1 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. 2 The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. 3 And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. 4 Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.
Mordecai, now in Haman’s position, is regarded with respect and honor. We could infer that Mordecai did not rule in the same way as Haman. He most likely ruled by giving respect to others and guiding them in mutual respect. And even though the original edict was allowed to go forward (as dictated by Persian law), so was the second edict, which allowed the Jewish people to repel any threats. You’ll notice that the people of the surrounding areas helped the Jews against anyone who would attack them because Mordecai had grown in power and they feared a reprisal.
5 The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
There was still opposition to the Jews, as there always is. The Jews were attacked that day by forces that plotted for a good part of the year. Haman’s sons took up the plight of their dead father, but it was to no avail. Not only was Haman’s legacy held at bay by Mordecai, but the lineage was wiped out in this battle. Everything Haman fought for in his life was erased by his pettiness. But the plunder, which was a staple of wartime in the old world, was not touched.
11 The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. 12 The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.” 13 “If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.” 14 So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. 15 The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. 16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. 17 This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.
Esther’s next petition is a seemingly cruel one: for the Jews to continue to fight and to make a public display of the sons of Haman. First, why is she asking the king to extend the defense of their homes? Simply because the fight must be decisive. There is no doubt that the raging opponents of the Jews will continue, so why shouldn’t the Jews continue their defense? Second, why does Esther want to impale the ten sons of Haman? Back in the ancient days of the kingdom, when the first king Saul was in power, he was tasked by God to get rid of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:2-3). And even though God ordered Saul to do this, Saul did not carry out God’s orders. This is the completion of judgment against the Amalekites, the work finished by both Esther and Mordecai. This again is moment to pause and consider how God works His long- game plan. The problem with the Amalekites began in the era of Joshua. But it took centuries to come to a conclusion. Is this because God is too busy or doesn’t care enough to bring it to swift conclusion? As we can see, this was a moment that two people had to rise to in order to do God’s ultimate will against both Haman individually and the Amalekites collectively.
18 The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. 19 That is why rural Jews—those living in villages—observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.
This is the establishment of the Jewish celebration of Purim, which is celebrated to this day. It is celebrated in the spring. It is in remembrance of the events int he book of Esther and celebrated by exchanging gifts, food and drink (called Mishloach Moanot), eating a meal (called se’udat Purim), donating to the poor) called mattanot la-evyonim), and a reading of the book of Esther (the Megillah).
20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25 But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. 26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. 29 So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— 31 to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. 32 Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.
With Purim established, the Jews had a remembrance of what happened in the provinces of Persia. This is also a celebration of God moving among the Jewish people, of how He operates and to remember that he does so in the individual life as well as the collective community.