REMEMBERING THE GRACE

Esther 9:20-10:3 / Keywords 9:22

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.

 

Purim Established

9:20 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,[a] 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.

The Greatness of Mordecai

10:1 King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. 2 And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.

Footnotes

a. Esther 9:25 Or when Esther came before the king

 

1. Mordecai recorded these events and had all Jews celebrate the days of their victory every year. It was to remember how they got relief from their enemies and how their sorrow turned into joy. Mordecai encouraged them to give gifts to each other and those who were in need. The joy the Lord gives us is not for a moment's excitement. It is to remember the grace that we experienced in him. So that we grow in the right relationship with him, and even if we face another desperate situation, we trust in the Lord, who has power above all. It is our heart's devotion to depend on the Lord always (1Ki 8:61). What effort do you make each day to remember the grace of God you receive? Would you come down to your knees today to recognize and thank the Lord?

 

2. Chapter 10 describes the exaltation of Mordecai. While he was a valuable and faithful worker in the court, the king also recognized him for his loyalty to his people. Mordecai's greatness was faithfulness to his people, whom the Lord had chosen to reveal his glory. Mordecai spoke up and worked in his capacity to deliver them (1Cor 15:58).

 

Prayer Father, thank you for delivering me from the grip of sin and death. Thank you for the joy and comfort of knowing your goodness and faithfulness. Help me to devote my heart to remembering you each day.

One Word Memories should not die out