Haman made his request to
King Ahasuerus that all the Jews throughout the Persian empire be
destroyed. His wrathful motivation was ignited by Mordecai who would
not bow to him regardless of the consequences. Rather than inflicting
his revenge upon Mordecai alone, Haman desired that every person
related to Mordecai and his ethnic group be punished for their
insubordination. In chapter three and verse ten we see the response
of the king to Haman's request. We read:
And the king took his
ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the
Agagite, the Jews' enemy.
As we
have shared before, the way to understand the Bible more fully is to
use our imaginations and throw ourselves into the story. Let's use
our mind's eye to see Haman standing before King Ahasuerus and
demonstratively making his request. Suddenly there is a break in his
conversation, and Haman waits for the king's response. Our verse
reads, “And the king took his ring from his hand and gave it to
Haman...” When we see this reaction, we might wonder what
significance it has. However, when we understand that to have the
king's ring means that his “seal of approval” is upon the
request. In those days whenever a paper was written such as a law or
legal document, to show the king's approval there would be a hot drop
of wax placed upon the document and then the king's personally graven
ring was pressed into the wax. In other words, he was giving his
“seal of approval” for verification. King Ahasuerus granted the
desire of Haman when he gave him his ring.
The
verse goes on to say, “...the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the
Jews' enemy.” Let us notice once again that this is a
descendant of Agag. Years before when King Saul should have killed
every Amalekite as instructed by Samuel the prophet, he disobeyed and
now the disobedience has come to fruition. “Hammedatha” means
“double” and although it may have been thought that there were
only a few Amalekites left, the anger and feud of the Agagites lived
on. They were “the Jew's enemy”, and revenge was their
drive. Now through Haman, they would have as they desired.
The
Amalekites are a type of the flesh in the Bible. Our flesh nature
must be constantly kept under control otherwise it is like unto Haman
requesting to have us destroyed. Allowance for any work of the flesh
will only muscle its way into being our enemy, and the enemy of our
soul, Satan, desires to have us ended. His motive is to have us
removed from any influence that will perpetuate the kingdom of God.
As we consider our scripture, let us take the time to examine
ourselves and see if there be any wicked way in us. If so, let us rid
ourselves of it, and if not, let us guard our hearts and not allow
any sin to reign within.
Next time we will see more of King
Ahasuerus' answer to Haman, so read ahead, and we shall join together
then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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