Esther 9:12-14 – “Wow”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²And the king said to Esther the queen, “In Shushan the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred of man and the ten sons of Haman. In the rest of the provinces of the king, what have they done? And what [is] your petition and it will be given to you, and what [is] your further request, and it will be done.” ¹³And Esther said, “If upon the king it is good, let it be given also tomorrow to the Jews which [are] in Shushan to do according to the decree of the day and hang the ten sons of Haman on the tree,” ¹⁴and the king said to do thus and a decree was given in Shushan and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.

This is a particularly significant passage as these are the last words we’ll hear from our lovely Esther. Before I ponder on them, there are a few things I want to point out. One is another Jewish tradition that the bulk of these “enemies of the Jews” were actually, like Haman, Amalekites. That would also explain their animosity and the blind hatred that could not give up the delicious opportunity to kill Jews, even after Mordecai’s edict was issued. Certainly, since Adolf Hitler, we are all too aware one doesn’t have to be an Amalekite to hate Jewish people. On the other hand, the Lord had told the Israelites to wipe out the Amalekites, which Saul infamously failed to do. What the Rabbis suggest is that this is that final blow, that final extinction of the Amalekites. There is no way now to know if this is the case, but it certainly fits.

Also, there are always people who read into the text a spirit of vindictiveness and vengeance on the part of the Jews, including our Esther. However, we should note that no less than three times (v.10,15, 16) we are told “but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.” When Mordecai issued the second decree, he wrote it (as we noted earlier) fighting fire with fire. The first decree had given the enemies of the Jews the freedom to not only kill the men, but also the women and children, and to plunder their Jewish victims’ possessions. Mordecai wrote in the same freedoms for the Jewish people. Yet what does it say? “But they did not lay a hand on the plunder.” Also note, throughout the text, it is the men they killed, not the women and children.

What is my point? Obviously, that doesn’t sound very “vindictive.” Rather it only highlights the fact that the Jews are not being driven by vindictiveness—even when almost anyone would grant them the right. No, they were clearly acting in complete self-defense. The Jewish men stood with their swords drawn, looking into the faces of men who had resolved to kill even the Jewish women and children. Like the men and women of our armed forces, those Jewish men stood to protect their wives and children and what that required was that they kill 800 men in Susa and 75,000 throughout the rest of the empire. The brave pilots of the British RAF took to the air to shoot down the German bombers, not first of all out of vindictiveness, but rather to protect their innocent families and friends down below.

Again, this is clearly emphasized by the thrice-repeated “but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.” Having killed the men who threatened their families, these Jewish men simply took their swords and went home. One has to wonder what effect that had on the Persian people? I wonder that even in the case of the families of the men they killed. As news came back that the Jews were slaughtering those men, surely their families back home cringed in terror awaiting the Jewish assault on they themselves. How did it affect them when, after waiting and waiting and waiting, they finally realized the Jews weren’t coming?

And then there is our Esther. What a girl she is! First we learned she was beautiful, then we learned she was very smart, now we learn that she is a very strong woman. This passage deeply impresses me. Up to this point we have seen her sweet and humble, we’ve seen her very brave, and we’ve seen her driven by love. As much as we would admire all those qualities, there is the temptation to see weakness in it all. My father warned me once, “They may see your kindness as weakness.” For whatever reason, in this world, that is always a danger. It’s easy to see Esther as this vey beautiful, very sweet girl, but then to assume “she wouldn’t hurt a fly,” that, when it comes time to get tough on people, she’ll look to Xerxes or Mordecai to be the “strong” ones. Yet, what do we see? Now we find out she was anything but weak! Here we have an example of a woman who could be all those things she should be (sweet, humble, loving) and yet do it all out of strength, not weakness.

Jesus is that way. He came to this world and said of Himself He was “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). Isaiah said He’d be a man who “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out” (42:3). When the Pharisees brought to Him the woman caught in adultery, what did He say? “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). Even as He was being crucified, Isaiah said it would be true of Him, “As a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth” (53:7). It is easy, in this world, to interpret all of that for weakness.

Yet, when He returns, what will He be like? In Rev. 19, John tells us, “Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war. He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head…He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is The Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and pure, follow Him on white horses. And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (vv.11-15). 

Jesus was and is anything but weak! In fact His gentleness and His kindness were actually strength under control. As He told Peter in the Garden, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt. 26:53). What we learn here in Esther 9:13 is that our queen is like Him! Her sweetness and kindness are qualities of strength, not weakness. When she says to Xerxes, “If it pleases the king…,” we now know that submissive spirit is not one of weakness but of strength. She knows exactly what she’s doing. She knows it is right to respect this man who is her husband and king, and so that is how she chooses to behave. It is her choice.

And now what do we find? Even after the Jews in Susa have killed five hundred cruel, malignant men, she somehow knows there are still three hundred more who will be plotting their next opportunity to kill the Jewish people—men, women, and little children. And so, she immediately requests of Xerxes that they be allowed a second day to hunt down those men and execute them. Our sweet, loving girl has a spine made of solid steel! And not only that, but she also knows that evil people need to be crushed forcefully. Even after these eight hundred men are dead, just in case anyone else has any lingering intentions to harm the Jewish people, there needs to be one last display of strength they will not miss. “Hang the ten sons of Haman on the tree,” she says. They’re already dead. However, the world needs to know they’re dead. The world needs to know such malignant men will not be tolerated. And so, Esther would have them exposed to what, in their culture, was the ultimate disgrace, to have their dead bodies hung up to rot before everyone’s eyes.

One interesting note is that, in Hebrew, it is literally the tree. This “tree” might be a cross or a gallows, but whatever it is, it is very possible it is the same place their father had built to hang Mordecai and the same place their father died. It may or may not have been, but either way, Esther would have evil crushed and crushed powerfully. Solomon warned, “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). Esther was wise (and strong) enough to make sure that didn’t happen.

Again, I am deeply impressed. These last words we get to hear from our Esther would leave us not only admiring her for her beauty and all her sweetness, but we’re left admiring her strength! She may be sweet, but she’s no one to mess with!

Wow.