Bridge to Esther

Esther 9:11-15

Respect for the Dead

11. On that day (the 13^th of Adar) the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before, or told to the king. How did he react? Did he become angry?

12. And the king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman: he wondered, what have they done, how many people have they killed in the rest of the king’s provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done.

13. Then said Esther, If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according unto this day’s decree; allow the Jews to continue to defend themselves for another day, for she feared that there were still many enemies plotting revenge; and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows as a strong warning to all Haman’s former supporters.

14. And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree that also the next day the Jews could defend themselves against any attackers was given at Shushan only; in the rest of the kingdom, this was not allowed; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons.

15. For the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; so Esther had been right that there were more enemies who would have tried to kill the Jews; but on the prey, the enemies’ houses and other possessions, they laid not their hands.

Something to think about:

Was it really necessary to hang the bodies of Haman’s sons on the gallows? Shouldn’t they have shown respect to the bodies of those who had died, even if they were enemies? Wouldn’t it have been better to bury their bodies instead of displaying them? Let’s hope that they did bury those bodies the day after. It is a Christian duty to show respect by properly burying dead bodies, even of our enemies or of criminals.

God recorded the example of the noble men of Jabesh-Gilead (1 Samuel 31) who heard that the enemy had hung the bodies of King Saul and his sons up on a city wall for mockery. In the cover of the night, those courageous men removed those bodies and carefully buried their bones. God also recorded the example of Joseph of Arimathea and his helpers, who took great care of the body of the Lord Jesus. Normally, bodies of people who were crucified were not treated respectfully and left on the cross for days as a warning to people.

Death is already a dishonor to our bodies as it is the punishment for sin. But death should never be made worse by mistreatment or shameful display of the body. At times, you will attend a funeral or visit a cemetery. It is proper to show quiet respect at such places. That also applies to all the jokes, books and movies that mock with death. Death is never a joking matter or a game item.

Some say that the hanging of the sons of Haman wasn’t done to dishonor their bodies but to send a strong warning to anyone planning to further carry out Haman’s awful crimes. Though it is true that a public example can give a strong message of warning, yet it must always remain respectful to the dead.