Esther 3:1-15--Haman Plots Against the Jews

Esther 3
English Standard Version

Haman Plots Against the Jews
3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 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. 3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” 4 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. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 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 Ahasuerus.

7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, 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. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “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. 9 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.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 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.”

​12 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 Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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.

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At some time after Mordecai revealed the plot to the king, Haman the Agagite was promoted to be the highest official in the Persian empire (much like how Daniel had been, only we'll see that Haman is the polar opposite of Daniel).  At the command of the king, because of the exalted position that the king had given to Haman, all the other servants were to bow down before Haman, but Mordecai would not bow down before him.  Does this remind you a little bit of Hanniah, Mishael and Azariah (we know them as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--their Babylonian names) that would not bow down and worship the king's image in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3?  Everyone asked Mordecai why he violated the king's command?  The answer is simple--he had a higher commandment from a higher King--"Worship the LORD your God and serve Him only."  He would not listen to them when they tried to tell him that God would understand and that he just needed to compromise, and that he could bow on the outside without bowing his heart on the inside.  All these same kinds of worldly wisdom that we get offered today, Mordecai heard and didn't listen to.  He knew the LORD's command, and he was going to obey it.  The answer that got back to Haman and the king was that Mordecai refused to obey the king's command because he was a Jew.  It doesn't appear that his specific objection or moral dilemma was presented, only that a statement was made to the effect that Jews don't respect or obey the king's commands.

Haman then looked for Mordecai the next time he was going in and out of the gates of the citadel and noticed Mordecai did not bow down, just as it was reported to him.  He was filled with rage to the point where he wanted to kill Mordecai, but he was devious and knew not to lay his own hands on Mordecai, because that would make him guilty of murder.  Also, Haman wasn't satisfied to kill Mordecai alone, but he now wanted to kill all the Jews in all of the provinces of the entire empire--everywhere where King Ahasuerus reigned.

Starting in the first day of the first month of the Jewish calendar and day after day for all twelve months of the year (from Nissan to Adar), a Pur (a type of lot) was cast before Haman to try to determine the best date on which Haman should carry out his plan to try to exterminate the Jewish people.  Through what would appear to be a random outcome, but an outcome that was controlled completely by the LORD, as we see in Proverbs 16:33.  Though the date is not given here, this is the date of the holiday called Purim that is celebrated by the Jewish people.  While it was the date set for their destruction, we can see that they are still alive and well, and we'll see as we go throughout the book exactly how it is that they escape destruction.

Let's now get to Haman's plan.  He goes before the king to tell the king that there lived in the empire a people who are scattered among the other people.  These people are not like the others in the kingdom--they have their own laws and customs that differ greatly from those of the other peoples, and they do not keep the king's laws.  Haman argues that it does not profit the king to keep these people (the Jews) around if they will not assimilate into the culture and treat the king's commands as equal to or greater than the commands of the God they worship and serve (remember that the LORD alone is their king, even when they had "kings" of Israel and Judah, they were only called "princes," because the LORD was King).  Haman suggested that an edict go forth from the king to all the provinces to let them know that these people--the Jews--were to be exterminated by order of the king.  Haman also asked for 10,000 talents of silver with which to pay the mercenaries that would carry out this order.  The king issued the edict and gave Haman the money from the royal treasury.  The king gave Haman his signet ring that was used to sign official documents so as to say, "I pre-approve everything you want to do in this matter."  The king also gave Haman all the men he needed to accomplish his purposes.

The edict was issued on the 13th day of the first month (the 13th of Nissan).  It was issued in the native language of every province, and it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and signed with his signet ring so that anyone who saw it would assume that the king, not Haman, had issued the edict.  The instructions sent to all the leaders of all the provinces were to kill and annihilate all the Jews--young and old, male and female on the 13th day of the twelfth month (the 13th of Adar).  This was the date chosen by lot by Haman and those who cast the Pur before him, but it was the date of the LORD's choosing.  Notice that the date is almost exactly one month before Passover.  Now the Jews prepare their hearts and minds for Passover--the greatest story of deliverance ultimately fulfilled in Christ, our Passover Lamb who saved and redeemed us from our enslavement to sin and death, with the feast of Purim that shows that even in the moments where we don't see God, He is actively working to save and preserve His people and accomplish His plans and purposes.

The provinces had nearly a year to get ready and Haman wanted to strike fear in the hearts of the Jews as they would hear the edict and know that the date set for their execution had been set.  Would they try to run?  Would they try to rebel?  How would these people who said they put their trust and hope in the LORD respond to the outright threat of genocide?  The edict was first read in the citadel of Susa.  While the king and Haman sat down to drink and party to celebrate their success in this matter, the city of Susa was in a state of confusion.   Certainly, some tried to figure out what the Jews had done to become enemies of the state.  I'm sure some Jews wondered if they were going to make it to the 13th of Adar or if their neighbors would turn on them early.

Haman and the king have no idea that Queen Esther is a Jew.  Remember, she's kept her identity secret.  We'll talk next time about how Mordecai convinces Esther that she needs to do something to speak up for her people in probably one of the most memorable passages of this entire book, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”   We'll look at this conversation between Mordecai and Esther next time.