They [the enemies of God] have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.” - Psalm 83:4
I hope you have been enjoying our latest sermon series through the book of Esther. In last week’s message, Esther was chosen to replace Vashti and was crowned the new queen of Persia. However, she had a secret that only she and her cousin Mordecai (the man who was raising her as his own daughter) knew… they were Jewish.
Before we launch into the main portion of today’s message, I want to quickly touch on a few verses at the end of chapter 2 which we didn’t cover last Sunday (v21-23). In these 3 verses, a seemingly insignificant incident occurs that comes into play later in the story. We usually don’t get into the Biblical text during the introduction of the message, but today we are going to make an exception.
Not long after Esther took office, Mordecai, who was a servant of the king, discovered that 2 of the royal doorkeepers had become furious with the king and were planning to harm him. Mordecai hurriedly reported the news to Queen Esther, who relayed the warning to King Ahasuerus in Mordecai’s name. A brief investigation followed which found the plot to be true. The 2 doorkeepers were hanged for their evil intentions and the incident was recorded in the book of the king’s chronicles.
This morning’s message covers Esther chapter 3. In this chapter we will meet Haman, the villain of this story. We will read of his evil, murderous plans and how they brought fear and confusion throughout the Persian empire. I’ve titled this message, the 3rd of this series, “Haman’s Plot Against the Jews”.
I. HAMAN DEVISES A PLAN (v1-6)
King Ahasuerus promoted a man named Haman to be his chief or prime minister, setting him above all of the princes and others in his administration. Haman was 2nd in command, answering only to the king. Ahasuerus commanded all of his servants to bow down before Haman, but Mordecai refused to do so, even though his fellow servants urged him to obey the king’s order. Now Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew, and apparently they told Haman. Haman became furious not only because Mordecai refused to bow down to him, but also because of his deep seeded hatred for the Jewish people. Haman began to formulate a plan to not only destroy Mordecai but all of the Jews living throughout the Persian empire.
Why did Haman hate the Jews so bitterly? Notice that Haman was an Agagite… that is a descendant of Agag, who had once served as a king of the Amalekites. Agag was a descendant of Amalek, who was a grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12). Last week we read that Mordecai was a Jew, from the tribe of Benjamin, the son of Jacob. The animosity between Esau and Jacob had lasted for centuries… in fact, it still exists today. But why?
During the exodus, the Amalekites ambushed the Hebrew children with a seemingly unprovoked attack that was fueled simply by hatred (Exodus 17:8-13). Under the leadership of Moses and Joshua the children of Israel prevailed in the battle, but God was so angered with the Amalekites that, centuries later, he commanded King Saul, who was a Benjaminite (1 Samuel 9:21), to completely annihilate them. While King Saul and the armies of Israel struck King Agag and Amalekites extensively, they did not completely destroy them as God had commanded (1 Samuel 15:1-9). Because of Saul’s disobedience, a remnant of the Amalekites (ie, the Agagites) survived. Later, King Hezekiah of Judah struck the Amalekites again (1 Chronicles 4:41-43) yet some still persisted… eventually leading to Haman.
The Bible describes a long, bitter relationship between the descendants of Jacob and Esau. Haman’s hatred of Mordecai and the Jewish people as a whole was rooted in this history. Many Bible scholars view the animosity between Haman and Mordecai as an extension of that between Agag and Saul. The book of Esther details another chapter in this ongoing family feud.
II. THE KING APPROVES (v7-11)
In the first month of the year, Nissan, during the 12th year of King Ahasuerus’ reign (some 4-5 years after Esther became queen), Haman cast Pur (or the lot) to determine the exact day and month that the Jews would be massacred. Based on the results, a target date was set in Adar, the 12th month of the year - about 11 months away. Then Haman approached the king and told him that “there was a certain people” who were scattered throughout the Persian empire who were rebellious and needed to be destroyed. Haman requested that a law be written and stamped with the king’s signet ring that provided for their extermination. This task would be funded with 10,000 talents of silver that would be used to pay those who carried it out. Not fully realizing the consequences of what he was agreeing to, King Ahasuerus approved Haman’s murderous plan.
Haman used Pur, which are like dice, in hopes of determining a “lucky day” upon which his evil scheme would most likely be successful. He believed that his pagan gods would guide the Pur to reveal this day. It is noteworthy that they landed on the 12th month of the year, which was still 11 months out. This long gap gave Haman plenty of time to prepare, but more importantly, it also provided ample time for Mordecai and Esther to intervene. Perhaps Someone was guiding the Pur after all?
Did you notice that Haman never specifically named the Jews in his conversation with the king? He was being intentionally deceptive and manipulative. Although Ahasuerus was a vile, disgusting man in many ways, he didn’t hate the Jews like Haman did nor did he desire their total destruction. Most commentators believe that if King Ahasuerus had known that Haman was targeting the Jews he wouldn’t have given his approval, yet he never even asked. In other words, Haman is the real villain while the king is just his useful idiot.
III. THE DECREE GOES FORTH (v12-15)
The king delegated the process of writing and implementing this new law to Haman, who then summoned the scribes and directed them to draft letters to each of the provinces throughout Persia. These letters were written in the native language of each province and sent by courier to the various governors. They stated by the king’s decree that all of the Jews were to be killed, both young and old, on the 13th day of Adar. In the meantime, the provinces were to make all necessary preparations to ensure that this law could be fully carried on that single day. As you can imagine, this created a great sense of uneasiness and confusion in the city of Susa and throughout the kingdom. However, Ahasuerus remained oblivious to it all.
There are a couple of practical lessons I would like to point out from this passage. First, be careful who you trust. Haman took advantage of King Ahasuerus. Second, before you put your name on something, be sure you know what it says. Don’t sign anything blindly or allow someone else to sign it for you. It could lead to trouble…
CONCLUSION
Let’s close by reviewing the main point. Haman hated Mordecai. More broadly speaking, the Amalekites hated the Jews. While the Amalekites no longer exist today as a distinguishable people group, the Amalekite sentiment remains. The hatred of the Jewish people (and Christians) is alive and well. Although many reasons are given to explain this contempt, scripture gets down to the root of the matter. Ultimately this world hates the people of God (those they associate with Him, not necessarily believers) because they hate God Himself (John 15:18).
Here’s the amazing thing… even though the world hates God, God loves the world… so much so that He sent His only begotten Son to make redemption possible for all who would believe in Him. If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, would you do so today?
I hope you have been enjoying our latest sermon series through the book of Esther. In last week’s message, Esther was chosen to replace Vashti and was crowned the new queen of Persia. However, she had a secret that only she and her cousin Mordecai (the man who was raising her as his own daughter) knew… they were Jewish.
Before we launch into the main portion of today’s message, I want to quickly touch on a few verses at the end of chapter 2 which we didn’t cover last Sunday (v21-23). In these 3 verses, a seemingly insignificant incident occurs that comes into play later in the story. We usually don’t get into the Biblical text during the introduction of the message, but today we are going to make an exception.
Not long after Esther took office, Mordecai, who was a servant of the king, discovered that 2 of the royal doorkeepers had become furious with the king and were planning to harm him. Mordecai hurriedly reported the news to Queen Esther, who relayed the warning to King Ahasuerus in Mordecai’s name. A brief investigation followed which found the plot to be true. The 2 doorkeepers were hanged for their evil intentions and the incident was recorded in the book of the king’s chronicles.
This morning’s message covers Esther chapter 3. In this chapter we will meet Haman, the villain of this story. We will read of his evil, murderous plans and how they brought fear and confusion throughout the Persian empire. I’ve titled this message, the 3rd of this series, “Haman’s Plot Against the Jews”.
I. HAMAN DEVISES A PLAN (v1-6)
King Ahasuerus promoted a man named Haman to be his chief or prime minister, setting him above all of the princes and others in his administration. Haman was 2nd in command, answering only to the king. Ahasuerus commanded all of his servants to bow down before Haman, but Mordecai refused to do so, even though his fellow servants urged him to obey the king’s order. Now Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew, and apparently they told Haman. Haman became furious not only because Mordecai refused to bow down to him, but also because of his deep seeded hatred for the Jewish people. Haman began to formulate a plan to not only destroy Mordecai but all of the Jews living throughout the Persian empire.
Why did Haman hate the Jews so bitterly? Notice that Haman was an Agagite… that is a descendant of Agag, who had once served as a king of the Amalekites. Agag was a descendant of Amalek, who was a grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12). Last week we read that Mordecai was a Jew, from the tribe of Benjamin, the son of Jacob. The animosity between Esau and Jacob had lasted for centuries… in fact, it still exists today. But why?
During the exodus, the Amalekites ambushed the Hebrew children with a seemingly unprovoked attack that was fueled simply by hatred (Exodus 17:8-13). Under the leadership of Moses and Joshua the children of Israel prevailed in the battle, but God was so angered with the Amalekites that, centuries later, he commanded King Saul, who was a Benjaminite (1 Samuel 9:21), to completely annihilate them. While King Saul and the armies of Israel struck King Agag and Amalekites extensively, they did not completely destroy them as God had commanded (1 Samuel 15:1-9). Because of Saul’s disobedience, a remnant of the Amalekites (ie, the Agagites) survived. Later, King Hezekiah of Judah struck the Amalekites again (1 Chronicles 4:41-43) yet some still persisted… eventually leading to Haman.
The Bible describes a long, bitter relationship between the descendants of Jacob and Esau. Haman’s hatred of Mordecai and the Jewish people as a whole was rooted in this history. Many Bible scholars view the animosity between Haman and Mordecai as an extension of that between Agag and Saul. The book of Esther details another chapter in this ongoing family feud.
II. THE KING APPROVES (v7-11)
In the first month of the year, Nissan, during the 12th year of King Ahasuerus’ reign (some 4-5 years after Esther became queen), Haman cast Pur (or the lot) to determine the exact day and month that the Jews would be massacred. Based on the results, a target date was set in Adar, the 12th month of the year - about 11 months away. Then Haman approached the king and told him that “there was a certain people” who were scattered throughout the Persian empire who were rebellious and needed to be destroyed. Haman requested that a law be written and stamped with the king’s signet ring that provided for their extermination. This task would be funded with 10,000 talents of silver that would be used to pay those who carried it out. Not fully realizing the consequences of what he was agreeing to, King Ahasuerus approved Haman’s murderous plan.
Haman used Pur, which are like dice, in hopes of determining a “lucky day” upon which his evil scheme would most likely be successful. He believed that his pagan gods would guide the Pur to reveal this day. It is noteworthy that they landed on the 12th month of the year, which was still 11 months out. This long gap gave Haman plenty of time to prepare, but more importantly, it also provided ample time for Mordecai and Esther to intervene. Perhaps Someone was guiding the Pur after all?
Did you notice that Haman never specifically named the Jews in his conversation with the king? He was being intentionally deceptive and manipulative. Although Ahasuerus was a vile, disgusting man in many ways, he didn’t hate the Jews like Haman did nor did he desire their total destruction. Most commentators believe that if King Ahasuerus had known that Haman was targeting the Jews he wouldn’t have given his approval, yet he never even asked. In other words, Haman is the real villain while the king is just his useful idiot.
III. THE DECREE GOES FORTH (v12-15)
The king delegated the process of writing and implementing this new law to Haman, who then summoned the scribes and directed them to draft letters to each of the provinces throughout Persia. These letters were written in the native language of each province and sent by courier to the various governors. They stated by the king’s decree that all of the Jews were to be killed, both young and old, on the 13th day of Adar. In the meantime, the provinces were to make all necessary preparations to ensure that this law could be fully carried on that single day. As you can imagine, this created a great sense of uneasiness and confusion in the city of Susa and throughout the kingdom. However, Ahasuerus remained oblivious to it all.
There are a couple of practical lessons I would like to point out from this passage. First, be careful who you trust. Haman took advantage of King Ahasuerus. Second, before you put your name on something, be sure you know what it says. Don’t sign anything blindly or allow someone else to sign it for you. It could lead to trouble…
CONCLUSION
Let’s close by reviewing the main point. Haman hated Mordecai. More broadly speaking, the Amalekites hated the Jews. While the Amalekites no longer exist today as a distinguishable people group, the Amalekite sentiment remains. The hatred of the Jewish people (and Christians) is alive and well. Although many reasons are given to explain this contempt, scripture gets down to the root of the matter. Ultimately this world hates the people of God (those they associate with Him, not necessarily believers) because they hate God Himself (John 15:18).
Here’s the amazing thing… even though the world hates God, God loves the world… so much so that He sent His only begotten Son to make redemption possible for all who would believe in Him. If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, would you do so today?