Haman was promoted by King
Ahasuerus and people within the kingdom were commanded to honor him
because of his position. However, Mordecai, who was Esther's older
cousin and responsible for raising her, would not bow to Haman.
Mordecai would worship no one other than God, and regardless of the
consequences, Mordecai would not bow to Haman. This behavior
infuriated Haman, and because Mordecai would not submit, Haman vowed
not only to destroy Mordecai, but also his people the Jews. In
chapter three and verse eight we see Haman going before the king with
his complaint. We read:
And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people
scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces
of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse
from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is
not for the king's profit to suffer them.
The
verse begins, “And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a
certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all
the provinces of thy kingdom;” At this point the wrath of Haman
is being demonstrated before King Ahasuerus. Rather than simply stew
over his anger, Haman employs action, and the first place he must go
is before the kingdom authority who may give a command to remove the
rebellion. Notice too that Haman told the king that these people were
“scattered abroad and dispersed” not only in the locale of
the king, but “among the people in all the provinces”.
Haman desired to make his ploy empire wide.
The verse goes on to say, “and their laws are
diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws:”
Haman's first desire was to show the widespread nature of these
people, and now he reports why these far-reaching people are a threat
to the king. First he addresses the nature of the people's law, they
are “diverse” from all people. Secondly, he accuses the
Jews that they “neither keep ...the king's laws:”. Let us
take note of how one man, Mordecai, led to all these words from Haman
before the king.
Finally,
our verse concludes, “therefore it is not
for the king's profit to suffer them.” In other words, these
people are such a threat to the king's authority, that King Ahasuerus
should “suffer them” or allow them to rest. Haman basically said
since this rebellion was occurring throughout the kingdom, the king
should not agree with them, let them rest, or even let them be. If we
try, we might be able to imagine how animatedly Haman told this
story.
Haman is
like Satan before the throne of God. He is constantly complaining
about those who love the Lord and worship Him alone. We read in the
book of Revelation in chapter twelve and verse ten:
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation,
and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his
Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which
accused them before our God day and night.
If like the Jews in Mordecai's day we are accused of worshiping God
rather than man, so be it. We will not regret it eternally, but the
question of the day may be, “Do we worship God in such a manner
that Satan would complain about us at all?” It is certain according
to this scripture that “the accuser of our brethren is cast
down”, but if we were examined, do we have ample displays of
affection toward God of which he might accuse us? Let it be our
resolve to live in such a manner that he would desire to eliminate us
because we are worshipers of the Almighty God and His Son Jesus
Christ.
Next time we will hear more about
Haman's desire before King Ahasuerus that the Jews be destroyed, 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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