April 5, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Out-of-Control Rage

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Opening Prayer

Faithful Lord, may Your Holy Word free my praise, inspire my prayer and shape my life.

Read Esther 3:1-15

[1] After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. [2] All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. [3] Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” [4] Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew. [5] When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. [6] Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. [7] In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar. [8] Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. [9] If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.” [10] So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. [11] “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.” [12] Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. [13] Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews-young and old, women and children-on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. [14] A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day. [15] The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed” (Psa. 37:8-9a).

Several years later, newly promoted Haman took full advantage of the king’s decree that all should show him deference. Mordecai refused to submit to this arrogant man. His stubborn refusal had deep roots in Israelite history.

Haman is revealed as a descendant of the Amalekite king, Agag. Following a remarkable wilderness victory over Amalekite attackers, Moses had prophesied their nation’s eventual annihilation (Exod. 17:8-15; Deut. 25:17-19). However, they remained intermittently hostile to Israel for generations. King Saul was charged with their total destruction, but he disobediently spared Agag and plundered their wealth, with disastrous familial consequences (1 Sam. 15). Coincidentally, Mordecai’s family line was related to Saul’s, and families have long memories–so Mordecai was not going to submit to a descendant of Agag. Haman’s rage at Mordecai’s public disrespect intensified when he realized that Mordecai was Jewish, so he took the opportunity to get rid of all Jews within Persia.

Haman’s out-of-control plot began with setting a favorable date by casting lots, probably using small clay cubes. He then persuaded the king to decree the destruction of the unidentified cultural misfits. The king, without asking clarifying questions, approved the process and Haman supervised the writing of an edict. Its diverse translations and efficient circulation were possibly bankrolled by Haman’s money. As the story unfolds we see that “Mordecai’s loyalty to the Jewish people supersedes that of King Saul, and Mordecai becomes representative of God’s redemptive presence among his people” (Debra Reid). In the meantime, the plotters celebrate and the city puzzles.

Apply

Pray for Christians who are hatefully persecuted for their faith or race, especially that God will grant them strength to stand firm and faithful in the face of danger.

Closing prayer

Lord Jesus, I find it so easy to go along to get along. Forgive my hesitancy to stand firm for You. Infuse me with Your grace and strength.

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