Esther chapter 3

Mordecai does not bow down to Haman. Haman schemes to exterminate the Jewish people.

 


 

MORDECAI DOES NOT BOW DOWN TO HAMAN

 

VERSE 1. 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.

the Agagite. Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites.

The Amalekites had been wiped out in certain areas by Saul and David.

 

VERSE 2. 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.

Mordecai didn’t bow down or pay him homage. The people of the LORD God stand before all and kneel before none.

Mordecai is a true man of God. He will not bend the knee to a false god no matter what the excuse is.

Even though his life would go better if he obeyed the civil law, Mordecai walks with God, no matter what.

 

VERSE 3. Then the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s commandment?”

 

VERSE 4. 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.

 

VERSE 5. When Haman saw that Mordecai didn’t bow down, nor pay him homage, Haman was full of wrath.

Haman was full of wrath. Haman is ego-driven. He is self-centered. Everything is about himself.

 

VERSE 6. 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.

sought to destroy all the Jews. In the course of world history, an evil antisemitic agenda repeats over and over again. In our day, professing Christians are often the worst of the worst when it comes to Antisemitism. Read more »

 

HAMAN SCHEMES TO EXTERMINATE THE JEWISH PEOPLE

 

VERSE 7. In 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.

they cast … the lot. Sometimes people in the Bible made decisions by casting lots. That is, by rolling dice. Dice give a yes-or-no answer. Read more »

 

VERSE 8. 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 from 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.

They don’t keep the king’s laws. Haman lied to king Ahasuerus. The Jewish people are law-abiding citizens.

 

VERSE 9. 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.”

talents. A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces.

 

VERSE 10. The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.

 

VERSE 11. The king said to Haman, “The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

 

VERSE 12. Then 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 local governors, 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.

 

VERSE 13. 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.

sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces. In the Book of Esther, orders to kill the Jewish people were sent out to all the provinces.

But in a similar situation in 3 Maccabees, the Jewish people are to be gathered for extermination:

3 Maccabees 3:25. Therefore, as soon as the contents of this letter become known to you, in that same hour we order those Jews who dwell among you, with wives and children, to be sent to us, vilified and abused, in chains of iron, to undergo a cruel and shameful death, suitable to enemies.

to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews. In the course of world history, this evil antisemitic agenda repeats over and over again.

In our day, professing Christians are often the worst of the worst when it comes to Antisemitism.

 

VERSE 14. A 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.

 

VERSE 15. 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 Susa was perplexed.

 


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ESTHER

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10

Deuterocanonical chapters: [A], [B], [C], [D], [E]

RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Esther’s Call to Fast

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.