ESTHER AND MORDECAI. FLOURISHED ABOUT THE YEAR OF THE WORLD 3544. O scheme formed against the CHURCH of GOD will prosper. The wicked are oftentimes snared in their own devices, and the plot which they contrive for the ruin of others frequently proves the ruin of themselves. At certain periods of the world's history the overthrow of Christianity has appeared inevitable: but at the very moment when the machinations of its adversaries were brought to the most powerful pitch, and when all hope of deliverance was gone, the divine arm was made bare, joy filled the habitations of the righteous, and the tents of wickedness were covered with confusion. Many such instances are recorded for our comfort and edification, that we may learn to put our whole trust in GoD when things are the most against us, and to rely firmly upon the veracity of His promises, even in seasons of the greatest confusion, calamity, and darkness. In the story of Esther we are presented with a beautiful and instructive illustration of this great truth, that though the ALMIGHTY may for a season permit the wicked to triumph, yet he will eventually turn his wickedness upon his own head, and deliver the righteous out of all his troubles. The Jews were scattered as captives throughout Persia in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, who is justly concluded to have been the Ahasuerus king of Persia, mentioned in this part of Scripture. This monarch, on some extraordinary occasion, gave a sumptuous entertainment in his palace at Shushan to his princes and nobles, which lasted one hundred and eighty days. To increase the festivity, or rather to gratify his own vanity, he sent for his queen Vashti to grace the banquet with her presence. This mandate she refused to obey; which so provoked the king, who was already heated with wine, that he consulted with his company what steps he should adopt to punish the insult. The pliant courtiers, who saw that it would be more acceptable to inflame than to allay his resentment, proposed a divorce. Their advice was taken, and Vashti being discarded, Esther was elevated to the high station of queen of Persia. With this part of the conduct of the king we have nothing to do; our attention is upon a more interesting subject. We behold here the wonder-working finger of God bringing good to his afflicted people out of the pride, resentment, and intemperance of their op pressors. Esther was an orphan Jewess, left to the care of her cousin Mordecai, by whom she was religiously brought up, and whose kindness she returned by the most dutiful attention, doing nothing but by his commandment," (ch. ii. 20,) or according to the directions which she had received from him, even after her advancement. 66 Among all the virgins that were presented to the king, Esther was the only one that fixed his affections, and on her he caused the vacant crown to be placed with great pomp and rejoicings. If this election proved of importance to the Jewish nation, it was no less advantageous to the king; for, at the time of the nuptial feast, Mordecai discovered a design which had been formed against the life of the monarch by two discontented courtiers, who were, in consequence of his report, apprehended and put to death. The good Mordecai, however, was not anxious to obtain any distinctions for himself through his connexions with the queen. On the contrary, by his advice she concealed the knowledge of her kindred from her consort. For this conduct a very sufficient reason may be assigned. The debased condition of the Jews might have prejudiced the mind of the king against his new partner, had he known she belonged to that despised people before he was well acquainted with her good qualities. Mordecai was content with having discharged his trust to his cousin and ward; and left the issue of this extraordinary change in her condition to the disposal of Heaven. Another cause for this silence, perhaps, was this: as Haman, the prime minister of Persia, and the great favorite of the king, was a descendant of the Amalekites, a people who had always a rooted animosity against Israel, his influence upon the mind of his master might have proved prejudicial to the queen and to her friends. So great, indeed, was the ascendency which this Haman had over the king, that he not only obtained the government of the empire, but, by a royal edict, all persons were commanded to do him homage. We are not told whether this act included anything like idolatrous respect, but some scruple of a conscientious kind operated upon Mordecai, and he omitted to pay the accustomed reverence to this pageant of royal favor. The station of Mordecai was at the gate of the palace, and therefore his neglect was the sooner noticed by the rest of the attendants, who, to ingratiate themselves with the minister, informed him of the contemptuous behavior of this captive Jew. The base mind of Haman was instantly filled with wrath; but instead of examining and punishing the offender, he meditated at once the utter extirpation of the whole Jewish race. Being as superstitious as he was sanguinary, Haman had recourse to divination by lot, to determine on the fittest time and means for putting his abominable design into execution. This delayed the scheme, and afforded an opportunity of totally defeating it. After wearying himself, probably, with attending to various devices, Haman ventured to propose a massacre of the Jews to the king, alleging that they were a perverse and seditious people, who, by their numbers and disposition, were dangerous to the state. To recommend his proposal still more, he made an offer of greatly enriching the royal treasury by the spoils which would be obtained. The king, though he put too great a confidence in his infamous servant, was not to be swayed by mercenary motives, and thinking that Haman acted herein from the pure principles of loyalty and patriotism, he consented to the measure, and gave him a grant of the plunder. The weak conduct of the Persian monarch, in so readily yielding his consent to a horrible massacre, without thoroughly inquiring into the case and character of the devoted people, deserves the deepest reprobation. A truly generous and discerning mind would, on the suggestion of so dreadful an act, have looked upon the man who recommended it with jealousy, if not with abhorrence; but such was the predominance of this wicked minister over the king, that he obtained without difficulty the inhuman edict, which devoted thousands of men, women, and children, on a day therein appointed, to destruction, because one of their people had neglected to pay him profound reverence. After signing and sealing this horrible instrument, the king and Haman made themselves merry with wine. While intemperance reigned in the palace, consternation prevailed through the city, particularly among the poor people who were doomed to destruction. Mordecai was filled with sorrow, and covered himself with sackcloth and ashes, which being reported to the queen, she sent a messenger to him with change of apparel, and to inquire into the reason of his uncommon grief. Her concern was not less than his, when the messenger brought an account of the intended massacre. But though she was extremely anxious to exert her interest in behalf of her devoted friends, yet there was an alarming impediment which appeared to prevent the possibility of success. By the laws of Persia, it was death for any one, even the royal consort, to enter the king's presence uncalled by him, unless he should graciously extend his royal sceptre to the intruder. Of this circumstance, Esther gave Mordecai information; but he replied, that no fears for herself ought to hinder her from mediating in behalf of her nation: and he observed, for her encouragement, that her advancement was probably ordered by Providence for the express purpose that she should be the instrument of saving the people of God. This at once brought the queen to a resolution of making an offering ing. At that moment Haman was in attendance to solicit the king's warrant for the execution of Mordecai. He also could not sleep, for thoughts of revenge disturbed his rest. Early, therefore, does he hasten to court, that he may procure the death of an honest man, who had too much integrity to court his favor by servility. On entering the royal presence, a question was put to him, which could not but mislead his perverted mind. "What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor?" were the first sounds that fell upon the ear of Haman as he bowed before the throne. Could the ambitious statesman entertain an idea, after all the favors he had recently received, that there was a man in the kingdom whom the king delighted to honor except himself? It was natural for him to suppose that the infatuated Ahasuerus was devising some new and more public mark of favor to bestow upon his favorite. Possessed of this idea, he instantly proposed that the person whom the king intended to honor should be conducted in a triumphal manner through the city, The advice was extravagant enough; but Haman, being fully satisfied that no other person than himself was intended, determined that nothing should be wanting to render his glory dazzling in the eyes of the people. What must have been the disappointment, the horror and anguish of Haman, when he was ordered instantly to see these distinctions conferred upon Mordecai, and to attend the procession as a servant. Thus the mighty fabric of ambition fell with a mighty crash; Haman's schemes were blasted as if by a sudden flash from heaven; his envy, malice, and revenge all turned inward upon his own heart, and rendered his misery complete. The mandate of Ahasuerus must be obeyed; Haman leads in the procession, and proclaims aloud the praises of the very Mordecai for whom a few hours before he had prepared a gibbet. Haman was lamenting his disgrace in the midst of his family, when he was called to the royal entertainment. This mark of distinction, probably, served in some degree to alleviate his disappointment, and, therefore, smothering his chagrin, he hastened to the palace. But the storm was now gathered to a pitch, and Haman had scarcely begun to compose himself, when the queen stated her case, and that of her devoted people, to the king, in such pathetic terms, that his anger was kindled, and he immediately demanded who had projected their ruin. From this we may well infer that when Haman obtained the decree against the Jews, he had taken advantage of the king's intemperance. Ahasuerus appears to have forgotten the circumstance, otherwise he would hardly have asked who the author of the abominable project was; and as he and Haman at that time were "drinking wine," we may well suppose that this villanous minister contrived first to stupify the senses of his master, and then easily procured his signature to the bloody proclamation. To what dreadful evils does intemperance lead mankind; and to what shocking impositions are not even persons of good dispositions liable by giving way to a habit of drunkenness! This led the king of Persia to an implicit confidence in the treacherous Haman, and that artful minister, knowing his master's propensity, encouraged him in it to promote his own vile purposes. When Ahasuerus was made acquainted with the villany of his favorite, he rose from the table in great wrath, and retired into the garden. Haman, finding matters running violently against him, fell on his face on the bed or couch where the queen sat, to supplicate his life through her intercession. He was in this posture when the king entered, who, supposing that he had meant some violence to the queen's person, ordered him to be executed on the very gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai. Thus fell Haman into the very snare which he had laid for another, and all his honors and estates were transferred to the Jew for whom he had prepared an ignominious death that very morning. The decree against the Jews still remained in force, nor was it in the power of the king, according to the Persian laws, to revoke it. But at the earnest solicitations of the queen he issued another proclamation, empowering the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies; and such was the influence of it, that numbers came to their assistance, so that they easily vanquished all who rose against them. In commemora tion of this providential deliverance the Jews observe a yearly festival, which is called the feast of Purim, or "the feast of lots," in allusion to Haman's having consulted by lot on the means and time to effect their destruction. This feast is celebrated on the fourteenth and fifteenth of the month Adar, which month answers to our Febru |