However, since writing isn’t my really my thing it takes me a little longer than normal people to write, and coupled with my talent for procrastination, here we are wrapping up 3 years after I started my Esther journey. A little longer than I had hoped, but the timing of this wrap up is fantastic as today is the feast of Purim! To close, I thought I would share some final links about Esther.

Eat cookies! Hamantaschen are the traditional cookies made at Purim. Also called “Haman’s Ears,” they are said to resemble Haman’s ears as they drooped when he had to confess his plot. There are lots of different fillings, so try Smitten Kitchen’s Tiny Poppy Seed ‘Taschen or The Cupcake Project Hamantashen.

Go visit the possible site of the tomb of Esther and Mordecai in Hamadan, Iran. This is one of the oldest cities in the world and is full of culture and history. You should probably hurry, though, as there are rumors of terrorists wanting to destroy the shrine. Since most of us have never ventured to this part of the world I would highly recommend Rick Steves’ guide to Iran (I plan to use it someday!).

Watch an Esther movie! Here are some of my favorite Esther movies and an opera:

One Night with the King (2006)  I can’t believe I didn’t see this movie when it first came out! There are so many great actors in this film, including Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, John Rhys-Davies and John Noble. Unlike some other Biblical-based films, this one stays fairly true to the original story and does a good job bringing the ancient story to life.

VeggieTales: Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen (2000)

For Your Consideration (2006) While this isn’t exactly about Esther, it is about Purim. This film is a Christopher Guest “mockumentary” in the style of Waiting for Guffman or Best in Show.

Esther and the King (1960), featuring Joan Collins

Esther, an opera in three acts composed by Hugo Weisgall in 1993

Esther Megillah from Library of Congress

The Jews’ success was so great that Mordecai instructed that everyone make this a yearly celebration to praise God for his deliverance. This feast, called Purim, was added to the other seven Levitical feasts. It is still celebrated today; it starts with a pre-Purim fast to remember Esther’s fast before approaching Xerxes, then a feast with a reading of the Esther Megillah (scroll), giving gifts to the poor, giving food to friends and eating hamantaschen cookies (Haman’s ears).

A Crash Course on Purim

Lego Purim for Kids
 

The Purim Song by the Maccabeats

Oh, how the tables have turned! Haman’s estate is given to Esther, who then appoints it to Mordecai. Mordecai is then introduced to the king in person and is given the same signet ring that Haman once wore, as well as royal robes and a crown (sound like Joseph?). While this is exciting and cause for celebration, there’s no time to celebrate yet. The original edict to annihilate the Jews is still set to happen; they are still facing genocide.

Royal Road from Livius.org

Xerxes gave Mordecai and Esther permission to write a new decree that allowed the Jews to defend themselves on the day of the edict. This new decree was then quickly written in every language and sent out to the 127 provinces. I found it amusing that the text specifically says the couriers used the “fast horses,” unlike when the original edict went out on regular horses. This was indeed news worth getting out quickly! It also helped that the Persians already had an excellent road system established that covered the empire.

Seed Thought: Even when a situation seems completely hopeless and all doors are shut, God provides a way of escape. In this case, while Esther couldn’t stop people from killing Jews on the day of the edict, she was at least able to allow the Jews the ability to fight back and protect their families. If it were me, I would have a hard time seeing this as an “escape,” but then again I often jump to conclusions prematurely. We’ve also got to wait on God for his timing on the escape; He often waits until the last second to act, but as Beth Moore says, “He’s never late.”

Haman Begging the Mercy of Esther (Rembrandt)

Not long after Haman finished his humiliating task of parading Mordecai around town on the king’s horse was it time to attend Esther’s second banquet. After small talk waned the king again asked Esther about her request. This time, she didn’t stall; she came right out and told the king about the plot to kill her and her people and that Haman was behind it.

Up to this point it seems as if Xerxes had no idea of what Haman was up to, or how much Haman hated Mordecai and the Jews. Xerxes grows furious as it all falls together in his mind; how he now sees Haman’s attempts at the throne and the threat against his beloved Queen. He leaves the room and goes out to the garden to fume and plan his next step.

Nabonidus Chronicle

Normally I sleep very well, so on the rare occasion that I do have trouble sleeping it really gets me frustrated. There was one night where I tried everything to get back to sleep: I watched two nature shows on TV, read, tried yoga, even ran two miles to tire myself out, but nothing worked. After reading Esther 6, I now have a new strategy: read legal documents!

After fasting for three days with zero food and zero water, Esther puts on her royal robes in preparation to go before the king. I can’t imagine how heavy those robes must have felt to her weak and shaky body, but I can also imagine God granting her an inner peace to help her focus on the task at hand. She had to intercede on behalf of her people, and she would use her position as Queen of Persia (that is if she lived to do so). She entered the inner court and stepped directly in the line of sight of King Xerxes.

Source: Livius.org

Persian court protocol was very strict. We’ve already read about how once an edict is given it cannot be reversed, and now we read of how those who drop in on the king uninvited will face the punishment of death unless the king extends his scepter to them. Thankfully, Esther had won the heart of Xerxes, and presumably he saw past her audacity to enter uninvited and noticed that something was wrong.

Xerxes seems smitten with Esther, asking her repeatedly ‘what is it?’ or ‘what is your request?’ and offering her up to half the kingdom. When the defining moment comes, Esther chickens out and instead of telling him her people’s plight she invites the king and Haman to dinner. What? I know she had been fasting for three days and was famished, but this was her chance! This reminded me of A Christmas Story when Ralphie gets on Santa’s lap and forgets what he wants for Christmas and says “a football…yeah, a football.” The king and Haman go that day to a feast that Esther had prepared. Again Xerxes asks Esther for her request and she stalls a second time! She invites them to a banquet the next day and says that then she will answer his question.

It seems to me that Esther is stalling so that she can wait for the perfect moment to break the news. She knows full well that Haman is the person behind the edict to destroy the Jews and yet invites him to dinner with her and the king…twice. Why would she not just have dinner with the king alone and tell him? Esther is savvy and no doubt has a plan of how to break the news to have the biggest impact possible.

Mordecai learned about Haman’s plot and immediately went into crisis mode, tearing his clothes and donning sackcloth (think scratchy potato sack) and ashes. He clothed himself in humility and repentance in the hopes that God would hear his cries for mercy for God’s people. Jews throughout Persia did the same.

Mordecai didn’t just mourn at home–he went to the king’s gate and wailed loudly and bitterly. Remember this is where he worked, and where people came to appeal to the king, so everyone saw and recognized him. What a sad and pitiful sight he must have been! Word got back to Esther, who apparently had not heard about the horrific edict.

We’re not sure why, but when she heard that he was in sackcloth and ashes Esther sent Mordecai a change of clothes. To give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she wanted him to change so that he could enter through the gate and come talk with her in person. Another reason could have been that she didn’t realize the gravity of the situation and wanted to help him save face. Whatever the reason, she sends the clothes and Mordecai refuses them. Esther then sends one of her trusted attendants, Hathach, to talk with Mordecai for her.

Through Hathach, Mordecai gives Esther the text of the edict, explains the fine print, and tells how much money Haman has promised the King’s treasury for the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai begs Esther to intercede on behalf of her people. At first Esther shys away from helping, giving the excuse that the king hasn’t called for her in a month, not to mention that approaching the king uninvited is against the law and is punishable by death. Mordecai sternly warns Esther that if she doesn’t help now, someone else will and she and her father’s family will perish. He encourages her that God has put her in this unlikely position for “such a time as this.” Esther gathers her resolve and instructs Mordecai to have all the Jews in Susa (and her own maids) fast for her for three days, no food or water, and on that third day she would approach the king.

Seed Thought: You’ve got to admit that Esther’s path to becoming queen was very unlikely. She was an orphan, she wasn’t of Persian heritage, and she was a Jew. Those attributes alone should have disqualified her from the running to becoming queen, but they didn’t. Xerxes fell in love with her and named her queen. Just like that. In hindsight it is easy to say that was God’s plan all along, but I wonder how she felt as these events were unfolding? For us today it is no different–we each have events that have brought us to where we are currently. Sometimes the path makes sense, sometimes it seems like nothing is coming together. Regardless of where you are at in life you are still in God’s plan, so rejoice when the Lord declares, “I know the plans I have for you” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Fast of Esther Today: This past Thursday, February 25, 2010, was the Fast of Esther, still observed by Jews today in honor of when Esther fasted for three days before going to the King (Esther 4:16). It is normally observed on the 13th day of the month of Adar, but this year that fell on a Sabbath day (Saturday) so they bumped it to the preceding Thursday. I read an article this morning about a Jewish school’s girls basketball team in Washington state who forfeited a tournament game on Thursday because they were observing the Fast of Esther.

After Mordecai’s reward is overlooked at the end of chapter 2 we arrive at chapter 3 where Haman is rewarded and elevated in Xerxes’ court. All the nobles and officials were to bow down to pay honor to Haman, but Mordecai refused to bow because he was a Jew who only bowed to the one true God. When Mordecai’s refusal and reason were brought before him, Haman “scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai” (Esther 3:6) and plotted genocide of the Jews living in Persia. Haman and his goonies cast the pur (lot) to choose the day and month of the genocide. What I find extremely interesting is that they cast the lot in the first month, Nisan, the day before the Passover feast that celebrates God delivering His people. Hold on to this thought–we’ll come back to it in later posts. The lot falls on the 12th month, meaning the genocide will take place in the month of Adar (February-March on our Gregorian calendar).

Haman cleverly persuades King Xerxes that it isn’t in his best interest to tolerate “a certain people” in his kingdom whose customs are different. In a scene reminiscent of Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, Haman then offers to pay silver to the King in exchange for the death of the Jews. The King told Haman to keep his money and then gives him his signet ring and permission to do with the people as he wished. Royal scribes wrote out Haman’s announcement in the languages of all the provinces and each proclamation was sealed with Xerxes’ signet ring and sent out by couriers throughout the kingdom.

Something that stuck out to me was how both Mordecai’s and Haman’s ancestry was continually pointed out. To the Jews, lineage meant everything. Tracing ancestry back to Abraham was their proof that they were saved. Mordecai’s family line is mentioned in Esther 2:5, showing that he is in the family of Kish. Kish was the father of King Saul, meaning that Mordecai is a Jew in the family line of Saul. This is important because Haman is referred to as the “Agagite” (Esther 3:1) and his ancestry is Amalekite (Esther 2:3). The Amalekites are the ones who attacked the Isrealites after they crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 17:8-16) and God declared that He would be at war with the Amalekites. Generations later King Saul was instructed to kill the Amalekites and their king, Agag (1 Samuel 15). So the “battle” between Mordecai and Haman is a continuation of Saul versus Agag–Israel’s continued war with the Amalekites starting back at the Exodus! Had King Saul obeyed the Lord, the book of Esther might not have come to be!

Seed Thought: Despite persecution, Mordecai the Jew followed God wholeheartedly, as demonstrated by his refusal to bow down to Haman. This is what separates him from his ancestor, King Saul, who didn’t rely on or follow God’s commands. To be as steadfast as Mordecai we’ve got to “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:8-10).

Balawat Gates of Shalmaneser III of Assyria. Author: Mujtaba Chohan Source: Wikimedia Commons

Esther 2 concludes with Mordecai sitting at the King’s gate. The gate was more of a gate house than a simple backyard fence gate. Think of a medieval castle with a separate grand entrance outside the castle. The gate at Susa was imposing–according to the Archaeological Study Bible it measured nearly 44 yards across (nearly half a football field long!) and had a central room that was 23 yards square. It may have looked like the Gate of Nations at Persepolis. There was a massive statue of Darius that stood at the entrance, with inscriptions in three languages honoring the Persian god Ahuramazda. Imagine standing before such an incredible structure!

I imagine that Mordecai was patiently waiting at the gate to hear news about Esther. While he’s waiting he overhears the “bouncers” guarding the gate’s doorway plotting to kill the King. Somehow Mordecai gets word to Esther, who then informs the King. An investigation takes place proving Mordecai’s report to be true and the would-be assassins were put to death. All this is recorded in the King’s annals, but at the end of the chapter we don’t see Mordecai being rewarded, which was customary for people who had demonstrated “acts of loyalty.”

Seed Thought: I struggle with the pride of getting credit for my accomplishments. I wonder if Mordecai felt that way when he wasn’t recognized for saving the King’s life? I don’t think he warned the King for the purpose of getting the reward; he was concerned for Esther’s safety and well-being, but he was also obedient to God. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Thank you to all the people who suggested names, and I wish I could send everyone a free copy of the book, but alas, that was not the deal, now was it? However, feel free to head over to the new Bookshelf and order one for yourself and one for a friend! 50% of the proceeds goes to benefit Carpenter Place.

Thanks again, and make sure to update your RSS feeds (again! last time, I promise… for now).