Esther 3:1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
2 And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
3 Then the king’s servants, which were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment?
4 Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.
9 If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.
10 And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.
In this chapter we are introduced to another character in this book. Haman is an evil man. The fact that the king is promoting this man tells us much about the king’s ability to see good character. He is lacking in that himself, and he does not know how to choose good advisors. We read here that Haman was given a position that put him above all the princes that were with him. In Persian society, that meant that all others except the king needed to bow before Haman.
In verse 2 we see this fact. Pagan societies are quite vain in their thinking. Even in our country we hear politicians being referred to as “the right honourable . . .” What makes them right honourable. They are liars and cheats. It is very difficult to get any of them to speak the truth. They only tell us what they want to. They wait until they have power and then they sneak all kinds of bad ideas in.
We see here as well that Haman did not come up with the protocol on his own. The king commanded that he be highly honoured. Godly people give honour to those who are actually worthy of honour. A faithful pastor, or evangelist is worthy of honour. The Bible says so. That honour does not include bowing before them. It simply means that we recognize their value and we respect their input on important matters. A godly pastor is a man of God. He spends time in God’s Word and in prayer, allowing God to direct his thoughts.
In our text, we see that Mordecai was not about to bow to Haman. Mordecai had some Scriptural understanding but he was selective in what he would practice. As we have already noted, he was different than Daniel and his three friends or than Ezekiel.
In verse 3 we see that the king’s servants were concerned about Mordecai’s actions. They wanted to know why he was going against the king’s commandment. It was not that Mordecai did not know. He chose not to follow the king’s command. God did not make man a robot. He did not make man to be a “yes man”. Man is supposed to think and use discernment. Rulers are also supposed to be under God’s rule and they are to rule with justice. King Ahasuerus did not know much about justice. Mordecai did not know much about honouring God.
In verse 4 we see that these servants were not going to let Mordecai get away with what he was doing. They told Haman that Mordecai was not obeying the king’s command. Haman had a problem with pride already. Even though everyone else was bowing to him, he was not content with that.
The servants wanted to know if Mordecai could get away with his current position. He had finally told them that he was a Jew. He assumed that should be good enough. We have noted that Joseph, Daniel and his three friends all identified with the true God. They did not hide behind being Jews. That was important, but it was more important to identify with God. The Jews were supposed to be God’s people, but many of them were just as ungodly as the other nations.
In verse 5 we see that Haman took note of Mordecai’s actions. He was not going to allow this to stand. He became very angry with Mordecai over this. In verse 6 we read that Haman would love to have laid hands on Mordecai, but he did not just want to punish him. He wanted to get rid of all the Jews. He knew next to nothing about them. He knew that Mordecai would not bow to him, and he used his Jewish heritage as justification for that. Haman figured he needed to get rid of all the Jews in the entire Empire. To Haman they were the people of Mordecai.
In verse 7 Haman began to work on his plot. We are now in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus. From the first month on they cast lots every day to see which day would be good for destroying the Jews.
While they were working on this, Haman went to the king to give his version of the Jews. He was correct in stating that the Jewish laws were diverse from the Persian laws. However, many of the Jews who chose to remain in Persia, had chosen to assimilate with the Persian system. They might keep the sabbath, but they lost sight of the purpose of separation. They were not a light to the pagan Persian nation.
Mordecai was disobeying the king’s unjust command. Interestingly, Mordecai had obeyed the king’s law in allowing them to take Esther and have her treated as part of the king’s haram. Haman had to bring up the money here as well. That is the bottom line for pagan rulers. That is what our governments are obsessed with.
In verse 9 Haman decided that a bribe would help persuade the king. The king was already wealthy. Obviously Haman was as well. However, Haman probably calculated the value of the properties that the Jews had in the Empire. If the Jews were killed that property would belong to the Persians. Some of that would go to Haman. When Haman mentioned money, the king’s eyes lit up. Now Haman had his attention.
In verse 10 we see further the ruthless nature of king Ahasuerus. He did not value human life. He took off his ring and gave it to Haman. We are again reminded of who this Haman was. An Agagite would put him in the lineage of Agag that king Saul spared when God told him to destroy the Amalekites. Samuel killed him, but his descendants lived on.
Now Haman was not only in a high position of authority, but he had the authority to write laws with this ring. He could write his letters and stamp them with the king’s ring. This would give them the authority of the king.
This was not a good plan, but it was the plan that king Ahasuerus was agreeing to. He was not a wise man. As we have noted, God needs to be the king. Man needs to be subject to God. When God is not given His rightful place, it creates havoc all the way through.
As we have noted, that is what is wrong with Canada. We have a Prime Minister who thinks he is a king. His cabinet bows to him. The opposition parties act as though they do not like some of his positions, but they too have ungodly ideas. The only religion they follow is the one with dollar signs and power on it. History shows us that this kind of government is destructive and will ultimately fall apart. That is what is coming for our country. Too many people are focused on materialism. Eternal matters are of little concern. After all, the mentality of the lost is that we are all good and if there is a heaven, we will all get there eventually. Of course that is a fantasy, but the lost do not want to hear that. They love to follow their fantasies.
We need more than the stamp of some wicked man’s ring. We need the sure Word of the Lord. When a person is truly born again, the Holy Spirit indwells him. He then can begin to understand things from God’s perspective. He gains a new appreciation for God’s Word and through study of God’s Word he will grow stronger as a child of God. People like this are in short supply in our world. They are also not appreciated by many. However, that is what our world needs. Of course the important “thing” that the world needs is salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. Be sure you are God’s child and are following His way.
Pastor Bartel