Haman plots Israels destruction

What's going on? Kind of neat.

Esther, chapter three, please.

Last week, in the second chapter of Esther, we saw God continuing to work out his purposes in order to protect his people.

For God, who knows all things, knows that they're going to be a plot to have the people of God annihilated. And therefore it was necessary to get the right people in the right places to save his people. That meant Queen Vashti had to be dethroned, and it means Queen Esther the Jew has to take her place. That also means Mordecai has to find a key place in the city gate as one of the judges, so that Mordecai can hear the plot to kill the king, turn it in and become a hero, and have it written down in the Chronicles of the Kings that Mordecai was the one that heard this and turned it in and saved the life of the king. All of this is part of God's plan to offset Satan's plan to annihilate the people of Israel.

Now the purpose of Satan continues on, just as sure as the purposes of God do. And in chapter three, we see uncovered the purposes of the wicked one, Haman's plot of Israel's destruction. Father, bless us now as we look into your word. Thank you so much for giving us this marvelous book and allowing us to see your great hand of protection. And as we see the way you have protected your people Israel, so we believe you'll protect your people today.

In Jesus name, Amen. Again, one of our goals in going through this book is that you can become more and more sensitive and I more and more sensitive to God's interventions in the lives of your lives and the lives of his people that you can see. God is not up in heaven letting everything work out, however it will, as some people have held. But that God is marvelously involved in your life and there's no accidents, no situations that are fatalistic. Everything is in divine control of God.

Read then verse one of chapter three. Now, after these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son, Ham, Medita the Agite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. The king promotes Haman. Of course, we have hindsight. I'm sure if we would have lived in that time, we would have thought right at that moment that Haman's a pretty good guy.

So trying to look at it from the perspective of the king, the king likes this young man and thinks that he's going to go places in the world the most likely to Succeed would probably be the way he'd been voted on in his graduation class, and he certainly was succeeding with the king. So the king honors him and elevates him as prime minister of all. The great empire of the Persians placed him above his peers. Now promotion. Listen carefully.

Promotion can bring the best or the worst out of people. For Haman, the preeminence that he received from the promotion went to his head. He was a man that didn't need that kind of thing because pride would take over, and that's what happened to him. So I suggest that we think in terms of what the king saw earlier and what promotion caused later, and then make application to ourselves. Sometimes it's better if we don't get the job promotion.

Sometimes it's better if we don't be in a place where it'll go to our head. I think of the Book of. I think it's Second John or Diotrephes. It says, love the preeminence. There was a pastor.

Not everybody should be a pastor, because it can go to your head. You can get to thinking you're pretty great. And the same thing can true many, many positions. Because here is a grand example of Haman, and we will see it begin to control him. Verse 2 talks about a straw that broke Haman's back, or at least that's the way I entitled the second verse.

And all the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. I think it's interesting, it doesn't say the king court, or it doesn't say the king's leaders of the king's empire. It says the king's gate. And you all know in the previous chapter who is at the gate?

Mordecai. So it's. Obviously it ties us back into the fact that at the king's gate were all the special people, the rulers of the city, the rulers of the land. All of them did all their business.

Haman, I mean Mordecai was there too. And so the king commanded that all the important people of the city, they wanted a paycheck if they wanted to continue in their important places, would have to bow down to Haman when he passed by, pay homage to Haman. And of course, immediately that was a request of the king. Should it have been a request of Haman? I think not.

But it was, you'll see, the king requested it. The people responds to the king in obedience. But Haman, we'll see soon, required it of himself too, which came because of his sec. Self exultation that he had his power went to his head. The attention made in bowing down in that day was to show respect.

But I believe when Haman got a hold of it was almost like worship. When you begin to love yourself so much that you think everybody else should love you, you know, and you begin to get too high on yourself, it's almost a worship of self. And I believe that's the place where Haman was. So Haman now is requiring this obedience, obese, this obeisance, this bowing down.

Sex does not always come. Success does not always come to the deserving.

The good parts of Haman's character that King Asura saw before his promotion seems to be now gone. He seems to be intoxicated with his self importance.

He becomes a man that loves to throw his weight around, that feeds upon being important. You've seen those, haven't you? In life, is it something that you sometimes have been tempted to be careful?

Verse 3.

Mordecai enters the scene, verse 2 ended by saying, but Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. Then the king's servants, who were within the king's gate, said to Mordecai, why do you transgress the king's command.

Now? It happened when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman to see whether Mordecai's words would stand. So Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. The people continued to say, give us a reason, why don't you bow to him? You're just showing respect.

What's the big deal?

And at last he broke down and told him. He said, because I'm a Jew, and in our law you're devoured of nobody but God, and therefore I can't bow to him or to any man. Well, they begin to think, I wonder if that's going to stand up. You mean he's going to get an exception because he's a Jew? You can, because you're a Jew.

You don't have to bow to the prime minister of all of the Persian Empire. And so to see if that would stand up, they went and told Haman, and you see this developing, don't you? It's beginning to build up into something pretty serious. So Mordecai refuses to bow.

Christian conduct is often in stark contrast to the world.

We're told to love those that hate us. We're told to turn the other cheek. We're told to do good, to overcome evil by good, to do good to those that despitefully use us and persecute us. There's a stark difference between the Christian's lifestyle and the world's. And all Mordecai was doing was recognizing that difference and living up to it.

But the world isn't going to understand it. This is ridiculous. Just because he's a Jew.

But Mordecai feared God more than man.

Ecclesiastes chapter 12, verse 13 and 14 says, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, keep his commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including even secret things, whether good or bad.

You think if Mordecai would have bowed that it would. He would have had to face that someday in judgment? See, yeah.

In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, and do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.

And so it was very rich when you think of the faith that Mordecai had, that he would not bow down to Haman because he feared God more than man.

Some people say that Haman was a descendant of the Amalekites, the family of King Agag. Remember the first verse? Haman the son of Ham, Media the agite, and advanced him so on. They point out that this prophecy says that the Hagites would be bitter enemies of Israel. And so this reason why he hated Mordecai was because he was a Jew and the Haggites always hated the Jews.

However, other commentaries I think are closer when they say, no, the best view is that Haman from. Was from Agag, a city in Mita, and therefore was an agite. You're a medicine.

And it's better to take the text for what it says, when it says. And the text clearly says that Mordecai refused to bow because he was a Jewish. To fear God is a reverential act of holiness.

To fear God will keep us from sinning and is the door in which wisdom comes.

Mordecai was challenged by those who saw that he did not bow down.

Why do you disobey the king's commands? He said, I'm a Jew. It's against the commandments of God.

They continued to bug him and he continued to ignore them.

They could not understand why he would put his life in danger when it was such a simple thing to just show respect to the commandment of the King, why would he put his life in danger?

I say to you, Mordecai was not seeking trouble.

He was seeking to please God. There's a lot of difference. And sometimes seeking to please God will bring trouble.

Sometimes it will. His conscience simply would not allow him to bow to Haman.

Now, Haman was a prideful man. Haman liked people bowing to him. He liked for people to think he was something. He was pretty great.

And so Haman chose the choice of Adolf Hitler.

He learned the reason from these people that kept bugging him that he didn't bow was because he was a Jew. And he reasoned, therefore, all Jews will not bow to me. And he concluded, therefore, rather than just go out and have some accident happen to Mordecai, I've got to get rid of all the Jews. This is an infestation that must be eradicated.

They all got to go. And so Haman plots the destruction of the Jews.

Verse 5 says. And Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage. Haman was filled with wrath.

But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Assurus, the people of Mordecai.

So in the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the 12th year of King Assurus, they cast purr, which is the lot before Haman, to determine the day of the month until it fell on the 12th month, which is the month of Adar. So Haman plots the destruction or the doom of Israel. He had the astrologers and the magicians cast lots, and the lot fell 11 months away from that date, which allowed ample time for the tables to be turned by the hand of God. You think God had anything to do with when the lot fell 11 months? God didn't need 11 months, but God caused it to fall, with plenty of time being allowed.

Verse 8. And Haman told the king, there is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people of all the providence of your kingdom. Their laws are different from other people's, and they do not keep the king's laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. If it pleases the king, let it be decreed.

Let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work to bring it into the king's treasuries. Wow.

You notice he's careful not to identify the people. There's a certain people called Jews. He just says there's a certain people. And I had to think about that. I wonder if Peter said there was a certain people called the Jews, if King Asterus might have said, well, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I remember Daniel was a Jewish. I remember Cyrus let the Jewish people go back to the land.

I remember Nehemiah was a Jew and what great things he did for the Persian Empire.

I remember Daniel, you see, on and on. The Jews have been a major influence in the kingdom for good. But he says, like a serpent, a certain people have their own laws and won't keep your laws.

And then he adds topping to the ice cream. What's your favorite? Pineapple or hot fudge? Now you won't listen to the rest of the message. And he says, I'll give 10,000 talents.

It won't have to cost you a thing to have them done away with. I'll finance the whole project and I'll put it in your treasury and you can use it as you see fit. 10,000 talents is a huge sum of money. This Haman was rich.

I, I always imagine there's a lot more converse to the conversation, don't you? I, I can always hear the King answer. Well, just a minute. Tell me more. And I can just imagine Haman saying, oh King, they're trouble causes.

They've caused trouble in media. They've caused trouble over there and over there and over there. They've really caused trouble everywhere they went. Can't you imagine this story? He may have even come in with some phony documentation.

I don't think too much of Haman. He wouldn't, he wouldn't hesitate to do whatever it took to get his desires done. They dress funny. They do. They talk in their own language instead of the Persian tongue.

Why, they don't belong with us at all. They're just going to be the kind of people that will be an infestation and they'll, they'll grow and they will overthrow the kingdom someday.

Christians ought to live so that the Hamans of this world.

Would say that about us.

Not that we disobey God's laws, but that we put, I mean man's laws, but that we put God's laws higher than man's laws. Not that we're trouble causers at all. We don't want to be trouble causers. We're obey the laws in the land and every chance we get. But that we would be such a people that we stood out because we wouldn't bow to the Hamans of this world.

Verse 10.

So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hamidatha the Agite, the enemy of the Jews.

And the king said to Haman, the money and the people are given to you to do with them as seems good to you. Then the king's scribes were called on the 13th day of the first month. And a decree was written according to all. All that Haman commanded, to the king's satraps, to the king's governors who were over each providence, to the officials of all people, to every providence according to its grip, and to every people in their language, in the name of the king Assurus. It was written and sealed with the king's signet ring.

And the letters were sent by carriers into all the king's providence to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, and to do it in one day on the 13th month, 13th day of the 12th month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions, a copy of the document was to be issued as law in every providence, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. And the couriers were sent out and hastened by the king's command. And the decree was proclaimed in Susan, the citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed.

Well, he makes his complaint to the king, and he gains the king's support.

And these radical people are to be eliminated.

A date was fixed, a decree was written, and the ring was taken off and stamped upon the decree. And all who saw it says, yes, that's his seal. That's King Asterus's seal. So it's. It's a fennec.

It's to happen.

Young people, babies. But we had some cute babies here this morning. Babies, women, teenagers, it didn't matter. Young or old, they were all to die in one day. That race of people called the Jews was to be eradicated.

And the property that they owned was to be kept by the people that slayed him.

The whole empire was notified, And the king and Haman sat down and drink, and the city of Susan and of course the rest of the empire was perplexed. What in the world is the meaning of this? Now, Anti Semitism has reared its head many times in history. This is just one of the times between the years of 1903 and 1906 in Russia Hundreds of Jews were killed. Thousands were raped, mutilated, hated and plundered.

Between the years 1919 and 1920, a year, Ukrainian army murdered a hundred thousand Jews. Hitler slaughtered one third of the Jewish world, 6 million Jews. Anti Semitism is something that's very, very well known in our world. In fact, I was raised with the idea of it's okay to say bad things about Jews. You kind of said it with a slur.

The Jews think that's awful, don't you? But back there in the years back, that was kind of the way it was. You spoke that word about black people, you said those kind of things about Jews, you told stories about Portuguese and Polish and you name it. I'm glad that's changed. I'm very glad that's fading away.

Isn't it interesting though, that you could send out an order, King Athrus and Haman, as wicked as Haman was, and the king thinking he was doing the right thing, following to have hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of people slain, a race of people wiped off. And as soon as you got the work done, you sat down and had a drink and kicked your shoes off. And can you imagine?

And then outside the palace, the people were perplexed. How can this be?

And yet I wonder, as we think of this, how many of us realize that about 330,000 Christians are martyred every year in our world?

We live with absolute, no fear of that here. But do we sit down and drink while great masses of the world is perplexed?

It's scary, isn't it? People still today stand for the faith. There are still Mordecai's in this world that will not bow down to the Hamans that are willing to die instead of disobeying God.

But let's not lose the overall picture here. God has a marvelous purpose, hasn't he? He's going to save his people, he's going to deliver his people. And already he's got the wheels turning. He's already got Esther as queen.

She's a Jew. King don't know it, Haman don't know it.

And they haven't put two and two together because Mordecai has been wise enough to tell Esther to never let it be known that you and I are kin. Mordecai has now let the cat out of the bag. He has said I'm a Jew, that's why I don't. So now people in high places know Mordecai is a Jew, but they still don't know the connection between Mordecai and Esther. So Esther's.

In their minds, life is not in jeopardy. Will Esther admit that she's a Jew before this is over, or will she keep her mouth shut to spare her life? See, Satan wants Israel annihilated because somewhere through Israel there's to be a seed born.

That is going to take care of the sin of the world. And he's got to get rid of that seed. And so he works through Haman just like he worked through Judas. And he has raised up a man to hate Israel and to love the preeminence to get his work done. But God knows all that.

And God has raised up the counterbalance that will win over evil. Haman is like his father, the devil. He's proud.

He was insensitive to people's convictions and consciences. All he was interested in is what he wanted out of life, that every should bow down to him, though the world should circle around him. He was a man that was capable of great anger, but yet would hold it in to accomplish his purpose.

He was malicious, he was scheming, he was deceptive, he was untruthful, he was calloused. And there is many Hamans in the world today, And behind every one of them is the devil behind every one of them. But if we look and focus on Haman, we will throw up our hands and quit. But if we take a look at the whole picture of God's divine providence, his hand in protecting his people, in spite of the Hamans of this world and the great power of Satan, God has not went to sleep. He is working behind the scenes and will raise up Mordecai and has already raised up Esther.

And the people will be delivered.

In other words, what's happening in your life? God knows all about it and he's raised up the counterbalance. You're going to be okay. How do I know that? Because you're up to the people of God and he always takes care of his people.

Father, thank you so much for this chapter, for reminding us that there are certainly Hamans. But oh, Father, you are more than the Hamans and you know their thoughts and their heart before they speak. And you've already set things in order to make the wrongs right. You love your people. You're committed to us.

Oh, that we might be even more committed to you. We ask your blessing in Jesus name. Amen.

Let's turn to 171. I just love the Old Testament. Every time I see all those stories, I can see how it applies to my life and how faithful God is to his people. And it.