During the time that Mordecai held office in the palace, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the palace eunuchs who guarded the entrance to the king’s rooms, became hostile to King Xerxes and plotted to assassinate him. Mordecai learned about it and told Queen Esther, who then told the king what Mordecai had found out. There was an investigation, and it was discovered that the report was true, so both men were hanged on the gallows. The king ordered an account of this to be written down in the official records of the empire.
One often never knows the consequences of the decisions we make (Esther 6) – particularly at the point where we make them.
Haman was furious when he realized that Mordecai was not going to kneel and bow to him, and when he learned that Mordecai was a Jew, he decided to do more than punish Mordecai alone. He made plans to kill every Jew in the whole Persian Empire.
Hate. Pride. It’s ugly. May I ever remain humble, Father.
So Haman told the king, “There is a certain race of people scattered all over your empire and found in every province. They observe customs that are not like those of any other people. Moreover, they do not obey the laws of the empire, so it is not in your best interests to tolerate them. If it please Your Majesty, issue a decree that they are to be put to death. If you do, I guarantee that I will be able to put 375 tons of silver into the royal treasury for the administration of the empire.”
The king took off his ring, which was used to stamp proclamations and make them official, and gave it to the enemy of the Jewish people, Haman son of Hammedatha, the descendant of Agag. The king told him, “The people and their money are yours; do as you like with them.”
How could King Xerxes be diligent in investigating the attempted assassination of one man (himself) and then abandon an entire people to be slaughtered on a whim? Stupifying imprudence.
…this proclamation… contained the instructions that on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, all Jews—young and old, women and children—were to be killed. They were to be slaughtered without mercy and their belongings were to be taken.
What Adolf Hitler succeeded in doing centuries later. Terrible.
At the king’s command the decree was made public in the capital city of Susa, and runners carried the news to the provinces. The king and Haman sat down and had a drink while the city of Susa was being thrown into confusion.
What a contrast. The two of them were totally detached from reality. May I always have my ears to the ground, Lord!
…Esther gave… this message to take back to Mordecai: “…it has been a month since the king sent for me.”
The king did not see his wife for an entire month! I suppose that was what the harem was for… 🥸
When Mordecai received Esther’s message, he sent her this warning: “Don’t imagine that you are safer than any other Jew just because you are in the royal palace. If you keep quiet at a time like this, help will come from heaven to the Jews, and they will be saved, but you will die and your father’s family will come to an end. Yet who knows—maybe it was for a time like this that you were made queen!”
So well said. This is what our attitude should be in all things. May it be so, Father. May I rise to the occasion at the designated time. May I act in the present in ways that prepare me for all of what is to come (1 Samuel 17:34-37).