Who was King Ahauerus?
King Ahauerus was the father of Darius (Daniel 9:1). Ahauerus was a crazy king. It is recorded he put his wife on trial before the court and had her executed. He then married another wife (Esther).
It is recorded Ahauerus was a wild man. He would do things on impulse and relied on his seven chamberlains for advice. It was normal custom and tradition to take everything before the court and have them make laws and decrees. The king could wield his power by doing a royal decree.
Why was the king celebrating?
The Babylonians, Medes and Persians all knew the prophecy decreed by Jeremiah, stating that in 70 years, Israel’s captivity will be completed.
Jeremiah 25:8-14
8“Therefore this is what the LORD of armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, 9behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will [d]completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and [e]hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. 10Moreover, I will eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
12‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14(For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”
Knowing God’s word, the king threw a huge party when the seventy years were completed and Israel remained in captivity. The king brought out the gold and silver vessels. These were the items used in the Temple service. These are the items King Nebuchadnezzar carried away from Jerusalem.
Their was an error with the king’s logic. It was that he counted the 70 years of Israel’s captivity from the time the Israelites were first taken captive. Remember, there were three different times King Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem. Each time, he took some captives.
The prophet Daniel also makes this mistake. In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel petitions God to end the captivity. Daniel also references Jeremiah’s prophecy:
1In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. (Daniel 9:1-2)
When Jeremiah’s prophecy is fulfilled, it is 70 years from the last captivity until their freedom. Needless to say, King Ahasuerus was celebrating too early. Because he believed God’s word was broken, he gave a party for 180 days for his nobles and princes. He then gave a party for all the people for 7 days. The party for the people can be seen as a way the king can beat down the Israelites and emphasize his power over them. Their God failed them. They were going to be in captivity forever.
The king is mentioned to be swearing royal garments. It is stated in jewish tradition, these garments were the ones worn by the priests of the Temple in Jerusalem. The priestly garments were worn as a symbol of atonement for the people.
The tunic, which covers most of the priest’s body, atones for killing. The pants atone for sexual transgressions. The turban, worn on the head, stones for haughtiness. The belt, wound around the body and worn over the heart, atones for the sins of the heart (i.e., improper thoughts). The breastplate atones for errors in judgment. The ephod atones for idolatry. The robe atones for evil speech. The High Priest’s crown atones for arrogance.
Keeping in mind all the garments and what they atoned for, by the king of Persia wearing them, he committed most (if not all) the sins. One of the worst ways to disrespect God is by using HIs holy vessels for common use and using his holy garments to be worn and stained at a party. (Side note: The garments worn by the priests would not be stained or soiled. If they were, the services they rendered while their garments were impure render the service invalid.)
With this picture painted, we may now understand why Mordecai does not want Esther to reveal her identity. Although the Israelites were part of the Persian kingdom, they were not respect or seen in high esteem. It was best if Mordecai and Esther did not reveal their ancestry. Remember, Mordecai was in the king’s gate and Esther had a chance at becoming queen.
Who was Memucan?
There are seen chamberlains listed for the king. When things are listed in Hebrew, they are listed from the person of being in highest authority to the lowest. Memucan is the last chamberlain to be listed. Therefore, he is the one who is the lowest in authority, and yet, it is Memucan who offers the kind advice. Memucan’s name appears to be a slang word which means to stumble or talk out of turn. Many believe Memucan is actually Haman.
When Darius becomes king, he only has six chamberlains (instead of seven). This means one of Darius’s father’s chamberlains must have died before Darius came to power, and that chamberlain was never replaced. Haman and his death fit the bill for this story line.
It was not a beauty contest
It is easy to read the Book of Esther and believe Esther and Mordecai was happy that Esther was selected to be part of the search fro the next queen of Persia. The truth is, Esther had no choice. Looking at the Hebrew, in verse 8 of chapter 2, the English reads Esther was brought into the king’s house. The Hebrew word “laqah” is translated into English as “brought”. This is a terrible translation. “Laqah” means to be taken captive, to snatch away, to seize, to be stolen or to be taken away. Needless to say, Esther and Mordecai had no choice in the matter. Esther was selected and she was taken captive.
Furthermore, once the girls had gone through the purification process, the king then raped each girl. After he was done with the girl, she was sent to the concubine house. The girl could never be married and would hav to stay in the house until she was called by name to spend more time with the king. It was not a glamorous life. The girls lived their lives in solitude. Unless they got pregnant from the one night spent with the king, they had no children.
The King’s Gate
At the end of chapter 2 in verse 21, we are told Mordecai sits in the king’s gate. This is slang for Mordecai being part of the king’s officials. Sitting in the gate could be a literal action.
The walls surrounded cities and king’s palaces. The only way in and out of a city was through the city gates. The city gates were often passageways which had side rooms. In the side rooms, court was held and official business was conducted. Citizens of the city were allowed in and out of the city. Visitors to the city may or may not be allowed into the city. For this reason, court was held at the gates. Those individuals who were not citizens of the city could appear in court without having to enter the city. Moreover, people passing in and out of the city through the gates provided protection for the city. Criminals could be apprehended if they were recognized entering/exiting the city through controlled passageways.
It is recorded the king’s gates for Susa were 35,000 square feet. These are some of the largest gates ever recorded. The king’s gates surrounded the palace and ensured no one would have access to the royal grounds without bring questioned and examined by a number of officials.
We are told there was a crime and the punishment for the crime was hanging on the gallows. This is a little bit of foreshadowing for the rest of the story. One thing to note, only the king or conviction by the court could order someone to be hung on the gallows. This is important to note because Haman builds gallows to hang Mordecai. Building gallows and using them to kill someone would go against the king and the court. This gives us insight into how haughty Haman must have felt when he was elevated to second in command. Haman felt emboldened to make the gallows. Perhaps he also saw himself as king and thought he could start issuing decrees to kill people just like the king. The irony is the gallows were found out and instead of Haman using them to kill Mordecai, the king orders Haman to be hung on his own gallows.
Lastly, the gallows Haman made were 75 feet tall. Ten feet equal one story. So the gallows Haman built were 7.5 stories tall. Haman’s gallows would have been visible to all his neighbors.
The King’s Signet Ring: More powerful than all the prophets
In verse 10 of chapter 3, we read that the king takes off his signet ring and gives it to Haman. This single act is more powerful than all the prophets in the Old Testament. For years, Israel was told to repent and to turn back to God or terrible things would happen. Once Haman receives the king’s signet ring, this becomes the most powerful tool used to make the Israelites repent and turn back to God. Once Haman uses the signet ring to make a declaration that the Jews are to be destroyed, the Jews realize they need to turn from their current ways and seek God.
In chapter 4 (verses 1-3), we read about Mordecai and the Jew putting on sackcloth and ashes, and they wept and mourned. The people were repenting of their ways and turning back to God. It is amazing how a signet ring had more power on the Israelites than the 45 prophets and 8 female prophets in the Bible.
As we look at this story, is this the same in our lives? Do people tell us we need to get on the right path, turn from our evil ways and seek God? Are their words effective? What will get us motivated to change? Is it a sudden financial strain, a death of a loved one, a medical diagnosis? God can use people and things to get our attention, but it often seems as though benign items (such as a signet ring in this case) are more powerful and effective than our fellow man.
The courier system in Persia was one of the best
There were horses mounted throughout the kingdom. The relay system worked in much the same way as the pony express gif in the USA. One horse would ride to a destination in which one or more horses would be waiting. The message was passed along and the horse(s) would continue on, distributing the info along the way and continuing to relay the message to other horses and their riders. This system allowed information to be spread quickly in the kingdom, which was HUGE!
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