Okay, good evening, everyone. Are you all ready to get back into the book of Esther? I hope so. Tonight, we're going to be studying chapter 8. Lord willing, we'll finish chapter 8. We'll be looking at verses 9 through 17. But before we get started, let me give just a quick recap or review of what we study last time together. In that study, in our last study, we had picked up immediately following Haman's execution. He had just been executed. And although the king's anger at that point had been abated somewhat. He was feeling better about the overall situation. The king was. Queen Esther and her people, they still had a problem, serious problem. Haman is dead, but his edict, his irreversible edict, is still very much alive and well. the edict to annihilate the Jews throughout Persia. It is irreversible. But… Praise God, the fate of God's people is not. Now, Queen Esther knew full well, and it was a good reminder for us, that what is impossible with man is entirely possible with God. God has been in full control throughout Queen Esther's life in bringing her to this place at this time. and he's still in control. We saw in that study last week Mordecai being promoted. Mordecai was promoted to the new prime minister of Persia. He was promoted to the head or the steward over Haman's entire household, his entire estate. And Mordecai is now the architect of a new edict that will ultimately serve to save God's people. So in tonight's study, we're going to see the fate of God's people reverse. We're going to see it reverse in a similar way Mordecai's and Haman's did over the past few hours. their hours. Now Queen Esther and Mordecai, they've devised a plan that will not revoke the edict that Haman enacted in the name of the king, but what they are about to do will ultimately prove to be an even greater solution than a simple yet impossible dissolution of Haman's edict. They're going to empower the Jews throughout Persia so that on the day that's been appointed for their annihilation, for their extermination, they will ultimately be the victors, not the victims. They're outnumbered, and the odds are definitely against them. God's people might appear in this situation to be in the minority, but in reality, just one, just one person with God is always the majority. Queen Esther and Mordecai, they've not forgotten, nor should we, that the Lord has brought them to this place. to the Persian Empire and through all of the difficulties and trials that they've gone through and they've encountered for such a time as this. They're ready and they are prepared to act. So let's get into it. Esther chapter 8 verses 9 through 17 says, the king's scribes were summoned at that time in the third month. which is the month of Sivan on the 23rd day. And an edict was written according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. and also to the Jews in their script and their language. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods. on the day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus on the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar. A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king's service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. And the decree was issued in Susa, the citadel. Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple. and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them." Amen. Okay, kind of a long portion of scripture tonight. I'm not going to be going verse by verse through this section. I'm breaking it up into two main passages. The first one being verses 9 through 14. So let's look at that portion together. This passage, 9 through 14, begins with a strong sense of royal authority. Now Queen Esther and Mordecai had just been issued or given this new and great level of authority, of delegated authority by the king. And to use a modern vernacular, I would say that they hit the ground running. Much like President Donald Trump on his first day back in office earlier this year, when he signed 23 executive orders that first day, Queen Esther and Mordecai, they didn't take the day off. They didn't go on an extended vacation. They didn't take a breather from their intense work of getting rid of Haman and securing for themselves the means to take care of their people, to save their people. They didn't. They kept working. They kept working hard. They kept working diligently. by immediately calling for the king's scribes to begin drafting an executive order of their own. Now, the series of events described in chapter 8, verse 9, are almost word for word the same series of events that took place when Haman initiated the original edict back in chapter 3, verse 12. Let me read that verse to you just as a reminder. This is chapter 3, verse 12. It says, then the king's scribes were summoned on the 13th day of the first month. And an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all of the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. The only difference is that the original edict, the verse that I just read to you, was drafted all according to what Haman commanded. This edict, the one we're looking at tonight, is being drafted according to all that Mordecai commanded. This shows us that although Haman's edict is not being revoked, it can't be revoked, it is being very specifically addressed for the purpose of reversing its intended results, which is the annihilation of God's people. Now, writing was a very important means of official communication in the Persian Empire. It was the primary method of official authorized communications coming from the throne. The parallel of these two edicts that were so very important to the unfolding story of God saving his people, this parallelism demonstrates that importance. When a communication was written in the name of the king and sealed with his signet ring, for those who read that communication, It was as if the king was right there himself speaking to that person face to face. Now, the details that were given in how this edict was written and how it was distributed are important. They're important details for us to consider because it's in all of these details that confirmed to the inhabitants of Persia, those all throughout the empire who read this, that these instructions, what they were reading, were unequivocally coming from the king himself. They were the king's words and they must be obeyed. So what I want to do tonight is I want to look at three key details that were given. The first being the writing of the edict. First, we're told that it was written by the king's scribes. Now, the king's scribes were the official secretaries who wrote all of the king's decrees, all of his communications, in order to ensure that they were very carefully worded so that they communicated exactly what the king wanted communicated. It was a very, very important but also a very dangerous role in the king's court. Because if there was any miscommunication regarding any edict that the king declared, there was a miscommunication regardless of whose fault it actually was, the blame would surely fall on these scribes. So very important, but very dangerous position they held. We're told that it was written in the name of the king. Now, this meant that these were the actual words of the king. Not an interpretation, not a paraphrase, but the actual words of the king of Persia. Now Haman's edict was written according to not what the king had commanded, but according to what Haman had commanded. Unlike When Haman's edict was written, now for Mordecai's edict, the king is actually present. He's actually there. He's participating in it. He's fully aware of what was being written, what was being included in the edict, and was fully authorizing specifically every detail that Mordecai commanded. Therefore, every word that was in Mordecai's edict was actually and truly from the king. Then we're told that it was sealed with the king's signet ring. And we've studied this before. The royal signet ring was a ring that the king wore on his finger, and it had on the face of it an intricate and unique carving on the face of it. The image on the ring was unique. It was unique to the king, and it represented the king and his full authority. It was used as what we call a wax stamp. You don't see this too often today, but in those days to authenticate that a document, a decree, a letter, any type of communication was directly from the king, was actually the king's own words, What they would do is wax was melted onto the document and then the king would take his signet ring and would press the face of the ring into the molten wax and hold it there until the wax hardened. And what this did is it left in the wax and on the document an exact imprint of the king's signet ring. So any document carrying the king's seal from his signet ring carried the full weight and force of the king's authority. Now this ring belonged to the king. And it was for his exclusive use, which meant that any fraudulent, that is, any unauthorized use of this seal would surely be met with immediate execution. What this did is it gave the king's seal on a document an extremely high level of validity. people could trust it. When they saw that, they knew that it was from the king. So an edict and all it contained, issued with the king's seal, carried the full weight of the king's authority. If the edict said do something, you did it. If it said don't do something, you didn't do it. It carried the full weight of the king's authority. Anyone who would disobey would suffer the full penalty of directly disobeying the king. And then, of course, it also meant that under no circumstances could that edict be rescinded or revoked by anyone, not even the king himself. Okay. Then, I want to look at the actual content of the edict. Verse 11 summarizes the content of Mordecai's edict. And it's really, it's the heart of this passage, and it's really the hinge pin of God's plan of salvation for his people in Persia. It's the answer to Haman's original edict to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate the Jews. It doesn't revoke it. It can't. But it does neutralize it. Mordecai's edict enables the Jews throughout Persia to assemble and to protect themselves in the face of impending attack upon them." The original language verbiage is, excuse me, is that of positioning an army to defend itself against an attack. Now, the king of Persia, he had and maintained a formidable army. At the time of this account, Persia was the most powerful nation on earth, certainly from a military standpoint. The law of Persia forbid any group of people within the empire to form any type of armed force, any type of militia. The one and only exception to that law was, in the event, if the king, for whatever reason he chose, but if the king gave special permission to a group to form an armed militia. And then it was permissible, but only under that one exception. Well, this is exactly what Haman had bamboozled the king into allowing in the first edict. He just gave Haman carte blanche, and that's what Haman did. Haman's edict gave all non-Jews permission to take up arms. Now, this was by no means a general permission to bear arms and organize a militia. The permission granted here was only for one particular day that was clearly defined in the edict. It permitted only non-Jews to bear arms and attack, and they were only permitted to attack Jews. Okay, it's wording very clearly excluded Jews from taking up arms. But Haman's edict did not specifically forbid them from doing so. It simply left them under the standing law of Persia, which left them completely and entirely defenseless. Okay? Now, Mordecai's edict enabled and empowered the Jews throughout Persia to bear arms. to assemble and to protect themselves, but also in a very specific way. The purpose was not to give Jews, in general, dominance over the inhabitants of Persia. The purpose was to reverse the effect of Haman's original edict since it was impossible to revoke. In other words, it leveled the playing field. Okay. The Jews were no longer defenseless. So the wording of Mordecai's edict was in almost exact parallel to Haman's. It was written in the name of the king and it stated explicitly that the king gave permission. It identified that permission was given to every Jew in every city throughout Persia, no exceptions. And the verbs used to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate are lifted almost verbatim from Haman's edict. It identified the geographic scope of the king's permission given. Any armed force of any people from any province throughout Persia This permission was granted only against those who might attack the Jews. It was not carte blanche to launch an offensive attack. It identified the time scope of the king's permission. The Jews were authorized to attack and destroy all enemies who would assault them, on the day appointed for their annihilation, not just any time they felt like it. It identified the demographic scope of the king's permission, men, women, and children. It gave the Jews the right to protect themselves and to kill any non-Jews, including their wives and children, who might attack them. This verbiage also was lifted almost verbatim from Haman's edict. Now, again, this is not authorization to launch an offensive attack against the Persian, but to defend themselves, to defend themselves, even against attackers who might be women or even children. And then finally, the edict gave the Jews the right to plunder the goods of any would-be attackers. That was the content. Now let's look at the distribution of the edict. The recipient list for Mordecai's edict is the same list of recipients to whom Haman's edict was sent. Because Mordecai's edict was intended to be a countermeasure to Haman's, it was of the utmost importance that everyone who received Haman's edict also received Mordecai's. Mordecai's edict was also distributed in the same way as Haman's was, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. Now remember, since the Persian Empire was comprised of many conquered and captured people, there were many different languages throughout the over 127 provinces. So the edict was translated into every language, into every script of the empire to ensure that everyone every individual throughout the empire thoroughly understood the contents. This was to ensure that every individual throughout the empire who had read Mordecai's Edict would be privy to all of the information. That every individual, high and low ranking and everywhere in between, they were all able to read and understand and have access to this edict. It says the edict was delivered on horses bred by the royal stud. Interesting detail there. These were horses that were specifically bred, groomed, trained, and kept by palace horse keepers. Now, the average working class Persian citizen might not have been privy, probably wasn't privy, to all that went in to these horses, the horses used in the king's service. But here's the thing, they certainly recognized one when they saw it. They knew that that was one of the king's horses. This in and of itself communicated to all. that this communication was from the king, authorized by the king, and of the utmost importance. We're told the decree was delivered by mounted couriers. These were official mail couriers of the palace, specially and exclusively authorized to deliver and to distribute official communications from the king. The text says that these couriers rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. The word hurriedly here, it literally means to be sent out in haste, to be rushed or driven out. The double emphasis here of hurriedly and urged by the king's commands tells us that Mordecai, Queen Esther, and the king placed an extremely high level of importance and priority on the edict being delivered as soon as possible. So all of these details, they work together to ratify the validity of the edict and to ensure that everyone throughout the empire received, read, and understood the edict and understood that it was directly from the king. Okay. Now, the next section is the final section in this chapter, verses 15 through 17. Let me reread those and then we'll look at them. Beginning in verse 15, it says, then, after all of this, then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white. with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them." So once the edict was written, signed, sealed, and en route to be delivered, we see Mordecai exits the scene. We're given in verse 15 some details about Mordecai, about his appearance. that are significant. It says that he was wearing royal robes of blue and white. Now, that's all we're told about these robes that he's wearing. These might have been the same robes that Haman had dressed him in to march him throughout the city. They might have been the robes that Haman wore as the king's prime minister. Or they might have been a different set of robes entirely that the king presented to Mordecai. We don't know for sure. But the point here, the point that we're meant to see, is that they were royal robes. That Mordecai has been honored And he's been promoted by the king to his second in command, to his new prime minister. Now we're also told that he was wearing an elaborate golden crown or headdress and a robe of fine linen and purple. These were demonstrating an elevation or move well beyond the honor that the king had already bestowed upon Mordecai back in chapter six. Mordecai was now dressed and being presented publicly, not only as being honored by royalty, but he was being presented publicly as royalty. When Mordecai steps out of the palace through the king's gate and into the city square, we're told that the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. Now, I can only offer speculation on this. We're not told exactly why the inhabitants of Susa were so excited, but I'm going to share with you some of my speculation on why they were rejoicing at the sight of Mordecai in this royal dress. By this time, most of the people in the capital city knew that Haman had been hung on the gallows and was, therefore, no longer the king's number one. Remember, he's still hanging on the gallows. Now, the people of Susa, seeing Mordecai dressed as they were accustomed to seeing Haman dressed, it would have been a safe presumption on their part that Mordecai was replacing Haman and was now the new prime minister. Based on what we know of Haman, I would imagine, like I said, this is speculation, but I would imagine that he was not a real popular prime minister among the citizens of Susa. He most likely demanded their respect, respect from everyone, in the same manner he did from Mordecai, unkind and unfriendly. Mordecai, on the other hand, was known by most people, if not everybody, in the capital city. He was the type of man to whom people would willingly show respect. Not because he demanded it under threat of retribution of some type, but because they truly respected him. Mordecai, I believe, was was a man that people liked and respected. So when they saw Mordecai come out of the palace, through the king's gate, out into the city square, they shouted and rejoiced. I can see that they were excited to have Mordecai now as prime minister instead of Haman. Now verses 16 and 17 describe to us the overall tone of the Jewish people throughout Persia after having received and read Mordecai's edict. Rightfully so, the Jews felt, they felt a sense of relief. What was grief and despair has been turned into gladness and joy. So much so that they had a great feast and established a new holiday that would be celebrated each year from this point forward. The holiday known as Purim will be fully developed in the next chapter, in chapter nine, and we'll go through that in great detail. And then the final statement concluding this whole section of the story. The final statement is, "...and many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them." So remember, Persia was comprised primarily of pagans. native Persians along with people from the many various countries and nations that had been conquered by Persia. And so many of these Persians suddenly declared themselves Jews, meaning that they became Jews and began following the ways of the true God, of the God of Israel. Now the text uses the term many to describe the number of these Persian converts. The original Hebrew word, it literally means very many or a great number of people. We're not told exactly how many. But if you consider the vast number of people who lived throughout Persia, many of them, it was clear that it was a large number. There was a large number of non-Jews who began serving God at that time. It was a significant event. It was certainly an interesting an unexpected turn of events, a turn of events that Queen Esther and Mordecai probably, most likely, were not anticipating or were not looking for. But I believe, I really do, I'm convinced that the Lord was not only anticipating this, but that it was part of His plan from the very beginning. These Persians who declared themselves Jews are what we refer to as proselytes. That is, people who have converted from a false pagan religion to the true religion of serving and worshiping the God of Israel. And we do see proselytes throughout the Old Covenant in individuals. Just for example, I'll give you three examples, but there's others. Ruth was a proselyte. Nebuchadnezzar was a proselyte. Lydia was a proselyte. So there were these individual occurrences, but never before on such a large scale were non-Jews converted to being Jews. I believe that what we see here in the book of Esther was an expression of what the Lord always desired from Israel, but that Israel so often failed to do. And that is to accurately and faithfully represent the Lord to the pagan nations of the world. for the purpose of drawing them into the kingdom of God, of getting their attention and drawing them into the kingdom of God. And where Israel repeatedly failed at that, Queen Esther and Mordecai didn't fail. They excelled. They lived according to God's plan for their lives, and they stayed faithful to His righteous standards all through it, even through the really, really difficult times. Through their faithfulness, God blessed them. And these non-Jews, these pagans throughout Persia, witnessed their faithfulness and witnessed God's faithfulness, God's blessing to them. And as a result, many were told, many were drawn to the Lord and declared themselves Jews. Now this principle carries forward into the New Covenant in what we know as the Great Commission. Matthew 28.19 says, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. We are called by God. to go among the pagans of the world, to accurately and faithfully represent the Lord, to preach the true gospel through all our deeds and through all of our words, to be lights shining in a dark world, to be instruments in God's hand, to draw the pagans of the world into his kingdom. Queen Esther and Mordecai did just this. Their concern, I mean, their immediate concern was for the Jews throughout Persia. But remember, God is at work behind the scenes throughout this entire story. God's concern was for all those whom he intended to draw into his kingdom. And he accomplished his plan and purpose through the faithfulness and obedience of Queen Esther and Mordecai. Praise God. And then finally, we're told for fear of the Jews had fallen on them. Now, the fear that had fallen on these Persians, leading them to this transformation, first off, it wasn't the fear that the Jews had been experiencing as a result of Haman's edict to annihilate them. And it was not necessarily, nor do I believe it was, a a terror-based fear of the Jews themselves. The word fear in our translation can also be translated to the English word awe. Awe. I believe that their hearts, the hearts of these Persians, I believe that their hearts were impacted by this unexpected turn of events for the Jews throughout Persia, the sudden favor given to them all by the king. I believe that God opened their spiritual eyes to see and understand the truth about God, the truth in the God of the Jews. and to see the power of the faith and trust in God being displayed in the lives and in the situation of the Jews throughout Persia. Now, all of these Persians who were now referring to themselves as Jews, they might not have all become covenant followers of God, what we would call true believers today. But their hearts were certainly turned toward the Lord in a way they never had been before. Much like King Nebuchadnezzar's heart was turned when he saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerge from the fiery furnace, unscathed by the fire and not even smelling of smoke, changed his heart toward the Lord. So over the course of the past two days now, that's from since the beginning of chapter seven, there's been a lot of activity within the king's palace. We began with Haman going off to wine and dine with the king and queen for a second time, right? A gallows overshadowing Mordecai's life. And Queen Esther facing the greatest challenge of her life. We're ending this section of the story with Haman having been hung on the gallows that he built for Mordecai. Queen Esther in legal position of all of Haman's estate. And Mordecai being the steward over that estate. and Mordecai having been promoted to second in command of the greatest and strongest nation on the face of the earth. Now the Jews throughout Persia had been living in fear of their lives, but now there is gladness and joy among the Jews throughout the empire. The world would probably see this as a real lucky break for the Jews, or perhaps just some type of cosmic fate. The reality, the reality, and what we're meant to see in it all is the Lord at work behind the scenes, ruling and reigning from His throne on high, ensuring that every minute detail of His plan of ultimate redemption for His people works out precisely the way He intends. In applying all that we've seen and learned from this section, we should always take great comfort in knowing that regardless of how difficult or how bleak our circumstances might seem to us at any given time, the Lord is always there. He's always there. Even when He doesn't seem to be, He's there. Not one detail in our lives ever escapes His eye. Everything that happens has a purpose that will ultimately fulfill His purpose and plan in our lives and in redemptive history. And that our sole responsibility in it all is to stay close to the Lord, to follow His lead in everything, to cooperate with Him in all things, and to keep our spiritual eyes focused on the eternal, not on the temporal. Praise God. Now, in our next and final section of the story of Esther, we're going to see the Lord lead his people to salvation through victory over their enemies, and the Lord inaugurate an ongoing way for his people to remember the events of this story and to give him thanks always. Let's pray. Father, thank you so very much for the assurance that you give to us all throughout your word that you will complete the work that you begin in us, that you are always at work behind the scenes in our lives. Thank you for that, Father. Please, I pray that you will work in each of our hearts, that we will remain faithful to you. in all circumstances at all times, regardless of what those circumstances are, but that we will remain faithful to you in them all as you take us through them. Thank you, Father. Amen.