The Enemy of God's People

Ben Trigsted

For Such A Time As This • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Esther 2:19–23

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Introduction

Last week I said that I loved hero stories, and it’s true. What are some of the most important things a good hero story needs?

One thing that is often forgotten is that a good hero story needs a villain.

The best villains, IMHO, are those who not likable or relatable...

For example, in one of my favorite superhero movies, The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne (Batman) is talking to Alfred about the villain, The Joker. Bruce is trying to figure out The Joker’s motivation and Alfred says, “…some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

In that simple dialogue you come to understand that The Joker is just a mad man bent on hurting as many people possible, and therefore must be stopped.

Now, of course, this is a silly fictional story. Unfortunately, in real life, there are many villains. The worst of which are those who would set themselves against God and His people.

In the book of Esther, that villain’s name was Haman. This morning we will be introduced to him, learning much about those who still hate God and His people and what we can do about it as believers.

Body: Esther 3:1-15

Verses 1-6

Esther 3:1–6 (ESV)

After these things King A-hass-u-air-us promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Ham-med-datha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of A-hass-u-air-us.

Haman the Agagite

There is potential that Haman is a descendant of the Amalekite king, Agag. If this is the case, then the connection would be that it was Agag who King Saul spared, despite the fact that God commanded him to destroy the Amalekite’s and their king. This would cost Saul the throne.

However, I think this is probably a stretch. Additionally, there was an area of the Persian Empire called Agag, so it is likely that Haman came from their.

Regardless, he will be the enemy of the Jewish people throughout this book.

Through some means, he was able to raise to the level of the most trusted official in the kingdom to the point that the king commanded that people bow down to him.

Mordecai’s Refusal to Pay Homage

It is unclear why Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman. The text suggests that it was because Mordecai was a Jew, but there is no biblical prohibition about bowing to a person in a position of authority. And, many godly people throughout the Bible do it.

So why did Mordecai refuse?

Could be because this was indeed seen as a form of worship;

Could be Mordecai’s pride, in that he should have been given the position of authority since he saved the king’s life;

Could be because Mordecai knew Haman’s character and his hatred for the Jewish people; (I think this is most likely).

Haman’s Fury

Regardless of Mordecai’s reason for not bowing, Haman’s uncontrolled fury is such that he doesn’t only want to punish Mordecai, but he wants to kill all the Jewish people.

This tells me that Haman already hated the Jews for whatever reason and was just looking for an excuse to destroy them.

Verse 7

Esther 3:7 (ESV)

In the first month, which is the month of Nice-san, in the twelfth year of King A-hass-u-air-us, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

Haman & the Casting of Pur

The Persian people were a very superstitious people. They believed heavily in fate and chance. So, what they are doing here is allowing the casting of lots (or Pur) to determine when the best time to attack the Jews was. The lot fell on a date almost eleven months from then.

Verses 8-11

Esther 3:8–11 (ESV)

Then Haman said to King A-hass-u-air-us, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Ham-med-datha, the enemy of the Jews. And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

Haman Manipulates the King

Notice how Haman approaches the king:

He doesn’t tell him outright who the people are.

He tells them that they are scattered throughout the kingdom, implying that they are a threat.

He tells them that not only do they have their own laws and customs, but that they don’t honor the king’s laws or customs.

He explains that it’s not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them, as was the typical policy of the Persian Empire.

If the king decrees that these people should be destroyed, Haman will fill the empire’s treasuries with a lot of money (in fact, this is over half the yearly income of the kingdom at that time). No doubt, Haman planned on stealing this from the Jewish people after killing them.

Xerxes’ Response:

Giving his signet ring allows Haman the ability to put the king’s stamp of approval on a decree, something that within the Persian Empire couldn’t be overturned.

Xerxes seems to be refusing the money, but we will find out later that he was just being polite and expects this money to be paid.

Why would Xerxes allow this to happen?

I believe that Xerxes probably assumed that Haman was talking about the Greeks who were no-doubt living in various different places in throughout the kingdom. Xerxes would have quickly signed off on them being destroyed, especially after his recent defeat at the hands of the Greeks.

Verses 12-15

Esther 3:12–15 (ESV)

Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King A-hass-u-air-us and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

The Decree Goes Out

The word goes out, and Haman even conscripts people to help kill their neighbors, promising that they could plunder their goods.

A Callous Celebration vs. A Confused City

Think about the last picture we get here: the foolish king and the wicked counselor sit down to a feast and drinking party after signing the death warrant to an entire race of people.

And the city is thrown into confusion, wondering just what was going on.

So What?

The word “evil” is thrown around a lot today...

What does God’s Word say?

Proverbs 6:16–19 ESV

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Haman’s Wickedness:

Demanded honor instead of earning it.

Allowed his fury to control his attitude towards an entire race of people.

Set his heart to committing genocide on God’s people.

Used divination to seek answers to his questions.

Manipulated the king into complicity in his plans to commit genocide.

Lied, blatantly and by omission, to his king.

Made plans to steal from God’s people.

Convinced others to join in his wicked plan by promises of personal financial gain.

Callously celebrated his plan to destroy an entire race of people.

All that being said, the lesson isn’t “don’t be like Haman.” Hopefully that’s obvious!

The timeless lessons here focus on realities that God’s people must understand as we are confronted with people who set themselves up as the enemies of God’s people.

Timeless Lessons:

Evil people will set their hearts to destroy God’s people.

This has been true throughout Jewish history…and remains true today...

This has been true throughout Christian history…and remains true today...

Evil people attack God’s people ultimately because they hate our God; the God of the Bible!

Evil people feel justified in their wicked actions because it serves their own purposes.

Haman’s story is an example of unchecked honor seeking. Haman believed he was due more honor than he was getting (right or wrong). Instead of dealing with the source of his perceived dishonor (Mordecai) he decides to take it out on all of Mordecai’s people, the Jewish people as a whole.

Not only was he racist, but this also exposes a man with a very fragile ego. A person with a fragile ego in a position of power is a very dangerous person.

Haughty eyes…a puffed up ego...

Like Haman, people who seek to destroy God’s people will always justify their actions because it serves whatever purpose they want to accomplish.

Today, we are seeing this begin to grow and expand as the modern enemies of the church look to do whatever it takes to silence and even hurt the church, because they believe this ridiculous notion that “words are violence” and that anyone who espouses biblical morality must be silenced because we are bigoted, homophobic, or any other number of attacks.

As we’ve seen recently, some will even resort to violence. But, what’s most shocking is that there are many in government and the media today who will actually justify these attacks! Why? Because it serves their purposes of not being under any greater authority than one’s own sense of personal inner desires and feelings.

Evil people have no problem using whatever means necessary to bring about their wicked plans.

Think about what we see out of Haman, especially in light of the Proverbs passage we looked at:

A lying tongue...

Hands that shed innocent blood...

Heart that devises wicked plans...

Feet that make haste to run to evil...

One who sows discord among brothers...

These continue to be the means that those who hate God and His church use today.

See, for these, the ends justify the means.

As believers we must remember, the ends never justify the means...

Something that really frustrates me…what I want to do about it…what I’ll actually do about it...

What can we do?

Even in the darkest of times, remember that God is constantly at work for His glory and for our good.

Think about this:

God set Esther in the right place at the right time. He had a plan.

Mordecai is aware of Haman’s wickedness well before others and is willing to take a stand against him, even at the potential of great personal cost. He had the right people in place.

God even used the superstitions of the enemies of Israel to buy time for the Jewish people to prepare and Esther and Mordecai to act. He can even use the ungodly to bring about His purposes.

This same God is at work in our lives today!

Therefore:

Trust God and move forward in faith.

Even in the dark times, we must learn to trust God and move forward in faith.

Take the right stand in the right way.

Apathy is a poison that infects God’s people and brings about the rise of wickedness all around us.

The church doesn’t need more apathy when it comes to the wickedness around us. We need people of action.

But, we need to act in the right way.

Let’s use the abortion issue as an illustration...

There are countless other right stands we can and should take. But, we must do it in the right way, bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bear on each and every circumstance.

What are people’s greatest need? To be saved from their sins.

How can they be saved from their sins? By grace alone through faith alone.

How will they know how to be saved? We must love them and tell them!