Esther 8 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
Esther 8 Short Summary:
After the king put Haman to death, Mordecai was elevated to his vacated role in the government. While the king’s first decree couldn’t be revoked, Esther and Mordecai wrote a second decree permitting the Jews to arm themselves and defend themselves against any hostile force that came against them.
Esther 8 Bible Study
WHEN:
538 BC – Cyrus the Great of Persia frees the Jews from their Babylonian captivity.
516 BC – The rebuilding of the Temple is completed in Jerusalem.
483 BC – The story of Esther begins in the 3rd year of Ahasuerus’ reign.
479 BC – Esther becomes queen of Persia.
457 BC – Ezra arrives in Jerusalem.
444 BC – Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem.
KEY CHARACTERS:
King Ahasuerus – Also known as Xerxes. Reigned as king of Persia from 486-464 B.C.
Esther – A young Jewish woman who was chosen by Ahasuerus to become queen of Persia. She was an orphan who was raised by her cousin Mordecai.
Mordecai – A Jew who lived in Susa. He raised Esther after her parents died.
Haman – He was put to death by King Ahasuerus after his plan to exterminate the Jews was uncovered.
WHERE:
Susa – The capital of the Persian Empire. The location of the palace of Ahasuerus.
OUTLINE:
NEGATING HAMAN’S EVIL DECREE AGAINST THE JEWS (8:1-14):
After Haman’s evil was revealed and he was hanged, the possessions and authority of his house were given to Esther.
Esther in turn bestowed them on Mordecai, and she revealed her relationship with Mordecai to the king.
The king gave his signet ring, which had been on Haman’s hand, to Mordecai.
Haman had been taken out of the picture, but the problem of the king’s decree against the Jews still existed, and that decree had been disseminated throughout the empire.
Esther begged the king to revoke the order.
According to the law of the Persians, an order made by the king could not be revoked (Est 8:8; Dan 6:8-12), but Ahasuerus gave Esther and Mordecai permission to write another decree to counter the first.
All the scribes of Susa were gathered to write the new decree in all the languages of the empire.
The new decree stated that the Jews were allowed to arm themselves and defend themselves against any hostile group that tried to harm them.
This was meant to dissuade those who intended to carry out Haman’s initial decree.
The new decree was sealed by Mordecai with the king’s signet before being sent off to the provinces on the kingdom’s fastest horses.
FROM BEING DESPISED TO BEING HONORED, A TURNING POINT FOR THE JEWS (8:15-17):
Mordecai was dressed in royal robes, and a crown was placed on his head.
The people of Susa rejoiced, and the Jews were honored.
Outside of Susa, the Jews held feasts to celebrate the reversal of their fortune.
Some of the people of Persia who were not Jews, started declaring themselves to be Jews, because they saw how everything was going in the Jew’s favor.
APPLICATION
If you think about it, you can see a lot of parallels between what Esther did for her people and what Jesus has done for us.
They were both Jews, descendants of the tribes of Israel.
They were both unique, Esther was one-in-a-million picked out of the entire Persian empire, Jesus was the one unique sinless man.
They both used their uniqueness to serve others.
They were both royals, Esther a queen and Jesus a king.
They both accepted a responsibility that they alone could fill.
They both personally sacrificed to save their people.
They both defeated a murderous accuser, Esther defeated Haman and Jesus defeated Satan.
They both saved their people from death.
They both called their people to battle, the Jews to defend themselves and the disciples of Jesus to be soldiers in the Kingdom of God.
Their stories were both orchestrated by God to deal death blows to His adversaries.
Their stories both conclude with God winning!
