Esther 9:2
In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.
Sermons
Self-Help Brings HelpW. Burrows, B. A.Esther 9:2-3
The Wise Conduct of the JewsJ. Hughes.Esther 9:2-3
A Reign of TerrorF. Hastings Esther 9:2-5














The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities, etc. There were many greedy to possess the property of the Jews, and such as cherished spite against them, who were glad of the permission to slay and plunder, which Haman's letters gave. When the king's letters which reached the Jews gave them permission to withstand those who opposed, there must have been great perplexity in many minds and fear in many hearts.

I. FOOLISH LAWS BRING ABOUT REIGNS OF TERROR. The foolish consent of the king became law, and then by another absurd law it could not be changed or checked.

II. IN REIGNS OF TERROR THE INNOCENT HAVE TO SUFFER WITH THE GUILTY.

III. IN REIGNS OF TERROR THE GOOD MUST STAND TOGETHER. In the world there is a great fight for goodness, truth, and Christ to be still waged. Anarchy suits the prince of darkness. The Christian is in ever)- sense the friend of order, good government, and righteousness. - H.

The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities.
The Jews acted —

1. Wisely. They acted in unison. "They gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives." Union is power: concentration of strength is mighty for good and for evil. How awful the extent of the mischief perpetrated by the evil spirits, because they act it, concert — unitedly: whereas disunion would cause even their kingdom to fall. Union and co-operation are likewise powerful for the production of good. Hence copies of the Divine writings are flying to all parts of the world, and missionaries to unfold their precious contents to those who are perishing for lack of knowledge. What would individual efforts do in cases like these?

2. Manfully. "They laid hands on all such as sought their hurt, and no man could withstand them." They were acting legally: for the royal law permitted them to defend themselves. Trust in God, in His power and faithfulness, is the only source of true magnanimity. It is this alone that makes man undaunted on rational grounds. St. Paul tells us of the ancient believers, that "out of weakness they were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens." And this, he tells us, was the effect of relying on God.

3. Moreover, they acted forbearingly, or self-denyingly. They merely defended themselves, and Seized not upon the spoils of their enemies: "On the spoil they lay not their hand." They wanted only their lives and their own possessions, and not the riches of their neighbours. We find that great believer, Abraham, acting thus self-denyingly in Genesis 14. The victory which the Jews obtained on this occasion was a very signal one. "The Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them." "In Shushan, the palace, the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men." At the request of the queen, three hundred more were slain in the royal city. And in the different provinces of the empire they slew of their foes seventy and five thousand. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! Behold the fruits of the wickedness of one individual!

(J. Hughes.)

I. DIVINE HELP. In this narrative we see all along that the Jews were helped of God.

II. DIVINE HELP FOSTERS AND SUCCEEDS SELF-HELP. Divine help must first work, and then there can be successful self-help. These Jews helped themselves —

1. By cooperation.

2. By active agency.

3. By a name of power.

4. By aggressive measures.

III. SELF-HELP SECURES THE HELP OF OTHERS.

(W. Burrows, B. A.)

People
Abihail, Adalia, Ahasuerus, Aridai, Aridatha, Arisai, Aspatha, Dalphon, Esther, Haman, Hammedatha, Mordecai, Parmashta, Parshandatha, Poratha, Vajezatha
Places
Susa
Topics
Afraid, Ahasuerus, Ahasu-e'rus, Assembled, Attack, Attacking, Attempting, Cities, Destruction, Divisions, Dread, Evil, Fallen, Fear, Fell, Forth, Gathered, Hands, Harm, Hurt, Jews, Kingdom, Lay, Nationalities, Peoples, Presence, Provinces, Purpose, Seeking, Sought, Stand, Stood, Themselves, Throughout, Towns, Wanted, Withstand, Xerxes
Outline
1. The Jews slay their enemies, with the ten sons of Haman.
12. Xerxes, at the request of Esther,
14. grants another day of slaughter, and Haman's sons to be hanged.
20. The two days of Purim are instituted.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Esther 9:1-3

     7505   Jews, the

Library
Of the Practice of Piety in Holy Feasting.
Holy feasting is a solemn thanksgiving, appointed by authority, to be rendered to God on some special day, for some extraordinary blessings or deliverances received. Such among the Jews was the feast of the Passover (Exod. xii. 15), to remember to praise God for their deliverance out of Egypt's bondage; or the feast of Purim (Esth. ix. 19, 21), to give thanks for their deliverance from Haman's conspiracy. Such amongst us is the fifth of November, to praise God for the deliverance of the king and
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Tiberias.
All the Jews declare, almost with one consent, that this was a fortified city from ancient times, even from the days of Joshua, and was the same with Rakkath, of which mention is made, Joshua 19:35. "Rakkath is Tiberias," say the Jerusalem Gemarists. And those of Babylon say the same, and that more largely: "It is clear to us that Rakkath is Tiberias." And when, after a few lines, this of Rabbi Jochanan was objected, "When I was a boy, I said a certain thing, concerning which I asked the elders,
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Some Miscellaneous Matters Respecting the Face of the Land.
I. Let us begin with that canon concerning reading the Book of Esther in the feast of Purim. "Towns that were begirt with walls from the days of Joshua read it on the fifteenth day" of the month Adar: "Villages and great cities read it the fourteenth day": "Unless that the villages anticipate it, to the day of the congregation." You see a threefold distinction of cities and towns: 1. Fortifications, or towns girt with walls from the days of Joshua. But whence shall we know them? They are those which
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Place of Jesus in the History of the World.
The great event of the History of the world is the revolution by which the noblest portions of humanity have passed from the ancient religions, comprised under the vague name of Paganism, to a religion founded on the Divine Unity, the Trinity, and the Incarnation of the Son of God. It has taken nearly a thousand years to accomplish this conversion. The new religion had itself taken at least three hundred years in its formation. But the origin of the revolution in question with which we have to do
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

Esther
The spirit of the book of Esther is anything but attractive. It is never quoted or referred to by Jesus or His apostles, and it is a satisfaction to think that in very early times, and even among Jewish scholars, its right to a place in the canon was hotly contested. Its aggressive fanaticism and fierce hatred of all that lay outside of Judaism were felt by the finer spirits to be false to the more generous instincts that lay at the heart of the Hebrew religion; but by virtue of its very intensity
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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