Read Esther 7:1-10
Chapter 7
2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.
3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.
Esther, as the bride of Christ has such a close relationship with God, she is now in a symbiotic relationship with Him. When she does His will, He will hearken to her will instantaneously as they work in harmony. Thus, we see the true power of the Bride of Christ in Revelation and how she is able to defeat the enemy and the Beast.
"16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev 12
"12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev 14
Do you see what she is saying here? The king's damage could not be countervailed by his people are being sold as slaves. Rather, they are being sold by Haman - the villain - sold a bill of goods by deception. It takes the power of faith to be able to break such a curse.
5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
Now the reason of Esther’s strange request to invite Haman to these banquets can be seen for what is was. It maximised the impact upon both the king and upon Haman himself. This shows wisdom in how Esther framed her request to accuse the accuser Ha' Satan. When we lay the blame on the enemy, when we have favor and authority in Christ, the enemy will hesitate and become afraid. Haman was evermore terrified as he never imagined for one second that Esther was a Jew; now he stood before the king (Christ) being rightly accused of plotting the murder of the king’s wife. Such treason to assault the queen! Scandalous! He was 'stripped naked' and exposed right before the Most High. There is nothing be can done about it. Those claiming YHWH's name in vain, will end up like Haman in the end.
"7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." James 4
We will be able to judge the angels and have power when we are in His kingdom, like Esther as the Queen of Persia, she had the ability to denounce the enemy for the sake of justice.
"2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels (the Fallen Angels of Satan)? how much more things that pertain to this life?" 1 Cor 6
Haman is like a popular religious leader. Imagine how unpopular Esther's claims must have been. Many might be offended, but, just like mice and vampires, they hiss at the light and scurry away, because they are of the shadows.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:19
"John 1:5
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
Just like Esther, we ought to shine the light (Torah) and expose the truth about the darkness (Haman), for light shows hidden things it for what it is. Those that are with a sheared conscious with a hot iron are those that are wolves in sheep's clothing. Evil men, maliciously acting as a fake virtuous and loved person.
"11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret." Eph 5
We are Natsarim (watchman) and we ought to blow the shofar when trouble comes near.
"3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." Eze 33
Haman was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He acted like a follower of Jesus Christ (the king) but is but a child of the devil - a generation of vipers.
"43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." John 8
He was not a faithful servant of the king, he was instead an adversary and an enemy, more interested in his own fame and status than the benefit of the king. He was not willing to be an outcast for righteous sake. He was willing to compromise and revile God so he could get the prosperity outside of the blessing in the obedience to God, (hello, Joseph Prince, Kenneth Copeland, Todd White and Joel Osteen?!). Haman can be compared to a hyper grace Christian, and that's scary.
7 And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.
8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
Notice here who wine and wrath are connected here. This is a code to tell us of the return of Yeshua as the Lion King of Judah, when He brings His full wrath upon the evils of all time on the Feast of Trumpets (the grape harvest).Curiously, why is there a mention of the king drinking wine and through his drinking, got mad. This is a reference to the trending of the winepress, symbolic for the blood of the slain, reaching up to the horse's bridle.
"Revelation 19:11-15 King James Version (KJV)
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
"Isaiah 63:1-4 King James Version (KJV)
63 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
"Genesis 49:9-11 King James Version (KJV)
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:"
"Revelation 14:18-20 King James Version (KJV)
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."
Haman’s wretched end is here. His doom is now sealed. Eternal judgement in the lake of fire and brimstone. Ahasuerus perhaps should have known that it was actually he himself who authorized such a plan. He was the one who gave authorization to Haman to carry out this plot (Esther 3:10-11), though he did it in ignorance. Perhaps the king is mad at Haman for deceiving him to allow such a discriminatory law to be passed right through his fingers. So I do not think that the king was mad at Haman because Esther's people will perish because of him, but rather; because of the fact that the king was manipulated to conduct ethnic genocide. This shows how Xerxes was a moral king. He wasn't a follower of God , no, but in this context, he shows the mercy and the righteousness of God. He will never forgive anyone that would use him as a tool or as a means to satisfy the agenda and their end. Who wouldn't?
But perhaps, we can glean some personal lessons from the reactions of Xerxes here. When we are angry, we must flee into the Garden of the Lord. We know this place is Eden, which is has been transplanted underneath the earth (Enoch 25:5, Ezekiel 31:16-17). Furtively, this is a place of privacy for one to gather his wits, to let off some steam and collect oneself. To be regenerated and think clearly. Eden is ultimately where His presence is, so when righteous anger comes (when someone you trusted comes to kill your wife), the simple answer is to just kill Haman on the spot. But Ahasuerus wisely retreats, controls himself in his garden, in order to gain the clear perspective of the king. He returns dignified, but at a perfect time.
For all of Haman’s pleading, he would only got himself into deeper trouble – now he was accused of sexually assaulting Esther! What is this!? Not only was he attempting to kill the King's people, he trips over at the right moment to make it look like he was about to threaten Xerxes wife! Right in the king's room! Talk about 'bad luck'. Well, according to a Jewish writing, it says that it was the angel Gabriel pushed Haman, so he fell over on top of Esther’s just as king Ahasuerus was coming back into the room. Perfect timing. Just like when the King Yeshua, RETURNS, He will save His bride from Satan who is assaulting her in the battle of Armageddon. It will be the Rapture that will save her. This scene is an allegory for the second coming and how now, Satan has no time, he goes right at it will brute mindless anger and ruthlessness to destroy the Bride from existence.
The covering of Haman's face is a picture of Gadreel (Satan) being bond up in chains unto judgement.
"1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, Rev 20
9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
As in the case of the people executed in Esther 2:23, Haman was probably not hanged with a rope around his neck; he was impaled on a huge stake in an ancient precursor of crucifixion. It is ironic and a grizzly way to die. Haman found his end on the same instrument he had intended for the death of Mordecai; he was caught in his own trap against Mordecai.
"Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown. (Psalms 7:14-16)
This is a conundrum and the law of the universe - every action has an opposite reaction. The enemy's action will always end up turned on his head. We fail to see this because we are not willing to sacrifice. We always want to choose what we want to see, not considering it might be a trap. Perhaps the greatest example of this was when Satan thought that he won by getting the crowd to crucify Jesus, but the cross turned out to be the instrument of his own defeat. The death of a substitute satisfied the wrath of the king. Little did Satan know that while he was too busy celebrating over the death of Jesus, He was in the heart of the earth proclaiming victory over the Fallen Angels and given authority to seal the doom of Satan. Haman is not allowed to touch the king's people like Satan is not allowed to touch those that come under the blood. The enemy is kicked out of the king's courts. But in the case of Mordecai and Haman, it was the guilty dying in the place of the innocent; in the case of us and Jesus, it is a matter of the innocent dying in the place of sinful. Even the Gospel can be found in this hidden meaning of the Book of Esther, out of all places. Just as Yeshua died on the tree like Haman, taking our sin upon Him, His people were freed. Halleluyah!
"Hebrews 2:14-15 King James Version (KJV)
14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
Jeremiah 31:11 King James Version (KJV)
11 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he."
The child of the Nephilim Agagites have been defeated! But the seed war is not yet over, yet. The seed of the serpent still has more offspring.
Read Esther 8:1-17
Chapter 8
On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her.And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Mordecai has been given full authority over the house of the enemy. The works of Haman (the devil) have been all a waste. The curse that Esther sought hard to uplift from her people, was finally done. There is a curse that Haman (Satan) has put in the King's (God's) people.
And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
4 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,...
7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.
8 Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh 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 no man reverse.
Even though Haman was defeated, the decree of the king still stood against the Jews. How could God’s people be preserved when a decree of the king cannot be revoked? Esther is granted the ability to revoke the law. The king could not revoke the previous decree, so he simply made another decree giving support to the Jews against their attackers. God solves the problem, not by compromising His decree for eternal justice, but by fulfilling justice in taking the punishment we deserved – His counter-decree saves us; that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).
9 Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.
The only other time the number 127 is used in Scripture, is when Sarah reached 127 years of age when she died (Gen 23:1). Her children are promised to be the seed of Abraham that will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. This story therefore, is about Sarah's children and their survival in the cruel world.
10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
Here, the sending of horses out in the name of the king, can be allegorical for the four horsemen of the apocalypse, as they are the first to arrive, as harbingers of a coming destruction of the enemy at the end of time. The King sends out his horsemen to the four corners of the earth. Therefore, this must tell us that this seed war is waging on in the spirit and this war is about to manifest on the day of Purim where the Jews will be given rights to fight back their future executioners.
Read Esther 9:1-32
Chapter 9
Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)
The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.
3 And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.
4 For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.
When the Lord decrees the enemy to be killed, it is God's people that destroy the enemy truly. That means the people were ready for war (this can be relevant for us in the future when the NWO and Nephilim try to attack us, provoked by our passive obedience to Christ). They were once town folks and through the sacrifice if Esther after the Passover season, are renewed with strength as warriors for the Messiah. But you can also say, why could've this happened before? If the Jews were so numerous, why did they get scared the first time and now, all of a sudden realise their strength in numbers? They couldn't conduct an uprising and attack because they had no authority from the king. The decree sent by the king to kill them, would have terrified them to the bone. If you are not close to the king (Jesus Christ) it doesn't matter how much you arm yourselves or how much power you have. We can do nothing without Him sustaining us. When the next decree came from the king, after Passover mind you and the Messianic sacrifices of Esther and Mordecai, that they (God's people) are given the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, somehow, their fear vanished and renewed vigor - the fear of God - was aroused within them, and they went and took what was rightfully theirs. The difference between us and our destiny is the spirit of fear. If you don't have His law or His decree, on your side, you are not going to win this battle. We have our own enemies to deal with; but with the King of Kings on our side, we have no reason to fear – What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). We can only say this when we have authority with the king when we have His signet ring on our side so we can have the strength, the hope and the ability to rebuke the enemy. The reason why we can feel defeated in life is because we are not in the King's presence by aligning ourselves with His decree - His law (Torah). A wolf will laugh at the lone stray sheep, but will never dare to break the woods when the shepherd is around. The sheep hear the voice of their shepherd. Those great in the king's house like Mordecai can dominant the enemy and execute justice throughout the whole kingdom of God where evil will be extinct. We must live according to the word on the ring. So, if the King gives you His authority (His ring) you past it on so people can return to Jesus.
The sudden exultation of Mordecai is reminiscent to the story of Joseph which in itself is another powerful allegory of Christ's immersion with our world and plan of redemption. Is it a coincidence that Joseph also was given Mentuhotep's (another allegory for God) signet ring as well? Is it a coincidence that Joseph was ridden around Egypt in the royal chariot and honored for his service?
"41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt." Gen 41
Thus, in this case, Xerxes plays God the Father and Mordecai becomes a Jesus figure - the Son. He knows he carries His name (character) and execution judgment and has much power decreed by God.
"16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." John 7
You can only imagine how both Joseph and Mordecai are feeling. In Joseph's case, he was falsely accused and put into a prison as the lowest of the low and Mordecai was close to being executed by the King's second in command. They probably couldn't believe it. They would have been glorifying Him like crazy. The driving away of the enemies of God and the flourishing of His goodness is pictured in Mordecai's rise in greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. YHWH is coming to set things straight and separate the holy congregation from the unrighteous.
"2 Timothy 4:7-8 King James Version (KJV)
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.
7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.
11 On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king.
12 And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.
13 Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.
14 And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
“Now it was God’s intent that a last conflict should take place between Israel and Amalek: the conflict which began with Joshua in the desert was to be finished by Mordecai in the king’s palace.” (Spurgeon). If we gather the meanings of the the names of the ten sons and arrange them in a sentence following there order of appearance, we get a interesting yet cryptic message:
"Given by prayer [with] dripping [mouths] the enticed gathered [and the] fruitfulness [shall] be drawn up of Yah [a] lion of the decree, superior. [The] lion of my banners is enough [as] strong as the wind."
Here, there seems to be a very strong undertone of judgment and the Davidic justice through the metaphor of the lion, brought by Yeshua in the New Heavens and Earth. Those shepherds behind the pulpit that entice the world with fruitless doctrines to lead people astray, the blind guides will ultimately be 'hanged' and will die, according to the decree of the Lion King, that is more superior in power, as the tempest that will blow down the house built on the sand.
How many people have been hung in this story? We had the two chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, then Haman and then his ten sons. 13 people were hung in the gallows in the Book of Esther. It is also interesting to note there were 12 tribes of Israel and one half tribe of Manasseh making 13 in reality.
Who will reign one hour with the Beast? That's right the 'Ten Kings' or kosmokrators that rule the ten nations. These ten sons of Haman are pictures of the Antichrist kingdoms.
"12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." Rev 17
I believe the ten sons of Haman and the ten Atlantean kings are the same spirit and this pictures how history repeats itself. Here is why. This is what the listing of the ten sons of Haman looks like in the Hebrew script:
The general layout is very peculiar because a Hebrew scroll (right to left) should have this many spaces and line breaks within them. The names of the sons are on the right and the conjunction "and" is listed on the left. But what is truly baffling is that there are four smaller letters (two Heys, a Shin and a Zayin), and three of these are in red (Hey, Shin, Zayin). It is interesting that the men of the Nazi occult knew this esoteric knowledge as well, because if these red letters (bloody letters) put together numerically it adds up to 1946. Just so happens on Oct 16 (last day of Sukkot when YHWH's verdicts are sealed),1946 Hitler's ten men were hung. Each one were sentenced to be hanged and when they reached the gallows, Julius Streicher walked up to the spot under the nooses. Just before Streicher was hanged, he shouted his last words: "Purim Fest 1946." He knew the occult meaning behind these letters. Every generation has an Amalek. In the last generation it was Hitler, in the first Poseidon and the Atlantean empire. In the future, it will be the NWO's nations ruled by 10 pagan god kings. Everything in Scripture is cyclical and happens all over again in cycles.
Many have criticized Esther for allowing the slaughter of the Jewish adversary, saying it showed a lack of love towards her enemies. Yet she displays the same principle found so often in Joshua – she would not settle for less than total victory just as we should not settle when the spiritual principalities and powers and dark forces are prowling around like a roaring lion deceiving and devouring souls. This is a battle between Amalek and those criticizing this treatment on the enemy, are thwarting the will of God.
"Exodus 17:16 King James Version (KJV)
16 For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
"Deuteronomy 25:17-18 King James Version (KJV)
17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt;
18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it."
Just like Esther went through an entire year of preparation for the king, we should go through the necessary preparations to remove all the filth in our lives and meet our king. The book of Esther is an invitation. Will you accept it?
15 For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand.
16 But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,
17 On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
The Jews clearly have learned from Saul's mistake in taking the prey or the booty. They at last vanquished what they needed as the decree, the commandment, ordains. They knew exactly who Haman and his son were - they are the ancestors of the Nephilim Amalekites or Hyksos . They are adhering to the original instruction to Saul, in 1 Samuel 15 "3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." Everything that had to do with Amalek were to be utterly wiped out.
There is a difference between the Jews in Susa, and the Jews in other Persian satraps. While the Susuan Jews killed 300, the neighboring Jews killed 500 enemies in total that were prepared by Haman. 500 is the number that signifies the whole from one end to the other, thus what is full. The judgement as full and one single shift stroke. Similar to how when Yeshua returns, His energy is like a sun closing into earth. Everything will melt and burn away at once. This is what this number is getting at here. 300 relates to the 300 men of Gideon that strategically slaughtered the Midianites in the book of Judges. Again, judgement and deliverance from the impending enemy is prevalent here.
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.
Mordecai here is sending the message to the entire Kingdom of God. As the Israel of God, we ought to remember Purim as a day like ANZAC Day and Hanukkah - a day for remembrance and to take into account the message of the story of Esther in our lives. Purim is not one of the mandatory feast days like Passover and Sukkot, but it is still fun to celebrate with our brothers and sister from the House of Judah. We are the ones that join in with the believing Jews so according to this, it will be only respectful to take part in this amazing celebration. This is literally telling us that you do not need to be Jewish or become Jewish in order to celebrate the feast days. You might think that Purim is insignificant here for narrative reasons, but in fact, Purim is integrated within all God's mandatory annual feast days, as an allegory for redemption, deliverance from impending death and freedom.
- On Passover, Israel was delivered from slavery into freedom and spared from most of the plagues and the fallen angel of death Azrael into life.
- On Unleavened Bread, we repent from our sins, represented by the ritualistic removal of physical leaven from our houses just as the three days of repentance in our tale.
- On First Fruits, just as Yeshua rose as the first fruits of the Resurrection and bound Satan for thousand years (hanging of Judas), so did Haman and his plan fail and was judged accordingly (also hanged).
- On Pentecost, there was a revival and return to following the Word just as the Jews are revived from their initial fears and follow the decree of the King.
- On Trumpets, the wrath of the Yeshua (Xerxes) runs its course to prevent the harm of His people after the drinking of his wine (treading the winepress).
- On Atonement, the books are opened and the people are judged weather they will have life or death, forgiving the righteous. On Purim, they were forgiven by banqueting with the king (in Holy of Holies).
- On Tabernacles, we anxiously await the marriage supper of the lamb as the Bride, as with Purim, it is all about the joyous festival celebration.
Purim is a time for all illogical events and actions, as we saw throughout this story. YHWH is the one that reverses the ways of the world and brings deliverance to His people when they have repented. All the ramping up of the enemy, is not really bad. YHWH is in control. We as the bride, should react spiritually in these physical crises.
Read Esther 10:1-3 and The Rest of the Book of Esther 10:4-13
Chapter 10 and The Rest of the Book of Esther
And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
How did Mordecai get qualified to such a high status in terms of the spiritual realm? You notice that every single time as we have pointed out that he is on his knees in front of the king's gate? This is the key to his success. If Haman only knew this. YHWH will only lift up those who are humble and fallen and will cast down the proud and haughty. When you bow the knee to authority in life, for nine chapters, we see Mordecai in prayer, in sackcloth and ashes and standing by the gate with his concerns for his niece. It is these constant actions of beseeching the Creator God that will promote him by the merciful favor of the Father to make him greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Do you know why? From the very beginning, when Mordecai reported on the two conspirators, it was him that saved the Jews and overcame Haman, not Esther. Mordecai is our true hero. He is a picture of the victorious spiritual warrior for Christ. He is like a Jehu, or like a Joshua or David. Mordecai was the one who raised Esther to go on the path that she should go. He instilled the bride of Christ characteristics inside Esther. If we are to really come down to who Mordecai is an allegory for, it is a subjective question and up for you to decide. But I will submit to you that Mordecai here is a picture for the Holy Spirit - an example and a teacher for us to glean from. Just like he raised Esther to bloom and flourish in elegant splendor, the Ruach Ha Kodesh will raise the remnant in the Last Days in the Word to grow to be the True Bride. The book of Esther is thus a tale about authority and teaches us what we need to know to supplicate to Him. Mordecai understood that there was no way to get to the king outside of Esther. He did not try dare to go by himself, but went through the proper channels of authority and YHWH heard his cry. Where do you get the ring of authority if you just leave it at the blood of Jesus? Just like the enemy knows, his minions have rings of power (Realm of the Ring Lords). But did you know Christ has one too, and it is for you? You can only have it when you reveal your true identity, like Esther revealed her Jewish heritage. You are either Ephraim or Judah - the called out one to shine the light to bring people back to the Garden. You need to be made clean first which is laid out for us in the book of Leviticus. God manipulated the situation to show how big of a God He is. He gets the glory every single time, no matter how convoluted things gets.
Now we come to is a significant portion of Scripture in the Septuagint, being six entire chapters of collected texts of the Book of Esther (10:4—16:24), a collection of parts of the book which St. Jerome moved out of sequence, put together as 6 distinct chapters, and placed at the end of the book of Esther in his Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible. These 6 chapters of collected texts in the Book of Esther were first removed entirely from the Old Testament and placed in the an extra extended director's cut for our great parable. In the King James Version of the Bible, in the Apocrypha, the separated parts of Esther are collectively titled:
"The rest of the Chapters of the book of Esther, which are found neither in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee ". Jerome
Significantly, this portion of the Apocrypha has usually been called "Additions to Esther" and has never had a distinct name or title of its own as being a separate "book". A summary of this book is given as follows from the main Wikipedia site:
10 Assuerus's greatness. Mardochai's dignity.
11 The dragon dream of Mardochai, which in the ancient Greek and Latin Bibles was in the beginning of the book, but was detached by St. Jerome and put in this place.
12 Mardochai detects the conspiracy of the two eunuchs.
13 A copy of the letter sent by Aman to destroy the Jews. Mardochai's prayer for the people.
14 The prayer of Esther for herself and her people.
15 Esther comes into the king's presence: she is terrified, but God turns his heart.
16 A copy of the king's letter in favour of the Jews.
So like good Bereans it would be logical to also study this portion's contents and see if we can glean anything from it, and see if the power of allegory still holds.
THEN Mardocheus said, God hath done these things.
5 For I remember a dream which I saw concerning these matters, and nothing thereof hath failed.
6 A little fountain became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water: this river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen:
7 And the two dragons are I and Aman.
8 And the nations were those that were assembled to destroy the name of the Jews:
9 And my nation is this Israel which cried to God, and were saved: for the Lord hath saved his people and the Lord hath delivered us from all those evils, and God hath wrought signs and great wonders, which have not been done among the Gentiles.
10 Therefore hath he made two lots, one for the people of God, and another for all the Gentiles.
11 And these two lots came at the hour, and time, and day of judgment, before God among all nations.
12 So God remembered his people, and justified his inheritance.
13 Therefore those days shall be unto them in the month Adar, the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the same month, with au assembly, and joy, and with gladness before God, according to the generations for ever among his people.
In this passage, God is mentioned for the first time, and He is only mentioned after all the extraordinary events had come to pass. Now Mordecai this time has a dream - a dream full of metaphor and allegory. We know the mentioning of the light and the sun is referring to the glory and the goodness of God's divine providence. We get the meaning of these dreams and Mordecai's summary of it right after Mordecai was exalted and made great. In the next chapter, we will discuss the meaning of Esther being a fountain of light and Mordecai and Haman being two fighting dragons.
Chapter 11
5 Behold a noise of a tumult, with thunder, and earthquakes, and uproar in the land:
6 And, behold, two great dragons came forth ready to fight, and their cry was great.
7 And at their cry all nations were prepared to battle, that they might fight against the righteous people.
8 And lo a day of darkness and obscurity, tribulation and anguish, affliction and great uproar, upon the earth.
9 And the whole righteous nation was troubled, fearing their own evils, and were ready to perish.
There is alot in this to unpack, and since no one has ever done of commentary on this part of the Book of Esther, I will try my best to get as much out of this as possible as this is never been done before. Let's start verse by verse:
5 Behold a noise of a tumult, with thunder, and earthquakes, and uproar in the land:
What is happening here in Mordecai's dream is that that the events of Esther are now viewed from the perspective of a spiritual/cosmic/timeless lens. This seemingly stand alone event in history looks nugatory from the outside but as we had explained, this is another chapter of depicting the cosmic seed war of Genesis 3. So in verse 5, the use of the Day of the Lord imagery like the tumult, thunder and earthquakes, is showing us that the events of Esther are just part of one big picture, foreshadowing how it's contents is a segment that will end in the time of great wealth. Furthermore, it reveals how this allegory is a picture for the Second Coming of Christ and his establishment of this kingdom on earth. We see that just before He comes to take justice of the land, the scripture describe events that are very similar to the visions Mordecai gets here. That means the events of Esther are about the final battle of good and evil and the return of Christ's governance, and that the events of Esther are timeless.
"6 Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire." Isa 29:6
"6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows." Mat 24
"17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." Rev16
Such imagery indicates to us that our allegory is very deep, as it will be played out in different forms and styles throughout history until it culminates in the great big final battle of good and evil.
"9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." Ecc 1
6 And, behold, two great dragons came forth ready to fight, and their cry was great.
7 And at their cry all nations were prepared to battle, that they might fight against the righteous people.
The word used for Dragon is Strong's H8577 - tanniyn. This is the same word translated in Exo 7 to mean dragon, serpent, crocodile, whale or sea monster. Technically a giant lizard is being described here. The dragon symbolism is especially intriguing to me, because we know, the dragon is generally associated with the Seraphim (fiery serpents), the Dragon Naga bloodlines of the Grail Kings and of course, Satan himself.
"29 I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls (Lilith)." Job 30
"In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." Isa 27:1
"7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Rev 12
In this vision, we have a bad dragon (Haman or Satan) fighting a good dragon (Mordecai or Christ). But why depict Mordecai as a good dragon when we know already, the dragon normally carries a negative connotation? What's the implication behind this because it seems peculiar for it to be a stand alone motif. Why couldn't it be a dragon versing a giant lion? That would made more sense to me. So in this particular allegory, the author is trying to capture the epic scale of the cosmic seed war and the battle between God's forces (that includes Him using the enemies own forces like Seraphim) and the forces of the fallen Seraphim - the serpent seed. As we saw how Haman was killed by his own devices (the gallows) Satan will be defeated by his attempt to try and dethrone God but His dragons will confront him. His own undoing will be his will to persist, even when he psychotically knows he is going to lose. This bestial imagery is quite related to the two beats of Revelation and of those in Danel, but this one is meant to capture or illustrate the ferocity of the Genesis 3 seed war. The war is epic like two giant beasts (kingdoms) fighting for hegemony over the course the millennia. On a cosmic level, God does have His own Seraphim (dragons) as Satan fell with six others. But on a microcosmic level, it is Mordecai and Haman. The Messianic kingdom in battle with the Satanic. If Mordecai's reference to Israel being a dragon is fact, then would this explain why Israel has a 'Dragon well' in Nehemiah 2:13? The true meaning behind this choice of imagery will probably never be know, but it certainly piques one's curiosity to try and uncover it's hidden messages.
The idea the dragon's roar brought the nations to war, are like kingdoms preparing to gather together to conspire against the Lord at Armageddon. It is a war cry.
"Psalm 2 King James Version (KJV)
2 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
And it is the set apart people of God that are seen as the threat and are besieged by their aggressors. This is a timeless dream because it is not an isolated event like in Esther. It has happened all throughout the epochs of time and will occur again in the near future.
8 And lo a day of darkness and obscurity, tribulation and anguish, affliction and great uproar, upon the earth.
9 And the whole righteous nation was troubled, fearing their own evils, and were ready to perish.
Again, we see more imagery of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.
"Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine."
The reference to Tribulation here can work in two ways: one as a depiction of the current tribulation of God's people at the time, and two, the coming Great Tribulation where the forces of good and evil collide. It is during this time of turmoil we fear, our own evils and faults, will be scorned and we will very likely examine ourselves as we know the day is coming when we will come before the throne, expected to be spotless.
10 Then they cried unto God, and upon their cry, as it were from a little Fountain, was made a great flood, even much water.
11 The light and the sun rose up, and the lowly were exalted, and devoured the glorious.
12 Now when Mardocheus, who had seen this dream, and what God had determined to do, was awake, he bare this dream in mind, and until night by all means was desirous to know it.
We know that Christ is the foundation of living waters that brings forth the water so no one may thrist. Esther here is acting in accordance to the Messiah's will by providing the streams of waters (the word) to God's people just like the New Jerusalem having rivers of water that feed the nations.
"1. In that place I beheld a fountain of righteousness, which never failed, encircled by many springs of wisdom. Of these all the thirsty drank, and were filled with wisdom, having their habitation with the righteous, the elect, and the holy." Enoch 48
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land." Zech 13
"37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" John 7
"2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away." Psalm 1
"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Rev 22
The light and the sun (son) rising up is the ultimate glorification of the true king and true light - Jesus Christ. Just as the light and the sun rises up on the dawn of the times of horror, so did Jesus when He rose from the dead at a time of turmoil. The next chapter (chapter 12) is a simple summary of the tales of events of Mordecai gaining Xerxes' favour so we shall skip it and move on unto the next chapter.
Read Esther 13:1-18
Chapter 13
Now we get an exclusive letter from King Xerxes himself, describing the events in the Esther story from his perspective. This is desirable information because we tend to get alot of our historical sources of this time period (485 - 480 BC) from Greek writers, who of course, had a particular negative basis towards the Persian empire. Rightly so, but as good researchers, we must also look at the what the other components are to get a better picture. Maybe we can see that Xerxes is genuinely honest or if he is exaggerating his claims like most kings do. Based off the events of the inherent word of God, Xerxes seems to mostly stick to the source material written by Mordecai (traditionally), so in other words, he seems honest. Thus, this letter is valuable and worthy of our study.
"2 After that I became lord over many nations, and had dominion over the whole world, not lifted up with presumption of my authority, but carrying myself always with equity and mildness, I purposed to settle my subjects continually in a quiet life, and making my kingdom peaceable, and open for passage to the utmost coasts, to renew peace, which is desired of all men."
Xerxes' reign was peaceful and was accepting to his diverse subjects in his empire. He displays some godly qualities here as his intentions to aim for a stable empire and provide freedom up to maxmise tranquility.
3 Now when I asked my counsellers how this might be brought to pass, Aman, that excelled in wisdom among us, and was approved for his constant good will and stedfast fidelity, and had the honour of the second place in the kingdom,
Haman was a wise man and elite in all his ways, as it is analogous to the attributes to describes Lucifer or Apollyon who was reincarnated as Nimrod who was worshiped by the Phoenicians as Baal in Tyre.
"12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty." Eze 28
5 Seeing then we understand that this people alone is continually in opposition unto all men, differing in the strange manner of their laws, and evil affected to our state, working all the mischief they can, that our kingdom ma not be firmly established:
Xerxes then recounts how Haman made his argument that the people of God were going astray into captivity and that follow a law that is different from the king's. In the spiritual realm, this is Satan saying that according to your Torah, your disobedient children need to die because they are following a different Torah - the Torah of their own hearts and of men. Because of the set apart people, Haman makes a complaint that the kingdom cannot be united and that peace would finally come, unless the Jews were disposed of. Haman is certainly not lying here, as he can gain access to the divine council as we see in Job 1 and 2. Our man made religious laws have become opposed to God's standards. Haman says they do not keep the king's laws at all, and uses Holy Scripture to justify the eradication of the Jews. It would be fitting for them to be removed, to cut them off from the congregation as the Torah repeatedly emphases throughout. Those that are not keeping the Torah will be destroyed.
Now we get to an added section of Mordecai's prayer to YHWH which gives us extraordinary insight into his mind unlike the canonical text.
"8 Then Mardocheus thought upon all the works of the Lord, and made his prayer unto him,
9 Saying, O Lord, Lord, the King Almighty: for the whole world is in thy power, and if thou hast appointed to save Israel, there is no man that can gainsay thee:
10 For thou hast made heaven and earth, and all the wondrous things under the heaven.
11 Thou art Lord of all things, and there is no man that can resist thee, which art the Lord.
12 Thou knowest all things, and thou knowest, Lord, that it was neither in contempt nor pride, nor for any desire of glory, that I did not bow down to proud Aman.
13 For I could have been content with good will for the salvation of Israel to kiss the soles of his feet.
At first glance, when we saw in the canonical text, when Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, on face value, it looks like he was stubborn and denied authority (a violation of the Scriptures). But this passage reveals to us that Mordecai sacrificed his dignity by standing up. He did not have to, because he says that he would not mind to posits on the "the salvation of Israel to kiss the soles of his feet." But his choice here is a testament to his humble character as he had not contempt nor pride within him, nor desire to gain glory as a firebrand when he refused to bow down. In fact, he says that he refused to bow down because he refuses to give up on God's people and his faith in Him.
14 But I did this, that I might not prefer the glory of man above the glory of God: neither will I worship any but thee, O God, neither will I do it in pride.
15 And now, O Lord God and King, spare thy people: for their eyes are upon us to bring us to nought; yea, they desire to destroy the inheritance, that hath been thine from the beginning.
16 Despise not the portion, which thou hast delivered out of Egypt for thine own self.
17 Hear my prayer, and be merciful unto thine inheritance: turn our sorrow into joy, that we may live, O Lord, and praise thy name: and destroy not the mouths of them that praise thee, O Lord.
18 All Israel in like manner cried most earnestly unto the Lord, because their death was before their eyes.
Mordecai's lamentation is relating to the promise and deliverance reminder ploy which Moses utilised at the predicament of the Golden Calf in Exodus 32 where God had the right to kill all His people repopulate with Moses. But it seems that this promise was exceptionally powerful, as it is the core of the redemption that God has in plan. Without redemption, the salvation and being with Him in glory will feel like vanity. Working hard to get something just naturally feels much better.
"9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Notice how the lexis "inherit" or "inheritance" is used in both passages here. This is key to understand why God would seemling allow for tragedy to fall on His people. Ture inheritance is earned. We can only shine brighter when persecution hits us, when the metal is refined in the fire and we must rejoice when trials of all kinds come our ways. It is easier said than done. Redemption dose not just end with belief, it ends up with one dying for what is truth: praising and emulating Messiah.
Read Esther 14: 1-19
Chapter 14
QUEEN Esther also, being in fear of death, resorted unto the Lord:
2 And laid away her glorious apparel, and put on the garments of anguish and mourning: and instead of precious ointments, she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body greatly, and all the places of her joy she filled with her torn hair.
Now Esther in her secret place in the palace, is also simultaneously humbling herself. She completely strips herself of her royal apparel into sackcloth and ashes and tears her hair in full emotional devotion of YHWH. This tells us that truely, though our allegory does unveil the flaws of our characters as everyday people, they also had at the core of their identity, reverence, esteem and a love for God and His ways. She is opening up her chest, stripping off her garb of Persian public identity and flamboyance to her raw and pure being within her. It's her inner beauty and modesty that qualifies her - a key trait of the Bride of Christ. She went so far to put poo (dung) on her head as well! Prepared to be a perfect queen, now she is willing to sacrifice all her preparation of beauty for a humble mourning ritual. A ritual that she knows will benefit her people.
3 And she prayed unto the Lord God of Israel, saying, O my Lord, thou only art our King: help me, desolate woman, which have no helper but thee:
This - is - profound! Esther: a queen to King Xerxes, from the recesses of her heart confesses that only YHWH is her true king, her help in times of trouble and not Xerxes. Now we are beginning to peel back the 2 dimensional allegorical guise to a much deeper, complex human character, gaining insight into the essence of the reality of the story. This bold claim here would be treason if she publicly stated it. It would be high treason to reject the king's aegis to only second place. But, instead, she is only opening herself up to the Lord - her true king, her number one - in her prayer closet and honestly pouring out her soul to Him. This is something she would never do towards her husband Xerxes as she is living by a false identity in public, others around her may like her virtue, but they have no idea that she is an ambassador for the king of the universe. She cannot entirely jeopardize her Jewish ethnicity as she is strategically gaining power to be in the only position to help her kinderd. This is the only chance in the day she has time to herself and to be who was meant to be is in private, alone, in her room, with the Lord. It is her selfless attitude that will empower her in making her risky move to consult the king illegally. This is what makes her a brave ideal Proverbs 31 woman.
"30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates." Pro 31
The reality that she sees herself for who she really is, a sinful person, a proposition that makes one desolate, is a complete dissimilitude to the paradigm and the mindset to the Harlot woman in scripture. In part one chapter 1, I distinguished the differences between the Bride and the Whore and it is instertiang that the whore is puffed up, evaluated and prideful in queenship. She is not poor in spirit and wretched like Esther in this moment. Her brash, hedonistic and sexualy open in behaviour, prideful to be queen is in conflict with Esther's character - a character that is looked down upon nowadays by woman who despise modesty and virtue for the pursuit of vain equality. Though Esther is physically a queen, she is a poor humble servant deep down. You can tell a whole lot about a girl from what they wear, especially today when they try and expose parts of their body to beautify themselves and over use of makeup. This shows that they lack modesty and modesty is what the makes up a women of God. This has spiritual connections too, as we are the bride. YHWH is our husband. We are not to take the role of the husband and the authority in the relationship. This is what is so beautifully captured here in Esther's humble prayer to her true king Jesus Christ in the third heaven.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow" Rev 18.
"Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
4 For my danger is in mine hand.
5 From my youth up I have heard in the tribe of my family, that thou, O Lord, tookest Israel from among all people, and our fathers from all their predecessors, for a perpetual inheritance, and thou hast performed whatsoever thou didst promise them.
6 And now we have sinned before thee: therefore hast thou given us into the hands of our enemies,
7 Because we worshipped their gods: O Lord, thou art righteous.
8 Nevertheless it satisfieth them not, that we are in bitter captivity: but they have stricken hands with their idols,
9 That they will abolish the thing that thou with thy mouth hast ordained, and destroy thine inheritance, and stop the mouth of them that praise thee, and quench the glory of thy house, and of thine altar,
10 And open the mouths of the heathen to set forth the praises of the idols, and to magnify a fleshly lung for ever.
Now Esther gose Daniel 9 - maximum repentance mode. Daniel 9 is a powerful prayer of ultimate repentance on the behalf of all of Israel in captivity in Babylon. It consists begging for forgiveness for not just the sins of the current generation, but for the wrongdoings for the past generations that aculumaltied the severity of the sin via epigenetics. Perhaps she was inspired by this prayer of Daniel here, so let's point out some of the thematic similarities. First off, the contexts are very similar (exile and the use of sackcloth and ashes.)
"5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name." Dan 9
Now, we can see some similarities here. Both Esther and Daniel are in their own unique way, stressing the predicament and the root cause to their current crisis - that is sin (1 John 3:4). It is because of this sin, that Israel is fluctuated, became unstable and was always staggering and falling away and becoming distant from the promises of inheritance that was made clear when God appeared to make a covenant. That promise was that if they kept His commandments willingly, they would be a blessing to not only themselves, but to the whole earth - a city on the hill - so that the truth will stand forth in a world of lies and the nations will discern this beautiful compassion. It consists of the loving of one's neighbour and God simultaneously that would make peace with the opposing nations and might even change and repent and turn to follow Yeshua and the ways of God. Israel were meant to be agents of change to bring the world corrupted by sin, slaughter and hate to a reckoning that there is still hope. This was the redemption plan God had in mind, but, as we know, throughout history, as 2 Baruch states, there is always an exhaustive cycle of black waters (sin and falling away) and the crying out for salvation. God in His mercy grants this chance and Israel repents (the white waters.) And again, once they repent, they get fresh start to live righteously as they promised, but God knows the fleshy human condition of the sin virus. So comfortable they got, they would begin to compromise after periods of testing whether or not they will remain faithful (peer pressure to hearken to the influence of false prophets, partake in foreign idol worship or personal transgressions that don't seem too important that will result in a slippery slope) all of this culminated in the flaring of hidden sin and the slow compromise in a historical cycle that repents again and again. From reading our two passages, this is the stage in the Redemption Cycle as I will term, where Israel are in a horrible crisis from the consequences of their sins (Babylonian social oppression and Haman's decree), that gives them no choice but to wake up, fall on the knees and pray for guidance. As we know, God is faithful and longsuffering, no matter how difficult and obnoxiously repetitive this cycle becomes, he will send a saviour and in our story, it is Mordecai and Esther.
"11 O Lord, give not thy sceptre unto them that be nothing, and let them not laugh at our fall; but turn their device upon themselves, and make him an example, that hath begun this against us."
Esther's words here are prophetic, because her words came true exactly as it was sated. This tells us, that when in the spirit, our words can have power and can come to pass. We cannot think lightly about this, because everything we say has power and it will have consequences - whether good or bad. We must strive to positive in mindset and when we talk.
"36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Matt 12
"2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." James 3
Just like a rudder can turn a giant ship, so can the fervent words to the Most High can tip the balance of fate through the power of the Spirit. Our words can be good, but they can also be our undoing. With Esther, her request were answered in a way that was more perfect than she could ever imagine. The authority was never taken away out of the King's (God's) hand and it will never leave.
12 Remember, O Lord, make thyself known in time of our affliction, and give me boldness, O King of the nations, and Lord of all power.
13 Give me eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion: turn his heart to hate him that fighteth against us, that there may be an end of him, and of all that are like-minded to him:
14 But deliver us with thine hand, and help me that am desolate, and which have no other helper but thee.
We know who our enemy is in the spiritual realm.
"8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1 Peter 5
Esther is directly assaulting the enemy in the spirit by asking God for strength in her words. Her task is great before her, and by leaning on Elohim to charge into battle, she quickens herself to be the agent of Haman's final doom.
15 Thou knowest all things, O Lord; thou knowest that I hate the glory of the unrighteous, and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised, and of all the heathen.
16 Thou knowest my necessity: for I abhor the sign of my high estate, which is upon mine head in the days wherein I shew myself, and that I abhor it as a menstruous rag, and that I wear it not when I am private by myself,
Wow, here Esther is really pouring out and reflecting her honesty. Firstly, that idea she is vexed by the ungodly all around her is the predicament the bride must endure. As mentioned in Proverbs 31, the bride is trapped in a household of scarlet or sinners.
"21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet." Pro 31
I don't know about you, but I so relate to Esther here. Every single day, once YHWH sets you part from the rest of the world, you soon begins to realise that the vain and absolute moronic nonsense of the world offers, is so infuriating, you'd just want to leave and go an live in the country. Esther here, is embittered by the sins of the people she rule over, a trait that we should have and a trait that is reflected by a few characters in Scripture. It is okay to be righteously mad with sinners. Just remember, you were just like them.
"2 Peter 2:6-8 King James Version (KJV)
6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)"
"3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." Eze 9
As the righteous, with the Holy Spirit living in us, the filith of the world can seem to drive us mad, as Esther absolutely abhoured her pagan and unbelieving company. Man, can I relate to this. She is alone spiritually and she here is not expressing her complaints in a selfish manner but rather, it's her agony for the sins that are passed on as nothing all around her. It is conflicting, lets say, to her soul.
But here, we truly get insight into the feelings of Queen Esther as a person. This is glorious, as a wide reader, I enjoy reading fiction novels (fantasy normally), especially ones that are detailed in the characters thought process, feelings and how they relate to their experiences. It is so rich and similarly makes the story believable and much better when going on the thought journey with the character, you truly begin to develop a relationship. The Bible never really does this, and I can see way some readers might not find reading the Word very appealing for leisure. However, in this rare moment in Esther Chapter 15, we get a glimpse into the heart of the character thoughts, which I am floored by! Esther says she abhors her high authority! It seems over time, as she had reflected on how she got here, thinking of the other possibilities of where she could be living her life, she probably never got over how God brought her up as a Queen of Persia. It must have been such a stressful and burdensome task to be second in control of the largest Empire on earth! Imagine that! No wonder there would be times in Esther life, where she would be thinking to herself in moments of apprehension "why Lord? Why did you chose me for such a task as this, running such a judgement worthy nation? It's too much. Help me Lord, I hate this." It is only natural and part of the human condition for us to explore and struggle with certain difficult tasks in our lives that seems new and daunting. The language used here when she says the task is upon her head refers to her role as a secular queen is a colossal enterprise for her. She abhors being in rule of evil cunning people as much as she is disgusted over a menstruous rag. Every time she returns from the a hard day of work in the courts and administration, she claims that once she gets in her room, she strips herself of her dress and wears only simple comfortable clothes, to get a break from such distractions in life. How much is this relevant for us today, in a modern Egypt, where we are in systems that demand work from us. Thank God for the Sabbath day where we get a chance to just relax!
17 And that thine handmaid hath not eaten at Aman's table, and that I have not greatly esteemed the king's feast, nor drunk the wine of the drink offerings.
18 Neither had thine handmaid any joy since the day that I was brought hither to this present, but in thee, O Lord God of Abraham.
19 O thou mighty God above all, hear the voice of the forlorn, and deliver us out of the hands of the mischievous, and deliver me out of my fear.
Brillant, again, I cannot stress how beautiful it is to see the narrative events of the Esther story narrow down to the very private human emotional elements of the story. This is how Esther really felt. She never found true joy as a queen to Xerxes, it's like an everyday women running office with the president or a prime minister. She didn't have her step father Mordecai cresh her during this stressful time. The only true comfort she had was her private time at night with the Lord. Oh, the story just becomes a lot more powerful once this emotional perspective is added, as I myself can relate so much to this, as I know some readers will too.
Read Esther 15:1-16
Chapter 15
AND upon the third day, when she had ended her prayer, she laid away her mourning garments, and put on her glorious apparel.
2 And being gloriously adorned, after she had called upon God who is the beholder and saviour of all things, she took two maids with her:
Esther then garbs herself with her spotless righteous garments to serve the king for the next day. Like when we have our armour polished on the sabbath day, we are ready to hit the battlements on Sunday. Like us putting on uniforms ready to go to work, in the spirit we must put on the full armor to get out there. She is ready to serve and give all her live, everything she has, to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to search for the pearl that is precious. She gets right back out there to produce the good fruit and shine the light of salvation in the hopeless world she is in, by emulating Messiah as the fountain of life in Mordecai's dream. And for this, she is rewarded with a powerful spiritual encounter.
3 And upon the one she leaned, as carrying herself daintily;
4 And the other followed, bearing up her train.
5 And she was ruddy through the perfection of her beauty, and her countenance was cheerful and very amiable: but her heart was in anguish for fear.
You can tell her Esther is emotionally drained and exhausted here. Her appearance and surface identity as a Persian queen forces her to be strong physically. She is worried at how she is willing to disclose the truth of her identity to the king in a crisis like this where she now fully understands the full extent of her purpose in being in such a stressful role at the top of the Persian hierarchy. But she fears! If Esther is a picture for the Bride of Christ, she would have nothing to fear but Jesus. The thing is, in Hebrew, the world fear (yir'ah Strong's H3374) which can mean fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety. Naturally, we would have spikes of fear in us when a colossal task is thrusted upon us, but naturally, her respect for her superiors on earth, like you would do to a boss, is a fear that is healthy. However, this anguish is also steaming for her grievous concern for her people, and now their fate has fallen into her hands. Now her task all of sudden, has become a pivotal point for the plan of God in His redemption for all of humanity.
6 Then having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king, who sat upon his royal throne, and was clothed with all his robes of majesty, all glittering with gold and precious stones; and he was very dreadful.
7 Then lifting up his countenance that shone with majesty, he looked very fiercely upon her: and the queen fell down, and was pale, and fainted, and bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before her.
This is extraordinary, because this is exactly what happens to those that are transported to the third heaven to meet God on His throne. Compare and see the obvious similarities with the drastic spiritual visions:
"And in every respect it so excelled in splendour and magnificence and extent that I cannot describe to 17 you its splendour and its extent. And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path 18 of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of 19 cherubim. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look 20 thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and 21 was whiter than any snow. None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason 22 of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. The flaming fire was round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and none around could draw nigh Him: ten thousand times 23 ten thousand (stood) before Him, yet He needed no counselor. And the most holy ones who were 24 nigh to Him did not leave by night nor depart from Him. And until then I had been prostrate on my face, trembling: and the Lord called me with His own mouth, and said to me: ' Come hither, 25 Enoch, and hear my word.' And one of the holy ones came to me and waked me, and He made me rise up and approach the door: and I bowed my face downwards." 1 Enoch 14
"26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake." Eze 1
Isaiah 6:4-6 King James Version (KJV)
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."
"2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind." Rev 4
But get ready, for the next few sections of Scripture are going to confirm what I was saying all long, with Xerxes begin a type and shadow for the Son of Man enthroned, though it will be done in a sort of cliche or fantastical sort of way. Through Esther's fluctuation, she has a flash vision of Xerxes as the Most High Yah seated on the throne in glory.
8 Then God changed the spirit of the king into mildness, who in a fear leaped from his throne, and took her in his arms, till she came to herself again, and comforted her with loving words, and said unto her,
9 Esther, what is the matter? I am thy brother, be of good cheer:
10 Thou shalt not die, though our commandment be general: come near.
11 And so he held up his golden sceptre, and laid it upon her neck,
12 And embraced her, and said, Speak unto me.
13 Then said she unto him, I saw thee, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy majesty.
14 For wonderful art thou, lord, and thy countenance is full of grace.
15 And as she was speaking, she fell down for faintness.
16 Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her.
What a beautiful scene. This is an amazing picture of the King of Kings - the Angel of the Lord that appeared to Moses as the preincarnate Yeshua, the most merciful God. Just as we are utterly wretched by all the bludgeonings of life, we come before Him all broken and at our most vulnerable state, we are wretched, worthy of death, He will do anything to reach down and aid us with the comforting words: "what's the matter? ... be of good cheer. Thou shalt not die." Rest in Him, rest your weary heads on His lap. Now we are revealed to the truly soft side and emotional side of King Xerxes - such an extraordinary revelation here, as this is a most powerful allegory for the mercy of YHWH. Though His authority as the most holy God, even the great dragons (Seraphim) the most powerful angelic beings, cannot help but bow down to Him. He is terrible in sight, but in heart, He is our best friend - a brother - but to Esther, the Bridegroom, he is wait to embrace her - they are one, united by love. An honour so great, it is ineffable. We must come near. Drawing near in Hebrew is the word translated for sacrifices.
"3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Rev 21
Read Esther 16:1 - 24
Chapter 16
At last, we come to a close to our tale, we conclude with Xerxes' diplomatic correspondence sent out to the satraps, summarising the aftermath of the events after the death of Haman and the call for the extra maintenance of the Jewish populations within the empire. We draw to a close with an ancient Persian pro-Jewish news report.
THE great king Artaxerxes unto the Princes and governors of an hundred and seven and twenty provinces from India unto Ethiopia, and unto all our faithful subjects, greeting.
2 Many, the more often they are honoured with the great bounty of their gracious princes, the more proud they are waxen,
3 And endeavour to hurt not our subjects only, but not being able to bear abundance, do take in hand to practise also against those that do them good:
4 And take not only thankfulness away from among men, but also lifted up with the glorious words of lewd persons, that were never good, they think to escape the justice of God, that seeth all things, and hateth evil.
5 Oftentimes also fair speech of those, that are put in trust to manage their friends' affairs, hath caused many that are in authority to be partakers of innocent blood, and hath enwrapped them in remediless calamities:
6 Beguiling with the falsehood and deceit of their lewd disposition the innocency and goodness of princes.
7 Now ye may see this, as we have declared, not so much by ancient histories, as ye may, if ye search what hath been wickedly done of late through the pestilent behaviour of them that are unworthily placed in authority.
8 And we must take care for the time to come, that our kingdom may be quiet and peaceable for all men,
9 Both by changing our purposes, and always judging things that are evident with more equal proceeding.
10 For Aman, a Macedonian (interesting, as the Agagites may have migrated up to Macdon where the apostate tribe of Dan resided), the son of Amadatha, being indeed a stranger from the Persian blood, and far distant from our goodness, and as a stranger received of us,
11 Had so far forth obtained the favour that we shew toward every nation, as that he was called our father, and was continually honoured of all men, as the next person unto the king.
12 But he, not bearing his great dignity, went about to deprive us of our kingdom and life;
13 Having by manifold and cunning deceits sought of us the destruction, as well of Mardocheus, who saved our life, and continually procured our good, as also of blameless Esther, partaker of our kingdom, with their whole nation.
14 For by these means he thought, finding us destitute of friends, to have translated the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians.
15 But we find that the Jews, whom this wicked wretch hath delivered to utter destruction, are no evildoers, but live by most just laws: (even Xerxes had to admit that the Torah is well ahead of its time ethically).
16 and that they be children of the most high and most mighty living God, who hath ordered the kingdom both unto us and to our progenitors in the most excellent manner.
17 Wherefore ye shall do well not to put in execution the letters sent unto you by Aman the son of Amadatha.
18 For he, that was the worker of these things, is hanged at the gates of Susa with all his family: God, who ruleth all things, speedily rendering vengeance to him according to his deserts.
19 Therefore ye shall publish the copy of this letter in all places, that the Jews may freely live after their own laws.
20 And ye shall aid them, that even the same day, being the thirteenth day of the twelfth month Adar, they may be avenged on them, who in the time of their affliction shall set upon them.
21 For Almighty God hath turned to joy unto them the day, wherein the chosen people should have perished.
22 Ye shall therefore among your solemn feasts keep it an high day with all feasting:
23 That both now and hereafter there may be safety to us, and the well affected Persians; but to those which do conspire against us a memorial of destruction.
24 Therefore every city and country whatsoever, which shall not do according to these things, shall be destroyed without mercy with fire and sword, and shall be made not only unpassable for men, but also most hateful to wild beasts and fowls for ever.
I wish to close this study with a word from Brian Godwa in The Imagination of God: Art, Creativity and Truth in the Bible pg 51. Emphasis mine.
"God considers theatrical expression to be a highly valuable means of communicating truth... In fact, the use of narrative and drama to communicate God's word and covenant is so prevalent in Scripture (80% in fact) that some theologians suggest we approach our theology in dramatic terms rather than the usual modernist metaphysical terms of facts, ideas a propositions... A dramatic script written by God for the stage of the world, with humans as actors and God as the author, the Holy Spirit as the director, and the church playing out the final act... Theology is not an intellectual exercise... it is a theatrical performance, where Christians participate in God's story of redemption. In this sense, our understanding of God is not so much theology (study of God's word), but theo-drama (the performance of God's word.)"
Indeed. Amen. The Book of Esther makes a perfect Purim play because it was written to resemble a conventional five act performance (that's the canonical book)! It also make sense that in this historical story, God's utilization of imagery, metaphor and simile that convey the doctrinal truths; so critical for our spiritual lives; in an artistic and dramatic manor, conducts a profound emotional impact on our postmodernist culture. The Bible is not a textbook, but rather an heteroglossic eclectic epic, that communicates and persuades. This is how we are to spread the gospel. Evangelism will not reach the world. Art, emotional packed narrative and creativity will. It sows seeds into the hearts and the minds in those who are viewing or reading the content. This, is the power of allegory. Esther's polysemy and rational imprecision is what makes allegory evoke the deeper essence of truth; something that logical discourse falls short to describe.
