Welcome

Today, I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul

2 Timothy 3:12–13 ESV

12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Revelation 13:1 ESV

1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

This is the rise of the evil one , the Antichrist.

We see the ugly face of evil more and more in our world today.

We will see this today as we journey through Esther in this short series

“The Hidden Hand of God.” I believe that phrase is quite an apt description of the book.

The Rise of Evil.

last week -

1. The Rise of Esther

The book of Esther is the epic story of a young orphan girl raised up by God in the ancient empire of Persia to save her people from genocide.

The story is set in Susa, the ancient city of the Persians around 480 BC.

King Ahasuerus threw a huge banquet, lasting 180 days for his empire.

When he asked Queen Vashti to appear, she refused and was subsequently dethroned.

He went on a search for a new queen.

Esther was an orphan raised by a godly uncle Mordecai.

She was obedient to him.

She grew to become a beautiful young lady.

She won the favor of the king’s servants and king himself.

She was chosen queen above all the women of Persia.

Esther’s beauty

Esther’s favor

Esther’s obedience

Esther’s success

Esther’s beauty was her ticket into the contest. Her favor gave her the advantage but it was her obedience and attitude that gave her success.

Many want to succeed in life but they are unprepared to pay the price.

We pick up the story today after Esther is crowned queen.

2. Mordecai discovers a plot

An interesting event occurred.

Mordecai is sitting at the king’s gate. He is probably an official

The gate may have been a common place of meeting or business

Esther 2:21–23 ESV

21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

He is at the right place at the right time. Coincidence? Divine arrangement?

He learns of the plot to assassinate the king and reveals to Esther.

There follows an official investigation. The men are tried and sentenced to death.

And it recorded. Not rewarded. Simply recorded.

Many times in life, you will not be immediately rewarded for doing the right thing but it is always recorded.

Take that event and set it aside. We will get back to it.

Now we are introduced to the antagonist in this story, Haman, the Agagite.

3. The Rise of Haman, the Agagite

Esther 3:1–6 ESV

1 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. 2 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. 3 Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” 4 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. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 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.

Agag: once a king of the Amalekites

Amalekites: the ancient enemies of Israel.

Ex 17 - Israel had just left Egypt. Millions of slaves. Disorganized, defenseless, helpless, unprepared for battle, in a most vulnerable position.

The Amalekites choose to attack them.

Let’s look at 6 faces of evil in Esther 3

The manifestations of evil visible through Haman:

a) Pride

[3.2] “They bowed down and paid homage to Haman.”

Haman was a man of pride and arrogance. He loved to have people bow to him, praise him, honor him, be in adulation of him, a demi-god.

-the pride of life!

Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

His pride led him to request the obeisance of those around him.

so, the second face of evil is

b) False worship

What is the root of this? This desire to have men bow to you, Haman, enemy of the Jews?

Do you recall this in the Bible?

Matthew 4:9 ESV

9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Satan speaking to Jesus - “Fall down, worship me.” Not God.

what about?

Dan 3.5 “that when you hear the sound of ... every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.”

Don’t you think that the same thing is happening today?

At the very crux of the Rise of Evil in society is this:

Satan demands our worship.

The church and the world around us are being asked, or forced into bowing to certain people, certain ideas, views, philosophies. And if you don’t, you face persecution, ostracism, shame, your job etc.

In China, you bow down to Communism

In North Korea, you worship the leader

In the West - evolution, atheism, political correctness, immorality

you are not allowed to bring your God, your Jesus, your Biblical views into society.

The world is intolerant to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s hate speech.

Free Speech?

c) Anger

[3.5] - Haman was filled with fury.

When he saw Mordecai refusing to bow and honor him, he was raging in anger. Who was this man that he will not bow to him?

He was raging mad, angry, full of hatred against Mordecai.

Almost 1000 years after, we see a descendant of Agag rising up.

Saints of God, do not harbor hatred, malice, bitterness, or unforgiveness in your heart.

It’s very easy for anger to creep into our lives and to remain there.

Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.

As he pondered upon Mordecai, it became an obsession.

“I will not be happy until he is out of the picture.”

But the anger towards Mordecai led him a familiar path

d) Racism

Anger leads to immense hatred but not only towards Mordecai but towards all Jews

Isn’t it strange that when you are hurt by a person of a different color, you begin to apply that feeling towards all people of that color?

That’s the beginning of racial prejudice.

Today, one of the foremost issues facing the West is racial tension, racial prejudice.

Jesus said: Nation [ethnos] will against nation.

Satan promotes racial hatred, especially antisemitism.

Racism - it’s nothing new.

Antisemitism - nothing new.

The Egyptians oppressed the Jews. Made them slaves.

Today there are many who perpetrate hatred towards Israel.

"One of our major points is that Israel must be destroyed," Ayatollah Khomeini said in the 1980s.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called Israel a "cancerous tumor that should be cut and will be cut."

Many are taught in their homes that another group of people, another race, or ethnic group is not good. They are inherently evil.

You and I have to search our hearts and ask ourselves “What racial prejudice do I have?”

We can easily identify racism in others. We are blinded to our own prejudice.

Where does anger, hatred and racism lead?

e) Murder

Haman came up with a plan to kill all the Jews. This was The Original Final Solution

In 1942, the Nazis formulated what they called The Final Solution.

It was the official code name for the murder of all Jews within reach and culminated in the Holocaust, which saw the killing of 6M, two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe.

Hitler’s Final Solution was not original!

We can trace this back to Haman.

f) Covetousness

Haman didn’t only want to kill the Jews but also plunder their goods. Esther 3.13

He wanted to take what was theirs.

Just as the Nazis did with the Jews.

Exodus 20:17 ESV

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

It does not matter what label you put on it - Do not covet

4. The plan to annihilate the Jews

They cast Pur [that is lots] to determine the day to execute the original Final Solution.

The date chosen, 13th day of the 12th month, the month of Adar.

He presents to his plan to an unsuspecting king.

Esther 3:8–11 ESV

8 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 laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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.”

Here was a political leader who lacked understanding of the spiritual implications of Haman’s plan.

This is why we need leaders with discernment.

The king was agreeing to a suggestion, recommendation made by one of his officials and he had no clue of how critical this matter was.

this is why we are told:

1 Timothy 2:1–2 ESV

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

The king signs off on this plan

Esther 3:13 ESV

13 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.

Esther 3:15 ESV

15 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.

They city of Susa is thrown into confusion.

The king and Haman sat down to eat and drink.

It’s business as usual

They are completely oblivious to the fact that they have put the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, an entire racial group, in jeopardy.

Can human beings, leaders be this insensitive? this blind? this uncaring? apparently so.

All over the world people are crying out for equality, justice, an end to oppression, for a living wage.

But how many leaders can do the right thing?

This story does not end here.

Just as God defeated Pharoah of Egypt, brought Nebuchanezzar to his knees, struck King Herod as he was gloating in his pomp and glory

Next week we will see how God intervenes and turns the tables around.

We will see who has the final say

Conclusion

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.