Esther 3:1-15

Throughout the history of the nation of Israel there have been numerous attempts to destroy them.  From the time Abraham was called; it seems that he and his descendants have been in the cross-hairs of Satan.  Pharaoh tried to exterminate the people while they were enslaved in Egypt.  Nation after nation made war with Israel as they walked in the wilderness and then again after they were established in the Promised Land.  Now that they are in captivity Haman is the latest to make an attempt to destroy the Jewish people.  However, like Pharaoh before him and Hitler after him, Haman was under the sovereignty of God and would not be allowed to fulfill his wicked plan.  Evil men may plot against the children of God but the Lord will always prevail.

HAMAN BECOMES PRIDEFUL IN HIS PROMOTION: The King of Persian sees fit to promote Haman above all the other officials in his kingdom.  We are not sure what Haman did to deserve such and honor but he enjoyed his new found fame very much.  Part of the prestige of this position was that the others servants of the king were to honor Haman by bowing before him.  A humble man would not desire such treatment but Haman thrived on the praise of man and loved feel superior to the people around him.  Mordecai was Esther’s uncle who had raised her and was a faithful Jew who could not bow down to another man as this was an act of worship.  All of us have the same sinful desires of Haman.  We might not want people to bow down in our presence but we certainly can be easily filled with pride and long for the praise and recognition of men.  We are also very drawn to praise other men in the place of God.  We must be careful to protect our hearts from the sins of pride and idolatry.


HAMAN BECOMES PATHETIC IN HIS PLOTTING: When Haman learns that Mordecai refuses to bow down before him; he becomes incensed.  His prides has been challenged and he is filled with indignation.  Pride is one of those sins that it is never satisfied.  No matter how much honor we are given we always think we deserve more.  The reaction that we would expect Haman to demonstrate would be that he confront Mordecai, threaten him and then imprison him or even have him killed if Mordecai refused to comply with the law.  Instead, Haman upon learning that Mordecai was a Jew determines that he want to exterminate the entire nation.  This diabolic plot gains the kings approval and letters go out to the entire nation that on a certain day all of the Jews are to be executed.  The entire nation was condemned because of Mordecai’s actions.  The bad news of death was spread to every corner of the kingdom.  All of us are born under the condemnation of sin but God is still on the throne of the world so there is always hope because He is the author of GOOD NEWS. 

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