Esther 9:3, commentary and pictures

The verse belongs to the history of the Jews under Medo-Persian rule, under the great Persian king Xerxes, called Ahasuerus. Haman, the prime minister and counselor of the Persian king, a descendant of Agag, stood in the king's favor at the head of the Amalekites, the wicked and sworn enemies of God's children, and in hatred of the Jews obtained a decree to destroy them. The crisis grew out of the long bitterness of the Amalekites toward the Jews in the war from generation to generation, left unchecked when Saul failed to scatter them, and it involved the casting of lots, since Purim comes from Pur meaning lot.

The reversal came when on the night the king could not sleep he had the chronicles read and learned of Mordecai's faithfulness in saving his life, Mordecai was raised to great honor through Haman's own counsel, a counter decree was issued for the Jews to destroy their enemies, and Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai, through the efforts of Mordecai and Esther and the people's prayers, after protective letters were sent. The verse itself means that all the rulers of the provinces and the king's lieutenants, deputies, and officers helped the Jews in defending themselves against the decree of destruction because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them, and their help contributed to the Jews' victory over their enemies, even while those who persisted in hatred of the Jews still attacked. The support of the officials formed part of the reversal that saved God's people from destruction and brought about the overthrow and utter and absolute defeat of their enemies, frustrating Haman's and Satan's attempt through Haman, the devil's agent, to destroy all the Jewish people, the people through whom the Messiah would come, and preserving the godly line.

The verse shows the overruling power of God in saving the Jews and is evidence that God worked for the Jews, not an instance of the Persian empire triumphing over them. In the conflict between human demands and God's way, the deliverance illustrates God's work to protect His people when persecution threatens them and to answer the faith of the believing ones, ending as a triumphant vindication in which great danger is followed by joy. The verse belongs to the origin of the feast of Purim, and it stands in a book where the name of God does not occur in English and is found in the original only five times in the form of an acrostic.