Aftermath


Esther 8:1–8
1On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. 2And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. 3Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. 4When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. 5And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. 6For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” 7Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. 8But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”

Now that Haman’s body swings from the gallows he had constructed, his wealth and property are given to Esther, who passes them on to Mordecai. Mordecai is also given Haman’s office of Grand Vizier, second only to the king in power across all of Persia. But while Haman may be dead and gone the damage caused by his hatred remains. The Jews are still in peril as the king’s authority was used to issue the extermination decree. That cannot be undone. Esther still has work to do to secure the future of her people. The good news is that she has 10 months before Haman’s evil edict will be carried out. This gives her time to come up with a new plan which we will examine tomorrow.

While God’s name still has not been mentioned, we are seeing His protective hand throughout the story. Esther and the Jews are now rid of an evil enemy and Esther is in a position of power. She has even boldly gone uninvited before the king yet again to beg for the lives of her people. What I find in Esther that is most worthy of recognition is her patient wisdom. These events most certainly would cause one to react rashly but she never does. Even in the face of Haman’s destructive edict she allows 3 days of fasting and praying to pass before she enters the king’s court. Esther clearly has godly wisdom on her side and probably a great deal of wise counsel from her cousin, Mordecai.


When faced with trouble most people are prone to rash and unwise actions. It can be truly difficult to take a step back and pray through a situation rather than just jumping forward with our own plans. But Esther stands in sharp contrast to that lifestyle. Instead she models patient wisdom and prayer first. That is my take home lesson for the day. It is always time to take a step back and pray, seeking God’s face and asking for His wisdom – which He will always grant. The discipline comes not necessarily in the praying, but in what must happen first; stopping to take a beat which allows you to be proactive rather than reactive. The person who steps back rather than jumping into the fray is the person of trust. And for me, that is the point. Do I trust that if I hand the situation up to God He will handle it for me? Honestly, sometimes the answer to that is ‘yes’ but far too often it is ‘no’. Something to work on for today.

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