Esther Explained | Salvation Will AriseSample

Day 3 | Esther 3

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Welcome back to the book of Esther! Pastor Jonathan here, and let’s jump in at chapter 3. Every story needs a villain. The Avengers had Thanos, the Pevensie children had the White Witch, and Ferris Beuhler had Edward Rooney. Here in Esther 3, we are introduced to the big, bad meanie of Esther, Haman the Agagite.

Now in the last chapter, Mordecai uncovered a plot to assassinate King Xerxes. He told Esther, who alerted the king to the plot. The story is written down in the annals of the king, and there it was left. We would expect to hear of Mordecai being praised and honored, but that is not how chapter 3 opens. Verse 1:

"After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him" (Esther 3:1-2a).

Now, we are not told why Haman was elevated to such a high position, but students of the Bible may recognize why he is the villain right away. Haman is an Agagite, a descendant of the Amalekite king Agag. Back in Exodus, the Amalekites, descendants of Esau, attacked the young nation of Israelites almost immediately after they had crossed the Red Sea. A few years later, Balaam prophesied in Numbers 24 that Israel would “be greater than Agag.” The nations of Israel and Amalek were continually at war, with Israel defeating another king Agag at the time of King Saul.  Needless to say, a descendant of Agag would probably have a lifetime of animosity toward the Jewish people. Which, is going to lead to conflict, right about now. Verse 2 continues:

But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew (Esther 3:2b-4).

Mordecai refuses to bow before Haman. Now there doesn’t seem to be any command in scripture about bowing before or paying homage to government officials. In fact, there are many verses in the Old and New Testament that speak of paying respect and honor to leaders. So, Mordecai must have felt that there was something about Haman that was not worthy of respect, or it may have simply been that Haman was an Agagite. 

So, some of the officials go to Haman, to see about letting Mordecai off the hook for not bowing down to him. Haman, however, wasn’t about to let the generations-old grudge go so easily. Verse 5:

"When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes" (Esther 3:5-6).

Well, that escalated quickly. Follow along here. Haman is mad that Mordecai won’t pay him respect. So, instead of taking the issue up to the king, or even just seeking personal revenge against Mordecai, Haman plans on killing off an entire nation, an entire ethnic group, to avenge his wounded pride. And so, we have the principal plot of the entire story. Haman is out to destroy the Jews. Racism and hatred have many roots, and the evil of genocide is one of the most disturbing realities of history. But for Mordecai and Esther, this is not a history lesson or philosophical debate, this is a wicked man with the will and the power to kill their family and their people. How will they be spared? Verse 7:

"In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar" (Esther 3:7).

Haman decides to leave nothing to chance. He visits the magicians and astrologers to find out the most auspicious day for the destruction of the Jewish people. The Persians put great trust in the casting of lots, which was basically the tossing of a few stones out, and interpreting the way the stones fell as answers to a question. Two black stones? They might mean no, while two white stones would mean yes. One white and one black? Ask again later? Thanks for nothing Magic Eight-Ball.

But Haman did get an answer and had his date for the great genocide. Now he needs to convince the King. Verse 8:

"Then Haman said to King Xerxes, 'There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury'" (Esther 3:8-9). 

So many things wrong here. These people do not obey the king’s laws? Not in your best interest to tolerate them? Mordecai saved the king’s life; Esther was his wife...Those are some compelling reasons to protect the people. But reread the passage, Haman never even tells the king who the people are! He simply describes these terrible people and then bribes the king with over $100 million in silver. (Did I mention Haman was rich?)

The Bible doesn’t record Xerxes asking any questions. He just takes off his signet ring, his symbol of authority, hands it to Haman, and tells him to do whatever he wants. It’s easy to pick on Xerxes, but so often we find ourselves in a similar place. We surrender control of our lives to the enemy far too easily. How often would we find ourselves still under self-control if we would just slow down and investigate things, instead of jumping in blindly?

Back to our story. Haman takes the signet ring and writes up a law declaring that all Jews throughout the kingdom of Persia were to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated, and all their goods to be plundered. A copy of the law was written out in every language of the kingdom so that all peoples everywhere would know what had been decreed. Verse 15:

"The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered" (Esther 3:15).

Now where I live, we get upset if our guy doesn’t win the election. Imagine what it was like living under a ruler who orders the genocide of an entire people, and then sits down with his advisors to get drunk. It’s no wonder that the people of Susa were bewildered. 

Now, I don’t know if Haman knew what he was doing, but the date he issued the law was the 13th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish new year. Students of the Bible may remember that the 14th of Nisan was the great Jewish festival of Passover, celebrating God’s deliverance from a different pagan king centuries earlier. I’m sure as the Jews sat down that holy day, retelling the story of the first Passover, that the story took on great significance. As the fathers would retell the deliverance from a king set on destroying them, there is no doubt they remembered the news still ringing out in the streets, that their existence was once again threatened.  As they recalled the goodness of God, many would have called out, asking for another exodus, another deliverer to arise. If only there was someone who could speak to King Xerxes on behalf of the Jews. But who could possibly get that close to the king of all Persia? ...Oh wait. There may be someone. 

But what difference could a beauty queen make in the real-life world of racism and hatred? Read Esther 3, and join us tomorrow as we jump into chapter 4 on Through the Word.

Read Esther 3

All verses are quoted from the NIV unless otherwise noted.