All
the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for
the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down
or pay him honor. Esther 3:2
God is as purposeful in what
He doesn’t reveal in His Word as in what He does. He doesn’t tell us why
Mordecai refused to bow. He may have concluded that the king was asking them to
worship Haman. If that were the case, kneeling would have been idolatrous.
Mordecai knew Haman’s heritage and probably saw through his clever conniving
and slick exterior into the malice rumbling below the surface.
Refusing to Bow
In Genesis 39:2-10, we see
that, like Mordecai, Joseph also refused to do what someone in a powerful
position insisted upon. The Hebrew wording describing how Potiphar’s wife
“spoke to Joseph day after day” but “he refused” is strikingly similar to
Esther 3:4: “Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Satan
has a theory that he’s banked his entire accuser’s career on: Even the strong grow weak.
Joseph’s made-up mind was
stronger than his mood. Likewise, the sight of Haman didn’t just hit Mordecai
the wrong way one day when he was feeling so contentious that he bucked the
system and refused to bow. Even on the days when buckling his knees would have
seemed easier than being harassed, Mordecai’s made-up mind was stronger than
his mood.
My beloved sister, may God
be allowed to work such steadfastness of mind that “the bolts of your gates
will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days” (Deut. 33:25).
Let’s pray for each other.
Esther 3:5 states that Haman
was enraged when Mordecai refused to bow. “The Hebrew word hamah (anger) is a very strong term referring to ‘an inner and
emotional heat which rises and is fanned to varying degrees’ – to ‘a burning
and consuming wrath.’ Within the Book of Esther the term is used six times four
times of the king (1:12, 2:1, 7:7,10) and twice with Haman (3:5; 5:9).
Ephesians 4:26-27 tells us we are not to let the sun go down on our anger. We
are to resolve issues quickly.
Regardless of planning or lot
casting (Esther 3:7-8), all things pertaining to God’s people are marked on His
calendar. Haman launched psychological weapons against the Jews and we find
ourselves in the crosshairs of the same weapon in the hands of our enemy who is
trying to get back at God by attacking us. Because Satan has a limited leash
where believers are concerned, his most powerful tactics a psychological.
Though he can’t possess our minds, he profoundly and destructively influence
our thoughts.
The Jews in the Esther
story, so far from Jerusalem and so at home in Persia, didn’t know if God was
with them or not. God in 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He will
remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.” God always wins, Satan can’t
win and you can’t lose.
God always trumps Satan.
Never picture the two of them as equal but opposite authorities. Every hope and
every victory the enemy thinks he has is maddeningly thwarted at the perfect
time.
Let’s look at verse 12: “The
edict was written on the thirteenth day of Nisan, so it began to be distributed
on the fourteenth.” From a divine perspective, this was no coincidence. We have
no idea how many of the seven annual feats of Judaism were observed among the
exiles of Persia. Of this we can be confident, however, if they celebrated only
one, it was undoubtedly Passover.
Picture this: the edict hit the
provinces of Persia on exactly the day observing Jewish households were
preparing their tables for Passover. The news swept across the cities and
villages like wildfire. What was meant to be a commemoration of a past event
suddenly turned into a concert of imminent need. Decades earlier the Persian
Jews had chosen not to take advantage of their deliverance under the decree of
Cyrus and their permission to return to Jerusalem. They decided they liked
Persian life and stayed put. Then came Haman. Maybe that’s one reason God
allows “Hamans” to come along in life – so we’ll quit being so comfortable and
at home here.
Haman the son of Hammedatha,
the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, has written into Persian law the edict that
all the peoples of the empire are to be ready to destroy, slay and annihilate
all the Jews, young and old, women and children, and to seize their goods as
plunder, on one day, the thirteenth of the twelfth month, the month of Adar
(verses 12-15). Public violence, murder and pillage are to be unleashed to provide
vengeance to Haman’s wounded pride. Nothing is more frightening than a seared
conscience. Given the power of Haman’s position and the irrevocability of
Persian law, the doom of the Jews seems sealed. Or is it? One of the major
characters of our story has not appeared in this tragic act by even the most
veiled or subtle allusion. Yet, unbeknownst to Haman of the King, a member of
this seemingly doomed race, now occupies incognito, the chair of the Queen of
Persia. But what can one woman do, however highly placed, in the face of such
odds?
What can one woman do?
Perhaps you’ve been asking the same question in your own life.
We’ll explore that in the
coming chapters. So stick around!
Be Blessed!
Comments
Post a Comment