By Lynnette Easter
Well, we are closing out the final chapter of Esther. Thank you for traveling down this road with me as we looked into the life of Queen Esther.
The Aftermath
On the exact day of Haman’s untimely hanging, King Xerxes gave Queen Esther all of Haman’s property. Queen Esther revealed to the King that she and Mordecai were related; Mordecai went before the king. The King removed the signet ring from his finger which he retrieved from the deceased Haman and relinquished the ring to Mordecai. Queen Esther designated Mordecai as overseer of Haman’s property.
Queen Esther fell at King Xerxes’ feet; once again, she pleaded with the King in the midst of her tears. Esther begged the King to put an end to Haman’s deadly plan which was an active law against the Jews. King Xerxes stretched out his golden scepter towards Queen Esther’s direction; she stood up before King Xerxes and said:
“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?” (Esther 8:5-6)
A New Beginning
King Xerxes responded to both Queen Esther and her Uncle Mordecai and stated:
“Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up. Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.” (Esther 8:7-8)
“At once the royal secretaries were summoned—on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush.
These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.
The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children, and to plunder the property of their enemies. The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every provinces and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.” (Esther 8:9-14)
When Mordecai left King Xerxes’ presence, Mordecai was dressed in royal attire which consisted of blue and white garments. A large gold crown sat atop of his head and he wore a purple robe made of the highest quality of linen.
The City of Susa celebrated; the Jews that resided in every area of King Xerxes reign read the King’s new law. They were ecstatic and filled with honor as they celebrated with a feast. In the end, the non-Jews converted to Jews because of the fear they had towards the Jewish people.
As this story closes, I will say that the outcome of this story was miraculous. Initially I sought solace in Queen Esther’s character because of her fortitude. However, as I penned these posts the duration of this series, I found myself rooting for Mordecai. I saw him in such a way I had never seen before; it stems from the trials Mordecai faced. It is how Mordecai handled his trials and how God delivered him in the face of adversity created by Haman.
Right now, we are all facing a Haman in our lives. As a matter of fact, I have been facing a Haman in my life the entire time we have been going through this series.
The Haman in our lives is not always covered in flesh-form. At times, our Haman comes in the form of tragedy, health issues, financial issues, bad relationships—any person or thing that intensifies within our lives attempting to kill, steal and destroy us.
Hebrews 13:8 is true: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He will conquer every Haman we are facing and encounter in our lives should we choose the right process: give God full access and reign over our situation(s).
When you put everything into its proper perspective and as you replace your story and your situation(s) into this storyline, what do you see? What do you see for yourself? Can you see your giants falling? Can you see the difference between the ‘Before version of you’ versus the ‘After version of you’? Can you see yourself achieving what God has in store for you? Can you see your breakthrough?
