So on March 7 the two decrees of the king were put into effect. On that day, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but quite the opposite happened. It was the Jews who overpowered their enemies. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king’s provinces to attack anyone who tried to harm them. But no one could make a stand against them, for everyone was afraid of them. And all the nobles of the provinces, the highest officers, the governors, and the royal officials helped the Jews for fear of Mordecai. For Mordecai had been promoted in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces as he became more and more powerful. So the Jews went ahead on the appointed day and struck down their enemies with the sword. They killed and annihilated their enemies and did as they pleased with those who hated them. In the fortress of Susa itself, the Jews killed 500 men. They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha— the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not take any plunder. That very day, when the king was informed of the number of people killed in the fortress of Susa, he called for Queen Esther. He said, “The Jews have killed 500 men in the fortress of Susa alone, as well as Haman’s ten sons. If they have done that here, what has happened in the rest of the provinces? But now, what more do you want? It will be granted to you; tell me and I will do it.” Esther responded, “If it please the king, give the Jews in Susa permission to do again tomorrow as they have done today, and let the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be impaled on a pole.” So the king agreed, and the decree was announced in Susa. And they impaled the bodies of Haman’s ten sons. Then the Jews at Susa gathered together on March 8 and killed 300 more men, and again they took no plunder. Meanwhile, the other Jews throughout the king’s provinces had gathered together to defend their lives. They gained relief from all their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them. But they did not take any plunder. This was done throughout the provinces on March 7, and on March 8 they rested, celebrating their victory with a day of feasting and gladness. (The Jews at Susa killed their enemies on March 7 and again on March 8, then rested on March 9, making that their day of feasting and gladness.) So to this day, rural Jews living in remote villages celebrate an annual festival and holiday on the appointed day in late winter, when they rejoice and send gifts of food to each other. Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to the Jews near and far, throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes, calling on them to celebrate an annual festival on these two days. He told them to celebrate these days with feasting and gladness and by giving gifts of food to each other and presents to the poor. This would commemorate a time when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy. So the Jews accepted Mordecai’s proposal and adopted this annual custom. Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted to crush and destroy them on the date determined by casting lots (the lots were called purim). But when Esther came before the king, he issued a decree causing Haman’s evil plot to backfire, and Haman and his sons were impaled on a sharpened pole. That is why this celebration is called Purim, because it is the ancient word for casting lots. So because of Mordecai’s letter and because of what they had experienced, the Jews throughout the realm agreed to inaugurate this tradition and to pass it on to their descendants and to all who became Jews. They declared they would never fail to celebrate these two prescribed days at the appointed time each year. These days would be remembered and kept from generation to generation and celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the empire. This Festival of Purim would never cease to be celebrated among the Jews, nor would the memory of what happened ever die out among their descendants. Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote another letter putting the queen’s full authority behind Mordecai’s letter to establish the Festival of Purim. Letters wishing peace and security were sent to the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of the empire of Xerxes. These letters established the Festival of Purim—an annual celebration of these days at the appointed time, decreed by both Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther. (The people decided to observe this festival, just as they had decided for themselves and their descendants to establish the times of fasting and mourning.) So the command of Esther confirmed the practices of Purim, and it was all written down in the records.
Esther 9 concludes the plot that Haman started in chapter 3, but with a much different outcome than he intended. On the day King Xerxes originally decreed for the Persians to overpower the Jewish people, the opposite happened—the Jews completely defeated the Persians. What was meant to be a day of certain death for God’s people became a day of their salvation. This chapter teaches us a crucial lesson: anything opposing God must be completely destroyed.
These types of stories in the Bible may confuse us and make us doubt Gods goodness for all people but it's important to pause and reflect, and dig deeper. We know God is good, so we need to seek to understand how this is good. In this case, the Jewish people didn’t seek out violence; they defended themselves from those who attacked them first (Esther 8:11). Those who chose to fight against God’s people made themselves His enemies.
Esther’s actions, though harsh at first glance, were actually an act of faithfulness. Haman, a descendant of the Amalekites—Israel’s long-time enemies—had roots in a people God had promised to destroy completely (Exodus 17:14; Deuteronomy 25:17-19). Esther’s actions fulfilled a command God had given 600 years earlier to King Saul, who disobeyed by sparing the Amalekite king and taking plunder. Unlike Saul, Esther and the Jewish people in this story did not take any plunder, showing their obedience and learning from their ancestors’ mistakes. Their faithfulness to God is a powerful example for us today. While we’re not called to take up a sword against others, we are called to be ruthless in eliminating sin from our lives. Just as Esther fought against the enemies of God, we must actively fight against the schemes and temptations that threaten our faith, remembering that we are in a spiritual battle (1 Peter 5:8; 1 Timothy 6:12).