The Plot and God's Plan

Introduction

We have been on quite the journey so far in the book of Esther. We have seen:

A great feast for the king, the likes of which we cannot even really begin to fathom;

The queen being deposed from her throne because she failed to obey a ludicrous demand from the king;

Even though it isn’t mentioned in the book, in between chapters 1 and 2, we know that the king completed great military conquests;

The king summoning young women to Susa, the capital, to choose a new queen;

Esther being selected as the queen; and

Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, disclosing a plot against the king.

At this point, you would think that all is going well for God’s people. A Jew was selected to be the queen of the Persian Empire, even though Ahasuerus did not know about her ethnicity. Taking a step further, we see that Mordecai was a member of the king’s servants who sat at the gate and protected the king against two evil eunuchs who were planning his assassination. The story could end here, with God’s people being protected by the queen and her cousin. However, we have come to this passage that continues to demonstrate the blight that the Jews were experiencing in the Persian Empire at this time.

The Prelude to the Plot (3:1-6)

“After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.”

We start chapter 3 just like we started chapter 2 - “after these things.” So we must put this in context. We saw that the time between chapters 1 and 2 was about 3 or 4 years. We saw this by looking at Est. 1:3, which states the feast was in the third year of Ahasuerus, and Est. 2:16, which states that Esther was selected as queen in the seventh year of Ahasuerus. So do we have similar context clues for us to determine the time that has passed between the previous events and what we see here?

First, we should note that we are not sure how much time took place between Esther being selected as queen and Mordecai discovering the plan to kill Ahasuerus. It could be that this was a long period of time or happened shortly after Esther was selected as queen.

What we can deduce, though, is that there is a 4 or 5 year gap between Esther being selected as queen and the events described in chapter 3. We see this in Est. 3:7. Haman is plotting against the Jews in the twelfth year of Ahasuerus. This plot would likely have occurred shortly after the incidents described in verses 1 through 6.

Right before this period, Ahasuerus had suffered military defeats in Europe, namely the battle of Mycale, which ended his conquest into Greece. This battle had severely depleted his army...

So instead, Ahasuerus shifted his focus to internal development. He focused on building a more robust road system and an even greater palace than already existed.

So with this backdrop, we now encounter Haman. He has not been mentioned until this point in the book. He is described by what I call a “throw-away comment.” I don’t think I’m the only one who quickly reads over certain comments in the Bible, especially when it comes to a description about a person’s genealogy. Haman is identified as an Agagite. Why is this important?

Turn with me to 1 Sam. 14. Beginning in verse 47, we read of Saul conquering Israel’s enemies. In chapter 15, Samuel tells Saul that God is commanding him to utterly defeat the Amalekites. In v. 3, God tells him that he is to destroy all that lives among the Amalekites. There are to be no survivors, yet Saul does not listen and keeps some of the best to “honor” God. Among these is Agag, the king of the Amalekites (in verse 8). Despite his efforts to honor God, Saul has done just the opposite by failing to obey God’s commands. How easy it is for us to fall into the same snare.

But who exactly were the Amalekites? Why were they to be destroyed? Well, this is revealed in 1 Sam. 15:2. They had fought against the Israelites when they were coming up from bondage in Egypt. Turn with me to Ex. 17:8-16. The Israelites had passed through the Red Sea approximately one month before this battle. They had been wandering, had seen the bitter water at Marah turned to sweet drinking water, tasted the manna from heaven, and watched water come from the rock. Yet, now they encounter another challenge with the Amalekites. Upon defeat of the Amalekites, God revealed that he would be at war with the Amalekites for all generations.

Now, this man from the Amalekites had the pride and audacity to demand that everyone should bow before him. Not only that, but he had the king’s edict standing behind him to require everyone to kneel before him. And all the king’s officials did. All of them, except Mordecai. And what was his reason to refuse to bow?

Much debate has existed over this topic. The first thing we should note is that Mordecai did not tell Esther she was wrong in bowing before Ahasuerus in chapter 8. So it is unlikely that the sole reason that Mordecai refused was because he was asked to bow before a man.

We read in verse 4 that Mordecai had made known his ethnicity. This is an interesting fact given that Mordecai instructed Esther not to disclose that she was a Jew. Yet, it is this fact that reveals the reason Mordecai refused to bow. As we just saw, the Amalekites were sworn enemies of the Jews. How could Mordecai possibly bow to an Amalekite? As Iain Duguid writes, “for Mordecai, whose genealogy links him to King Saul’s family, to bow to Haman, a descendant of King Agag’s family, was just too much to swallow. It would have seemed to be giving in to a hated enemy, whom God had cursed. Bowing to King Ahasuerus, the pagan authority set over God’s people by God on account of their sin, was one thing; bowing to Haman was another thing altogether.”

And in Daniel 3, we find another faithful group of people - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow the knee before another bitter enemy of the Israelites. May we be found as faithful to our God as these men were.

Haman’s reaction to Mordecai’s refusal shows us his true nature. He is filled with fury and vows to kill not only Mordecai, but the whole Jewish people throughout the kingdom. Remember, this is a kingdom that stretched over multiple continents and would have included Jerusalem. So those Jews who had returned to rebuild Jerusalem by Cyrus’ command would now be subject to this penalty of death. And this is his plot, which moves us to the next part of this chapter.

The Plot (3:7-11)

“In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s law, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

Haman’s plot now needs to be put into action. He brings together a group of people, likely other officials to the king, to determine the best time to carry out this plan. We can see this from verse 7 when it says “they cast lots.” Haman was gathering others to participate in his plan against the Jews - this wasn’t going to be a solo mission. And we should note that they cast lots for an entire year in order to carry out this plan (v. 7).

It is likely that Mordecai continued his disobedience to the command to bow before Haman throughout this entire year. Each time Haman would have seen Mordecai, it likely would have further enraged Haman. So, on one hand, it is “commendable” (if we can use that term for Haman) that he contained his hatred for the Jews for an entire year before bringing his plan to King Ahasuerus. On the other hand, we see his pride continue in the fact that he cannot let go of this hatred for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before him.

After spending this entire year casting lots about this plan, Haman finally takes it before the King. Take note of what Haman charges the Jews with - a vague note about how they have different laws and disobey the king’s laws. There are no specifics. And yet, this very nondescript claim against them is enough for the king to approve of Haman’s plan.

But Haman’s plan didn’t just come with the charge against the Jews - it also came with an enormous bribe. Esther offered 10,000 talents of silver to Ahasuerus so that he could carry out this plot. A talent was about 75 pounds so the offer was for 75,000 pounds of silver. That is about the same weight as a whale shark! And to put it in terms of the Persian Empire, this amount of silver represented approximately two-thirds of the annual revenue of the entire Persian Empire. And this is what Haman was offering to Ahasuerus so that he could carry out this plan to assassinate all the Jews.

And the author of Esther does not leave us to wonder why Haman would plan such a horrendous scheme against the Jews. In verse 10, we read the repetition of Haman’s lineage and what that meant in his relationship to the Jews. He is an Agagite, an enemy of the Jews. And at this point, he is able to convince the king to approve of Haman’s devilish plan, which leads to the next point about the proclamation to the kingdom about this edict.

The Proclamation (3:12-15)

“Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.”

Ahasuerus still has limited details about why Haman wants to kill the Jews. Just like before, Haman acts hastily in issuing an edict that is going to have irreversible consequences. Rather than stopping to think about the potential ramifications of such a brash decision, he just gives his command to Haman to do as he sees fit. Little does he realize that by issuing this edict, he has condemned his queen to death. In the first chapter, we saw how he forbid his queen from ever entering his presence after she denied his petition. Now, he is issuing an edict that could cause him to lose yet another queen.

Not only do we have a hasty decree, we also have an ominous decree. Every province and every people in the kingdom were made aware of this decree. This was not localized in the capital; it was an Empire-wide decree. While there is no documented number of Jews living in the empire at this time, it is estimated that there was anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Jews alive at this point. This estimated comes from Est. 9, where we read that the Jews defeated 500 of their enemies in Susa and 75,000 of their enemies throughout the kingdom. And none were to be spared by this edict - they were all to be killed, destroyed, and annihilated. God’s people really seemed to be on the brink of extinction.

Furthermore, it is a looming edict. We saw that it took a full year for Haman to approach Ahasuerus with his plot. Now, we have an edict being issued 11 months before the killing of the Jews is to occur. Imagine the horror of the Jews living at this time, knowing the exact day that their enemies plan to carry out their destruction. Ahasuerus’ edict also comes with the command to plunder the Jews’ possessions after their destruction. This would have an utter humiliation of God’s people and would have brought God’s character into question. God had made an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants. The promised serpent-crushing seed was to come from this people. How in the world can this possibly happen if Haman is able to carry out this plot?

God’s Plan

And this is where we see the sovereignty of God in all that was taking place. God had promised long ago that he was going to be at war with the Amalekites from generation to generation.

He raised up Ahasuerus in the Persian Empire;

he called Esther into the presence of the king and be selected as the new queen;

he worked in Mordecai and Esther so that she did not disclose she was a Jew;

he allowed Ahasuerus to raise up Haman, an Agagite, to a high position in his kingdom; he allowed the plot to be devised by Haman;

he permitted Ahasuerus to approve of Haman’s plot, not knowing his queen was being sentenced to death.

All this to display his wondrous power through the works and words of Mordecai and Esther. It is through this overthrow of Haman’s plot that God would save his people and destroy the Amalekites.

And there is great irony in the fact that Haman desired everyone to bow at his presence. For we know that all people, including Haman and Ahasuerus, will bend the knee before Jesus at his second coming (Phil. 2).

And if you have already bent your knee before God, take heart. God has called his people, and He has promised to be faithful to them. Paul encourages the Galatians, and all of us who walk by faith today, that we are the true sons and daughters of Abraham by faith. He will walk with you and continue to conform you into the image of His son day by day.

But if you have not bowed before the king of the universe, hear this, it is not too late. One day, you will bow before him. If you continue in pomp and pride, as Haman and Ahasuerus, it will be at his second coming that you will be forced to bow before him. Do not wait! Bow to him now. He is the faithful and just God who has promised salvation to those who will come before him in humility and sincerity. He is faithful! Amen.