Esther chapter 8
Esther saves the entire Jewish people. Esther and Mordecai evangelize the entire world.
ESTHER SAVES THE ENTIRE JEWISH PEOPLE
VERSE 1. On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Esther the queen. Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her.
King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Esther the queen. This is great!
VERSE 2. The king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. This is poetic justice.
VERSE 3. Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and begged him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his plan that he had planned against the Jews.
Esther spoke yet again before the king. Esther intercedes once again for the entire Jewish people.
VERSE 4. Then the king held out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.
VERSE 5. She said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right to the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces.
VERSE 6. For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my people? How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?”
VERSE 7. Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged on the gallows, because he laid his hand on the Jews.
because he laid his hand on the Jews. The Jewish people enjoy the favor of the king.
VERSE 8. Write also to the Jews, as it pleases 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 not be reversed by any man.”
Write also to the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king’s name. Esther and Mordecai are now entrusted to write in the name of the king.
Whatever they write will become legislation. It will be binding upon 127 provinces that span from India to Ethiopia.
It will redirect the most powerful empire on the face of the earth, and change the course of human history.
VERSE 9. Then the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the twenty-third day of the month; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, and to the local governors, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing, and in their language.
VERSE 10. He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal horses that were bred from swift steeds.
He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus. Esther and Mordecai are writing the most important legislation in the world.
sealed it with the king’s ring. With that, their writing becomes law, everywhere throughout the known world.
sent letters by courier. Getting this news out is the most urgent priority on the planet.
horses that were bred from swift steeds. Getting this word out is of upmost importance.
It will be delivered everywhere by couriers on horseback. The horses are specially bred for speed. They are the fastest conveyance on the planet.
VERSE 11. In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together, and to defend their life, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions,
VERSE 12. on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
VERSE 13. A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
VERSE 14. So the couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. The decree was given out in the citadel of Susa.
ESTHER AND MORDECAI EVANGELIZE THE ENTIRE WORLD
VERSE 15. Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad.
VERSE 16. The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor.
VERSE 17. In every province, and in every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness, joy, a feast, and a good day. Many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen on them.
Many from among the peoples of the land became Jews. King Ahasuerus authorizes Esther and Mordecai to write a decree in his name.
It forbids all people from attacking the Jews. It authorizes the Jews to defend themselves.
This letter has a powerful side-effect. Through reading it, many Gentiles become Jews.
Esther and Mordecai may have won more Gentiles to the Jewish faith than anyone else in the Old Testament.
This fulfills the words of king Solomon, centuries previous. He had prayed for the many Gentiles from all over the world who would one day come to faith in the One God. Thanks to Esther and Mordecai, Solomon’s prayer is fulfilled, in a massive way.
This is a large-scale conversion of people. Judaism has an explosive growth, gaining countless converts, from from India to Ethiopia.
The Old Testament foresees Gentiles coming to faith in the One God of Israel and bringing gifts to Jerusalem. Here are the key Bible verses about this »
ESTHER
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10
Deuterocanonical chapters: [A], [B], [C], [D], [E]
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Esther’s Call to Fast
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.