 With that said we're going to start here in chapter 8. I'll read verses 1 and 2 and I'm going to give you a review Excuse me. I'll be at the door hugging people when you leave Want to get out of work? Reading chapter 8 verses 1 and 2 and getting getting into our introduction on that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman the enemy of the Jews and And Mordecai came before the king for Esther had told how he had how he was related to her So the king took off his signet ring which he had get which he had taken from Haman and gave it to Mordecai and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman so let me give you a review because we're going to be closing the book today Haman's plot to destroy the Jews had been revealed Remember out of petty spite Haman had plotted to destroy all the Jews now This wasn't just the Jews in Persia. These were Jews anywhere that they might be found We saw in chapter 3 verse 13 how it says that messengers went throughout all the king's Provinces with orders to destroy to kill and to annihilate all the Jews both young and old Little children and women in one day. The order was complete annihilation Now remember when the request is made that Haman had left the people unnamed He didn't say that this people that was in his words causing problems to to the king He didn't say that it was the Jews. You see he later knew that Mordecai was Jewish That's really all that he needed Now it's amazing how evil this man was he wanted to destroy not just somebody that he was angry with But he wanted to kill his entire people Now he had this high estimation of himself and this warns us against that kind of attitude like it says in Psalm 36 1 through 3 I have a message from God in my heart Concerning the sinfulness of the wicked there's no fear of God before their eyes in Their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful. They fail to act wisely or to do good And so the order was one of complete annihilation We want to destroy all of the Jews Obviously, we know that's not the only time this this sentiment has been enacted We know that a Hitler not that long ago really In our history Wanted to destroy to annihilate all the Jews But before we think that this only happened once or twice. We need to remember that this has happened even in recent times We're hearing a lot about Hamas and and all that's going on there in Israel Let me read to you from the covenant. It's called the Hamas Covenant. It was originally issued on August 18th in 1988 and It outlines the founding identity stand and aims of Hamas The original Charter declares its members to be Muslims who fear God and raise the banner of jihad in the face of the oppressors The Charter states our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious and Calls for the obliteration of Israel It emphasizes the importance of jihad stating in article 13 There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad initiatives proposals and International conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors So what's going on right now is very similar in spirit to what took place with Hitler and what has taken place in history All the way back as we're looking today at the book of Esther now Some of you have seen the news. I'm not going to stay on this I'm making a point but some of you have seen in the news that these there are people who are in mostly in college As many college people are carrying banners and it says from the river to the sea They're speaking of the River Jordan to the Mediterranean which makes up all of Israel and What they're asking for is to obliterate the nation of Israel There are those who are apologists are heard one recently who is claiming that's not what they meant No, that's what it is according to the Charter They want to obliterate Annihilate destroy and kill all Jews that took place in the time of Esther took place in the time of Hitler It's taking place in our day. And so that's what's taking place a mass rather. Heyman desire was to kill all the Jews Why well, he couldn't stand the fact that Mordecai would not honor him It says in Esther chapter 5 verse 9 when Heyman saw Mordecai in the Kingsgate and that he did not stand or tremble before him He was filled with indignation against Mordecai now Esther had been informed that Heyman had planned on killing all Jews and Mordecai or fit her life so when the Kings command was issued in ratified it couldn't be changed and that Command had been sent out and had been Ries of a Persian king were unchangeable Because he was thought to speak for the gods who could never be wrong and thus never needed to change their minds We saw an example of that in the book of Daniel in chapter 6 verse 8 when the king was asked Requestors made of the king it says oh king established the decree Signed the writing so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians Which does not change so Heyman knew that if he could get a decree to annihilate all the Jews that he couldn't change his mind that the king would not change his mind So Mordecai had told Esther that deliverance was going to arise and it would arise for the Jews And we saw in chapter 4 verse 14 how he said who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this So Esther knew that appearing before the king without invitation was dangerous But she took the chance and as we saw her husband welcomed her and listened to her She had devised the plan and she wanted to get his approval so she decided to give her husband a banquet and She issued an invitation for Heyman Now this is something that appealed to Heyman's ego. He was thrilled about it So he rushed home to tell his friends and his family that he'd been invited to a banquet Now this was a very extremely high honor But he was passing by Mordecai and Mordecai didn't stand or tremble before him He didn't give him the respect he desired and it ruined everything for him So Heyman told his friends and told his wife How much he hated Mordecai? So his wife Zoresh gave him advice. She said build him a gallows and hang him on it Thank You sweetheart. I'll do that in the morning She was saying the king respects you So suggest to him that Mordecai should die on it Well as we have already seen the advice pleased Heyman and he had the gallows made to hang Mordecai He attended the banquet and he was going to make his request to the king Now Esther was well aware of the plan to exterminate all the Jews Mordecai was her cousin and he had told her not to reveal that she was Jewish That means that Heyman did not realize that she was Jewish Now Esther had asked her husband to grant her a request and he told her she could have anything she asked to ask for Even up to half of the kingdom Well, she finally made a request When she made that request he was stunned Esther in chapter 7 in verse 3 following said it says that Queen Esther Answered and said if I found favor in your side, oh king if it pleases the king Let my life be given me at my petition and my people at my request For we have been sold my people and I to be destroyed killed to be annihilated Had we been sold as male or female slaves I would have held my tongue Although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss so King Osso eras answered and said to Queen Esther, who is he and where is he? Who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing and Esther said the adversary and enemy is this wicked Heyman and Heyman was terrified before the king and queen imagine how he felt at that point He's just lounging around thinking he's very cool and very important and then she just We used to say drop the dime. She dropped a dime on him and that was it What did she say let my life be given to me at my petition as well as the life of my people Well, Esther informs her husband. It's Heyman. Heyman has instigated Jewish genocide We already saw how the king was so furious he left the room to cool off and while out of the room Heyman had begun begging for his life and he fell on the couch that Esther was on it appeared that he was attempting to Physically abuse her when the king came in he saw Heyman and that was the end of Heyman a Hoss wear us ordered Heyman to be put to death In the book of Job in chapter 18 verse 5 it says the light of the wicked shall be put out and The spark of his fire shall not shine So that brings us here to chapter 8 and in chapter 8 verses 1 and 2 as I just read Those verses open with Heyman's property being disposed of Scripture says that a Hoss wear us gave Esther the house of Heyman Now that was to compensate for her Compensate her for the fear that she had been enduring all this time You see in Persia when a criminal was executed his property was forfeited to the king and the king could give it to him Ever he wanted so he gave his he gave Heyman's property to Esther now in Verse 1 I'll read again. It says on that day king a Hoss wear us gave Queen Esther the house of Heyman The enemy of the Jews and Mordecai came in before the king for Esther had told how he was related to her So she finally has revealed that she's a Jewess and also reveals that Mordecai is her cousin So verse 2 the king took off his signet ring Which he had given he had taken from Heyman and gave it to Mordecai and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Heyman So a Hoss wear us had given his signet ring to Heyman in chapter 3 verse 10 He now gives Heyman's authority to Mordecai that made him a high official in the Empire He became what would be called today a prime minister Now remember he's already earned the trust of the king. He had exposed a plot to assassinate him And so he's already trustworthy to him. And so Esther gave Mordecai stewardship over the house He didn't give him ownership, but she gave him Responsibility as a steward over that house. So verse 3 says now Esther spoke again to the king Failed down at his feet and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Heyman the aggagite and the scheme Which he had devised against the Jews. So she used a nuclear-style weapon against her husband She cried It works every time And so as a result of that in making this very heartfelt plea verse 4 the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther Esther arose and stood before the king so The scepter is offered as a symbol of Demonstrating a favor to her and so she begins to speak in verse 5 and says if it pleases the king and If I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I'm pleasing in his eyes Let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Heyman the son of Hamidotha the aggite Aggite which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king's provinces counterman Heyman's evil order to annihilate all the Jews everywhere It's interesting that though Heyman was dead the order was still in place Just because the people Who established that law died doesn't mean the law is not still in force That happens to this day a bad law has passed and the ones who initiated that law have died But it remains in force and so that's what was taking place So you need to do something she's saying we need you to stop that evil law She says in verse 6 for how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen? This isn't just oppression This isn't simply persecution. We can handle that What we're looking at here in verse 6 is complete annihilation All of my people destruction of all of my countrymen and by implication The death of all the Jews would include her and Mordecai And so I'm asking for you to save my people, but that includes us those you have shown favor to Well verse 7 King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew indeed I have given Esther the house of Heyman and and they've hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay hand on the Jews You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews as you please in the king's name and seal it with the king's signet ring For whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring No one can revoke So he's saying I've already executed Heyman that shows that I will protect you So you can write a decree concerning the Jews you see I can't change this decree But I grant permission to any plan that you may have to to safeguard them So you write the order once again, I can't revoke my decree. They're binding So surely you can devise a way to save them in a way that does not shame me and Fits within the law so verse 9 So the king's scribes were called at that time in the third month, which is the month of Svan on the 23rd day And it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews to say traps the governors and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia 127 provinces in all to every province in its own script to every people in their own language and to the Jews in their own script and language now This was over two months after the first order had been issued While aware of the decree the Jews would have been humbled they would have been in prayer So he writes verse 10 he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus He sealed it with the king's signet ring sent it sent letters by couriers on horseback Riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds So they took the fastest form of transportation and they delivered this message Well verse 11 by these letters the king permitted the Jews Who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives to destroy kill and annihilate all the forces of any people Or province that would assault them both little children and women and to plunder their possessions on One day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus on the 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar a Copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people So that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies The couriers who rode on royal horses went out hastened and pressed on by the king's command and the decree was issued in Shushan The citadel and so the Jews are given permission here to protect themselves Now notice with me. They were not given permission to take the offensive. They were not given a command go out and attack your enemies They were given permission to defend themselves They were also given permission to plunder those who were attempting to kill them So all the people had been made aware of this and they were now prepared Now it says in verse 15 Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white With a great crown of gold a garment of fine linen in purple and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad and So Mordecai is arrayed as a great Persian prince as he's walking out He's just look at amazing he is great in honor now He's not equal in status obviously to the king But he was arrayed in very beautiful clothes and and it caused everybody to be to be rejoicing verse 16 The Jews had light and gladness joy and honor the tables have turned Instead of afraid being afraid and they had been because they knew that an issue had an order had gone out They knew they were going to be slaughtered But now they're filled with joy Because their fear has been replaced with it and they're rejoicing like it says in Psalm 97 11 Light is sown for the righteous gladness for the upright in heart Psalm 112 verse 4 even in darkness light dawns for the upright for those who are gracious and compassionate and Righteous so they they're filled with with light spirits Gladness joy joy and gladness a feast and a holiday Then many of the people of the land became Jews because fear of the Jews fell upon them The Jews had been trembling But the people in the land are now afraid Perhaps their anti-semitism had been voiced out loud and now they're in fear Now I want you to see something notice how they became many became Jews for fear of the Jews had fallen upon them That's pretty That's that's a statement that that we Christians wouldn't really understand very deeply because It's more it was more than simply saying okay, I'm a Jew They had to go through particular rights including circumcision and The idea that they would go that far tells you how afraid they were and how much they wanted to be in the favor of the God of Israel they submitted even to that the Bible in in Psalm 18 for this 43 says You have delivered me from the attacks of the people you have made me the head of nations People I did not know now serve me And so things are going pretty good Chapter 9 verse 1 now in the 12th month that is the month of it are on the 13th day the time came for the king's command and and his decree to be executed on On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them the opposite occurred in that the Jews themselves Overpowered those who hated them so the day decreed that was to have The people upon the Jews well the day has come now that the Jews have defended themselves and they're victorious The people are not Conquering the Jews the Jews are now conquering their enemies. They thought they were going to exterminate the Jews It didn't happen instead the Jews defended themselves and are victorious So I'm 41 11 I know that you're pleased with me for my enemy does not triumph over me So in verse 2 the Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm and No one could withstand them because fear of them fell upon all people So the laying hands on them, but not the way Christians do They're killing them Sometimes we want to do that, but that'll be a different study some other day And this is interesting it's pointing out to us that they took advantage of their freedom to fight and they fought valiantly Now they fought this way because their nation their lives were at stake and Like is true in every Every military man understands this military woman would understand this They were fighting not only for their own lives They were fighting for the lives of their wives for their children for their cities and for their nation and That's part of what is a just a just war is fighting in that way They're fighting to protect themselves But they're also fighting with the cause and the cause was to protect their children to protect their their wives and To protect the cities to protect their nation and they're fighting against those who sought their harm And no one could withstand them and notice that God provoked these people to fear They became afraid verse 2 it says Fear of them fell upon all the people as I was preparing the study I was thinking of of the book of Joshua how that in the book of Joshua when the The Jews sent a couple of two spies into Jericho and As they went in there was a woman there by the name of Rahab and she's referred to to us in scripture as Rahab the harlot And these men had come in we know the story they had come in and There was an order that Because they had heard that there were foreigners that entered in there was an order for them to be turned in And so they began looking for these two spies and and they couldn't find them Rahab had taken these two Jewish spies And had hidden them in her attic well the king ordered her to bring out these men But she said well they've already gone and then when everything was clearing up for a moment She spoke to the spies in Joshua 2 9 through 11 and she said to them I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us So that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the key of the Red Sea For you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to see on and aug the two kings of the Amorites East of the Jordan whom you completely destroyed And when we heard of it our hearts melted in fear Everyone's courage failed because of you for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below and So this word had come and it had caused fear well It's doing the same thing here fear fell on all of these people in verse 2 Or verse 3 all the officials of the provinces the satraps the governors all those doing the king's work Help the Jews because the fear of Mordecai Alice and his fame spread throughout all the provinces For this man Mordecai became increasingly Prominent so all government officials are now helping because of his position They're afraid not to support him or his people and this is how it often happens People don't do what is right, but what is expedient for them? They didn't side necessarily with the Jews. They were simply afraid of retribution from Mordecai He was powerful powerful due to his relationship with the king and powerful due to his relationship with Esther And so verse 5 thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword with slaughter and Destruction and did what what they pleased with those who hated them So what they did is they retaliated against their enemies who had tried to kill them Verse 6 in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men Also verse 7 partial here we go also Philip and George and Bill and Mike and Terry and Craig Here we go. Let's try and pronounce these words Also, Parshin don't Parshin Dotha Dolphin as Potha Paratha Adalia eridata Parmashta arasai aradai Fred and Vajas Vajasatha the ten sons of Haman the son of Hama Dotha The enemy of the Jews they killed But they did not lay a hand on the plunder They didn't plunder Shushan because personal enrichment was not their goal Verses 7 through 10 are actually giving us that the names of the ten sons of Haman and So these are the ones whom they killed again notice in verse 10. They didn't lay hand on the plunder This all came under Esther's ownership and Mordecai stewardship They didn't want to do that plus they didn't want to be malicious and they didn't want to appear greedy first 11 on That day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel was brought to the king and the king said to Queen Esther The Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men in Shushan the citadel and the ten sons of Haman What have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you or What is your further request? It shall be done and So they informed the king how many have died he would want to know how many subjects have died and Then he speaks and says in verse 12 that 500 have died and the sons of Haman are dead Who knows how many others now it may be a question Not so much a question, but a statement. So what else do you want? What else will please you? Well verse 13 Esther said if it if it pleases the king Let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today's decree and Let Haman's ten sons be hanged on the on the gallows So the king commanded this to be done the decree was issued in Shushan and they hanged Amon's Ten son now his ten sons were already dead What they did is they had these sharpened stakes and they they impaled them and That would have been a declaration of what happens to the king's enemies That's a very ancient tactic by the way because even during the time of Christ when people were crucified They were done so outside of the city and they were done in a public place So that the people would walk by and see these people who had been crucified writhing sometimes they would last on the cross three or four days and They would walk by hearing them writhing Screaming in pain and it was a terrible warning to all people if you if you commit a crime This is what can happen to you and so Esther has them posted So that the people will see and see that as a warning that you don't come against the king And you don't do the kinds of things that Haman was guilty of and it was demonstrated by hanging his sons in that way So she's saying let's make sure the job is finished. We don't need any to survive Which is by the way part of The original orders of the children of Israel when they were first entering into the land They were conquering the land and they were given orders to show no mercy in Deuteronomy 7 Verses 1 through 3 when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you're entering to possess and Drives out before you many nations the Hittites Gurgashites Amorites Canaanites Parasites Hivites Jebusites Seven nations larger. I won't say cellulites seven nations larger and stronger than you and When the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them You must destroy them totally make no treaty with them show no mercy Wipe it out. Wipe out the evil completely was the command. So finish the task Now undoubtedly the leaders of the enemies were still alive. They could attempt to rally and destroy the Jews So finish this hang Verse 13 hang his 10 sons so that all will see and fear the king well Verse 15 the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the 14th day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men at Shushan, but they did not lay hand on the plunder The remainder of the Jews in the king's provinces gathered together and protected their lives and and and had rest from their enemies killed 75,000 of their enemies that is like almost filling up The Coliseum or closer filling up the Rose Bowl And that's just a huge amount for us to try and get our mind around but they killed 75,000 of their enemies again. They did not lay hand on the plunder They were not doing this out of greed. They were doing this because they needed to do it well Verse 17 This was on the 13th day of the month of Adar and on the 14th of the month They rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness But the Jews who were in Shushan assembled together on the 13th day as Well as on the 14th and on the 15th of the month They rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled town celebrated the 14th day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting as a holiday and For sending presents to one another So that gives a general Consensus or order of the things that happened the slaughter the enemies enemies occurred on the 13th and the 14th and they rested on the 15th They celebrated their victory as well as their survival and after war comes a victory feast It's been said after work comes rest but after escape comes joy and so they're rejoicing So verse 20 Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews Near and far who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus who established among them that they should celebrate yearly the 14th and 15 days of the month of Adar as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies as The month which which was turned from sorrow to joy for them and from mourning to a holiday That they should make them days of feasting and joy if sending presents to one another gifts to the poor So the Jews accepted the custom which had which they had begun as Mordecai had written to them Because Haman the son of Hamadathah the agate agate the enemy of all the Jews had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them and Had cast her her is a lot to consume them and destroy them But when Esther came before the king he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews Should return on his own head and that he and his son should be hanged on the gallows So they called these days Purim after the name poor therefore because of the all the words of this letter what they had What they had seen concerning this matter and what had happened to them the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and Their descendants and all who had joined them that without fail They should celebrate these two days every year according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time That these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation Every family every province and every city that these days of Purim Should not fail to be observed among the Jews and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants So they wanted their descendants to always remember and to never forget this great victory Psalm 105 verses 4 and 5 look to the Lord in his strength Seek his face always Remember the wonders he has done his miracles and the judgments he pronounced Deuteronomy 32 7 Remember the days of old consider the generations long past ask your father He'll tell you your elders they will explain to you Psalm 77 11. I will remember the deeds of the Lord I will remember your miracles of long ago If there's anything that we need to do is we need to learn even as they are commemorating this great victory That God had had delivered their enemies into their hands. We need to as believers Never never cease to remember the things God has done in our lives There's one of the things that I think that it's very easy is to begin to live a Christian life That is so blessed that you think that that's just the way it's always been and you forget what it was like before One of the best things that I try to do is to remember where I came from I I never want to forget where I was I never want to forget what I was and the things that I didn't not with a Desire to go back to those things. Those are the things God saved me from But to remember those things and and we ought to have within our own hearts and memorials You know the the children of Israel when they crossed over the river they they they had a stones of remembrance That they would they would be able to tell their children. This is where God met me in a special way. I Have on on occasion. I have driven in in my own personal stones of Remembrance I have driven by the the house that that our church began in I've driven by The house that we began meeting on Sunday mornings. I've driven to the first little church that we rented When we first began I've gone by the other properties the central school in Ontario Christian elementary and small place there on Maple Street in Ontario on and Ontario High School Those are all places that I have memories I drive by an occasion I wish I could remember the name of the street at the moment for some reason I'm I'm not remembering the name of the street, but it's it's it's off of Holt just before you get to Euclid and Anyway, my brother had an apartment in this this this area and and it's by a park and On occasion I will drive by and I'll even pull over and just look at this little teeny It's a small apartment. His apartment could have been 600 square feet and I'll sit there now. Just look at it and My mind would just travel back all these years Back to 1974 And I'll just look at this little I'll look up and I'll see the little the room that the little apartment that That I taught a Bible study there to my brother And I have fond memories of that place because that's where I met my my girl who became my wife in that little Bible study There and I'll sit there now look at that and and and I get sentimental over and I'll think oh God Look at what you have done never forget what the Lord has done in your life Don't long for the days that you were lost Don't be looking back saying oh, I remember at least I had something to do on Friday nights then you know Yeah, yeah, you had things to do and on and on Saturday morning And you had you were hung over or regretting what you did. Yeah, remember those things too remember the things that that the price you paid for the false memories you had have sometimes we think It was such a great time. I don't forget those things I don't forget those things. I could go into but I don't forget them. I don't forget what I did I I never have it's not that I want them. It's not that I I even sorrow over them God has wiped away those things from from my heart in terms of guilt. He has set me free He's given me the joy of salvation, you know But I don't forget and I think it's very important that you not forget either Special when the enemy says to you look at you man, what a bummer look at you you turn out to be a real jerk Didn't you I mean you used to be so fun and you said people were calling you up and wanting to party and hang around and now All you do is is nothing aren't you bored? Aren't you tired of being dumb you ought to enjoy your life again? Remember? The enemy says that to me all the time. He doesn't say remember. He'll say member Remember when you used to do that No It's important to keep in mind the things that God has done for you Forgetting those things is very common We need to be aware of that In Jewish history very often the people seem to forget what God had done for them And you look in the book of Judges in chapter 2 verse 7 It says the people serve the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and Who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel? But it goes on in verse 10 and says after that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers Another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel in one generation They forgot in one generation God had done so many wonderful things for them Bringing them into a promised land and within a generation. They forgot You might find this interesting. I'll say it briefly The Jesus movement is very much like that a Lot of people who got saved in that era that is called the Jesus movement Didn't raise their children in the ways of the Lord and their children Do not know the things that God did for their parents because the parents did not raise the children in the knowledge of the Lord Parents got caught up with other things a lot of things I think there were anywhere from eight to ten people in the van when I got saved and out of the eight to ten people That were friends of mine. I only know three of us that continued with the Lord The other six seven people walked away a long time ago And so this is the establishment of perma I'll say a couple of things and we're gonna close because chapter 10 only has three verses But perma we've been in Israel when they're celebrating perum They walk around in costumes We asked why are they running around dressed in in costumes, you know, I know they don't celebrate Halloween So what is this and you'll see them they're dressed up like kings or queens or things like that, you know and so one one rabbi Says and I looked this up in some Jewish sources One rabbi says it is because the Jews pretended to be something else during the time that That they were going to be slaughtered Another writer said on perum we wear costumes to recall that everything that happens is driven by God's guiding force leading every event towards his master plan for his creation it shows how God hid his work behind ordinary events Also, another writer said it's a day when the poor receive charity and so it helps to minimize The embarrassment of those who are receiving charitable gifts because they give gifts It minimizes their embarrassment, but to this day they continue celebrating that particular feast It says finally Queen Esther verse 29 The daughter of Avahal Avahal With Mordecai the Jew wrote with full authority to confirm the second letter about perum and Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus With words of peace and truth to confirm these days of perum at their appointed time as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them and as they decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and Lamenting so the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of perum and it was written in the book Finally first one of chapter 10 King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea all the acts of his power and his might and The account of the greatness of Mordecai To which the king advanced him are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of media in Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus and was great among the Jews as well And well received by the multitude of his brethren seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen so Queen Esther Established perum the king imposes tribute. He has a new sense of power and authority He's increasing his revenue revenue and he's saying finally all of these things are written in the Persian history books Mordecai used his power to encourage and Mordecai Helped to secure peaceful existence and thus we conclude the book of Esther