Program Transcript
Episode 21: If I Perish, I Perish
Heather M R Olsen
Welcome back, listeners.
I just finished reading the book of Esther during my daily quiet time; coincidentally, just before the Jewish Holiday, Purim. As I read and researched the details, several things struck me and so I’ll share:
-Female subjugation.
-Virtue.
-Power hunger.
-Truth.
-Greed.
-Genocide.
-Bravery.
-Judgment.
-Impaling.
-God’s Sovereignty.
It’s an epic story no Hollywood writer could outdo!
In fact, aside from the impaling, it could have taken place today in our cultures!
One thing I love is when secular history and biblical history intersect. Consequently, I’ll be bopping back and forth from our biblical source and secular historical sources. I find this validating and fascinating to pull biblical names and events from secular sources! Not that we need it, but it validates what we believe.
First some background. The setting for Esther’s story takes place in one of the four capital cities of the Persian empire, in the Citadel of Susa. This city was east of the Tigris River in what is modern-day Iran. The modern city is called Shush.
At this point in biblical history, the Assyrians had already taken the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity in 722 BC.
The Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar, had taken the southern kingdom of Judah into captivity in at least three rounds of deportations, the final in 586 BC, in conjunction with destroying the temple in Jerusalem. This action had been prophesied by Jeremiah as he attempted reform for 40 years in the Kingdom of Judah (Jer. 20:4-6, 21:7-10).
The kingdom of Judah spent 70 years in captivity, which was also prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 25:1–14; 29:10).
48 years after the temple was destroyed, Persia conquered Babylon and became the next ruling empire ranging from India to Cush (which was parts of Ethiopia and Sudan), encompassing 127 provinces in all (Esther 1:1).
The conquering king of Persia was King Cyrus, and in his first year of his reign, he declared, “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up and may the LORD their God be with them” (2 Chronicles 36:23).
So, a remnant of Jewish exiles from Persia, approximately 50,000, returned to the Land to rebuild their temple as prophesied by Isaiah 44:28 under Zerubbabel. This occurred during the lives of minor prophets Haggai [520 BC] and Zechariah [520-518 BC]).
Then minor prophet Ezra returned and reformed the people. There was a 12-year gap, then minor prophet Nehemiah returned, and the wall was rebuilt. He returned again [c. 430 BC] with prophet Malachi [450-430 BC].
The time period of the book of Esther began around 483 BC, in the third year of King Xerxes’ reign, which occurred in the 55-year gap of waves of Jewish exiles returning to Jerusalem. (483-473) under King Cyrus. Clearly, many of the Jews in Susa (Greek name; Shushan is Persian name) had made their homes in Persia now and chose not to move back to Jerusalem.
Here is our setting, where Esther’s story begins.
Bible readers, please read the book of Esther. It’s only 10 short chapters long but has the makings of an incredible drama. And though it reads easily and quickly, the story lasts a decade—Xerxes’ 3rd year of reign through his 12th year.
Problematically, Mordecai and Esther are not among the exiles to return to the land of Israel and temple worship. They aren’t immediately identified as Jews, nor do they seem to adhere to God’s laws regarding a Jewish lifestyle. There is no mention of following God’s commands, for example, appropriate kosher eating or praying. Esther also had sex with the pagan king and subsequently married this Gentile, though both were not her own choice. Each of those acts broke God’s commands through the Mosaic covenant as spoken to His chosen people.
Also problematic, God is not mentioned in this entire biblical book, nor is the book of Esther quoted by any New Testament writers.
Regardless, this is a story exemplifying that God works on behalf of His people. He is sovereign and can use any situation and any people to accomplish His will. And though Esther and Mordecai do not seem to adhere to a Jewish lifestyle, God used them as they acted on behalf of God for the Jewish people, saving Jewish existence in the Persian empire.
God is faithful. Always.
God is in control. Always.
God keeps His promises. Always.
Let’s examine the characters in the story.
The King:
His Persian name Khshayarshan, Hebrew is Ahasuerus (a-khash-veh-rosh) [if you read it in your Bible, it looks like a dinosaur name, Ahasaurus. His Greek name is Xerxes I. King Xerxes I ruled the Persian Empire for 21 years, from 486 to 465 BC. His father was Darius I, and grandfather, Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great was the king who marched and defeated the Babylonian empire, one source says quite easily. Cyrus, as I already stated, subsequently is the king who released Babylonian Jewish captives back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, with the help of Zerubbabel, Ezra, & Nehemiah.
In secular history books, Xerxes is best known for his invasion of Greece. His dream was to conquer Europe and set up a world empire. Biblical speculation is that this was the reason for his 6-month power and wealth campaign found in chapter 1 of Esther, to prove to the empire the Persian ability to conquer!
The deposing of Vashti and choosing of Esther spans 4 years with secular history stating that the interim between these two events included this Greek invasion.
Though Xerxes is deemed an effective ruler by historians, per this story, King Xerxes’ personality traits include drunkenness, temper, pride, rash decisions, and being easily swayed by the flattery of unwise advisors. He was also vengeful. Twice, we see he gives his right-hand man his signet ring, his irrefutable signature, to write an edict without knowing what this edict said. The first was an evil edict intended for destruction of an entire peoplehood; the second, a righteous edict, intended for the preservation of the same peoplehood.
He was assassinated in 465 BC, and there is no more mention of his Queen Esther.
Vashti:
We don’t know much about her, but she was the Queen who refused to be paraded in front of her drunk husband and male guests. What was the big deal one might ask? Was she busy, as she was entertaining the women of Susa, in typical banquet fashion? Was she annoyed at the king regarding this request? Was it her pride? Clearly his pride. Was she pregnant and not typically seen in public?
Rabbinic thought is that she was asked to parade naked but most scholars including myself see no evidence of this in the text. We don’t know for sure, but she did disobey the King’s request. Had he been sober, perhaps he would have responded more wisely.
Queen Vashti has been elevated by some as a woman in that time period, who stood up for herself, refusing the King’s unreasonable request.
Regardless, she was deposed and replaced.
She does enter secular history later, as many historians recognize her as Amestris, the mother of King Artaxerxes, Xerxes’ son and successor in 464 BC. Her influence on the kingdom was great under Artaxerxes. Biblical scholars speculate that Esther had since died, but we don’t know.
Haman:
Hater of the Jews.
Haman was an Agagite, dating back to King Saul’s time period. For reference, Saul became king around 1045/1050 BC. As King, Saul did not kill all of the Amalekites, as commanded by God, who were a “band of guerrilla terrorists,” including & especially the King Agag.
1 Samuel 15:8-9 8 He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. God had given a very clear command to Saul regarding this people, the Amalekites.
1 Samuel 15:3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” Saul not killing the king and disobediently plundering the Amalekites lost him the crown. This sounds harsh, but the Amalekites are biblically known as terrorists of the land at the time. God wanted them gone and the punishment for not killing them would be continual and generational struggles with them.
Haman being labeled an Agagite increased the tension in this story and punctuated his hate of the Jews. Everybody bowed down to Haman except one Jew. And because of this one Jew, Haman plotted to kill all the Jews.
Haman was self-important, a social climber, narcissistic, and power hungry. His hate and genocidal plot got himself killed, in a Great and Divine Reversal.
Banquets:
I will do a series on God’s 7 Feasts as found in Leviticus 23, as God commanded many a party for the Israelites and Jewish people. This book is full of banquets, or feasts or parties. Some good, most bad.
- The first banquet in chapter one is for military and political big wigs in the empire.
- The second banquet, also in chapter one, is for the men of Susa, hosted by King Xerxes, lasting 7 days with unlimited wine for all.
- The third was for the women of Susa, hosted by Queen Vashti.
The first three were to show off the kingdom’s power and wealth. These three banquets were not biblically prescribed by God, but they set the scene for God’s plan to save His people.
6 more banquets are mentioned in the story:
- Esther’s coronation.
- Haman’s celebration with the king.
- Esther’s history-changing two banquets for the King and Haman.
- The Jews’ celebrations when word got out of the new & lifesaving decree that they could defend themselves.
- And finally, the Feast of Purim. To be celebrated by Jewish people throughout history.
Mordecai:
A Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. Well respected and held in high esteem. His “sitting at the gate” would indicate that he was in some official position, likely in the judicial system of the empire.
Most likely his great grandfather was a first-generation deportee from Jerusalem.
He was an older cousin of Esther who raised her after her parents had died.
He refused to bow down to Haman, which got himself and the entire Jewish population in peril.
He exposed an assassination plot of the King.
Once Esther was taken to the palace, he paced daily, concerned about her.
He kept up with what was going on with Esther, socially and politically.
He wisely knew what was decreed about the upcoming Jewish annihilation and got messages to her.
His most famous quote:
Esther 4:13-14 “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
He went from most hated to full greatness by Esther 10, second in rank to King Xerxes, “preeminent among the Jews and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews” (Esther 10:3). Another of God’s Divine Reversals.
Small but important roles are 3 of the King’s eunuchs:
Hegai:
He was the eunuch in charge of the Harem.
Esther pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her special beauty treatments and special food. He assigned seven female attendants to her selected from the king’s palace and moved her and these attendants into the best place in the harem. (Esther 2:9).
He advised Esther the things she should take when deposed from the harem to the King, then to the royal residence.
Hathak:
Was one of the eunuchs who attended Esther.
He was a go-between to find out why Mordecai was in mourning.
He faithfully and accurately brought messages back and forth between Mordecai and Esther, regarding this Edict of Annihilation (Esther 4).
Harbona:
Harbona was the eunuch that served the King. He happened to be next to the King during his fury about Haman. This eunuch mentioned the impaling pole outside Haman’s house intended for Mordecai to the King.
Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!”
These eunuchs with their tiny but important roles in this narrative are some of my favorite characters. They are nobodies in the eyes of the palace, but God gave these three men honor by naming them in the Bible! They were still humans, though demeaned by castration, and they paid attention. Among these three examples, Harbona is my favorite, and his, “Oh btw, there is an impaling pole.” I get the impression that Harbona hated Haman, too, so those words must have been sweet on his lips.
But why so many eunuchs in the palace? It is understandable why the harem was run by eunuchs—to make sure no improprieties happened with the king’s women. Were the other male servants eunuchs because they had access to the queen? Karl and I were discussing this. I subsequently read that eunuchs were such so they would not try to usurp the throne. The King did not only run the empire but also had to propagate and produce an heir as successor.
Esther:
Esther is her Persian name, meaning “Star.” Hadassah or Hadas is her Hebrew name, meaning “myrtle.”
She is young, a virgin, and an orphan. Her older cousin, Mordecai, raised her.
She was beautiful, inside and out, with a lovely figure and won the favor of everyone who encountered her. She was humble, brave, listened to wise advice, pious, obeyed the rules, and took her life as it came to her, as she seemed to have little control as a woman and as a Jew.
But God…His plan and intervention reversed that! Yet another Divine Reversal!
Her most famous quote:
Esther 4:15-16
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
She took her peoplehood’s lives seriously at the risk of her own.
We don’t know what happened to Esther after the King’s assassination. The biblical book leaves us with the Jews celebrating the victory over annihilating Persians.
Was she killed as well? Did she pack her bags and leave the palace?
Did her grace and class influence the new King Artaxerxes to be kind to the Jews?
One historian believes that Artaxerxes would have killed her along with other nobles in the kingdom, to protect his own throne. He avenged his father’s death before taking the throne.
Another suggests that “Maybe Esther’s life had an effect on her stepson, Artaxerxes. In his seventh year of his reign, he commissioned Ezra (a Jewish scribe in his court) to reinstate biblical teaching and practices in Jerusalem. Twenty years into his reign, Artaxerxes authorized Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, helped finance the work, and appointed Nehemiah as governor of Judah.
We don’t know.
God:
His Name is not mentioned…not once in the narrative.
Yet His Mighty fingerprints are all over the story.
God’s sovereignty is everywhere along with His protection of the Jewish people, holding to His promised Covenant as made to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob.
God keeps His covenants.
He set, as always, unconventional heroes into place. This time, His people were saved by an orphaned Jewish woman; Esther, deliverer of the Jewish people.
God continually worked behind the scenes in this narrative as He continually works behind the scenes in our own lives. Slowing down and acknowledging it is a challenge many of us struggle with.
Within this story, the Jewish people are called to fast, which is always accompanied by prayer. This three-day fast, day and night, fasting from both food and water, was extreme. It also incorporates the number three, a number that can biblically indicate that something great is coming.
I would like to also add that three means Someone Great is in Charge.
Here is a quick summary (I couldn’t help adding my own edits):
King Xerxes (his secular/Greek name), King of Persia in the Citadel of Susa, ruled over 127 provinces. In the third year of his reign, he spent 6 months showing off his wealth. These 6 months ended with a 7-day party for basically anyone in Susa, wine overflowing and continual.
On the 7th day of his guy party, King Xerxes summoned his Queen Vashti, who herself was hosting a parallel banquet for the women. Xerxes wanted to show off her beauty & she promptly refused. He had a fit, summoned his advisors and they basically banned her from King Xerxes. In the Persian culture, like in Egypt, the King was considered at least part god. Therefore, if he commanded something, it was to be obeyed. Also if there was an edict issued, it could never be repealed. This Persian law about the edicts proposed many problems, two big ones in this story.
It seemed Xerxes regretted his banning of Vashti (probably the morning after, in sobriety). So, his advisors suggested searching for a new queen. Young, beautiful virgins were brought to the palace and given 12 months of beauty treatments before she would be brought to the king. [The timetable in this particular situation takes a few years.]
One particularly beautiful virgin, orphaned and raised by her cousin Mordecai, was Hadassah, also known as Esther. She won the favor of the supervising eunuch, who assigned 7 female attendants, cosmetics, special food, and the best room in the harem. Esther was admired by all who saw her, including King Xerxes. He chose her to be his queen and threw another banquet.
In the meantime, her cousin Mordecai had overheard a plot to overthrow the King. This was reported, confirmed, and these two plotters were impaled on large stakes or trees. The King was grateful but forgetful; for now.
The antagonist is introduced, Haman, who rose to be the King’s right-hand man. He finds himself very important and is livid when righteous Mordecai, the Jew, will not bow down to him. His pride and fury flare, and he conspires to not just kill Mordecai, but his entire race, the epitome of antisemitism. He convinced the King to issue an edict to eradicate the Jews from the entire Persian empire – this would result in killing at least 750,000 Jews (one source says 15,000,000 Jews but that seems extraordinarily high). Regardless, remember, this edict incorporated the empire, which encompassed India to Cush.
Mordecai got wind of the edict, and his mourning got back to Queen Esther. He strongly urged her to go to the King. She does, after 3 days of fasting, at risk of her own life, as nobody is to come to the King unless summoned. The King can receive an unsummoned visitor, and he chose to receive Esther. In fact, he seems very pleased to see her.
She invited him and Haman to a banquet she would prepare. They came and he promised her anything, up to half the kingdom (a little impulsive, one might say?). She continued the anticipation by inviting them both to a second banquet the next day. On that day, she would reveal her greatest desire.
Haman goes home, gets bad advice from his friends and wife, but erects a 50-foot pole to impale Mordecai on. In the meantime, the King had insomnia and was read the history of his reign by one of his subjects. He realized he hadn’t rewarded Mordecai from saving his life from two conspirators.
Haman came up with the plan to reward the man whom Xerxes wanted to honor, thinking it would be for him. It turned out he had to honor the man he hated most in the world, the one he had erected the 50-foot impaling pole for!
From this very busy day of parading Mordecai around Susa, honoring him, Haman returned home only to be whisked to Esther’s 2nd banquet. Esther’s request, rather than half the kingdom, was to be spared her life and her people spared their lives. She exposed Haman for his crimes against humanity, and he is ironically impaled on the very pole he set up for Mordecai.
Mordecai was raised to Xerxes’ right-hand man and, between his and Esther’s suggestions, is able to issue an edict for the Jews to defend themselves. Haman’s 10 sons were also impaled, the Jews defended themselves, and this date had been decreed by Mordecai as a time of celebration for Jews throughout history.
The details are in the actual biblical story, so please read it. Or listen to it!
Some lessons that struck me in this story:
- The opulence of King Xerxes, took 6 months to flaunt his wealth, ending with a 7-day party. Add to this, his misogyny and determination to subjugate his wife, Vashti. His temper and drunkenness ended this marriage.
- King Xerxes’ pride and temper resulted in his consulting equally misogynistic advisors—7 in all. They made a permanent and hairbrained decision that Xerxes later regretted. Dispatchers were sent to all the provinces in their own languages saying, “Every man should be ruler over his own household.” (Esther 1:22) Remember the curse in Genesis 3, that, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” That was the beginning of female subjugation.
- This cultural dysfunction continued as young beautiful virgin women were taken from their homes to forcibly be auditioned as the next queen. They would not return home again but eventually reside in the King’s concubine section of the harem. They were pampered with perfumes, beauty treatments and special food for 12 months to make them ready to serve at the pleasure of the King. And the pleasure of the King was whatever he deemed pleasurable.
- Esther was one of these taken virgins. Regardless, she conducted herself in such a way during this traumatic ordeal that she won the favor of the eunuch in charge of the harem, Hegai. She “had a lovely figure and was beautiful” (Esther 2:7). She showed humility, wisdom and lacked greed. “She won the favor of everyone who saw her” (Esther 2:15). This reminds me to be grateful and godly in every situation. Things in life don’t always go as we plan, but God is there in the details. Represent Him well.
- “Destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children, on a single day” (Esther 3:13). “Destruction of the Jews” (Esther 4:7). How often have these sorts of words been spoken throughout the history of the Jewish people? Haman had the Jews marked for extermination on a very specific single day… men, women, children. This was Haman’s Final Solution. Sound familiar? Even today we are encountering hate speech and actions against the Jewish people.
- As this hate edict was issued, the King and Haman sat down to drink, so callous and casual… “But the city of Susa was bewildered” (Esther 3:15). The city understood the gravity of this situation. Be aware of inequities in life.
- Antisemitism and sexism are rampant in this story. Yet God had a plan, and God has a plan. He elevated the Jewish people for survival and women in direct opposition to the antagonists in this story and honestly, in history. His covenantal promise was kept, as it always is, and His people would not be destroyed. The Messiah was to come from the Jewish people. How could they be destroyed only to kill all of God’s biblical promises and prophecies? Of course He would keep His promises.
- Pur/Purim. The Babylonian word “pur” is defined as “lot” like the Old Testament Urim and Thummim. This “pur” or lot was cast, setting the date of the Jews’ extermination by Haman. They were given almost a year to anticipate their imminent death. Talk about emotional torture.
What can we learn from this story? Thoughts to beware and thoughts to remember.
- Drunkenness, tempers, rash decisions – they can each change history and ruin lives. Permanently.
- God is our best advisor, over humans. Every time.
- Repeat: God continually worked behind the scenes in this narrative as He continually works behind the scenes in our own lives. Slowing down and acknowledging this is a challenge many of us struggle with.
- Choose our friends wisely! It’s ok to set some of them loose!
- God has chosen both men and women to propagate and protect His people. And His Plans.
- God shows no favoritism. Men, Women, Jews, Greeks, Slaves, Free. Remember how He honored the three eunuchs by name in the scroll of Esther.
- God brings seeming coincidences into our lives to accomplish His good will… like Vashti being deposed so Esther could be set in place as queen. God put her there long before she was needed to intervene. Another, Mordecai being in the right place and time to overhear the assassination plan of Xerxes. Also, the reminder of Mordecai’s lifesaving revelation about an assassination plot during Xerxes’ insomniac readings of the King’s annals, reminding Xerxes of Mordecai saving his life. Another, Harboni being right next to the king in his fury, slipping it to the king that Haman had already set up an impaling pole for Mordecai. Many things in the book of Esther show that God is working behind the scenes. He has control of history.
- The irony of Haman having to parade Mordecai around the city is hilarious. God’s intervention again! I see this as His ironic humor. Then Haman is impaled on the very pole he set up in front of his house to impale Mordecai. This scroll has Divine Reversals of fortune or misfortune all over it!
- God requires obedience. Our poor choices and disobedience can affect generations after us. Look at the hatred the Agagites had of the Jews. This dated back to the Israelites entering the land of Canaan, then to King Saul’s war against the Amalekites, more than 500 years prior.
- God honors His promises and Covenants. A promise is only as good as the one making the promise. We have the best Promise Keeper, one who cannot lie! The Bible verse is not, God “does not” lie. God in His perfection and sovereignty, He CANnot lie! Last, a powerful Bible verse from 1 Samuel 15:29 “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” No matter what transpires in history, God is sovereign.
Esther closes in chapter 9 with:
Esther 9:26-28
26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.
In the Jewish culture and modern Israel, Purim is still celebrated quite passionately.
I have a special one in my life, Afik, who has shared about celebrations of Purim in Israel.
He says it’s so much fun there. It feels weird in the US to dress in costumes in the spring, when no one else does!
But in Israel, all the schools have Purim day. It’s basically a party with dress up, lots of music, and food. The school day is short. People typically go out and depending on what part of the country, there could be a Purim march and many more parties. In Tel Aviv, entire areas become street parties.
There are celebrations, lots of drinking, one rabbinic tradition dictates to “drink until you don’t know yourself.”
Foods: There aren’t many traditional foods for this celebration. Mainly, Hamantaschen (Haman’s ears) but that is not related to the historical or biblical Purim. It was a more recent adaptation to a German pastry to fit into the celebration.
Religious communities commemorate the actual historical story of Esther, which is called a “scroll” not a book, or the “megillah.” Kids “boo” and have loud noise makers each time Haman’s name is mentioned in the story.
Costumes: People dress up in costumes, similar to the U.S.’s Halloween. The costume tradition has deviated from the historical story as, nowadays, costumes can be anyone or anything.
But importantly, this is a holiday of Joy. Even the songs are about it being such a happy event in Jewish history after years of being outcast and mistreated. A moment of great joy for the Jewish people as something fair and honest was done to and for them. Maybe that’s why the costumes—whatever it takes to be happy.
So friends, that is the whole megillah.
If you get nothing out of this podcast besides a good story, remember this.
More than anything, our God is a True God.
One of Promise and Hope.
He controls secular and biblical history.
He controls time and space.
Toda, Adonai, toda.
Thank you, LORD, thank you.
Shalom Friends –
**Heather!
©2025 Heather M R Olsen, Illumination: Hebrew Insights. All rights reserved. 
