What is the meaning of Esther 9:20? Mordecai recorded these events • Scripture underscores the importance of preserving God’s mighty acts in writing. “Write this on a scroll as a memorial and recite it to Joshua” (Exodus 17:14). • By faithfully documenting what had just transpired (Esther 3–9), Mordecai ensures that future generations grasp the literal deliverance God provided. • Recorded history becomes a perpetual witness, much like the “Book of the Acts of Solomon” or the “Book of the Kings” (1 Kings 11:41), affirming that the account is fact, not legend. • Remembering God’s works fuels ongoing worship (1 Chronicles 16:12) and obedience (Deuteronomy 31:19). and sent letters • Written communication unifies scattered people around God’s truth. Hezekiah “wrote letters” to summon Israel to Passover (2 Chronicles 30:1). • Letters carry authority: the Jerusalem council’s letter in Acts 15:22–29 settled doctrinal confusion. • Mordecai’s letters provide official, permanent instruction so that no one can reinterpret events later (compare Ezra 4:17–23). • The practice anticipates New-Testament epistles, where apostolic letters stabilize believers (2 Peter 3:15–16). to all the Jews • God’s covenant people are the direct recipients. “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are My appointed feasts’ ” (Leviticus 23:2). • Unity matters; no subgroup is excluded, echoing Jeremiah’s letter “to the surviving elders… and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile” (Jeremiah 29:1). • Deliverance is communal. Each Jew, whether influential or obscure, shares in the responsibility to remember. in all the provinces of King Xerxes • Xerxes ruled “127 provinces from India to Cush” (Esther 1:1). God’s protection extends across political boundaries; geography cannot limit His covenant care. • The phrase highlights the empire-wide scale of both the threat (Esther 3:12–14) and the victory (Esther 8:9–17). • God positions His people in every corner of society (Jeremiah 29:7), and His directives reach them wherever they live. both near and far • Distance poses no barrier to God’s Word. Like Hezekiah’s couriers who went “from Beersheba to Dan” (2 Chronicles 30:10), the message travels. • Deuteronomy 30:11–14 reassures that God’s commands are not “too difficult… nor beyond reach.” Mordecai’s letters make sure of that. • This phrase anticipates the gospel’s spread “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), showing God’s consistent heart to gather His people, wherever they reside. summary Esther 9:20 shows Mordecai taking deliberate, practical steps to preserve the factual record of God’s dramatic salvation and to instruct every Jew—regardless of location—to remember and celebrate it. By recording the events and dispatching authoritative letters across Xerxes’ vast empire, Mordecai ensures that the memory of deliverance remains fresh, unites the scattered covenant community, and testifies that God’s faithful intervention is both literal and enduring. |
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