Esther 8:1 - Meaning and Application

It was only recently that we saw Esther and Mordecai in tears, fear, fasting, and prayer. Now we see light break in after darkness. Esther was made rich. Haman had been hanged as a traitor, so his estate was taken by the crown. The king gave all of it to Esther, to make up for the terror and grief that wicked man had caused her (Esther 8:1).

His houses, lands, goods, and all the money he had gathered, likely a great amount, since he had been prime minister, all became hers. They were added to the allowance she already had. In this way, the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous, and the innocent share in the silver (Proverbs 13:22; Job 27:17-18). What Haman meant for evil against Esther became a source of good for her. This shows that possessions should be judged by how they are used.

Mordecai was also lifted up. His grand public parade through the city was only a brief flash of honor. Here we see the more lasting and useful promotion that followed, and the parade had helped prepare the way for it. He was now openly recognized as the queen’s cousin, something the king had likely not known before, even though Esther had been queen for four years. Mordecai was so humble and modest that he had hidden his tie to the queen and had never used her position for his own gain.

Who but Mordecai would have paid so little attention to such great honor? Now he was brought before the king, introduced, as we say, to kiss the king’s hand. At last Esther had told the king who Mordecai was to her, not only a close relative, but the best friend she had in the world, the man who had cared for her when she was an orphan, like a father to her. The king now felt, for his wife’s sake, that he owed Mordecai more than he had realized, and he was glad to honor him.

How great were the services of this man, to whom both king and queen owed their lives in effect! When he was brought before the king, he no doubt bowed and showed respect, though he would not do so for Haman the Amalekite, a descendant of Israel’s old enemy.

The king also made Mordecai his privy seal bearer, the man who kept and used the royal ring, in Haman’s place. All the trust he had given Haman, and all the power he had placed in his hands, were now given to Mordecai. The king made this faithful, humble man as much his trusted favorite, adviser, and agent as he had once made the proud, dishonest Haman. It was a happy change in his closest companions, and his people soon felt the benefit of it.

The queen also made Mordecai steward of Haman’s estate, giving him charge over the house of Haman so he could manage it and keep it in her possession. This shows how empty it is to store up treasure on earth. A person who piles up riches does not know who will gather them (Psalm 39:6), and does not even know whether the one who follows will be wise or foolish (Ecclesiastes 2:19), much less whether he will be a friend or an enemy. How little peace, and how much constant pain, Haman would have had if he could have foreseen that Mordecai, the man he hated most in the world, would one day rule over everything he had worked for and thought he had built so wisely.

So it is wise to make sure of the riches that cannot be left behind, the riches that go with us into the next world.