This week as we celebrate Easter, we also conclude our series on The Story of Esther. As we finish the book of Esther, we will look at a series of events that show God is with His people, even when His presence is not actively recognized or seen.
As we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus, you might need that same message. You are wondering where God is in your life and why certain things have happened in specific ways. Know that God is with you; He has never left you and is trying to work the situations and circumstances in your life to bring you to an understanding of who He is.
We have come a long way through Esther. We’ve seen a petty and foolish king take a beautiful young Jewish girl as his queen. Her name, of course, is Esther.
Esther had an uncle named Mordecai who would not bow to a man named Haman, who was second in command. As a result, Haman hatched a wicked plot to not only kill Mordecai but also wipe out all Jewish people.
Esther set out on Mission: Impossible to try and stop the plan of Haman. She accomplished her mission against impossible odds and through unique, miraculous coincidences. Proud Haman was put to death, while her humble and patient uncle Mordecai received the position of being second in command over the entire empire.
The entire book is about two kinds of people, the proud and the humble. It is about what happens to those who are arrogant and what happens to those who are meek. Even though God is not mentioned anywhere in the story, we see His hand at work everywhere, destroying the proud and raising up the humble. The book of Esther could be summarized with two verses.
1) Proverbs 16:18 (ESV) says, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (a perfect verse for Haman.)
2) James 4:10, which says, Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you (a perfect verse for Esther and Mordecai.)
And really, the ending of this story in Esther 9-10 is a summary of these two themes, that pride leads to destruction, and humility leads to honor. And so it is a good reminder that death to self will come one way or another. Either we destroy our pride and our ego, or God does.
It would be nice if the story could have ended in Chapter 8. Esther is Queen, Mordecai is second in command, and Hamman is dead. But Haman put out an edict on behalf of the King that still needs to pass.
In Esther 9-10, we see the end result of Haman’s plot. Persian law could not be reversed, so his plan was still active even though Haman was dead. Haman had created a holiday in which any Persian who wanted to could go out and kill and plunder Jewish people. So in Esther 9, that day finally arrives. Let’s start by reading Esther 9:1-5…
The Jews Destroy Their Enemies
This is on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, so about nine months have passed since chapter 8. This is the day that Haman had chosen by casting the lot to eradicate the Jews.
However, just the opposite happened. Due to Mordecai and Esther's edict in Chapter 8, the Jews got the upper hand. Far from being eradicated and destroyed, the Jews could now defend themselves against their attackers.
I want to mention that the text is clear that while the enemies could attack any Jew they wanted, the Jews could only attack those who attacked them — those who were seeking their destruction. This was strictly self-defense.
Even the leaders of the empire were afraid, this time of Mordecai since he was the second in command in the empire and had become more and more powerful, so they helped the Jews. If Haman had still been in power, these other officials would have helped slaughter the Jews. But instead, they helped the Jews because Mordecai was honored and respected.
The Death of Haman’s 10 Sons
As we continue into Esther 9, we are introduced to Haman’s ten sons; we are told they were all killed. This is the list of names that most pass over, which is very interesting for several reasons.
The Hebrew text does something with these names, which is done with no other list of names in Scripture. In the original Hebrew text, these names are organized in a column, spaced out, and set apart from the rest of the text. It is very strange for Hebrew to be written this way, so some have suggested that writing the text this way “visually expresses the idea that these enemies of Israel had been set apart for destruction.” It is a like a hit list in Scripture of the enemies of God and Israel.
But aside from that, the person who wrote this text tried to bring attention to these names, I think this was for two reasons.
First, this list of names, and the fact that these men are put to death, is a fulfillment of prophecy. In Exodus 17:14 and Deuteronomy 25:17-19, God says that he will have war with the Amalekites from generation to generation until they are destroyed.
And then, in 1 Samuel 15, God commanded King Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, but Saul did not obey. King Agag was allowed to live. At the end of the chapter, Agag is killed by the hand of Samuel. Still, we are not told how some of Agag’s children escaped because 600 years later, we come across Haman the Agagite and his ten sons – the historical enemy of the Jews and of all that is of God.
Well, now Haman has been killed, and his ten sons with him, and the name of Amalek is blotted out forever, just as God has promised.
God always fulfills his promises, even if it takes 600 years. If God makes promises to you, note that fulfillment of these promises may take a long, long time.
But as significant as this truth is from this list of names, there is something even better here. Each of the ten names, in the Persian language, contains the word “Self.” This reveals a little about Haman, doesn’t it? He was stuck on himself. He named his ten sons after aspects of himself.
Parshandatha means “curious self” or “I am curious.”
Dalphon means “self-pity.”
Aspatha means “self-sufficient.”
Poratha means “self-indulgent.”
Adalia means “weak self” or, more likely, “humble self.”
Aridatha means “self-assertive.”
Parmashta means “self-ambition.”
Arisai means “bold self” or “I am bold.”
Aridai means “dignified self” or “I am superior.”
And Vaizatha means “self-righteous.”
All of these were put to death. All of these “selves” were put to death. Self must die before victory is accomplished.
Pride comes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Haman’s downfall is nearly complete. Not only is he dead, not only has his plan to annihilate the Jewish people failed miserably, but now all of his sons are dead also, whom he arrogantly named after aspects of himself. Haman’s pride has led to his great downfall.
Do you see the two extremes in this wonderful story? Haman tried to exalt himself and ended up dying, with all of his plans coming to nothing and his sons being put to death.
Esther, on the other hand, said in Esther 4? “If I perish, I perish.” She was willing to die to do what was right, yet she was honored and blessed and raised up as queen, with her family and her people being raised to honor her.
This is exactly what we are celebrating today on Easter Sunday. Satan and his pride thought that he could destroy Jesus on the cross. But the same weapon that he formed to destroy God destroyed him.
Satan's pride led to his destruction. Christ’s humility on the cross led to his exaltation. But that is Esther 8, and we live in an Esther 9 and 10 world. The battle is over; we just get to pick sides now.
Those are the two options, each with its own result.
1) Haman, in trying to serve himself, ended up dying.
2) Esther, in giving up herself, was blessed and honored.
Self always dies, whether now or later, but the outcome vastly differs depending on your choice.
Die to self now, like Esther and Mordecai, and receive blessing and honor; or, like Haman, serve self now, but end up losing all later. Mark 8:36 says, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
The Feast of Purim Inaugurated
The next section of Esther 9 passage is really a final summary of all the events in the book, and think of it as “and they all lived happily ever after.”
One of the biggest things that gets brought up is the inauguration of Purim. The word Purim comes from the word Pur. Pur is the Hebrew word for lot, and so they have named their festival after the casting of a lot. So who used the casting of lots in the book of Esther? It wasn’t Esther, Mordecai, or the Jews, but Haman!
So Mordecai has named this festival after what Haman did. In calling this festival Purim, Mordecai says, “In your face, Haman!”
The item used by Haman to decide when to annihilate the Jews now becomes the symbol of God’s deliverance through circumstances. What the enemy uses with the intention of your destruction, God can turn for His purposes.
What is amazing in the continual parallels to Easter is that with Easter and the resurrection, we also celebrate the same tools used against Jesus as the tools that set us free!
Chapter 10 referenced the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. We have heard of these books several times now throughout the account of Esther, and some of you might be wondering if historians and archeologists know anything about these books.
The fact of the matter is that we know nothing of them. All the accounts of King Ahasuerus have ceased to exist, with all of his power and glory.
But the Word of God, written at about the same time, recording the events of an obscure Jewish man and Jewish girl, has survived through time to give evidence of God’s hand at work in the lives of His people.
The story ends right where it began but is completely reversed. We have the same king and the same city we started with. But Vashti is no longer queen. Instead, a humble young Jewish girl has risen to prominence. And proud Haman is no longer second in command, and his plan to annihilate the Jews ended in his destruction. Instead of Haman, humble Mordecai has been raised up, and is now bringing peace and prosperity to the Persian empire in a way previously unknown.
Want to study these chapters more in-depth? Then watch the full message here on YouTube!