On the same day that Haman was hung, Esther 7:10, the king gave Esther the house of Haman, which would have included all his possession and his servants, Esther 8:1.
This was done according to the custom of the time, the possessions of a traitor were confiscated by the state and the possessions of Haman were given to the one he had wronged.
Mordecai had already proven his allegiance to the king by spoiling the plot against his life, Esther 2:21-23, and since he was the foster father of his queen, Esther 2:7, it made perfect sense for the king to give his signet ring to Mordecai to make him second in command in the place of Haman, Esther 8:2.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The king gave Mordecai Haman’s place as second in authority, Joseph, Genesis 41:42, Nehemiah, Nehemiah 1:11 to Nehemiah 2:8, and Daniel, Daniel 5:7 / Daniel 5:29 / Daniel 6:3.’
Esther goes ahead and makes Mordecai the head of Haman’s household, Esther 8:2, and so he lived in his home and enjoyed the riches that he had. When she did this, this signalled to the king that she desired that Mordecai be exalted to the position that Haman had formerly enjoyed.
He was given the signet ring, which meant he now had the power to seal documents that couldn’t be altered even by the king. This was a great honour, and it required great responsibility, and Mordecai was certainly qualified for such a task.
We must remember that although Haman has already been dealt with, his evil decree was still in force. Earlier, the king said that he would give the queen whatever she wanted, up to half of his kingdom, Esther 5:3 / Esther 5:6 / Esther 7:2, but since nothing had been done to stop the slaughter, Esther comes before the king crying this time, Esther 8:3.
Notice that the king once again held out his golden sceptre, Esther 8:3, which suggests that Esther once again went before the king without being invited, Esther 5:2.
Esther once again pleads for the king’s favour and asks him to do what he sees as right and if the king is pleased with her, then let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces, Esther 8:5. She tells him it would be just too much for her to handle her people and her family being killed, Esther 8:6.
Baldwin, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It is very moving to see the extent to which this young girl, who has everything money can buy, identifies herself with her own kith and kin, and is prepared to risk everything in an attempt to prevent the disaster that threatens them.’
King Xerxes tells Queen Esther and Mordecai that because Haman attacked the Jews, he has have given his estate to Esther, Esther 8:7 / Esther 8:1, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up, Esther 8:7 / Esther 7:10.
Remember, Esther pleaded for the king to reverse the decree that was sent out, Esther 8:5 / Esther 3:12-18, the problem is, once a decree was sealed with the signet ring, not even the king could reverse it, Esther 1:19 / Daniel 6:17.
However, the king made it possible for Esther to save her people because he gave her permission to send another decree that would make it impossible for the slaughter to occur, Esther 8:8. This new decree also had to be sealed with the king’s signet ring, Esther 8:8.
Around two months had passed since Haman had made his decree, Esther 3:12, but now a new decree was made by Mordecai that would protect the Jews, Esther 8:9-10. Now they would be allowed to rise up and protect themselves from anyone who tried to slaughter them, Esther 8:11.
We are told that the day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, Esther 8:12.
We are also told that a copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies, Esther 8:13. And so, the couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa, Esther 8:14.
Wiersbe, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If a group of pagan scribes and messengers, without modern means of transportation and communication, could take Mordecai’s decree to an entire empire, how much more should Christian workers be able to take Christ’s Gospel to a lost world!’
Mordecai is dressed in all the royal clothing, Esther 8:15, which proves that he was in control and had the favour of the king. The first Jews to learn about Mordecai’s new decree were the people of Susa, and it caused the people to rejoice because now they had hope, Esther 8:15.
As the good news spread through the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, Esther 8:9 / Esther 1:1, all the Jews rejoiced, and they had a great feast because now they could protect themselves from Haman’s decree, Esther 8:16-17.
As the new decree was made known, the other people became scared of what would happen to them, so many of the people became Jews by becoming proselytes, Esther 8:17.
They were obviously persuaded that because Mordecai and Esther were Jews and the God of the Jews was working in and through the Jews, Exodus 19:5-6 / Ecclesiastes 12:13.