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.

After background details in the last two chapters, God now recorded another problem that would consume most of the rest of the book. We have already noted that king Ahasuerus was not a very discerning king. He was a selfish man and his consumption of liquor dulled his senses and his ability to make wise choices. He did not have any good counsellors around him.
Based on the information God gives us here about Haman, it would seem that he was of Amalekite descent. The term “Agagite” suggests he came from the lineage of Agag a common title of the kings of the Amalekites. The Amalekites had a hatred for the Jews. Ahasuerus did not seem to hold an opinion on the Jews at this point. They were not interfering with his plans, and they were not particularly helpful either. As we mentioned, the Jews that were in his empire at that time, were quite secular in their thinking. They had not learned the needed lessons from their exile.
The Old Testament describes the Jews of that time as being stiff-hearted and stiff-necked and stubborn. Sadly, many of the Jews are still like that today. God loved the Jews then and He still does now. Some Jews are being saved at this time and that is good. One day the entire nation will turn to God and realize their sin of rejecting Him and of putting the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. God is gracious and merciful and He will forgive that generation and they will enter into the Millennium as the core group of people at the beginning of that time.
In our text, king Ahasuerus elevated Haman to a seat that was above all the princes that were with him. Haman knew how to present himself as a trustworthy person. We will see that he knew how to flatter the king. Since the king was quite vain, he loved flattery.
In verse 2 we read that all the king’s servants bowed before Haman. They showed reverence for him. Of course, Haman loved that. We read that the king had commanded that the people were to reverence Haman. In truth, only God is worthy of reverence, but in a godless society, men will try to steal that glory for themselves. That was what Haman happily did.
We read that Mordecai did not join the rest of the people in bowing before Haman. Mordecai still had some sense in him. He had refused to identify himself as to who he was, up to this time, but he was not going to bow before this man.
In verse 3 we see that the other people noticed what Mordecai was doing. They wanted to know why he was not obeying the king’s commandment. Lost people often get involved in “group think”. They do not want people to think independently. We see that our government tried to do this with the Wuhan virus experiment. They were able to get about 80% of the people to follow their evil plan. The 20% are a problem for the governments, but they will continue to work to bring that number down. The antichrist will have most people on his side for a short time. There will be a vacuum for a short time, because all true saints will be removed just prior to his appearance. God will raise up 144,000 Jewish virgin men who will be saved in that time and they will be a thorn in the side of the antichrist. The two witnesses in Jerusalem will also be a big problem for him. Any others that get saved in that time, will become a target for the antichrist.
Back to our text, lost people do not like independent thinkers. They appoint certain people as “leaders” but even those people are subject to some major leader. Right now the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos. Klaus Schwab is the head of that group. World leaders go there to grovel at his feet. He has been successful in getting our P.M. and about half of his cabinet to bow before his feet. He has much power. He is a picture of the antichrist. He does not speak good English, but he is able to command respect from world leaders. We know that God has put him in that position for this time. We see how power hungry the ungodly are. They harden themselves and choose lies for power rather than submitting to God’s power and knowing His peace.
In verse 4 of our text we see that Mordecai did not heed the warnings given to him by the other people. He refused to bow before Haman. So the group-thinkers took their case to Haman. They could not stand to have one man not fall in line. They wanted to know if Mordecai could get away with his resistance against the king’s command. We find here that Mordecai finally broke his silence and declared that he was a Jew. We are not told if he said anything else about his heritage, but he assumed that his Jewish heritage gave him the right to defy the king’s command, even though he did not walk in the fear of the Lord.
We need to remember that the Jews were in exile because they rejected God as their KING. They wanted a human king and they willingly and foolishly followed their human kings even when they led them into idolatry. The foundation of the nation was in deep trouble because they rejected the true God for pagan ideas. Mordecai did not want to acknowledge the true God in his life. He thought just being a silent Jew should give him privileges that others did not have.
In verse 5 we read that Mordecai’s defiance of the king’s command did not sit well with Haman. As we noted already, the Amalekites hated the Jews. Haman just had more reason now to hate Mordecai. Haman was a vain man and this public rejection of who he was made him very angry. He had been promoted by the king and he was going to exercise his power against this man, but not just against one man, but he would get rid of all the Jews.
In verse 6 we see this laid out. It was not enough that Haman scorned Mordecai. He would get rid of all the Jews. We see that the Jews were not of any particular value to the kingdom. They had been captives brought in by the Babylonians and only a few had anything worthwhile to offer to the Babylonian and Medo/Persian empire. Those few that are mentioned were Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Most of the Jews just blended in with the rest of the people.
Many Jews have been quite innovative in North America. They have been able to compete well in the business world. Sadly, many of them are lost and lack discernment. In the U.S. many of them have supported the Democrat party. In Canada many have supported the Liberals and the NDP. Those are certainly not wise positions. We have noted before that Israel has been a leading nation in the support of the sodomite agenda. That is not a wise choice. If it were not for the mercy of God, they would have been destroyed. God made a promise to Abraham, and He always keeps His Word. Many Jews are suffering in hell. Many more will end up there yet. That is not something to cheer. That is a sad fact.
We need to continue to pray for Jews and Gentiles to be saved. Saved people are an asset to any society even though lost people often fail to recognize that blessing. Saved people are honest and they are conscientious. They are fair-minded people as well. They have a moral standard that any society would benefit from. They put God first and that makes them good citizens. Lost people often hate true Christians, but their hatred is really directed toward God and they take it out on those who are truly born again. God is merciful and gracious. He knows how to keep His saints and to provide for their needs. He also knows how to protect the Jews, His chosen people, even when they do not acknowledge Him. As mentioned, one day they will acknowledge Him as their God and Saviour. We can be thankful that God is not like man. He keeps His Word. We can have full confidence in Him. The important thing is to know Him.
Pastor Bartel