Esther 8:7,8 “Praising in our Pajamas”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷The king Xerxes spoke to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold! The house of Haman I have given to Esther and him they hanged upon a gallows, because he sent his hand against the Jews. ⁸And you (pl.), write upon the Jews according to good in your (pl.) eyes in the name of the king and seal in the ring of the king because a writing which [has] been written in the name of the king and [has] been sealed in the ring of the king not to bring back.

Here is one more place in the Bible where someone got up one fearful morning, with no idea how the day would turn out, only to put on their pajamas that night amazed at the goodness of God! Let us be reminded that will always be true. Let us always start our day confidently trusting the Lord, fully expecting that, no matter what, He’ll do great things, and when it’s all over, we’ll be able to look back and praise Him!

Esther and Mordecai couldn’t have dreamed of a better response from the king. He cannot directly grant Esther’s request, since she specifically said, “Let an order be written overruling the dispatches which Haman devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.” She’s asking him to rescind the decree, but he cannot do that. What he does is the next best thing – he grants to Esther and Mordecai the power to write some new edict “as seems best to you.” Although they cannot write a law repealing the earlier one, they can craft one which they themselves are sure will secure the welfare of their Jewish people.

It is interesting to ponder Xerxes’ response. One wonders exactly why he repeats the usual “for what is written in the name of the king cannot be repealed.” Is he just adding that as an encouragement to Esther and Mordecai that, whatever they come up with will become the same unalterable law? Or is he explaining why he’s not actually repealing Haman’s decree? I’m not the first to wonder about this. Joseph Exell, in his Pulpit Commentaries, suggested what the king is saying is this: “See now, I have done what I could—I have given Esther Haman's house; I have had Haman himself executed because he put forth his hand against the Jews. What yet remains? I am asked to save your countrymen by revoking my late edict. That may not be. The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's seal, may no man reverse. But, short of this, I give you full liberty of action. Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring. Surely you can devise something which will save your people without calling on me to retract my own words, and at the same time break a great principle of Persian law.”

That does make sense, but I’m afraid, as is seemingly (for me) too often, the Hebrew itself would allow either understanding. As I’ve often lamented, Hebrew is almost a short-hand language of sorts. It’s a language of pictures, not logical statements like we prefer. It’s frequently as if “you had to be there.” On the other hand, we can all (including me) rest assured that the Lord will make crystal clear everything we actually need to know!

One thing we do learn from this passage is the practical absurdity of this Persian practice. It is utterly ludicrous to maintain that any human law, once written, can never be changed. Even the best and wisest can only establish laws based on the facts they currently possess. Only God is omniscient and the plain, simple fact is that “we ain’t Him!” Only God can give a law and then say, “Not one jot or tittle shall pass away, ’til all be fulfilled.” Interestingly, though, even God Himself may alter His own decrees when something changes to warrant it. He told Jonah, “In 40 days, Nineveh shall be destroyed.” The people of Nineveh repented, and they were not destroyed. As we see over and over in the Bible, although God Himself is immutable, yet He will change His plans based on how people respond.

So even God Himself doesn’t abide by such a ludicrous standard. It really is nothing but foolish human egos, trying to act as if they were gods, with no regard at all for its absurdity or the cruelty which it may engender. May we all be humble enough to say, “Well, I never thought of that. I never saw it that way. I guess I was wrong,” or “I guess we’d better take another look at this.”

The really good news for Esther and Mordecai is that, even living under such a foolish legal system, their God can still provide for them. Their God can still protect them. Their God can still bless them. You and I can take heart in that ourselves. Regardless how inept our government may be, regardless if our company issues ludicrous policies, you and I can still love people and do right, all the while confident our good God is ultimately in control!

As we arise in the morning, let us strive to walk in confidence in our good God, fully expecting to put on our pajamas praising Him!