Where Is God? - The Tale of Queen Esther
Lanse Evangelical Free Church
December 7, 2025 :: Esther 8:1-17
Our story is not over yet.
The Tale of Queen Esther did not end with the death of the wicked Haman at the tail end of chapter 7.
“This vile Haman,” the enemy of the Jews, is dead, but his decree lives on.
The Jews are in still in danger of genocide.
We just read to us from chapter 3 of this book reminding us of the danger that looms over the Jews throughout the kingdom of Persia in the middle of the fifth century before Christ was born.
A Jewish man named Mordecai had refused to fall in honor before a prominent national leader named Haman. And Haman had overreacted to this dishonor to the point of convincing the king, King Xerxes I (also known as Ahasuerus) to give Haman the unthinkable authority to decree the extermination of all of the Jews–not just Mordecai, not just some of Jews but all of them–in a single day in about a year’s time.
And this decree was signed and sealed with the king’s own ring.
The Jews throughout the world went into mourning, dressing in sackcloth and ashes and wailing and wailing while they waited for death to come to their entire people.
But then a lot happened in chapters 4 through 7! In just a few short days, a series of unlikely events occurred which resulted in the honoring of Mordecai and the execution of Haman!
And those unlikely events swirled around the courageous choices of the brave and beautiful Queen Esther (also known as Hadassah).
Queen Esther was Mordecai’s cousin whom he had raised since she was orphaned and therefore she also was a Jew–though a secret one. And Esther had (through another series of unlikely events!) been elevated above all of the other young women in the Persian kingdom to become the queen.
And after the decree of Haman went out, Mordecai persuaded Queen Esther to take her life in her hands and to plead with her husband the king to save the lives of the Jews. And she decided to do just that, no matter what. If was she going to die, well then she was going to die.
We read in chapter 5 how Esther fasted for three days, and then robed in royal majesty, she took her life in her hands, going against custom and law, to approach the king even when she had not been invited. And the king spared her life. He extended his golden scepter to welcome her into his presence and asked her what was her request. He said he would give her even up to half of his kingdom!
And Esther wisely and winsomely invited the king (and Haman!) to a short series of banquets (one of the king’s favorite things in all the world), and then and only then did she reveal her true nationality, her deepest identity, and beg him to spare her life and the life of all of the Jews.
Queen Esther had apparently been elevated to her royal position for such a time as this very moment.
The king had listened to her impassioned plea and became incensed and enraged. He demanded to know who was behind this plot to kill Esther and her people!
Of course, we know (having read chapter 3) that the king was fully implicated in this plot. He had carelessly and callously agreed to it. But Esther wisely sidestepped that part of it and pointed the finger at the true enemy of the Jews.
She said, “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.”
And then the king stormed out and Haman fell at Esther’s feet and the king came back in and charged Haman with attempted rape and had him impaled upon a ridiculously tall wooden pole that Haman had intended to impale Mordecai upon. The enemy of the Jews was dead.
But the story is not over. Haman has died, but his decree lives on.
That’s why we have chapter 8. Let’s look at it together, starting in verse 1.
By the way, let’s do what we’ve been doing since chapter 3. When I reed the name of Haman in chapter 8, let’s drown it out with loud sounds like boos and hisses. The Jews have been doing that for thousands of years when they retell this story. I think his name appears 6 times in this chapter. Let’s do it every time. I’ll remind you, but see if you can spot it before it comes.
Hint: His name is in verse 1 and verse 2. Ready?
“That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman's estate.”
The storyteller begins chapter 8 with the words, “That same day...”
What a day that was!
This is the same day that has been two days long for Xerxes. He hasn’t slept since before Esther’s first banquet yesterday!
That night the king could not sleep, so instead of counting sheep, he had his servants read to him the chronicles of his kingdom as a bedtime story. And he just so happened to be reminded of a debt of honor he owed to Mordecai for once saving his life. So first thing in the morning, through a very funny misunderstanding (to us, not to Haman) the king had Haman parade Mordecai all through the city of Susa dressed in a royal robe and riding on a royal horse. That’s this same day.
It’s the same day that Haman’s family told him that he was going down.
It’s the same day of Queen Esther’s Second Banquet when Haman did go down for good. (Timing is everything!)
The storyteller says that same day, the King gave Queen Esther all of Haman’s stuff! Literally, his “house.” And that same day Queen Esther put Mordecai in charge of all of Haman’s stuff.
The historian Herodotus says that in Persian law the property of a traitor reverted to the crown. So when Haman’s face had been covered and his body impaled, his stuff then belonged to King Ahasuerus to give to whomever he pleased.
And that’s not all that Mordecai got from Haman. Verse 1 says that “Mordecai came into the presence of the king” because Esther revealed their relationship.
“Honey, I want to introduce you to my cousin Mordecai. He’s the one who saved your life a few years back, and he’s been my adviser and protector all of these years. You can trust him.”
And see how the king trusts him? He gives Mordecai the signet ring which he had taken off of the dead man! It’s like he’s making Mordecai the new Grand Vizier.
Now, I’m not sure he was being wise to just give away his ring again so quickly. But at least it’s in better hands!
Mordecai is no longer just a simple civil servant who works at the front desk. He has now been elevated to a top spot in the kingdom.
But what good is that if the Jews are all going to die anyway?
Esther begs once more. Verse 3.
“Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. [Here it comes...] She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.”
Don’t miss this dramatic moment. Esther knows that the clock is still ticking. The decree still stands. So she lets go of all of her dignity and falls at the king’s feet and weeps.
She’s sobbing! Who cares if Haman is dead and she now owns his stuff? Who cares if Mordecai is prime minister? Even if they are both safe because they are so close to the king, who cares if the rest of their people are going to die?!
“Please, please, please, nullify the decree of Haman against the Jews!”
And it sure seems from verse 4 like she’s come again without being invited. Look at verse 4.
“Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him.”
She is safe once again. Safe to beg for her people’s survival. She stands there, her mascara running down her cheeks, and she does her best to persuade the king to do something more. Verse 5.
“‘If it pleases the king,’ she said, ‘and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that...Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces.
For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?’” (vv.5-6).
Esther knows her man. She knows that he’s “narcissistic, impulsive, passion-driven, tyrannical...” (Marion Ann Taylor, The Story of God Commentary, pg. 198). Xerxes is dangerous and not trustworthy, but he does like to be generous. And he does respond to passionate counsel.
So Esther pulls out all the stops and persuades like she’s never persuaded before. She says it like four ways that if he really cares for her and really thinks it’s the right thing to do, that he would write out a new order to overrule the decree of Haman. Because if he doesn’t, she can’t imagine going on. She can’t endure it.
I don’t think that’s just an act, but I do think it’s very persuasive to a husband who might not have been inclined to do anything further. See what he says in verse 7?
“King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, [Here it comes, last one...] ‘Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows.”
I feel like he's going to say, “What more do you want me to do? I've killed your enemy and made you incredibly wealthy. What else do you want, woman?" But he doesn't. He is persuaded. [Proverbs 21:1!] V.8
“Now write another decree in the king's name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king's signet ring–for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.’”
See what I mean about the “decree lives on?”
The Medes and the Persians apparently had this ridiculous rule that a law from their king could not be revoked. As if the king could never make a mistake!
We saw that back in the Book of Daniel, chapter 6, right? King Darius? He also was tricked into making a law–that for one month you couldn’t pray to anyone but him. And Daniel refused to obey that law, and the king couldn’t forgive him for it. He had to throw him into the lion’s den!
Is that going to be the fate of all of the Jews? They are all going to be thrown to the lions? “Nothing I can do about it. My hands are tied. Apparently, I signed the paper saying, ‘genocide,’ so it’s genocide.”
So much for “up to half of my kingdom!”
How do you change an unchangeable law? Xerxes says, “Write another decree.”
“Here’s the trick. Write a counter decree.”
Now, I find it flabbergasting that the king still just carelessly gives his ring over to Mordecai to write something in his name. Has he not learned anything?!
But he does allow them to write something that could stop the massacre. And that’s not nothing. Because in many ways, it is admitting that his first decree was a bad idea. Probably hard for a guy like Xerxes to do.
Verse 8 again. “[W]rite another decree in the king's name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king's signet ring–for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”
Now, I’ve said that Chapter 8 rhymes with Chapter 3. Here’s what I mean. Something very similar happens in chapter 8 as nearly everything that is said or done in chapter 3. But just the opposite!
In fact, one statistic I read this week says that there are 78% of the exact same Hebrews words in verses 9 through 14 as were in chapter 3, verses 12 through 15. Chapter 8 rhymes with Chapter 3. Look at verse 9.
“At once the royal secretaries were summoned–on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king's signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king” (vv.9-10). Stop there for a second.
Sound familiar?
They call the secretaries. (Just like chapter 3.) They give the date. It’s actually been 2 months and 10 days since the first decree went out. They address all of the leaders throughout the kingdom from India to (it says Cush) which is towards the southern part of Egypt. (Just like chapter 3.)
And what key kingdom is between India and Cush? Not just Persia. But Israel.
And Mordecai made sure that the Israelites got this message loud and clear. That’s not something that was in chapter 3, but the Jews need to hear this in their own language so they can get ready.
And just like in chapter 3, they get the pony express to push this message out to the furthest corner of the kingdom before it’s too late. It will still take months to get there. There is no international texting.
And here’s what the new decree says. Verse 11.
“The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed force of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children; and to plunder the property of their enemies.”
Does that sound familiar? Same words as chapter 3, “destroy, kill and annihilate,” but now it says that Jews could do that back to anyone who tried to do it to them.
Now they have a fighting chance. This second decree makes the first decree very hard to carry out. It basically authorizes a civil war if the followers of Haman ask for it.
Notice that Mordecai does not go overboard with the king’s ring. He doesn’t say, “All of the Jews are now in charge in every province. The king says!” He doesn’t say, “All of the Jews can now attack whomever they hate!” No, he just says that they can defend themselves against attackers.
It does seem to say that they can “destroy, kill, and annihilate” their attackers and their attackers’ women and children, but we’re going to see next week that there’s no evidence that they went so far as to use that authorization. Perhaps it’s just there to rhyme. Perhaps that kind of authorization was only if the women and the children took part in the attacking, too. Or maybe Mordecai went too far. He is just a man, after all.
But the point here is that this second decree symmetrically counters the first decree and may spell the survival of the Jewish people.
When will this happen? Verse 12. (It’s probably going to rhyme with chapter 3.)
“The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. [March 7, 473BC. The exact same day as was picked by the pur cast by Haman. On they day, the Jews can fight back. V.13] A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers, riding the royal horses, raced out, spurred on by the king's command. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa” (vv.12-14).
Sound familiar? Chapter 8 rhymes with Chapter 3. But it’s a much better song!
Now, how do we apply this part of the story to our lives today?
I don’t think the Bible is teaching us how to write decrees, amiright? And I don’t think it’s promising us that all of these same things that happened to Esther or Mordecai are always going to happen to us. At least, I hope not!
But what does chapter 8 teach us? What is the storyteller telling us today?
I think a good way into that is to return once again to the question in the title of our series, “Where Is God?”
Where is God in Esther chapter 8?
I’m sure that the Jews have been feeling that question all along. Where is God when you have an enemy at the very top of the kingdom you live in? Where is God when your enemy has been able to be authorize the death of your entire people group? Where is God when you’ve been traumatized like that? We could go on.
But now, things seems to be changing. Your enemy has been stopped and even killed! Now His decree is being countered. And the word is spreading fast.
Where is God now?
Well, it doesn’t say. God is never named in the book of Esther. The storyteller never comes out and says it directly. But at this point in the story it’s kind of hard to miss. God may be hidden, but it’s pretty obvious He’s right there doing stuff. Driving the story forward. Moving everything along according to His inscrutable but unimprovable plan.
I thought of three things to point out that chapter 8 suggests and the rest of the Bible confirms. Here’s number one.
Where is God in Esther chapter 8? He’s right there:
#1. RIGHTING EVERY WRONG.
I think that’s why chapter 8 rhymes with chapter 3, so that we feel how Someone in chapter 8 is undoing all of the evil of chapter 3.
It’s poetic justice like we saw last week with Haman being hung on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.
But it’s poetic justice writ large! Poetic justice on the grandest scale. Every single thing that is wrong in chapter 3 is being countered in chapter 8. And I think that points to the truth that everything that is wrong in the whole wild world is being righted and will be righted when the Lord Jesus returns.
Everything that is broken will be fixed.
Everything that is twisted will be straightened out.
Everything that is damaged will be mended.
Everything that has gone wrong will be set right.
Justice will be done and will be seen to be done. And things will be like they should have been and...even better! Because chapter 8 is not just the reverse of chapter 3, it is that and it’s also improved. Chapter 8 rhymes with Chapter 3. But it’s a much better song!
Speaking of songs, it’s Christmas carol season, and one of my all time favorites is “Joy to the World.”
Verse 3 says:
“No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found!”
- Isaac Watts
As far as the curse is found, the blessings will flow when Jesus Christ returns. He’s going to reverse the curse. And everything will be better than new!
Do you need to hear that today? I’ll bet you do. Because so often we feel the question, “Where is God? Is He paying attention? Is He going to do something? Does He know what they are doing to me?”
And this second decree sounding so much like the first one and yet so different and so much better reminds us that God is righting every wrong.
And the Jews felt this in their bones!
Remember, they have been in mourning now for two months and ten days. Scratchy sackcloth, ashes smeared all over them, crying every day for 70 days. And the chief mourner was Mordecai. But look at him now in verse 15.
“Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating” (vv.15-17a).
That word “feasting” is “mishteh” the word for banquet. The Jews were partying now!
You see how this chapter rhymes with chapter 3 and the first part of chapter 4? At the end of chapter 3, they were “bewildered” and Haman was drinking it up. Well, look who's feasting now!
I love that picture of Mordecai all dressed up in royal finery. (I guess he was a Penn State fan with his blue and white? Turns out Mordecai was the next coach of the Nittany Lions!)
Actually these are the same royal colors as were on display at the banquets in the first chapter. Chapter 8 rhymes with Chapter 1, as well!
And it rhymes with chapter 6 when Mordecai was paraded around town by his enemy. That was probably just this same morning! And it seemed like a dream. But now it’s Mordecai’s every day reality.
Church, that’s what the new creation is going to be like. The new heavens and the new earth? It’s going to feel like a dream every single day forever.
Remember: Every bad thing must come to an end.
Or, let me put it this way. Point number two.
Where is God? He’s right here:
#2. WORKING ALL THINGS TO GOOD ENDS.
The book of Esther is shaping up to be a comedy. In the classic literary sense. It isn’t just funny, it has a happy ending. A deliriously happy ending!
I mean, just listen to verse 16 again. “For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.”
And that word for “happiness” can be translated “light!” The ESV says, “The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor.”
That’s what we’re headed towards, brothers and sisters! “Light and gladness and joy and honor” forever and ever and ever.
“His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14).
“Light and gladness and joy and honor” forever and ever and ever. Our Lord is working everything towards that end. The Bible says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
That doesn’t mean that everything is good. It means that one day everything will be good. And then it will be good forever. And that means that we can rejoice right now.
I think Mordecai and the Jews were singing Psalm 30 those days:
“You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
- King David in Psalm 30:11-12
And we can sing that song today.
Now, think about this:
Have they been saved yet?
No, their salvation has just been announced. They are still many months away from the thirteenth day of Adar. But just hearing of this decree is enough to send them into jubilant celebration!
How much more should we celebrate on this side of the Cross and the Empty Tomb?! It’s true that the fullness of the kingdom has not yet come. But our King has come and is coming again.
And just knowing that should make every day full of “happiness and joy, gladness and honor” for you and me.
The Lord is working all things to a good end. Including our salvation. Because, think about this, if this decree works, the bloodline of the Messiah will be safe. If Haman had succeeded in wiping out all of the Jews, then the Christ would not have come the first time. There would be no Christmas. And there would be no Good Friday. And no Resurrection Sunday. And no glorious kingdom to come. But if this second decree does what it’s designed to do, then everything still on track.
And not just for the Jews! But also for any Gentiles who come to faith. Apparently, that happened even then. Look at the last sentence of verse 17 before we go to the table.
“And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.”
Now, I’m sure that many of these people were just jumping on the bandwagon. They were fair-weather fans who saw how the wind had shifted towards the Jews, so they said, “Oh yeah, I’m one of them.” Maybe even to get authorization to kill their neighbors next year!
But some of them were like Rahab or like Ruth. Or like the Roman Centurion or Lydia or Simon the Tanner. They saw that God was working for the good of His people, and they wanted to be a part of that. So they came in.
Where is God in Esther chapter 8? He’s right here:
#3. TURNING HIS ENEMIES INTO HIS FAMILY.
And He’s still doing that today for Gentiles like you and me. And does it through the Cross.
The Bible says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
And that great loves turns us from enemy into family. The Bible says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).
Messages in this Series:
01. The King Gave a Banquet - Esther 1:1-22
02. “Hadassah” - Esther 2:1-23
03. "Bewildered" - Esther 3:1-15
04. "Who Knows?" - Esther 4:1-17
05. "What Is Your Request?" - Esther 5:1-14
06. "That Night the King Could Not Sleep" - Esther 6:1-14
07. "Queen Esther's Banquet" - Esther 7:1-10
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