ESTHER CHAPTER 3

Esther Chapter 3

 Let us start this chapter with a little background information on the ancestors of the two key characters, Haman and Mordecai. Haman was called an Agagite which meant he was a descendent of Agag the king of the Amalekites. The Amalekites had opposed Israel as they fled Egypt to return to the Holy Land, so God had placed Amalek under a curse saying that nation would be destroyed by a future generation of Israelites (See Exodus 17:14-16). Fast forward to the time of Israel’s first king, Saul the Benjaminite. He is the ancestor of Mordecai. God commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely, including their cattle. (See 1 Samuel chapter 15) Israel was to take none of the customary spoils of war. However, Saul and his men kept some of the best cattle, supposedly to sacrifice to the Lord, and took King Agag captive rather than killing him. The Lord God made the prophet Samuel aware of Saul’s disobedience. Samuel confronted Saul and then took a sword and addressing King Agag, said, “Just as your sword has taken children from women, so will this sword make your mother a childless woman,” (1 Samuel 15:33). Then Samuel took a sword and hacked Agag to pieces! No wonder Haman hated the Jews and Mordecai had no respect for Haman!

Esther 3:1 A little while later, according to King Ahasuerus’ wishes, Haman (son of Hammedatha, an Agagite) was promoted to a rank above all his fellow nobles in the kingdom. 2 The officials at the king’s gate all bowed down before Haman and paid him homage because the king commanded this. But Mordecai, the Jew, refused to kneel and refused to honor him.

Officials (looking at Mordecai): Why are you disobeying the king’s command?

Esther 3:4 The officers questioned him daily about his disobedience to the king, but Mordecai refused to listen and bow down. The officers reported this to Haman to learn whether or not Mordecai’s excuse would be tolerated, for Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.

Mordecai’s reason for being a conscientious objector was his Jewish heritage. The Persian officials may or may not have understood his logic. The officials probably were not aware of the longstanding historical animosity between the Amalekites and the Jews. They went to Haman and asked if Mordecai’s reason for not kneeling and bowing down was acceptable.

Q – Mordecai stuck to his convictions about Haman even when questioned by the government officials and under the threat of punishment. Do you have the strength to stand up for what you believe to be right? Do you have the strength to stand up for Jesus? Ephesians 6:10-18 gives instructions on donning the armor of the Lord in order to stand firm.

Esther 3:5 Haman was furious when he saw that Mordecai refused to bow and pay him the respect he was due. 6 But Haman wasn’t to be satisfied with killing only Mordecai, so he began to think of ways to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Haman was due respect according to the king’s decree but even more so in his own mind. Haman suffered from an extremely inflated ego and narcissism. It wasn’t enough for Haman to exact retribution against his arch-enemy, Mordecai. Haman’s desire was to desecrate and annihilate every Jew in Persia and its provinces.

Esther 3:7 During the 1st month (the month of Nisan) of Ahasuerus’ 12th year as king, they cast lots (also known as “purim”) in the presence of Haman in order to select a day and month. [The lot fell on the 13th day of] the 12th month (the month of Adar), a day nearly one year in the future.

Haman and his cohorts cast lots to determine the best day for the destruction of the Jews. This was a common method for determining dates and times. The date selected was nearly a year away. Then he approached the king with his dastardly plan.

Haman (to the king): 8 All the provinces in your kingdom are overrun with one insignificant group of foreigners, people who haven’t adopted our customs. Their laws differ from all other peoples’, and they do not keep your laws. Therefore it’s not a good idea for you to tolerate them or their actions any longer. 9 If it is your wish, sign an order that these people be destroyed, and I will bear all the costs. I’ll pay 375 tons of silver directly to those who carry out the king’s business in order to relieve the royal treasury of the expense.

Reformation Study Bible:

3:9 10,000 talents of silver. This enormous bribe is calculated to have been about two-thirds the annual revenue of the Persian Empire under King Darius.

Notice that Haman gave no indication of the nationality of the people he was proposing to be wiped out. He was so determined to persuade King Ahasuerus that he was willing to possibly impoverish himself and his family to execute his plan. He told the king he would finance the entire campaign.  

Esther 3:10 Not knowing which group of foreigners was being targeted, the king took his signet ring, the symbol of his power and authority, from his finger and passed it to Haman (son of Hammedatha, the Agagite), who hated the Jews.

Reformation Study Bible:

3:10 signet ring. Yet another of the king’s impulsive responses authorized Haman to issue royal edicts (cf. Gen. 41:42). The repetition of Haman’s full name together with the added phrase, “the enemy of the Jews,” underlines the terrible predicament of the Jews at this point.

The king has been kept in the dark as to whom he would be destroying. He has no idea that his own Queen Esther is a member of this people group. The king was unwittingly being manipulated by Haman’s venomous hatred of the Jews. Once again, King Ahasuerus was acting with undue haste. The king was reacting to information without verification from sources other than Haman. He should have checked Haman’s “facts” for himself before issuing any decree.

Q – We see King Ahasuerus acting before confirming the validity of the facts and completely thinking things through once again. Do you take enough time to evaluate a situation or problem before acting? Do you gather information from trusted, proven sources? Is your main source the Word of God?

King Ahasuerus (to Haman): Esther 3:11 The money is yours and the people are yours also to do with as you wish.

The king did not accept the money, but gave Haman permission to do what he desired. I feel that the king was abdicating his responsibility. Ahasuerus wore the crown but allowed Haman to make too many pivotal decisions.

Esther 3:12 On the 13th day of the 1st month, the royal secretaries were summoned. The king’s order was written down exactly the way Haman dictated it to all of the king’s rulers of the regions, governors of the provinces, and nobles of the ethnic groups. The orders were written in every script and every language spoken in the provinces in the name of the king, and they were sealed into law with his ring. 13 Messengers were sent out to all the royal provinces with the official law giving the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all of the Jews. They were to kill everyone, including women and children, young and old, on the 13th day of the 12th month (the month of Adar), and they were free to take everything the Jews owned. 14 An official copy of the king’s order was to be issued to every province and read publicly, so that the people could get ready for that day.

The king gave Haman the power to dictate the order himself and use the king’s signet ring to seal it. Basically, the king gave Haman the power to decree an order. It was translated so that everyone in all the provinces of Persia would understand it. The decree stated emphatically that they were to “destroy, kill, and annihilate all of the Jews”. No one could possibly misunderstand the intent of this decree. No one was to be spared. They were to kill even women and children. As the Jews were put to death, whoever killed them gained the reward of taking their possessions, the wealth they had accumulating even while living as captives.

Esther 3:15 The messengers were quickly dispatched by order of the king. Then the decree was publicly proclaimed in the citadel of Susa. As the king and Haman relaxed and drank wine, the city of Susa was thrown into chaos.

Haman had the king celebrating this edict. Meanwhile, the people living in Susa were trying to make heads or tails of such a proclamation. This proclamation made no sense to them. However, it was now law, had to be obeyed, and could not be rescinded or overturned.

APPLY THIS TO YOUR LIFE:

1.      Mordecai stuck with his conviction that it would be wrong to bow to an enemy of his people even though he knew he could be executed for disobeying the king. Luke 14:33 (VOICE) “In the same way, if you want to be My disciple, it will cost you everything. Don’t underestimate that cost!” Count the cost of serving Christ and stay faithful in serving Him anyway. The rewards far exceed the sacrifice.

2.      King Ahasuerus seemed to make a habit of acting before his brain was fully engaged. When an important decision needs to be made, TAKE TIME to investigate options, pray, seek the Lord and godly counsel, BEFORE taking any action.