Thought for the Week

After a period of time when the king seemed content, he made an appointment of a man to be his sort of "second in command." His name is Haman. He is an Agagite. Agagite may mean nothing to us but we refer to history and Scripture. It seems Agagite is a title for the royal family of the Amalekites. When Israel was coming out of captivity in Egypt, the Amalekites attacked and killed many of the weak and weary in the rear of the company. For this treachery and wickedness, and the fact that they despised God, God decreed they should be destroyed (see Deuteronomy 25:17-19). Israel's first king, Saul was commanded to do this but he did not. As a result of his disobedience, his kingdom was lost to him. When he lost a battle and committed suicide, it was an Agagite who claimed to have killed him. So, you see there is a history here. We also see God remembers both His promises and His condemnations. While He may take His time in fulfilling them, He always does. Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us there are things God hates: "a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to do evil, a false witness, and one who sows discord." As you read through the Book of Esther, look at the life of Haman and see how many of these he displays. At any rate, the appointment is made and the king even gave command that people should bow and do obedience to Haman. I am not sure why this is necessary but it was so. This type of bowing consisted of prostrating one's self as though in an act of worship. Remember God's command to His people that they should have no other gods before Him and ... they should bow down before anyone or anything. Of course, Mordecai obeyed this command. Haman apparently did not notice but others did. They warned Mordecai and he still did not conform. As human nature is, somebody snitched and told Haman about it. Now Haman took notice and when he saw Mordecai standing as he passed he was filled with wrath. He also learned Mordecai was a Jew. Perhaps with his remembrance of family history, or perhaps only in his pride, he thought he would not only take out his anger on Mordecai but also on his people, the Jews. He hatched a plan about how to go about this. His first act was to choose a time. He cast lots (sort of throwing dice?) to do this and the time ultimately chosen was far in the distance. (Like this is January and the time is December 12.) That was a long time to vent his vengeance, but it also, if known, would give Mordecai a long time to suffer anguish. The second step of the plan is to enlist the endorsement of the king. Remember Haman is only second-in- command and this plan would require a major effort to accomplish. Haman concocts a story for the king. "There is a people group within your kingdom(This by the way is a vast kingdom stretching from present day India to Ethiopia containing what are known as 127 provinces or nations.) They are different from all your other people and they are useless to you. I think it would be good for you to destroy them and I will even support that effort by contributing to you 10,000 talents of silver. (which is a huge sum numbering in the millions and this offer is made to the king who spent a fortune on a lost war.)"

Scriptures

to Read

Esther

2:12-14

Esther

2:15-17

Esther

2:18-20

Esther

2:21-23

Esther

3:1-2

Esther

3:3-4

Esther

3:5-6