Esther 9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 21 To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, 22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. 23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; 24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; 25 But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, 27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year; 28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. 29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim. 30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, 31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. 32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
The closing verses of this chapter give us a summary account of the events that had taken place and the declaration of a 2 day memorial that was to be kept every year thereafter. Mordecai and Esther did not want the people to forget this “victory” they had achieved. Again, we see a much different approach here than in the book of Daniel. Daniel and his three friends were hated by the Gentiles and the secular Jews as well. The king wanted to destroy Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah because they would not bow to his golden image. No one came out to defend these men. They simply declared their faith in God and trusted Him to be glorified in their lives. God honoured them in a mighty way and the king had to acknowledge that he was fighting against a spiritual entity and he could not win that war. Daniel was hated by the Gentile governors and they tried to find a way to get rid of him. He continued his open faith in God and he ended up in the lion’s den. Those lions were under God’s control, as all creatures are. They did not bother him at all. Those who plotted his demise were cast into that same den the next day and they did not survive the hungry lions. The king also learned an important lesson there. There was no need for a special day of remembrance set up for either of these events. God was glorified and every time someone reads the book of Daniel, they are reminded of the greatness of God. In contrast to the book of Esther the pagan Babylonians and Medes and Persians learned a lesson in the fear of God, rather than the fear of man. In our text, Mordecai rose up in the ranks quite quickly. He now had the authority to write letters and to encourage the Jews to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and the fifteenth day yearly. This was a new feast day established by the people, but not by God. As we noted it was a feast day that involved buying presents for one another and for celebration which has turned into a time of the consumption of much liquor. It was a day they could justify keeping because they used it as a day to send portions to one another and to send gifts to the poor. What could possibly be wrong with that? The Jews were happy to follow the instructions given by Mordecai. Mordecai’s instructions were a counter approach to that of Haman. Haman was an enemy of the Jews and he was gone along with his sons. As we see from verse 24 it was called casting Pur which is the lot. The Jews named the celebration Purim, which is the plural form meaning the casting of lots. In verses 25 and 26 we are given a summary of events that have already taken place. The scheme of Haman had backfired on him. He never imagined that things could go so wrong for him. However, he was not there to make any changes. He was dead and so were his sons. The Jews had gained the upper hand and the king was content with that. In spite of the secular nature of the Jews in Persia, God would not allow them to be destroyed. Today as well, Israel is very much a secular people but God will not allow them to be destroyed. They are facing hardships that could be avoided if they would turn to God, but they stubbornly refuse to do that and the result is endless threats against their very existence. Just this week there was a massive pro-Hamas rally in Ottawa and the police did nothing to stop it. This is going on with the blessing of our tax-paid politicians. More evidence of the foolishness of democracy. Votes supersede truth every time. In verse 27 we see that this new feast was established and that two days were to be set aside to remember this victory they had gained. The commemoration of this event was to become a yearly event. We know that the Jews have done so. It was important to them to remember how they had overcome a serious threat against their very existence outside of the the land of Israel. In verse 29, we see that Esther too took a more aggressive approach to her role as queen. She was no longer that quiet woman who feared to come before the king, uninvited. Now she confirmed the writing of Mordecai. There was no more hiding their nationality. In verse 30 the letters to establish this new memorial were sent to all hundred and twenty seven provinces. They were sent with words of peace and truth. The peace and truth was a superficial matter that worked as long as they could maintain an upper hand. It was not established due to their faithfulness to God. They confirmed the feast of Purim and they were content to follow through with this new decree. In verse 32 we see that these things were written in a book so that they would not forget them. They could refer back to the book and be reminded of the importance of this feast and what it commemorated. Rather than follow the book of God’s law, they were establishing their own laws. As we have noted, they were secular Jews who loved celebrations, but they did not bother to teach the significance of God’s law and the feasts that He had established. The book of Esther is an interesting account of the nature of the Jews of that time. As we study that book and we look at the Jews of Jesus’ day or of our day, we see that they are still very much the same. The secular side of them is growing. Together with that we have the corruption that accompanies that. We see the struggles they face and the lack of peace that they have in their land and with their neighbours. It is a choice they have made. God will see to it that there will be a remnant of Jews in every generation. He will also make sure that His Word is declared among them as well as with the Gentiles. However most of the Jews will miss out on the eternal blessings that God promised to them. Without His salvation, they cannot know His peace now nor into eternity. This holds true for Gentiles as well. We need to know the Lord in order to know His peace. People can put on a show, but when trouble comes, they soon reveal that they have nothing of any value. God’s Word is the need of man. God’s Word points out God’s salvation. Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of mankind. When we know Him, we do not need parties to encourage us. We need true fellowship with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and with fellow saints. We find comfort in the truth and in that which has actual substance. Pastor Bartel
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