A Spiritual Exposition of the Book of Esther, Chapter 10
Introduction
This post is the last of ten posts in total providing verse-by-verse expositions of each of the ten chapters of the Book of Esther. The reader should fully understand that these studies are solely intended to show the many spiritually hidden aspects of God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan, which God has intricately interwoven within the historical account of the Book of Esther. The key to understanding the true meaning of the Book of Esther is to see that the whole book is an Historical Parable, which prophetically points us to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, Who Is The Only Lord, God, and Savior. Moreover the book is one of concealment (“Esther” in Hebrew means “concealment”) that spans from Old Testament National Israel, to the future fulfillment of the feasts of Passover and Pentecost in the New Testament era, and a “preview” of the yet to be Judgment Day and beyond into eternity in the New Heavens and the New Earth. We can also see key personages of the Bible throughout this book by those who serve as “Types” to each represent 1) God the Father, 2) National Israel, 3) the Lord Jesus Christ, 4) Eternal Israel, 5) The Holy Spirit, and 6) the Devil. A summary overview Christian commentary of the Book of Esther is Here (which also includes a link to a much more comprehensive study).
The Spiritual Theme of Chapter 10 is Eternity in Heaven (Esther 10:3) Please see Galatians 3:16 & 29.
Esther 10:1, “¶And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and [upon] the isles of the sea.“
This is a more difficult verse to dissect spiritually. But is would seem that this is saying, given that “laid a tribute” is referring a form of subjection and subordination. The original Hebrew word translated as “tribute” is מַס (mas)H4522, which can also mean “discomfitted“. Note what we read in Isaiah 31:8, “Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited (מַס (mas)H4522).”
On the one hand we could say that Esther 10:1 is suggesting that all things within this entire creation have finally been subdued, and have fully become subject under the rule of Almighty God, and that all conflict is over forever. However, we should also remember that on Judgment Day, the wicked do not just die, they are cast into Hell forever. That is the price that wicked have to pay. That is the tribute that will be exacted by God at that time upon the unsaved of the world, being typified by “the land and the isles of the sea“. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The wages of sin is death. That is the tribute that will be exacted. And it is not just physical death, but eternal death in Hell, as we read in Revelation 14:11, “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” The unsaved will most certainly be discomfitted at that time.
Esther 10:2, “And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?“
We know that the entire Bible is a book of chronicles that has been recorded to declare God’s greatness, power, and might. Remember king David’s declaration in 2 Samuel 7:22-24, “Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for [there is] none like thee, neither [is there any] God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth [is] like thy people, [even] like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, [from] the nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel [to be] a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.” God has established His throne and redeemed His people, the Eternal Israel (the Church, the Body of Believers) forever, through the Person and Work of His Dear Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, through His shed Blood.
Esther 10:3, “For Mordecai the Jew [was] next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude (רֹב (rōḇ))H7230 of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.“
Mordecai the Jew was next (reigning at the right hand) of king Ahasuerus, which could not possibly be any more of a clear reflection of the fact that Jesus, “The Jew”, reigns on the throne at the Right Hand of God The Father in Heaven! And Jesus will be praised forever in Heaven by the multitude (the word is (רֹב (rōḇ))H7230, which also means “abundance” or “plenty” ) of His brethren, the Saints, the children of God.
NOTE TO THE READER: It is no coincidence that the account we read of in Daniel, Chapter 6, follows a similar patter to what we see with regard to Mordecai in Esther Chapter 10. Just as Mordecai is a “Type” to represent the Lord Jesus Christ and king Ahasuerus is a “Type” to represent God the Father, so to do is Daniel a “Type” to represent the Lord Jesus Christ, and king Darius is a “Type” to represent God the Father. Just as Daniel was trapped by false accusations and sentenced to death, so too was Jesus falsely accused and sentence to death by crucifixion. Just as king Darius subsequently lifted up Daniel out of the lions’ den in the morning, so too did God the Father resurrect Jesus on Easter Morning from the tomb, after Jesus had endured Hell (for the equivalent of eternity). Both the actions involving Daniel and Jesus were quickly followed by “Royal” decrees to the whole world of “peace”, with the admonition and warning to worship, fear, and revere God Almighty. Note the similarities with Dan 6:25-27, “¶Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he [is] the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion [shall be even] unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.“
“speaking peace to all his seed.”
The last short chapter of Esther prophetically speaks of the believers rejoicing in Heaven for all eternity. Just as the Jews in Esther’s day had rest from their enemies, we are reminded in Psalm 37:38-40, of the following: “But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is their] strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.“
In the Psalm verse just previous to the one above, in Psalm 37:37, we read, “Mark the perfect [man], and behold the upright: for the end of [that] man [is] peace.” Who is He that is Perfect Who brings us peace? The “Prince of Peace”, our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. See Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.“
Numbers 6:26, “The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.“
Psalm 125:5, “As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: [but] peace [shall be] upon Israel.“
Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.“
Mark 4:39, “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Only Jesus can speak this kind of Peace!
God, Through Christ Jesus, Speaks Peace to All of His People, His Saints, The Believers, His “Seed”!
“Peace” (Jesus Is the Personification of “Peace”)
Is it not a fact that Jesus Christ is “The Prince of Peace” (see Isaiah 9:6)? and that in John 20:21 we read, “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”? And also in John 14:27, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”?
Ephesians 2:14-18 makes clear how Jesus Personifies Peace, “¶For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.“
In Luke 7:50, Jesus said to the sinner woman who anointed his feet with ointment and washed them with her tears with her hair, “¶And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
It is almost impossible for anyone to not see how perfectly God crafted Mordecai to be a “type” of Jesus (as One with God Himself) as we can also read in Psalm 85:8, the following… “I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.” and in Psalm 122:7&8 we read where God is referring allegorically to the body of believers (Jerusalem, the city of God), “Peace be within thy walls, [and] prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace [be] within thee.”
Psalm 29:11, “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.“
Psalm 37:11, “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.“
In Acts 10:36, “The word which [God] sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)” Finally, what we find in Psalm 29:11, “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.”
Romans 15:13, “¶Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.“
Psalm 132:16, “I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy (רַנֵּן (rannēn)H7444.”
And let us not forget what God tells us in both Isaiah 48:22, “[There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.” and Isaiah 57:21, “[There is] no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.“
“To All His Seed“
Note also what is said in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” All believers are considered the seed (plural…the true eternal Jews) ) of Jesus Christ (singular), for we read in Galatians 3:26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.“, and in Galatians 3:29, “And if ye [be] Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” And the promise is the Covenant of God which He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as we Acts 3:23 “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” The believers are the progeny (many) of the Lord Jesus Christ (One) to whom He speaks Peace…Philippians 4:7“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Again, in Psalm 37:26 we read, “[He is] (The LORD Is) ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed [is] blessed.“
Please note the beautiful and clear parallels between Esther 10:3 and the following verses:
2 Samuel 22:50&51, “Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. [He is] the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.”
Psalm 18:50, “Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.“
Psalm 22:30&31, “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done [this].”
Psalm 25:13, “His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.”
Psalm 37:25&26, “I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. [He is] ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed [is] blessed.“
Psalm 69:35 &36, “For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.”
Psalm 89:4, “Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.“
Psalm 89:29, “His seed also will I make [to endure] for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.“
Psalm 89:36&37, “His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.“
Psalm 112:2, “His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.“
Proverbs 11:21, “[Though] hand [join] in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
Isaiah 43:4-7 speaks of God speaking to Jesus about the gathering of the believers, Jesus’ “seed“, to whom God gives to Jesus from throughout the world to glorify Him, “Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I [am] with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; [Even]every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”
Isaiah 45:25, “In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.“
In Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.“
Isaiah 54:3, “For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.“
Isaiah 54:13, “And all thy children [shall be] taught of the LORD; and great [shall be] the peace of thy children.“
Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
1 Peter 1:22&23, “¶Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.“
1 John 3:9&10, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. ¶In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.“
The Bible makes it clear that, in God’s Eyes, a “Jew” does not necessarily refer to a literal physical descendent of Abraham through Isaac, as we read in Romans 2:28&29, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he [is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.“
Romans 9:1-8 reiterates how God views the eternal spiritual Israel (the believers in the Messiah, Jesus Christ), for Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write the following: “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom [pertaineth] the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service [of God], and the promises; Whose [are] the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ [came], who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these [are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.”
This is also consistent with what we read again in Psalm 22:23, “Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.” and Psalm 22:30, “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.” The Israel that is being spoken here in Psalm 22 is the Eternal Israel, those are the children of promise and counted for the seed.
In the first instance “The Seed” being discussed is really only Jesus as we read in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” But, in the second instance, the Elect of God, being the children of promise and thus the true seed of Jacob/Israel, they are also the seed of Christ, Who is exemplified in the Book of Esther by Mordecai.
To underscore this idea, God tells us in Ephesians 2:11-22, “Wherefore remember, that ye [being] in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner [stone]; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.“
We also know that the devil seeks to destroy those who are believers, those who form the true Church and are the Bride of Christ as we read in Revelation 12:17, “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments ofGod, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.“
In 1 Peter 1:23, in referring to the believer, it says that we are born again of the incorruptible seed by the word of God and therefore have eternal life through Jesus Christ… “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
Finally, let us not forget what was noted earlier in the parable of Balaam regarding “Israel” (where Balak, the king of Moab, sought to hire Balaam to curse Israel), God made Balaam prophesy that Israel (and hence its ultimate King, Jesus Christ, Who Is Israel) would be exalted above king Agag, as we read Numbers 24:7, “He (Jesus) shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his (Jesus’) seed [shall be] in many waters, and his king (Jesus) shall be higher than Agag, and his (Jesus’) kingdom shall be exalted.” (And let us not forget that king Agag points us to Haman, who is the Devil in Disguise, and whose kingdom will be destroyed forever.)
CONCLUSION
God, through His Word, the Bible, tells us the following:
- God is completely Sovereign, and oversees everything that is going on in all of this creation. God has created all things for Himself, and continues to ordain and maintain them for His Glory, both good and evil (Isaiah 45:7; Proverbs 16:4; Romans 9:21-23).
- The Believers are not to fret or worry about all the evil around them in the world, or about the wicked evil doers, because the judgment and punishment of the wicked is certain and sure. God makes clear that Judgment Day is definitely coming, and that Jesus will Judge everyone in the world according their works. Revelation 1:13-18, describes Jesus in allegorical language to describe some of Jesus’ attributes as The Judge, “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Sadly, the vast majority of mankind will be sent to Hell forever. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 7:13&14, “¶Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [Is] the gate, and broad [Is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [Is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.“
- When Jesus comes back on Judgment Day, the universe as we know it will be destroyed, but Jesus will create new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13, ¶But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.[Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
- Luke 10:27, “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.“
- Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man.“
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