Commemoration

Esther 9:20-10:3

Today we recap Esther for the final time and look at the Feast of Purim.  We have done a lot of reviewing during this series, but the short book of Esther takes place in a very short amount of time, making review necessary with our extended study format.  Most of the story occurred in a span of only 11 months.  The book starts around 483 BC and ends in 473BC.  Chapter 3 verse 7 through the middle of chapter 9 happened in a span of about 4 Hebrew months beginning in the month Adar 474BC.  There is a span of 8 silent months before we get to the point that Carl brought us to last week which was the 13^th and 14^th day of the month of Adar 473BC.  To put it in the context of other books of the Bible, the events of Esther would have taken place between Chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra, and before the entire book of Nehemiah.  There is a lot of negativity cast on Esther and Mordecai by some scholars for not going back with Zerubbabel, but most of the Jews hadn’t returned to Israel yet.  Only a few had gone back to begin rebuilding the temple.

I’m going to use the chiasm Carl showed us last week to remind us of what happened up to this point, and then fill in the final 2 points.  But since this week is titled Commemoration, we need to know what we are commemorating.

A. The greatness of Xerxes

Xerxes, as we know, was the king of the Persian Empire.  He is described as the ruler over 127 provinces from India to Cush.  He ruled the entire known world with a few exceptions, the most notable: Greece.  He and his father both had tried to capture Greece without success. 

B. Two banquets of the Persians

The first banquet was given by Xerxes for his officials and servants and lasted 180 days. The second was given immediately afterward and lasted 7 days.  It was for all the people of the capital city, while a parallel feast given by his wife, Vashti, was held for the women.  Feasts and banquets were an essential part of displaying one’s honor. The introduction to the Honor-Shame Paraphrase that we have been using explains: “Hospitality – the sharing of food with others – creates opportunities to displays one’s status. A host’s lavish generosity toward guests enhances their honor.  Sharing food converts material wealth into social prestige.  In many cultures a person’s reputation depends upon their generosity and hospitality.”  Xerxes threw a massive feast to display his wealth and possibly as a way to restore or grow his reputation to the citizens of his capital.

C. Vashti removed

Vashti refused to come when the king drunkenly commanded her to come so he could show her off. Again, this was a status power-play on the part of Xerxes.  He was trying to show off his wife as a way to say “Look at me and the trophy wife I have.”  This rebellion cast shame on Xerxes and led to an edict pronouncing Vashti’s banishment. Xerxes, history tells us, had a pretty violent temper.  I won’t go into gory details, but after a friend made a request for his son to be released from military service, Xerxes was quick to slaughter the soldier in front of the friend.  It’s no real surprise that when his own wife refused to do his bidding, he flew into a rage and banished her.

D. Esther identified as a Gentile/months of waiting

The king realized he wanted another wife.  (Several scholars believe this happened right after his defeat by the Greeks.)  Someone gave him the idea to gather young women for a beauty pageant of sorts. The women had to wait for months as they first underwent training and beauty preparations. Esther, a Jewess, was one of those taken. Ultimately, she won Xerxes favor and became queen, yet still hid her ethnic identity.  One possible reason that I came across was that she and other Jews may have been afraid because of political pressure by those opposed to the temple being rebuilt.  The Jews were cast as a rebellious people, and it was argued that a completed temple would further fuel this insurrection spirit.  Xerxes had just had to put down an insurrection in Babylon and Egypt.  He wouldn’t tolerate a third.

E. Haman honored

Haman worked for the king. He was a descendant of Amalek. The Amalekites had for generations hated the Jews.  They had attacked them savagely in Exodus.  They were an evil nation, and God had commanded Saul to destroy them, but he disobeyed God.  As a result, for years they continued to harass Israel and defy God.  But, Xerxes honored Haman by making him second only to the king himself.

F. Edict issued against the Jews

Haman wanted everyone to bow to him, but Mordecai refused. Infuriated, Haman, without telling the king who, convinced the king to give him the power to do whatever Haman wanted to the Jews.  He issued an edict decreeing that all people are to kill all the Jews throughout the empire on a future date months away. He decided on this specific date by casting pur, the Hebrew word for lots.

G. Mordecai asked Esther to help

Mordecai and the other Jews mourned publicly. Mordecai asked Esther to speak to the king; but she was nervous, because showing up unsummoned was punishable by death. She bravely agreed to go, saying “If I perish, I perish.”

H. Esther’s first banquet/Mordecai soon to be impaled

Esther went to the king. She miraculously found favor in his eyes, and he offered her anything she wanted. She invited the king and Haman to a banquet, where she invited them to return for another banquet the next day. As he was leaving the palace and feeling pretty proud of himself for being invited to an exclusive banquet with only the Persian King and Queen, Haman saw Mordecai again and his anger burned within him. Haman immediately had a giant pole erected to impale Mordecai on.

X. The great reversal: Mordecai honored instead of Haman

This is the middle of the chiasm and is arguably the climax of the account. Up until this point, the news for the Jews only became worse and worse. Suddenly, it reversed.

That same night after the first banquet, the king couldn’t sleep. He had someone read from the royal chronicles and was reminded of a man (Mordecai) who saved his life by overhearing a plot against him. He asked if Mordecai had been rewarded and learned that he had not. Haman just so happened to show up about this time to speak to Xerxes about speeding up Mordecai’s execution.  So the king asked Haman what should be done for someone who deserved to be rewarded. Egotistical as ever, Haman was certain the king was referring to himself and suggested a grand parade. The king agreed and told Haman to go get Mordecai and personally escort him throughout the capital being the one who shouted “This is what happens to the person the king wants to honor!” Haman had no choice. He was completely humiliated and even more enraged.

H’. Esther’s second banquet/Haman impaled

At the second banquet, Esther explained to the king how Haman was seeking to murder her and her people, including Mordecai who had just been honored. The king stormed out in his typical fit of rage, and Haman begged for his life with Esther, but in doing so fell onto her. The king came back at just that moment and assumed that Haman was trying to molest his queen. One of the king’s servants mentioned the huge pole that Haman had just built for impaling Mordecai, and the king commanded them to impale Haman on it!

G’. Xerxes asked Mordecai to help

Xerxes promoted Mordecai to replace Haman, and Esther reminded Xerxes of the edict against her people. He knew he couldn’t simply undo the decree, as no decree could be reversed. He gave Mordecai the authority to draft a new law to help resolve the situation.

F’. Edict issued against the enemies of the Jews

Mordecai sent out a decree that allowed Jews in every city to gather and protect themselves.  His decree also allowed them to plunder the attacker’s possessions. The date on which this was allowed was the same date as that of the previous edict that had commanded the death of all Jews.

E’. Mordecai honored

Jews throughout the Persian Empire rejoiced when they heard the news, and Mordecai was honored.

D’. Gentiles identified as Jews/months of waiting

Many people began to identify as Jews.  They did this for one of several reasons: 1) they didn’t want the Jews to attack them; 2) they wanted to help defend the “underdog;” or 3) they saw the hand of God in all of this and truly converted.

Meanwhile, there was a lot of waiting as the date of the two edicts (the 13^th day of Adar) came closer and closer. The gap between the end of chapter 8 and the beginning of 9 is about 8 months on the Hebrew calendar.

C’. Enemies of the Jews removed

           

We saw last week how many enemies of the Jews were removed, but the Jews never took their possessions. 

B’. Two days of feasts of the Jews

Apparently, in the capital city, there were still several who wanted to try to kill the Jews, so Mordecai told the Jews they could defend themselves on the 14^th of Adar as well.  So in 9:19, we see the precedent for two days of feasts.  Those within cities celebrated on the later date, while those in smaller villages celebrated on the earlier date.

A’. The greatness of Mordecai

           

We’ll see this continued today.  Xerxes promoted him to Prime Minister, and he was highly respected by the Jews.

Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.  –Esther 9:20-22a NIV

After the two days of victory, Mordecai declared the 14th and 15th of Adar to be a Jewish holiday. These days memorialize the time when God turned their sadness into exultation and reversed their shame into exultation. – Esther 9:17-22a HSP

It’s possible based on this passage that Mordecai wrote Esther, or at least made it far easier for someone else to write it by putting all “these events” into one document.

He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. But when the plot came to the king's attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews--nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.

So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes' kingdom--words of goodwill and assurance-- to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. Esther's decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records. –Esther 9:22b-32 NIV

The victory celebration permanently enshrined the Jews’ newfound honor. Every year Jews celebrated with feasting and sharing gifts of food. This holiday is called the feast of Purim. (Pur refers to the “lot” that Haman cast to destroy Jews, but from the beginning the lot was cast against Haman the Edomite.)            Mordecai made sure that Purim would be celebrated every year, by everyone, everywhere. He and Queen Esther made Purim an official holiday for the Jewish people. They sent personal letters to Jews in every province to wish them shalom and to institute the new holiday of Purim. For generations, this tradition preserved the memory of God’s faithfulness to exalt his people from the threat of shame. –Esther 9:22b-32 HSP

King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews. –Esther 10:1-3 NIV

Throughout Persia the reign of Ahasuerus expanded and the prominence of Mordecai increased. Court historians have chronicled the king’s mighty power and Mordecai’s great honor.   The Jewish people acquired a new status and prospered thanks to Mordecai’s great stature, which was second only to the king himself. Mordecai loyally helped his people, so was honored among Jews as a generous patron. The social hierarchy of Persia was now in its proper order. Even in exile, God’s enemies were cursed with shame and God’s people were blessed with honor. – Esther 10:1-3 HSP

Mordecai commanded the people to hold an annual day of commemoration.  He wanted them to mark a festival of remembrance for the day that the nation of Israel was once again spared.  It was to be a day of reflection on “God’s providential preservation of the Jewish people” and is known to this day as Purim.  They were to remember God’s care with feasts and gifts.  They’ve since added public readings of Esther, plays, and songs to commemorate that day.

For modern believers, every Sunday is a day of commemoration.  We meet on the first day of the week in deference to the day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead.  We sing songs commemorating God’s character and the things God has done for us, especially our redemption. Our songs of worship are a way of commemoration.

We are compelled to sing!!  God’s amazing love and kindness towards us should cause us to desire to sing praise to Him and each other.  Something marvelous has been revealed to us, and we want our praise to be known.  “The gospel is the revelation of the most glorious truth in history” (Robert Bell, Ph.D.).  We sing because we are free!  We were slaves to sin, dead in trespasses.  But Jesus died for us, and redeemed us from our sin. Consider these lyrics from Charitie Bancroft that she wrote in 1863:

           

When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end to all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

On top of being compelled to sing, we are commanded to sing.  Behind the most common command of “do not be afraid” the second most common command in scripture is to sing.  But what I find interesting is what we are told to sing. 

Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them--this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the LORD. –Psalm 149:1-9 NIV

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. –Colossians 3:16 NIV

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. –Ephesians 5:18-20

We are commanded to sing, and Colossians and Ephesians gave us several things to sing: Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  In light of Colossians 3:16, Keith Getty says that “we are commanded to sing the Word of God – the truth revealed in Scriptures, the story of redemption.  Fundamentally, we’re to sing about God, revealed in Christ and supremely in His suffering and His glory, since that’s what the Word of God is all about.”  We are to sing to one another as a way to encourage and admonish one another.  It’s interesting that in the Ephesians passage, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit, and in the same sentence commanded to speak to one another with song.

One of the ways we remember things is by song.  I was told years ago by my music pastor that “things learned in song are remembered long.”  Every time you recite the alphabet, I’ll bet you’re either singing it or the tune is playing in your mind.  I’m sure we’ve all used little songs to help us remember something for a test.  I rarely remember the exact wording of something the speaker each Sunday says, but I almost always walk away from church singing a song for the rest of the week. 

Keith Getty wrote that “God designed our psyche for singing.  When singing…so much more than just the vocal box is engaged.  God has created our minds to judge pitch and lyric; to think through the concepts we sing; to engage the intellect, imagination, and memory; and to remember what is set to a tune.”  I’m sure that almost anyone, sadly, knows more lyrics set to music than Scripture.  This particular church body may not be an accurate representation of that because we often sing passages of scripture set to music.  But, God wired our minds to think of things in rhythms and patterns.  Music is just one way to do that.  If something is set to music, the likelihood of it being remembered longer is exponentially higher.

When Janet and I lead worship, I’ve often encouraged us to consider the lyrics of a song.  Instead of mindlessly harmonizing, we should be focused on what the song is trying to communicate.  Does it cast new light on something about Jesus that I haven’t considered before?  What truths are being taught? How will I sing these to myself and others through the week?

We are compelled and commanded to sing, but finally, we are also created to sing.  Every society in history has music.  Just because you may not be able to carry a tune in a tanker truck doesn’t mean you weren’t created to sing.  God gave each of us the exact same vocal apparatus; He just allowed some people to sound better than the rest of us.  But after all, the Psalmist commanded us to make a joyful noise; he didn’t say it had to necessarily be pretty.  Even little children love music.  My nephew was enthralled with music from a young age.  Elise was quickly calmed as a baby by music.  They’ll both dance when music is playing, and Elise is even starting to try to sing along with some of her favorite songs. God has several times used her love of a particular song to remind me of His truths.  I used to sing “Be Still My Soul” when I would put her to bed just as a way to calm her, but God would calm my soul with the lyrics and teach me to rest on Him.

The Bible is full of songs sung for different reasons, all in praise of God and His marvelous deeds!

Let’s get back to Esther.  I heard a message last fall on Esther and the sovereignty of God, and it actually gave me the idea to suggest it as a series to Carl.  When I spoke six weeks ago, I focused on this a lot.  But I want to expand it to the entire story. 

I think the writer of the book of Esther intentionally left God out of the text as a way to highlight His hand in the everyday affairs of man.  He never used a miracle to preserve the Jews.  But He used people not unlike how He operates today.  The story of Esther is almost unbelievable as it is written, so there has to be some outside force acting on these circumstances to save the Jews.  The Theological Messages of the Old Testament Books by Robert D. Bell, Ph.D. lists 12 events that are “remarkable coincidences with a very small chance of happening under normal circumstances.”

1. Vashti refused to grant the king’s request for her appearance before his guests (1:12).

2. Mordecai put Esther into the contest for the queen’s replacement (2:8, 10-11).

3. The king chose Esther out of hundreds of contestants (2:17).

4. Mordecai was not given any recognition or reward for saving the king’s life (2:22-23).

5. Haman’s reaction was extreme in regard to Mordecai’s refusal to bow before him (3:5-6). This is so remarkable that the reader has to suspect that another unnamed personality has involved himself into this story – that old serpent Satan, who has always been at work to eliminate the Seed of the woman.

6. By casting lots for the time of the Jew’s [sic] destruction, Haman ended up with a day almost a year away (3:7).

7. Haman hurried to build gallows for Mordecai right before he met with the king and queen (5:14).

8. The king had insomnia on the very night before Esther’s second banquet (6:1a).

9. The king’s servants chase to read the section of the chronicles that mentioned Mordecai (6:1b-2).

10. Haman appeared in the king’s court at the very time the king was wondering about how to honor Mordecai (6:4).

11. The king phrased his question to Haman in such a way that Haman did not know he was speaking about Mordecai (6:6).

12. While the king was out of the room, Haman reacted to his condemnation by Esther in such a way that on returning the king misinterpreted his act (7:8).

We’ve seen time and again God use humans acting with integrity within the position He placed them to affect His will.  But these people were submitted to seeking Him in everything they did. 

God doesn’t need miracles to affect our daily lives.  He can alter the heart of the king whenever He wishes.  Proverbs 21:1 “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.”  However, He still used Esther, and Joseph, and Daniel to influence the high ranking officials around them.

I take that as encouragement to pray for my leaders, political, managers, and pastors.  I’m not sure about the other 5 who teach, but I know the weeks that I teach are especially hard.  Satan lays new snares and struggles each time.  We as a body should pray more each week for the one who is teaching that following Sunday.  It burdens me even more for churches that for one reason or another only have one pastor.

Let’s praise God for His abundant mercy and sovereign control over every aspect of our lives.  Remember, we have in us the power of the One who created the universe.  Do you recall the story of the storm that had the apostles scared to death?  Many of them were veteran fisherman.  They had endured storms on the water before.  They were incensed that Jesus was asleep during this storm that was about to kill them.  He got up, looked at the storm and said “Peace, be still.”  I picture the little boat rocking on a glassy smooth sea as 12 men stared at Jesus in total bewilderment.  He can still quiet our storms, but we are also commanded to be still and know that He is God.  It’s a lot like a parent trying to get a child to listen by saying, “Be still!”  Even as adults, we have to tell ourselves to be still.  We get so caught up in our daily lives that we sometimes miss Him.  Let’s make a point to seek Him always so that when the trials come, we don’t have to try to go find Him in the storm.