Esther 8:5
And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king’s provinces:
After falling at the king's feet with tears and receiving favor through the extended golden scepter, Esther arose to plead that if she pleased the king letters be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces, for she could not endure to see the evil come upon her people and kindred. The king answers by authorizing Esther and Mordecai to write to the Jews in his name as they please and seal it with his ring, because writing written in the king's name and sealed cannot be reversed, so a new decree permits the Jews to defend themselves and prevents their destruction. The account shows God caring for His people and overruling human wrath to bring their salvation, preserving the godly line through whom the Man Child should come. What was Satan's attempt through Haman his agent is frustrated to end in the vindication of God's people and the overthrow of their enemies, so that Haman is hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. It proves God will work deliverance when a death decree is aimed at those who refuse to worship according to man's command, in the final Sabbath controversy over keeping the Sabbath according to man's command, as His defense of innocent citizens standing for religious freedom against oppression.
Esther's Plea and Answer
Esther's plea came after she had fallen at the king's feet with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and after favor was shown to her through the extended golden scepter, she then arose and stood to speak. Standing before him she asked with humble deference that, if she had found favor in his sight and the thing seemed right before him and she was pleasing in his eyes, letters be written to reverse what Haman had devised. What was to be reversed was the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces. The appeal was for the king to authorize a written reversal of that decree against her people throughout the provinces.
The setting was the Persian Empire under the great Persian king Xerxes, called Ahasuerus in the Bible, where in the providence of God a Jewish maiden was brought to the throne of Persia. Haman the prime minister stood in the favor of the king while heading the Amalekites, the wicked and sworn enemies of God's children, and he plotted to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces. His opposition is linked to Amalek and to King Agag, whose descendant he was. Her request was driven by her inability to endure seeing the evil coming upon her people and the destruction of her kindred.
The king's answer gave Esther and Mordecai authority to write to the Jews in the king's name as they pleased. They were to seal it with the king's ring, because writing written in the king's name and sealed with the king's ring cannot be reversed. A new decree therefore allowed the Jews to defend themselves against those who attacked them, and by that intervention the planned destruction of the people was prevented.
God's Overruling Providence
Esther's plea for written reversal of Haman's decree to destroy the Jews throughout the provinces belongs to God's care for His people, overruling the plot and turning human wrath toward His own purpose to bring about their salvation. In providence a Jewish maiden was brought to the throne of Persia under the great king Xerxes, called Ahasuerus in the Bible, while Haman the prime minister stood in royal favor and plotted their destruction. Haman stood at the head of the Amalekites, the wicked and sworn enemies of God's children, and his opposition is linked to Amalek and to King Agag, whose descendant he was.
What was Satan's attempt through Haman to destroy all the people of God was frustrated, ending in the triumphant vindication of God's people and the utter and absolute defeat of wicked Haman, the devil's agent. Their enemies were completely overthrown, and the counter-decree that followed Esther's request saved God's people from destruction. That deliverance preserved the godly line, for the Jews marked for destruction were the woman through whom the Man Child should come.
Wisdom enabled Esther to save the nation from massacre and Mordecai to overcome Haman. God's providence so reversed the threat that Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
Prophecy and Final Application
Medo-Persia in the reign of Ahasuerus was the second head of the beast, the abnormal satanic system of church-and-state government. Satan perverted that system to his own ends in seeking through Haman to destroy all the people of God. The Jews thus marked for destruction were the woman through whom the Man Child should come, and God frustrated Satan's purpose to cut them off.
The asking for reversal of Haman's letters to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces proves that God will work deliverance for His people when a death decree is aimed at those who refuse to worship according to man's command. It belongs to the continuing contest between God's way and man's way seen when Cain slew Abel for refusing his way of worship and when the Jews persecuted Christ for refusing their ideas of Sabbath-keeping. That Sabbath controversy will end in the effort to put to death those who will not yield to the demand to keep the Sabbath according to man's command. The plea to undo the decree was an appeal for protection from oppression, and the deliverance is God's defense of innocent citizens standing for religious freedom. In that deliverance God's providence reversed the threat so that Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.