now he's about to get the surprise of his life as he attends Esther's banquet along with the king. King Ahasuerus knows he's there to grant Esther her petition - up to half his kingdom. And remember, Haman doesn't even realize that Esther is Jewish or a relative of Mordecai. As a matter of fact, neither does the king.

Haman's had a tough day already with his execute-Mordecai plan going sour. How much worse can it get after that? Answer: MUCH WORSE! Esther lays it out at the banquet before the king, "Somebody on your behalf has called for the extermination of my people and me." She even makes an economic point by noting that the king could have gotten money for the sale of her people as slaves, but extermination only costs him money. Whoa! What a way for Haman to find out that the queen is Jewish and related to your archenemy!
The king in his outrage asks, "Who is this man?"
"That wicked guy right there, Haman!" she replies.
Haman, mark this day down as the toughest day of your miserable, wicked life.

How convenient! A gallows has already been built. (Esther 7:7-10)

7 ¶ Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.
8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” ¶ As the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
9 Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” ¶ Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”
10 ¶ So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.

King Ahasuerus leaves the room to fume, but when he returns, Haman appears to the king to be assaulting Esther. He's really just begging for his life to Esther, but who really cares at this point. And then, more poetic justice - the 75-foot-high gallows Haman had built for Mordecai doesn't go to waste after all; the king designates Haman to do a personal performance check on his own gallows - that right...hanged on his own gallows. Yup...works very well. Hey! It was already built anyway - why not?

But what about the death warrant on the Jews? (Esther 8)

1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her.
2 So the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 ¶ Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews.
4 And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king,
5 and said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.
6 For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?”
7 ¶ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews.
8 You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring no one can revoke.”
9 ¶ So the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.
11 ¶ By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives—to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions,
12 on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
13 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in Shushan the citadel.
15 ¶ So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.
16 The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor.
17 And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

Esther reveals that Mordecai is her cousin who raised her. The king is very compliant at this point - gives Haman's stuff to Mordecai, including the power ring that Haman had been given to wear by King Ahasuerus back in Esther 3:10. Now, Mordecai's the man. He authorizes Mordecai to decree the Jews to be safe throughout the empire. There were a lot of people throughout the kingdom just marking their calendars for the day when they could exterminate the Jews...and get paid to do so. When this decree circulates through the kingdom that it is now fashionable to be Jewish, many non-Jewish people in the kingdom decide to become Jewish, or at least faked being Jewish (verse 17). They celebrate with a festival.

Just like the old days (Esther 9:1-19)

1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them.
2 The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people.
3 And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent.
5 Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.
6 ¶ And in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men.
7 Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha—
10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews—they killed; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
11 ¶ On that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel was brought to the king.
12 And the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done.”
13 ¶ Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”
14 ¶ So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.
15 ¶ And the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
16 ¶ The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
18 ¶ But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
19 Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another.

Now, as Esther requested of the king, the Jews come together with the king's blessings for the purpose of destroying their enemies. When the deed was done, they had dangled 10 of Haman's sons on the gallows (how nice of Haman to provide it), and had killed an additional 75,000+ Jew haters in all of the 127 provinces. These are described in verse 8:11 as those "that would assault them [the Jews]." Presumably these were those mercenaries who intended to participate in the Jew-extermination program devised by Haman, along with their families.

Here's a new Jewish festival...and a hangover (Esther 9:20-32)

20 ¶ And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
21 to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar,
22 as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.
23 So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them,
24 because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them;
25 but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 ¶ So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them,
27 the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time,
28 that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.
29 ¶ Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.
30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
31 to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting.
32 So the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.

It's a banner day for the Jews, so they declare that this day will be celebrated each year as a festival. Thus, Purim became the first Jewish festival not established in the Torah, but considered just as binding as the other festivals. However, it's a minor festival each year on the 14th day of Adar, which generally falls in March on our calendars. What a weird name for a holiday, "Purim." Actually, that's the unique word (only used in Esther) for the "lot" that was cast back in Esther 3:7 (see notes) to choose just the right day to present the Jews' extermination petition to the king. There it is in verse 26, "Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur."

It's an unusual religious celebration by our standards. Some have referred to it as the Jewish Mardi Gras. The Jews have parties on that day. The story of Esther is read and the audience are encouraged to boo and hiss when Haman's name is heard and to cheer for Mordecai. The ancient Rabbis passed along a long-standing tradition that in order to celebrate the victory of Purim, everyone is supposed to drink alcohol and reach the point where they are unable to differentiate between the phrases "Bless Mordecai" and "Curse Haman." While the dictum of consuming alcohol is inappropriate to us, for the Jews, drinking and merriment remain a traditional aspect of Purim celebrations. As I said, it's an unusual way to celebrate a religious holiday; it reminds me of the aftermath of the November 10 Marine Corps birthday celebrations I witnessed during my enlistment.

A great ending to this story (Esther 10)

1 And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea.
2 Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

Mordecai, the Jewish cousin of the queen, becomes the second in command over the Persian empire. We are told that Mordecai worked for the best interests of his own people, the Jews. It only goes to prove the saying in business, "Be nice to the people you pass as you climb the ladder of success, because they are the same people you'll pass on your way back down!"

One more thing you should know about this story. It is commonly believed by Jewish sources that Haman, the arch anti–Semite who sought to exterminate all the Jews in the Persian empire, was an Agagite, a descendant of the Amalekite king Agag, seen in I Samuel 15:32-35 (see notes). That inclusion in this story adds another layer of vengeance in the mind of Haman if he is seen as avenging his ancestor's death at the hands of the Jewish Judge Samuel. In later Jewish tradition Amalek came to symbolize anti–Semites in general.