The Enemy Appears (Esther 3)

About five years have passed since Esther had become queen. During that time, changes were inevitable and one of them was the rise in power of Haman. The author does not tell us how this happened. We can assume that he showed the same traits in his climb that he showed once he got there – cruelty, pride and scheming. All these features make a person the ideal candidate for the devil to use. The author informs us that Haman was an Agagite, that is an Amalekite.

There is also something else that could be said about the five years and that is that they were five years of silence for Mordecai and Esther about their real identities. They had managed to keep their faith hidden. No one would have doubted their uprightness, but those who were in contact with them would not know what motivated them. In order for God to use them they had to come out of secrecy about their faith. And he was about to make that happen.

The affront Haman felt

Although Haman had been promoted very high, Mordecai refused to bow to him when he passed by. Initially, Haman did not notice, because it is hard to notice what others are doing when you are preoccupied with yourself. The servants of Ahasuerus noticed though, and they were astonished that his instructions could be ignored, especially by a person working in the citadel. Since they had no loyalty to Mordecai, but were loyal to the Emperor, they felt obliged to tell Haman that a Jew called Mordecai refused to pay homage.

The response by Haman was predictable. His fury was very like that of Ahasuerus when Vashti refused to toe the line. Instead of ignoring the slight, he became very angry. But his anger was not uncontrolled, because he realised that he now had an opportunity to destroy a people he had always hated. There was a national and historical enmity between him as an Amalekite and the Jews.

In the previous chapter, Mordecai had chosen not to reveal that he was a Jew. We are not told why that was the case. Yet we can see that the Lord, in his providence, arranged circumstances in which Mordecai could no longer remain silent as to his identity. The rise of Haman was the cause of Mordecai revealing who he was to those who asked him about his refusal to bow to Haman.

What can we say about this? First, the Amalekites had a continuous hatred towards the Israelites, which was so bad that God warned them in Deuteronomy 25:17-19: ‘Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.’

Was that why Mordecai would not bow to an Amalekite official in the Emperor’s Court? That particular passage may have seemed irrelevant for a long time because the Amalekites had ceased to be a nation several centuries before, and any remaining Amalekites would have been scattered throughout the Babylonian Empire. Yet God’s instructions never become irrelevant. But sometimes one can become especially relevant at a particular time. And when that happens, God’s people should not bow or show respect. There would have been many officials in the government with whom Mordecai would have disagreed, but he would have shown them respect and bowed towards them. But he knew this was not the case with Haman.

How do we apply this to our day? Peter told his readers to respect the government of the time and Paul told his readers that Christians should pray for rulers and authorities so that space would be given for believers to live godly lives. Yet both of these men knew that there were certain beliefs about which no compromise could be made. They were prepared to die for the truths of the gospel, and it goes without saying that we should have the same dedication. There can be truths that the church must defend at particular times and which may be the focus of governments. At the Reformation, it was the doctrine of justification; in the nineteenth century, it was the inerrancy of the Bible; today, there are those who advocate that all religions should be one, and so deny or diminish the truth about the uniqueness of Jesus and his saving work. And today, there is the uniqueness of what it means to be a human made in the image of God.

A second application to our time is this question: how many powerful opponents does it take to influence governments against God’s cause? Well, in the Empire of one hundred and forty-seven provinces, all it took was one man with the required powerful position and the ability to scheme a plan that would bring about his intentions. We should never be surprised at the degree of influence one sinful person can have in pushing society in certain directions.

So where are we in the story? A member of an ancient enemy of Israel is now in power and Mordecai has been forced to reveal that he is a Jew. Haman now wants to fulfil his nationalistic dream and kill all Jews.

The accusation Haman used

In order to discover how best to proceed, Haman engaged in a form of lots called Pur. It involved him isolating the day and then the month. He used the Pur in the first month and maybe he was disappointed that he had to wait almost a year before he could strike. Yet it was important for him to have the support of his pagan god. In any case, I think we can see here that the conflict is not just between Haman and the Jews, but also involves powers behind the scenes.

At the same time, we need to ask who arranged for the lots to fall on the particular day. We should bear in mind the words of Proverbs 16:33: ‘The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.’ In the Old Testament, there are both legitimate and sinful uses of the practice of casting lots. This does not mean that the Lord approves of the methods that people use to work out their future, but if someone persists in trying to oppose the Lord, eventually an answer will come. Haman had plenty time to cease from his evil design. In that same chapter in Proverbs we are told that ‘The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.’

Having waited until things seemed positive for him, Haman now proceeded to take steps to destroy the Jews. He composed a description of them that he knew would concern Ahasuerus: ‘There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them.’  

His description of the Jews is an Old Testament version of the accusation made against Paul and his fellow-Christians in Acts 17:6-7: ‘And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”’ Although Haman used his words in condemnation, they are actually a commendation of God’s people because the description highlights their distinctiveness caused by their adherence to God’s commandments.

Of course, if one is going to suggest an expensive activity it will help if he contributes to the cost. We see Haman’s depth of malice towards God’s people by considering the financial contribution he was willing to make in order to bring about this genocide. His proposal, if enacted, would be a prosperous one for the government since it always needed money in order to continue. They would confiscate the wealth of the Jews along with Haman’s ‘sacrificial’ gift. It was certainly going to be a costly endeavour for Haman, but not in the way that he imagined. Yet his example should cause us to realise that some wealthy people are very willing to give lots of money to overcome God’s cause.

The authority Haman received

Haman was given full power to bring about his desires to obliterate the Jews. All the power of the state could be utilised in bringing about his dark designs. Every one of the hundred and forty-seven provinces were to be fully involved. The date was fixed, and the method of destruction described. This was now an unchangeable law of the Medes and the Persians. Who could prevent the Jews from the disaster? No wonder Ahasuerus and Haman sat down to celebrate their plans! The dreams of the enemies of God’s kingdom were about to be fulfilled. Yet we have to wait and see what he will make of things. After all, the one who has given Haman the authority is not the Persian king, but God. And he who raises one up can easily bring that person down again.

Perhaps the author is encouraging is readers by asking them to observe the date on which the organisation against the Jews commenced, the thirteenth day of the first month. The fourteenth day was the Passover when the Israelites celebrated their deliverance from Egypt. Obviously, it would take more than one day to reach the faraway areas of the empire, but Jews in the capital city would know about it. Maybe that is why there were problems in Susa. Still they could say that God had delivered them before from a terrible situation.

Some lessons

As we look at the details in this chapter, what applications come to mind? Here are some suggestions. First, do we believe that God is in control of all events? Imagine being Mordecai and getting ignored for your faithfulness and having to watch an arch-enemy get promoted to the place of power as well as of prominence. Things may seem to be upside down as far as life is concerned. Our faith can be tested in all kinds of ways and sometimes it can be difficult to believe that God is in control. Yet he is.

A second application is, are we aware that behind some earthly decisions there is a battle between the kingdom of God and the devil? The devil was using Haman for wicked reasons and Haman was willing to be used. There is no doubt that Haman was a gifted man, but he was not a neutral man. His aim was to hinder the kingdom of God, no matter how he framed his policies. Life is a spiritual battlefield, but we may forget that the conflict occurs at lots of levels.

A third application can be this: do we imagine that things can get so bad that they cannot get any worse? Perhaps our government believes this at present. It certainly looked like things could not get worse for the Jews in the Persian Empire. Within a year, they would have disappeared through a genocide that was unexpected. The Persians were tolerant of diverse religious groups, but now that toleration seemed over. Many assume that our society cannot get much worse, but how do we know?

A fourth application is a challenging one for Christians: how would an opponent of the kingdom of God describe us? We saw that Haman’s description of the Jews, while uses as a reason for their condemnation, was actually a commendation of their adherence to God’s ways. Would we be described as being different from everyone else and marked by obedience to God’s commandments?

A fifth application is that we should be glad that there is a kingdom that is far superior to the best that the world can offer. The greater kingdom is God’s kingdom and he assures us of a warm welcome into it through faith in Jesus, of divine help while serving him in it in this world, and of enjoying its provisions in an unexpected way in the world to come. Earthly kingdoms make their advances and Persia would have provided some improvements for their subjects. Those kingdoms that have existed since then have made their contributions, but they all belong to the kingdom of man. The only worthwhile kingdom is the kingdom of God.