The Book of Esther

Word Study

"how can I endure," Hebrew eikhakhah ukhal ve-raithi (אֵיכָכָה אוּכַל וְרָאִיתִי), how shall I be able and see (bear to see). Haman was dead and Esther's own life was secure; she had been given Haman's house and Mordecai promoted. Esther personally was safe. Yet she falls again before the king, weeping (v3), and pleads for her people, because the decree of destruction still stood. Her words reveal the heart of a true intercessor: "For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?" Esther had already risked her life once (chapter 5); now, though safe, she risks the king's displeasure again, pleading for her people. Her repeated intercession springs from a heart that cannot bear to see her kindred destroyed. Esther's "how can I endure" is the cry of a heart bound up with its people, unwilling to be comforted while they are in peril.

"the evil," ha-raah (הָרָעָה), the calamity, disaster. Esther could not rest in her own safety while her people faced destruction. Their peril was unbearable to her; she could not simply enjoy her deliverance and forget them. This is love that will not be content with its own rescue while others perish. This is the mark of genuine love and true intercession: it feels the danger of others as its own, and cannot rest until they too are saved.

Explanation

Though Haman was dead and Esther herself was safe, the decree of destruction still hung over her people. So Esther fell before the king again, weeping, and pleaded, "how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people?" She could not rest in her own safety while her people faced ruin; their peril was unbearable to her. This is the heart of a true intercessor: love that will not be content with its own rescue while others perish, that feels the danger of others as its own and cannot rest until they too are saved.

Gospel Focus

"How can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people?" is the cry of a heart that cannot rest in its own safety while others perish, and it is the spirit of every true intercessor. Esther, though secure herself, could not bear the destruction of her kindred. This is the love that ought to move us for the lost: Paul wrote, "I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren" (Romans 9:2-3); and again, "my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved" (Romans 10:1). The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem, unable to bear its coming destruction (Luke 19:41-42). To have Esther's heart is to feel the eternal danger of those around us and be unable to rest content in our own salvation while they perish. Are we content to enjoy our own deliverance in Christ while our neighbors, friends, and family face destruction? Or do we cry, "how can I endure to see" them lost? Genuine love for the lost, like Esther's for her people, will not stay silent or comfortable, but will plead, and act, for their salvation. Ask God for this heart, that cannot bear to see others perish, and let it move you to intercede and to reach them with the Gospel, after the pattern of the Savior who could not endure to see His people lost, and gave Himself to save them.

Word Study

"may no man reverse," Hebrew ein le-hashiv (אֵין לְהָשִׁיב), there is no turning back / no reversing. A problem stood in the way: the law of the Medes and Persians could not be revoked. Haman's decree of death "may no man reverse." The doom of the Jews was written in an unchangeable law. God's people faced not merely an enemy (now dead) but a decree that could not be recalled. The solution was not to reverse the old decree, which was impossible, but to issue a new one. The word of death could not be cancelled, but a stronger word of deliverance was added to overcome it. There is a profound gospel picture here. Humanity stood under an unchangeable law of condemnation, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20), a decree that could not simply be revoked without denying God's justice. God's answer was not to pretend the law of death did not exist, but to provide, in Christ, a new and greater word of life that overcomes it. The irrevocable sentence of the law is answered by the irrevocable gift of grace.

"the king's ring," the royal signet, which made a decree irrevocable law. Haman's decree of death had been sealed with the king's ring, and the same seal is now set to the answer: "Write ye also for the Jews... in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring." A second, equally irrevocable decree was written, granting the Jews the right to defend themselves and destroy those who attacked them (v11). The first decree stood, but the second decree of deliverance triumphed over it, so that God's people would live.

Explanation

A serious obstacle remained: the law of the Medes and Persians could not be revoked, so Haman's death decree could not simply be cancelled. The solution was to issue a new, equally binding decree, granting the Jews the right to defend themselves against any who attacked them. The old word of doom could not be reversed, but a stronger word of deliverance was added to overcome it. This is a striking picture of the Gospel: humanity stood under an unchangeable sentence of death for sin, which God answered not by ignoring His law but by providing, in Christ, a greater word of life that triumphs over it.

Gospel Focus

The unchangeable decree of death, answered not by reversal but by a greater decree of deliverance, is a beautiful shadow of the Gospel. Fallen humanity stood under an irrevocable law of condemnation, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23); "the soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20). God's holy law could not simply be set aside, for God is just. Yet He did not leave His people under the sentence of death. He provided a greater word, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). At the cross, God satisfied the law's just demand in Christ and issued the irrevocable decree of grace: "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). The old sentence stood against us, "the handwriting of ordinances that was against us," but God, in Christ, took it "out of the way, nailing it to his cross" (Colossians 2:14), and gave us a new and living word of deliverance that can never be reversed. As the Jews' salvation was secured by an irrevocable royal decree, so ours is secured by the unchangeable promise of God in Christ, sealed not with a signet ring but with the blood of the Lamb, and "sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). The word of death could not be revoked, but the greater word of life in Christ has overcome it for ever.

Word Study

"light, and gladness, and joy, and honour," Hebrew orah ve-simchah ve-sason vi-qar (אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשׂוֹן וִיקָר), a fourfold fullness of blessing. The reversal is now complete on the people's side. Where the death decree had brought "great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing" (chapter 4:3), the decree of deliverance brings the exact opposite: "The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour." Where there was darkness, now light; where mourning, now gladness; where weeping, now joy; where reproach, now honour. This fourfold blessing overturns the fourfold sorrow of chapter 4. And it spread "in every province, and in every city", the same reach the death decree had (chapter 3:14), now filled with "joy and gladness, a feast and a good day." The mourning is turned to feasting.

"became Jews," mityahadim (מִתְיַהֲדִים), professing themselves Jews, joining the Jewish people. And there is a striking further result: "many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them." The deliverance of God's people drew others to join them. Whether from awe, conviction, or a sense that the God of the Jews was to be reckoned with, many Gentiles attached themselves to the covenant people. The salvation of God's people became a testimony that drew outsiders in, a foregleam of the nations being gathered to the God of Israel. What Haman meant for the destruction of the Jews, God turned into their joy, their honour, and the ingathering of others. The night of mourning became a day of feasting, and the terror of enemies became the drawing of many to the people of God.

Explanation

The reversal was complete. Where the death decree had brought mourning, fasting, weeping, and wailing (chapter 4:3), the decree of deliverance brought the exact opposite: "light, and gladness, and joy, and honour", a fourfold blessing overturning the fourfold sorrow. Throughout the empire the Jews celebrated with feasting and joy. And remarkably, "many of the people of the land became Jews," drawn to join God's people by the awe of what had happened. What Haman meant for destruction, God turned into joy, honour, and the ingathering of others. The mourning became feasting, and the deliverance of God's people drew outsiders in.

Gospel Focus

"The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour" is the great reversal of sorrow into joy, and it points to the Gospel. God specializes in turning mourning into gladness: "thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing... to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee" (Psalm 30:11-12); He came "to comfort all that mourn... to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61:2-3). Where sin's decree of death brought darkness and mourning, the Gospel brings light and joy: "the people which sat in darkness saw great light" (Matthew 4:16); "in thy presence is fulness of joy" (Psalm 16:11). And notice that the deliverance of God's people drew others in, "many... became Jews." So the salvation and joy of God's people is a testimony that draws outsiders to Him. This foreshadows the great ingathering of the Gentiles into the people of God through Christ, for in Him the middle wall of partition is broken down, and those who were "strangers from the covenants of promise" are "made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:12-13). The joy of the redeemed is meant to be winsome, drawing others to the God who saves. When God turns your mourning into joy, let that joy shine as a testimony, that others too may be drawn to become His people, sharing in the light, gladness, joy, and honour that are ours in Jesus Christ.