Esther 3:12-15

C. Sentence of Xerxes

TEXT: Esther 3:12-15

12

Then were the king's scribes called in the first month, on the thirteenth day thereof; and there was written according to all that Haman commanded unto the king's satraps, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the princes of every people, to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written and it was sealed with the king's ring.

13

And letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

14

A copy of the writing, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published unto all the peoples, that they should be ready against that day.

15

The posts went forth in haste by the king's commandment, and the decree was given out in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.

Today's English Version, Esther 3:12-15

So on the thirteenth day of the first month Haman called the king's secretaries and dictated a proclamation to be translated into every language and system of writing used in the empire and to be sent to all the rulers, governors, and officials. It was issued in the name of King Xerxes and stamped with his ring. Runners took this proclamation to every province of the empire. It contained the instructions that on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, all Jewsyoung and old, women and childrenwere to be killed. They were to be slaughtered without mercy and their belongings were to be taken. The contents of the proclamation were to be made public in every province, so that everyone would be prepared when that day came.
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.

COMMENTS

Esther 3:12 Penned: Scribes were specially trained men who were held in great esteem by most ancient civilizations. They not only wrote the decrees of kings but also recorded histories and were often called upon to interpret past precedents and offer advice to kings in making immediate decisions inasmuch as their whole lives were devoted to recording and studying royal chronicles, Xerxes called for the royal scribes and on the thirteenth day of Nisan (first month, cf. Esther 3:7) and ordered that all Haman had suggested should be written in all the languages currently used by conquered peoples throughout the whole Persian empire. To each copy of the decree that was to be sent to governors and princes of provinces, the emperor affixed an impression of his signet ring in wax (sealed). Thus it became an official policy of the Persian empire that all Jews were to be slain.

Esther 3:13-15 Posted: The Hebrew word haratzim means literally, the runners. The documents were sent out into the provinces of the empire through the Persian postal system. This was one of the outstanding contributions of the Persian culture to the civilizations following theirsa fast and proficient postal system. The Persian emperor could expect to be in touch with the fartherest reaches of his vast empire within one week's time (see Introduction, page 264). Persian mail-carriers were mounted on fast horses and had relay stations every 14 miles, much like the Pony Express in 19th century America.

What utter chaos and consternation such a decree would have. There is an ancient decree of Mithridates king of Pontus in Asia Minor (died 63 B.C.) sometimes cited as a parallel to this shocking decree of Xerxes: He sent secret order to all the satraps and the mayors of cities that they should within the space of thirty days fall upon the resident Romans and Italians, upon their wives and children and upon all the freemen of Italian origin, and kill them and take their goods as possessions. When the appointed day came, there was wailing and lamentation in the whole of Asia.

The Persian empire (including the Jews in all provinces) had from nine to eleven months warning of the massacre that was to come. Haman had decided action was to begin on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar (Feb./ Mar.). Modern Jews keep three days (13th, 14th and 15th of Adar) in connection with the feast of Purim; but they make the 13th a fast to commemorate the fast of Esther (Esther 4:16) and they keep the feast itself on the 14th and 15th. We shall discuss the feast of Purim in our comments on chapter nine.

Orders had been officially sent throughout the empire to massacre perhaps millions of people and the emperor and his prime minister sit down to feast and drink. How brutally callous! Well did the apostle Paul describe heathen civilizations in Romans, chapter one, who having refused to have God in their knowledge, become foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. The majority of the Persian populace (especially of the royal city, Susa) was perplexed. It was an ominous decree for any citizen to read. If Haman was capable of such ruthless rage against the Jews, he could vent the same rage on any other segment or people within the vast empire of Persia. Perhaps there were also many non-Jews feeling compassion and sympathy toward their Jewish neighbors.

We may learn the following lessons from this chapter:

1.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!

2.

Racial or cultural distinctives are often used as rationalizations for the real motives (pride, greed etc.) behind hatred and persecution.

3.

Some people will compromise even the most fundamental standards of humaneness for a bribe.

4.

When people refuse to have the One True God in their knowledge and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1), they inevitably harden their own consciences so that they can order millions to be murdered and sit down and celebrate it.