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Throughout the book of Esther, I have been drawing lines connecting Haman with Satan and this chapter is no different. Haman was defeated and eliminated but the King’s decree still stood over the Jewish people and it could not be revoked. Sound familiar?
Though our enemy Satan has been defeated, he is not the one who has the power to determine our fate. It is God who will judge and we stand condemned in our sin – a decree that cannot be revoked because our God is a holy God. But, just as the King proposed a counter-decree, so did God. He did not compromise on His first decree of judgment but used the counter to satisfy His wrath and set us free from the bondage of sin. It is a beautiful picture of Salvation and the parallels are fascinating.
“The speed with which the circulation of the royal decree was carried out is a rebuke to the Church of God which has been entrusted with the gospel of salvation. More than eighteen hundred years have passed, and still immense multitudes have never heard the name of Christ or the love of God. Let us at least strain every nerve to pass on the joyful news, overtaking the tidings of death.”
F.B. Meyer
This counter-edict was granted somewhere around May/June. If you remember, back in Esther 3, God (through the casting of lots) had originally granted the Jews about 11 months to prepare for their destruction. They now stood 8 months away from both edicts simultaneously becoming effective. This was plenty of time to prepare for such an attack. The grace of God allowing time to spread the news and prepare is another amazing parallel to the Gospel.
I am unsure of exactly how this defense played out, but we can trust that proper authority was given by the King to the people in order to defend themselves from the original edict.
“…the assault mentioned here was expected to be directed against the men, women, children, and possessions of the Jews. Against such assault, the Jews were to arm themselves and make proper defenses.”
Nelson’s Commentary