Esther 9:20 - Meaning and Application

We can imagine how deeply Mordecai and Esther were moved by the Jews’ victory over their enemies. They would have watched that turning point with joy equal to the worry and care they had carried before it. Their hearts must have been full of praise to God, and new songs of thanks would have risen from them.

The text then tells us how they worked to spread the news among their people and keep it alive for later generations. They wanted God honored, and they wanted his people encouraged to trust him at all times. First, the history was written and copies were sent to all the Jews in every province of the empire, near and far (Esther 9:20). Everyone knew part of the story already, because the first decree had shown them their danger and the second their rescue. But they did not know how that great reversal came about, so Mordecai wrote it all down.

If this book is the work of Mordecai, as many think, it is interesting to compare his style with Nehemiah’s. Nehemiah often pauses to speak of God’s providence and “the good hand of my God” on him, which helps stir devotion in the reader. Mordecai never names God at all in the story. Nehemiah wrote in Jerusalem, where public religion was common, while Mordecai wrote in Shushan, the Persian capital, where politics mattered more than piety.

Still, a person may truly be devoted to God without using many words of devotion. We should not judge or look down on our brothers and sisters for that reason. Some think this was not actually written by Mordecai, but taken from the Persian records and then explained by the Jews. However it came down to us, the point is that the great work was carefully recorded.

Second, a yearly feast was established to remember this wonderful rescue. It was to be kept from generation to generation, so that children would hear of it and tell it to their children, and so they might set their hope in God (Psalm 78:6-7). This would honor God as the protector of his people and encourage believers to trust his wisdom, power, and goodness in their hardest trials. Future generations would benefit from this deliverance, so they should also celebrate its memory.

The feast was kept every year on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the twelfth month, about a month before Passover (Esther 9:21). The first and last months of the year were thus linked with memories of God’s preserving care. They kept two days together as days of thanksgiving, and they did not think that was too much time to give to praise. We should not be stingy in giving thanks to the One who gives so freely.

They did not celebrate the day of battle itself, but the days when they rested from their enemies. The Jews in Shushan kept the fifteenth day as well, and both days became part of the observance. In the same way, the Sabbath was appointed not on the day God finished his work, but on the day he rested from it. Some modern Jews keep the thirteenth day as a fast day because it was the day set for their destruction, but that practice rests on the matters of fasting and crying, which belonged to their time of distress (Esther 4:3, 4:16). That sorrow was not meant to continue after God changed their fasting into joy and gladness (Zechariah 8:19).

The feast was called Purim (Esther 9:26), from the Persian word for “lots.” Haman had used lots to choose the time of the Jews’ destruction, but the Lord, who rules over every lot, turned that very time into their victory. The name itself reminded them that the God of Israel rules over the schemes of the nations. He can use the foolish superstitions of the heathen to serve his own purpose, and he can frustrate the signs and claims of false guides (Isaiah 47:13; Isaiah 44:25-26).

This feast was not a divine command, so it is not called a holy day, but a human appointment that became a good day (Esther 9:19, 9:22). The Jews themselves agreed to keep it and took it upon themselves to continue what they had begun (Esther 9:23, 9:27). Mordecai and Esther then confirmed their decision so that it would stand more firmly for later generations. They wrote with authority, since Esther was queen and Mordecai was the chief official of the kingdom. It is good when those in power use their authority to support what is right.

They also wrote “with words of peace and truth.” Though they wrote firmly, they wrote kindly, not in a harsh or bossy way. Their style was much like the council’s letter in Jerusalem, which said in effect, “If you do this, you will do well. Farewell” (Acts 15:29). Their greeting and closing carried the spirit of peace and truth.

This observance was for all the Jews, for their children, and for all who joined themselves to them (Esther 9:27). It was meant to be both universal and lasting. Even the proselytes, those who had joined the Jewish people, were to keep it, as a sign of their sincere love for them and their shared life with them. Sharing in joy and praise is one part of the fellowship of God’s people.

The feast was to be kept so that the memory of the great things God had done for his church would never die out among their descendants (Esther 9:28). God does not work wonders just for one day. What he does is meant to be remembered forever, because his works are lasting (Ecclesiastes 3:14). In this matter they were to remember Haman’s evil plans against the church, which would stand as a lasting disgrace to him (Esther 9:24). They were to keep that in mind so God’s people would never become careless while such hateful enemies remain. Their enemies aim at nothing less than destruction, so God’s people must look to him for salvation.

Esther’s good service to the church brought her lasting honor. When Esther risked her life to go before the king, he canceled the order to destroy the Jews (Esther 9:25). That should always be remembered, and whenever this feast was kept and this history read, people were to tell what she did as a memorial to her. Good deeds done for the people of God should be remembered, so they encourage others to do the same. God will not forget them, and neither should we.

Their own prayers and the answers God gave them should also be remembered (Esther 9:31). These were the record of their fasting and their cries. The more we have cried out to God in trouble, and the more we have prayed for rescue, the more thankful we should be when he delivers us. Call on God in time of trouble, and then offer him thanks.

This feast was to be observed in a good way. First, it was to be a day of gladness, feasting, and joy (Esther 9:22). A feast is made for laughter (Ecclesiastes 10:19). When God gives us reason to rejoice, we should show our joy openly.

It was also to be a day of generosity, with people sending portions to one another. That showed friendship, kindness, and the close bond formed by their shared danger and shared deliverance. Friends share their goods with one another.

It was also to be a day of charity, with gifts sent to the poor. They were not to send tokens only to relatives and wealthy neighbors, but also to the poor and the disabled (Luke 14:12, 13). Those who have received mercy should, in return, show mercy. There is always a need, since the poor are always with us. Thanksgiving and giving to the poor should go together, so that while we rejoice and bless God, the poor may rejoice with us and bless us in return.

Later, this feast was enriched with something even better. At the feast, they read the whole story in the synagogue each day, and they offered three prayers to God. In the first, they thanked God for counting them worthy to take part in this worship. In the second, they thanked him for the miraculous rescue of their ancestors. In the third, they praised him for allowing them to live and keep another festival in memory of it. So Bishop Patrick explains it.

But in later times the feast declined into something much worse. Their own writers admit that it is often celebrated with gluttony, drunkenness, and wild behavior. The Talmud says plainly that at Purim a man should drink until he cannot tell the difference between “Cursed be Haman” and “Blessed be Mordecai.” This shows how the sinful human heart often turns even a good thing into something corrupt. Here a holy feast became a carnival, a full-on revel, like some country wakes among us. Nothing makes the heart cleaner or honors religion more than holy joy, and nothing stains the heart and shames religion more than fleshly fun and sensual pleasure. What is best, when corrupted, becomes the worst.