Popular culture has no shortage of awards ceremonies. It seems that everyone want to the first, the best, the biggest, the brightest or the most extreme in some way.
This study looks at one individual who certainly felt that way. He wanted to BE #1 and have EVERYONE take note of HIM. Haman serves as a “good example of a bad example.”
However, Mordecai, Queen Ester’s uncle, served with humility, an the greatest person who has ever walked this earth—Jesus, the One most worthy of praise and accolades—carried out His ministry with humility. As His followers, we are to be like him. We are to give our absolute best and do it with humility.
The events of Esther took place during the reign of the Persian king Ahasuerus (or as known by his Greek name Xerxes I) in the fifth century BC. Xerxes I or Xerxes the Great, was the son of Darius the Great and his mother was the daughter of Cyrus the Great. In the west he is best known for his invasion of, and ultimately defeat by, the Greeks. A part of which was the movie that included the line “THIS IS SPARTA!!”
During the third year of his reign, Xerxes convened a royal reception. This assembly lasted for nearly 1/2 YEAR, 180 days, during which he displayed the splendor of his wealth, culminating in a week-long feast. In a drunken stupor, Xerxes called for Queen Vashti to show off her beauty for his guests. She refused. Upon counsel from his advisors, Ahasuerus removed Vashti and set up a search for her successor. One candidate was Esther, a woman of exceptional beauty who won the king’s approval and became queen. Her uncle, Mordecai, in the king’s service at the King’s Gate, advised Esther not to reveal her Jewish nationality.
The study today occurs after the evening where, learning about two conspirators plotting to kill the king, Mordecai told Esther who told the king on Mordecai’s behalf. After an investigation, both men were executed and Mordecai’s heroism was recorded, but no action taken.
Next we see how Haman allows pride, self-centeredness and revenge color his actions.
Esther 3:1-5
1 After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials.
2 The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.
3 The members of the royal staff at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?”
4 When they had warned him day after day and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman in order to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him homage, he was filled with rage.
Some years after Mordecai saved the king, for some reason King Ahasuerus greatly honored Haman in front of everyone. Haman appeared trustworthy to the king, and Ahasuerus advanced Haman to a position higher than the other officials around the king. Haman likely served in a capacity comparable to prime minister or chief counselor of the king. Yet in true political style, Haman only wished to advance himself. The contrast between Mordecai’s heroism and Haman’s promotion provided an irony. This juxtaposition would highlight the divergent futures of these two men.
Mordecai likely expected his refusal to bow to Haman would lead to trouble. Sure enough, other officials ratted him out. Indications are that Haman took it personally. Instead of humility in receiving honor from the king and carrying out his duties on the king’s behalf, Haman allowed violent exasperation and bitter hatred to flood his heart. In contrast to Mordecai's previously displayed humility in saving the king, Haman allowed pride to replace any humility he may have had. He allowed his self-centeredness become revengeful as he seethed with rage over the one man, Mordecai, who did not bow in his honor.
Haman’s introduction as an Agagite associated him with tensions between the Israelites and the Amalekites. These tensions extended back to fighting during Israel’s wilderness experience which we studied during the Aaron and Hur study earlier in this session. These tensions had continued for generations, and continue to this day.
Next we see that Haman’s rage went so far as to PLAN for genocide.
Esther 3:6-9
6 And when he learned of Mordecai’s ethnic identity, it seemed repugnant to Haman to do away with Mordecai alone. He planned to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout Ahasuerus’s kingdom.
7 In the first month, the month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus’s twelfth year, the pur—that is, the lot—was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month, the month Adar.
8 Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, keeping themselves separate. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.
9 If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to the officials for deposit in the royal treasury.”
Haman would find no satisfaction in taking Mordecai’s life or in making his life miserable. Haman assumed the self-appointed role of ridding the earth of all Jews. Considering the scope of Ahasuerus’s kingdom and Haman’s hatred, his plan would have included exterminating Jews in Palestine as well. Such a massive execution would have snarled God’s redemptive purpose. However, no man can cripple God’s ultimate plan.
In about mid-March to mid-April of about 473 B.C. As Haman was making his genocidal plans, he cast the pur or the lot to determine which month and day such extermination was to occur. This introduction of “leaving it to the fates” demonstrated his devotion to fate, chance, and magic. The lot fell on the twelfth month, the month Adar. Adar is roughly mid-February to mid-March—almost a year later. God provided the Jews more than eleven months to prepare and put a plan of action into play that would fulfill God’s purposes
With his evil plan laid out down to the exact day, Haman went to the king for approval. In order to convince the king, Haman craftily mixed truth, inaccuracies, and exaggeration. He carefully chose his words insinuating that Ahasuerus’s kingdom had many different people groups, one of which had the potential to undermine the king. Haman did not identify the people and he likely exaggerated how this group had scattered throughout the Persian Empire. Neither did Haman mention to the king his long-standing prejudiced grudge of his Amalekite heritage.
While pretending to care about the king’s interests, Haman hid his real motive and falsely accused the Jews of rebellion. He said this certain ethnic group lived throughout the empire, kept themselves separate, and had a different set of laws. Haman may have presumed that Mordecai’s refusal to bow before him had some connection to Jewish law. However, Mordecai refused to do so on the principle of personal integrity.
Not only did they have different laws, Haman reported, but they placed their laws on a higher plane so that they did not obey Persian law. Though Mordecai had not followed the king’s command to bow before Haman, there wasn't any other evidence of disobedience. Haman clinched his argument by insinuating the possibility of a dangerous political backlash. He concluded that for the sake of the empire, the king needed to take proactive steps to thwart any possible rebellion. Haman lied. The Jews had not rebelled against any of the king’s laws but had lived as good citizens without causing disturbances.
After presenting the false charges of rebellion, Haman asked that the king approve a decree to exterminate the as yet undisclosed people. To entice the king further, Haman offered to underwrite the cost of the evil campaign. Essentially he bribed the king from the confiscated homes and possessions of the slaughtered Jews.
After the king’s edict authorizing the annihilation of the Jewish people spread throughout the kingdom, Jews joined in mourning and fasting while wearing sackcloth. Mordecai urged Queen Esther to intercede for her people. Initially, Esther balked, but when her uncle warned her own life was in jeopardy and stressed God could save His people with or without her, she agreed. Her trust in God provided the turning point.
Esther approached Ahasuerus and invited him and Haman to a private banquet during which she would make her request known. As they finished the meal, she heightened the king’s interest in her request by delaying it for another day of feasting. Haman left in good spirits, but the sight of Mordecai changed that. At home he recounted how the queen had honored him as a special guest and invited him back the next day. However, he complained about Mordecai’s refusal to honor him. His adivisors encouraged him to build a gallows and ask the king to hang Mordecai on it.
King Ahasuerus suffered from insomnia that evening. In an effort to fall asleep, he asked his servants to read to him. They brought in the royal annals that included Mordecai’s heroic deed of saving the king’s life.
The king consulted with Haman about how to honor someone in a special way. Self-centered Haman assumed the king wanted to honor him. He proposed that the man the king wished to honor should be dressed as royalty and led through the city on the king’s horse by one of the king’s closest advisors.
Next we see the outcome.
Esther 6:10-14
10 The king told Haman, “Hurry, and do just as you proposed. Take a garment and a horse for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the King’s Gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested.”
11 So Haman took the garment and the horse. He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, calling out before him, “This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman hurried off for home, mournful and with his head covered.
13 Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai is Jewish, and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him, because your downfall is certain.”
14 While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.
God used the king to deliver the shocking order to Haman that could not have humiliated him more. Pleased with his prime minister’s suggestion, the king ordered him immediately to secure the royal robe and horse for Mordecai. The writer seemed to accentuate Mordecai’s loyalty by repeated references to his being at “the King’s Gate,” where legal and official matters were handled. God sovereignly ordered events so that Haman who came to curse Mordecai ended up blessing him with his words and actions. Haman carried out the king’s wishes and suffered the ultimate humiliation as he led the people to honor the one he most wanted dead, Mordecai, with the praise that he craved for himself.
Mordecai had not attempted to parlay the king’s honor into a promotion, but rather returned to his normal responsibility in the court. His pride had been dealt a death blow. With his pride crushed, Haman slinked off in a state of shock and humiliation with his friends and family who knew of his bitter hatred for Mordecai. They could see his grieving, yet instead of receiving comfort from his wife and friends, they predicted Haman’s downfall. They warned him that he had no chance to overcome Mordecai.
Haman had looked with great anticipation to going to the second banquet with the king and queen. Now with a crushed spirit and with fear flooding from his heart, he shuffled his feet to the party knowing that his wife and advisors had predicted the start of his downfall.
During the second banquet, the queen revealed the plot to destroy the Jews and that Haman had devised it. The king stormed out in anger, leaving Esther and Haman alone. Just as the king returned to the banquet hall, Haman fell on the couch where Esther reclined to beg for his life.
The outraged king ordered that Haman be hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. The next day the king elevated Mordecai to Haman’s former place. Esther then pleaded for the king to revoke the edict to execute the Jews. Ahasuerus gave them authority to write a new edict authorizing the Jews to assemble and defend themselves against anyone who attacked them (perhaps we need such a law today). On the day Haman had hoped to destroy the Jewish people, they turned back their attackers and killed many, including Haman’s ten sons.
Isn’t it ironic that the current “darling of popular culture”, Hamas, is just one letter different from the name of Haman, and BOTH want to accomplish the same objective?
Haman is the one person in our study of “sidekicks” who shows us how not to act. Instead, as we serve alongside others, we are to do it with humility.
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