Esther 3:11 And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.
12 Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.
13 And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
14 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day.
15 The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.
In verse 11 the king turns things around for Haman. Haman has already offered ten thousand talents of silver into the king’s treasury. The king is fully on board with what Haman wants to do. He was convinced that the Jews were a problem for him. Pagan governments demand complete loyalty. They do not like any group dragging down their plans.
In our country, the government is proving that some of their biggest concerns are with Evangelical Christians and with Jews. They would not know a true Evangelical Christian if one stood in front of them. They have an assumption of who they are. Basically it is any religious group that does not bow to their wickedness.
During the Wuhan virus debacle, there were New Evangelical leaders who were put in prison. All the leaders that I have heard of being imprisoned were false teachers. They talked of God and they talked of Jesus, but their religion is false. Again, the government does not know what true religion is. All they are concerned with is that we bow to them, and not to any other authority. There were many religious leaders that were fined. The government does not know what the truth is. They are just like Pilate. Jesus stood right in front of him and he asked Jesus “what is truth?” Pilate did not know what the truth was. Our governments today do not know what the truth is. Not because they cannot know. It is because they do not want to know the truth.
We can see as well that our governments are antisemite. They protect the terrorist groups that march down our streets with their terrorist flags. They close down streets and the police bring them coffee to intimidate Jewish communities. Our country is in trouble.
In Persia, the government had greater liberty than our country has right now. However, as we have witnessed just in the past few weeks, our government is pressing towards a strong dictatorship. If things go as they want, that dictatorship will only grow stronger.
In verse 12 of our text the king’s scribes were enlisted to write the letter that Haman wanted sent out. They chose the thirteenth day of the month as the day to get this started. Those letters were sent out to all the leading officials. There were translators to make sure all the people understood what Haman’s demand was. This letter was sealed with the king’s ring. He did not write it. He did not dictate it. However, he was foolish enough to stand behind that letter.
In verse 13 we read that the letters were sent out by posts. The citizens of the Persian Empire were funding this massive publication. They were being used as a tool to prepare the people to try to wipe out God’s chosen people.
We can see the hand of the devil at work here. He has been trying to destroy the Jews almost from the time God promised Abraham He would make a great nation out of him and Sarah. It was not long after Abram left Ur of the Chaldees, that he told Sarai to tell anyone asking, that she was his sister. The Pharaoh saw Sarai and he liked what he saw and he had her brought into his harem. God stopped him from defiling her. The Pharaoh realized he had done wrong, and he called Abram and rebuked him for deceiving him. Abram had no good reason for what he had done. He had to admit he was a very irresponsible husband, who was not willing to die for his wife. He would rather see her be defiled by another man, than protect her.
God intervened. God had already promised Abram that He would give him a son by his wife Sarai. No other man could be involved there. God made sure of that.
The nation of Israel would begin with a unique foundation and it would be built on that same unique foundation. When Sarah counselled Abraham to take her handmaid, Hagar and have a son with her, Abraham foolishly listened to Sarah. God did not stop that wickedness. He allowed Abraham to commit adultery with Hagar. God also allowed Hagar to conceive and bring forth a son. He also promised Hagar that her son would become a great nation. However that nation would be a big problem for Abraham’s God appointed son. The descendants of Ishmael have been a problem for Israel all through history. They will continue to be that until God destroys them. God was very clear with Abraham. He told him that Ishmael would not be the promised seed. When Isaac was born, Abraham needed to take Hagar and her son Ishmael, and send them away from his son Isaac. Isaac alone was the promised seed.
In the book of Esther, Ahasuerus was being used as a tool of the devil to try to destroy the Jews. Haman intentionally wanted to get rid of them. Ahasuerus was being played in what we call a “useful idiot”. He gave Haman the authority. The people would respect those letters because they had the king’s stamp on them.
We read in verse 13 that this was a planned genocide. Women and children as well as men were to be slaughtered on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. The people were also told that after they would murder the Jews, they could take the spoil from them. They could take what they wanted.
We see the paganism of the people as well. They were willing to go along with this wicked plot. They had seared their consciences so that this evil seemed acceptable to them. Again we see how people will cave when dollar bills are waved in front of them.
In verse 14 we are again reminded that this commandment went across the entire Persian Empire. No area was left uninformed. All people were to prepare for this massive slaughter.
In verse 15 we read that there was an urgency to get this message out to the people. As was common for this king, after the letters went out, the king and Haman sat down to drink. Lost people do not want to spend too much time being sober.
I read that as the security was dealing with the shooter at last Saturday’s Washington event, the people in the ball room grabbed the wine bottles from the tables as they ran from that room. They had to take the liquor with them. They needed something to calm their nerves after this event.
Of course they would have been all liquored up had they stayed for the event as well. Apparently there was enough wine there that each attendant would get a bottle of wine. They could get royally plastered at that event. How sad. That is the state of journalism in the U.S. Canadian journalism is not any better.
We read that while Haman and the king are getting drunk, the city of Shushan was perplexed. They were confused by what was being planned. Many of the people had no problem with the Jews. They were likely very nice people. They were not trouble makers. They could get along with their neighbours. They were different, but their differences were not a problem
Secular Christians get along well with the world. They don’t want to “rock the boat”. They keep their Christianity to themselves. Or their Christianity is so watered down that it cannot be distinguished from others. Today the ecumenical movement is a case in point. Catholics can join in a prayer meeting with non Catholics. They all believe they are praying to the same God. In essence they are, only it is not to the true God.
True Christians are often labelled as the problem. In reality it is the non-Christians who think they are Christians who are the problem. They do not like these “straight” people. They do not like these “kill joys”. They claim there is nothing wrong with the occasional drink. They claim they can have a good discussion with their neighbours with a bottle of beer.
True Christians are good neighbours. They do not have wild parties. They do not turn their music up to try to cause a disturbance. They respect their neighbours. They try as much as possible to live peaceably with others.
We have lived next to ungodly people who loved to party. They loved their loud music. The next day we would have to clean up their beer bottles on our yard. We talked to them about it, but it was like talking to a wall. They claimed to be saved, but obviously they were not. God took care of the problem. Eventually the couple split up and had to sell the house and move away. God would rather have them get saved, but they were not interested in that and He knew that.
It is important to choose wisely. It is important to know the true God and seek to honour Him with your life. Let others know who you are, if you are truly saved. Show them the blessing there is in knowing the true God.
True Christians do not cause confusion. The world is confused. True Christians serve the true God. He is a God of order and truth.
Pastor Bartel