Turning the page…
Turning the page…
Glory · Esther
Haman is promoted above all the princes, and when one Jew will not bow, his wrath swells from a man to a nation. He buys a decree to annihilate them, and the king signs it without a thought.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/why-did-haman-hate-the-jews · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Esther 3:1-15
As you read: How personal pique becomes a royal decree to kill every Jew in the empire.
1After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.
2All the king’s servants who were in the king’s gate bowed down, and paid homage to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai didn’t bow down or pay him homage.
3Then the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s commandment?”
4Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he didn’t listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5When Haman saw that Mordecai didn’t bow down, nor pay him homage, Haman was full of wrath.
6But he scorned the thought of laying hands on Mordecai alone, for they had made known to him Mordecai’s people. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even Mordecai’s people.
7In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, and chose the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
8Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws are different than other people’s. They don’t keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to allow them to remain.
9If it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who are in charge of the king’s business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.”
10The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.
11The king said to Haman, “The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”
12Then the king’s scribes were called in on the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month; and all that Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the princes of every people, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus, and it was sealed with the king’s ring.
13Letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunder their possessions.
14A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that they should be ready against that day.
15The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.
After these things the king promoted Haman above all the princes, and set his seat above them all. Pride is the soil and the offense is the seed. From the height of his station, Haman cannot bear one person who will not honor him.
“After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.”Esther 3:1
All the king's servants bowed to Haman, for the king had commanded it, but Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage. Mordecai bows to God alone, and that refusal is the spark of the whole plot.
“All the king’s servants who were in the king’s gate bowed down, and paid homage to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai didn’t bow down or pay him homage.”Esther 3:2
“Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he didn’t listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.”Esther 3:4
When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow, he was full of wrath, but he scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Because Mordecai was a Jew, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews throughout the kingdom. Contempt for one becomes hatred for all.
“When Haman saw that Mordecai didn’t bow down, nor pay him homage, Haman was full of wrath. But he scorned the thought of laying hands on Mordecai alone, for they had made known to him Mordecai’s people. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even Mordecai’s people.”Esther 3:5-6
Haman tells the king the people keep different laws and are not worth keeping, and offers ten thousand talents of silver for the deed. The king gives his signet and the letters go out 'to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews,' young and old, in a single day.
“Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws are different than other people’s. They don’t keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to allow them to remain. If it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who are in charge of the king’s business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.””Esther 3:8-9
“Letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunder their possessions.”Esther 3:13
With the decree sent, 'the king and Haman sat down to drink,' but the city of Susa was perplexed. The men who signed the death warrant feast, and the people marked for death sit in confusion. The silence of God is never the end of the story.
“The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.”Esther 3:15