The year in which the story of Purim occurs is 357 BC. There were many Jews who decided to stay in exile in Persia after the return of the rest of the Jews to the Land. The king of the Persian Empire, Ahasuerus (Xerxes) was showing off all his splendor and great riches in a big banquet and wanted also to show off the beauty of his queen Vashti, who made a banquet of her own for the women. Vashti refused to come and aroused the king’s anger, who decided to get rid of her and choose another queen.
Of all the beautiful virgins of the empire, the one whom the king fell in love with and chose to be his queen was a stunning beautiful Jewish young orphan, named Hadassah, known by her Persian name, Esther. Her uncle who raised her, Mordechai the Jew urged her not to reveal her nationality, and Esther joined the king’s royal harem.
The king raised to power Haman the Agagite (descendant of Amalek) to a position above all the other princes and ordered that all who were at the king’s court had to bow down to him. Mordechai the Jew, who sat at the king’s gate was the only one who refused to bow down to Haman and aroused his anger. When Haman learned that Mordechai was Jewish, he manipulated King Ahasuerus into ordering the genocide of all the Jewish people throughout the empire.
Haman said to the King Ahasuerus: “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom, their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not worthy for the king to let them remain…let a decree be written that they be destroyed…” (Esther 3:8-9)
The Pur (dice or lot) was cast and fell on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, in one day all the Jews were to be, according to the words of Haman’s decree, “killed, destroyed, and annihilated.” (Esther 3:13) It was done, a decree that cannot be changed because “in the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.” (Esther 3:12c)
A big cry and mourning were heard throughout the Jewish communities, and when Mordechai heard the terrible news he tore up his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes on his head, went out to the center of the city and cried out a loud and bitter cry. He sent a message to Esther telling her that she must go to the king and plead for him to change the decree. Even though the king loved Esther, he didn’t send for her in thirty days. She said that everyone knows that if anyone goes to see the king without being invited, he or she must be put to death by law unless the king extends to him or her his royal scepter.
Mordechai sent a message to Esther in reply, “don’t think that you alone will be saved out of all the Jews just because you are in the king’s palace. If you keep silent at this time…relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another source…”
Mordechai had faith in the God of Israel that He would not let his people be exterminated. He knew that God had a purpose and plan for Israel. He told Esther “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
Esther decided right away to take a courageous step of faith and go to the Higher Authority in prayer and fasting. She called for the entire Jewish community in the capital city to stand with her in prayer and fasting for three days as she risks her life for the chance of saving her people. She is going to go unlawfully before the king uninvited. and “if I perish, I perish.”
On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robe and stood across the King’s royal throne. When the king saw her, she found favor in his eyes and he extended to her his royal scepter as an invitation to come to him. As she came and touched the scepter, he asked what her request was, and he would give her up to half the kingdom. All she asked was to invite the king and Haman to a royal banquet she prepared for them. After the banquet, the king repeated his question to know what she really wanted of him, as he was willing to give her half the kingdom. Again Esther replied that she was inviting him and Haman to another banquet. Haman was so elated and proud that the queen chose to honor him, but when he passed by Mordechai who wouldn’t bow down to him, his joy turned to rage. He listened to his wife’s suggestion and built a tall gallows to hang Mordechai on, after getting the king’s approval.
Here is where the story takes a twist and turn, and we see the hand of God.
That night the king couldn’t sleep. He asked that his servant read to him from the book of remembrance. The account he heard was how Mordechai saved his life by exposing the plot to assassinate the king by two servants, who were caught and executed. He found out that Mordechai was not rewarded for this act. In the morning he ordered to bring to him the first person who came into the court to use in order to honor and repay Mordechai for saving his life. The first person who walked into the court was Haman, who wanted to get the approval of the king to hang Mordechai. When the king asked him what should be done to the person the king wants to honor, Haman in his pride was sure the king meant him. He told the king that that person should be dressed in royal attire, someone should parade him on a royal horse through the streets in the center of the city and announce that this is what is done to the person whom the king favors. King Ahasuerus ordered Haman to do it to Mordechai. When Haman came home shamefully and told his wife what happened, she said to him, “If Mordechai is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but surely fall before him.” (Esther 6:13)
At the end, in the second banquet, Esther revealed to the king her being Jewish and the plot of Haman to annihilate all of the Jews. The King ordered to hang Haman on the very gallows he built for Mordechai and promoted Mordechai to a high position in the kingdom. The king gave him his signet ring to write a new decree for the Jews to destroy all those who would seek to kill them. That is how the Jewish people were saved from annihilation. In the end, God gave His people the victory over all their enemies. Once again God proved that His promise and covenant with Israel is everlasting.