Esther 3:5,6 “A Man Without God”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁵And Haman saw that Mordecai not bowing and not honoring to him and Haman was filled with anger, ⁶and it was of little value in his eyes to send a hand in Mordecai, to him alone, because they had told to him the people of Mordecai and Haman sought (intently) to exterminate the all of the Jews who [were] in the all of the kingdom of Xerxes, the people of Mordecai.

So, people want to live in a world without God. Does that matter? Is faith an arbitrary decision, something you can choose for or against?  Is it really just something you decide for yourself? Haman is a living answer to that question. Haman is a man without God. The awful truth is that he illustrates for us exactly what humans become in their world without God.

We all have a problem with anger. Anyone who has lived a few years already has a “Hall of Shame” in their mind for the stupid things they’ve done and said, the damage they’ve wreaked because something made them angry and it just went downhill from there. If we’re honest, we all have that problem. Haman gets angry and the Hebrew literally says he was “filled with anger.” He was full of it. It took over his mind, his heart, his thoughts, his plans. As it says in Prov. 25:28, “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” Too bad he doesn’t know that Prov. 19:19 already warned, “A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty.”

And why is he angry? He’s angry because someone won’t fall down and worship him. To see Mordecai standing galls him. If you asked him, you can bet he’d say he’s angry because the king’s command is being disobeyed. He’d make himself sound noble. But the real truth is that Mordecai has wounded his pride, his sinful, arrogant, delusive pride. It has nothing to do with the king’s command or any other flimsy charade he might conjure up. He is angry because someone won’t worship him.

Can he see any of this? Of course not. “The pride of your heart has deceived you.” “The heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things.” His sin has already blinded him. Haman has set himself on a course of self-destruction but he doesn’t know it, he can’t see it, and even if he did, he would be powerless to stop it. There is only one hope for you and me to conquer the anger and pride in our hearts: God. We believers have the wonderful privilege to cry out, “Who shall save me from this body of death?” and hear the answer, “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” But, you see, Haman is a man without God. He has no hope.

When people think they can choose God or not and go on their merry way, like Haman, they are not realizing the enormity of their own sin natures. They are not realizing they are their own worst enemy. They are not realizing the mortal danger they are born into – that the very air they breathe is trying to kill them. Without God, they have no Rock, no Fortress, no Strong Deliverer to cry to, to deliver them from themselves and the malignancy of this fallen world.

And, not surprisingly, who is Haman like? “You are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning…”  Satan is a lion “roaming the earth, seeking those he can devour.” His demon in Revelation is named “Apollyon,” which means “destroyer.” He exists to kill people. The minute Haman’s pride is wounded and his anger provoked, he resolves to kill people. He first would kill Mordecai, but then, being of his father the devil, it seems “too light a thing” to kill only Mordecai. Why waste such a golden opportunity, when we can kill thousands, if not millions!

Herein lies the problem. Whether we see it or not, we are born into a cosmic spiritual war. In this war, there are only two sides: God’s and Satan’s. There are only two kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. To refuse to serve God is to be enslaved to Satan, to be doomed to a life of murder and lies – a life of destroying relationships and living in delusions. Only God can deliver me from living out the image of my father the devil.

Does it matter? Is it okay to live without God? Is it okay to live out our lives ignoring God, pretending He doesn’t exist? The Haman in all of us tells us the answer.  Think of how the book of Galatians describes it: To live without God is to live “the works of the flesh.” And what are they? “Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like” (5:19-21).  The book of Titus describes us as, “foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures…living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another” (2:3). Romans 1:29 says that having turned our backs on God, we “have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity…full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.”

It is only the Lord’s kindness, “causing His sun to shine on the evil and good,” His “common grace” that prevents us all from being as bad as we could have been. It’s only because of His grace that this world gets to enjoy some measures of love and kindness, to bring out the image of God, even in people who have ignored Him. No, the decision was not arbitrary whether to know Jesus or not.

We see this especially in the contrast between Mordecai & Esther and Haman. Mordecai is the man who took his little orphaned cousin “to daughter.” Mordecai is the man who “every day” walked “back and forth” to know of Esther’s “peace.” Mordecai is the man who faithfully exposed Bigthan and Teresh’s plot, in great danger to himself, and Mordecai is the man who had the courage not to bow to a man God had cursed. And then there is our precious Esther, the girl who could be uncommonly beautiful, yet still be sweet and humble, and who will, in time, risk her own life to save the lives of her people.

None of this is surprising of course. The Bible calls it “the fruit of the Spirit.” And what is that? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (5:22,23). To those who would listen, God says, “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Col. 3:12-14). Mordecai and Esther live out all of these virtues right before our eyes.

Haman may be an extreme example of the demon in all of us, but can we all be honest enough to look around and realize there’s way too much of Haman in our world? And can we also look at people who really do love Jesus and admit that they and their families look a whole lot more like Mordecai & Esther than Haman? Granted there are a LOT of “religious” people who are nothing but Hamans hiding behind a disguise of the Bible and Christianity, but we need to consider the real Christians, the people whose lives exemplify the fruit of the Spirit, not the spirit of this fallen world.

Does it matter? Does it make any difference? In God’s perfect order of this world, it is our choice. He grants us that dignity. We can choose to know Him or not. He would force no one to love Him. But does it matter? Is it okay to live in this world as if God didn’t exist? Is it okay to be “a man without God?” The book of Esther quietly answers that question. Do I want to be just another Haman? Or would I know the love and kindness, the faithfulness and courage of Esther & Mordecai?

The difference in life and death.

Esther 3:1-4 “We Can Do It”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹After the things of these, Xerxes the king promoted Haman the son of Hamedatha the Agagite and he lifted him up and he set his seat above the all of the princes who were with him, ²and the all of the servants of the king who in the gate of the king [were] ones bowing down and honoring to Haman because thus the king had commanded concerning him and Mordecai was not bowing and not honoring, ³and the servants of the king who [were] in the gate of the king said to Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the command of the king?” ⁴And it was in their speaking to him day and day and not he listened to them and they told to Haman to see [if] the matters of Mordecai would stand because he had told to them that he [was] a Jew.

My, my. How the wicked do prosper. Look who gets promoted to be the right hand man to the king! This really is the world you and I live in. How often do we see the “wrong” people make their way to positions of power? Whether it is the government or at work or school or church or even the president of the library club, we see people occupy positions of authority, often for which they are absolutely unqualified. Some are unqualified simply because they have no managerial skills or no idea even what needs to be done. Other times, like Haman, they are unqualified because they are themselves completely wicked and arrogant.

We’ve all had to live and work under the whole spectrum, have we not? I will have to say, after 63 years of existence on planet earth, I have known few people who were actually qualified for the positions of leadership they held. I can honestly say that I have had several excellent leaders in my lifetime – however, I will still maintain that on the whole, it has not been pretty. Until Jesus comes, it will sadly always be true that people gain positions of leadership not because they’re qualified but for a lot of other unfortunate reasons.

Such is the case here in Esther. Matthew Henry commented, “I wonder what the king saw in Haman that was commendable or meritorious? It is plain that he was not a man of honour or justice, of any true courage or steady conduct, but proud, and passionate, and revengeful yet was he promoted, and caressed, and there was none so great as he. Princes’ darlings are not always worthies.” Let us all observe that this was the case in Mordecai and Esther’s world and so it is in ours. Note this is why Peter, when urging people to live “good lives,” had to say, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men…submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh” (I Peter 2:11-20).

You and I must live our lives determined that we will live by Col. 3:23,24, fully realizing we will have to, from time to time, and unfortunately often, do it under extremely poor leadership – whether just incompetent or downright wicked. Mordecai and Esther had their Haman. You and I will have our own.

Next, and certainly well within that initial observation, we have to ponder on Mordecai’s behavior. The other servants asked him “day after day…Why do you disobey the king’s command?” I’ve always wondered that myself. Of course, people suggest that Mordecai just has a big ego that makes him stubborn and recalcitrant. I don’t think so. No matter how big his ego, Mordecai would know that he’s probably going to get his head cut off. He is in Persia and he is directly disobeying the command of the king. That is writing your own death sentence. No, there has to be some bigger reason driving this incidence of what we all call “civil disobedience.”

At minimum, I would suggest we must say we may not really know why Mordecai believes he must disobey. Just as Daniel and his issue with the king’s food, it may never be clear to us exactly why another believer felt they had to stand their ground. But the fact is they do. Somehow there is a matter of conscience here where Mordecai is convinced he’d be sinning against God if he bows to Haman, and so he resolves that he will not even though it likely will cost him his life. It may be we need to just leave it there and admire Mordecai for his courage.

I say this because people point out all sorts of reasons why Mordecai might object to bowing to Haman. In the phrase, “bow and pay him honor,” people point out the second word, “pay him honor” is almost literally “worship him.” People suggest, as a Jew, Mordecai would refuse to worship Haman, and that is why he will not bow. However, the same words would apply to the obeisance owed to Xerxes himself, as Joseph would have found with Pharaoh and Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar. Nehemiah will live after the events of Esther, but he will serve as the king’s cupbearer and all of these believers would have been required, in the presence of these kings to “bow and pay them honor.” It can’t be true that that, in itself, is what Mordecai could not accept.

Other than dismissing it all with a “we just really don’t know,” I think the following is the best, most likely explanation: The text informs us that Haman is an Agagite. If we let the Bible be its own best commentary, that would mean Haman was an Amalekite. The Agags were kings of the Amalekites. In Exodus 17:8-15, we read how the Amalekites attacked the Israelites as they were fleeing Egypt and God said He would “completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” It goes on to say, “The Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.” Then in Deut. 25:17-19, Moses recounted these events and admonished the people, “Remember what the Amalekites did…you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!”

To a committed Jew, the Amalekites were a cursed people. Here is Mordecai reading in Deuteronomy that they were to be wiped out and told, “Don’t forget!” then all of a sudden he’s supposed to fall on his face and almost worship the man. “Nothing doing,” says Mordecai. Mordecai would feel it was an offense to God for him to bow to Haman, an Amalekite. If that is a correct understanding of the passage, then it makes perfect sense. I fully realize that people question whether “Agagite” is a reference to him being an Amalekite or just from a village in Persia called Agag. However, once again, if we just let the Bible be its own best commentary, then the name Agag points back to that group of people and perfectly explains why Mordecai cannot in good conscience before God bow before this man.

We also need to add that, if this is true, then we don’t need to read into Mordecai’s behavior any arrogance. He could have actually been humbly aware of the enormous risk he was taking, that in all likelihood, he would die for it, but be determined nevertheless to stand his ground and be the man God called him to be. I would like to suggest what we see is not a man who is stubborn or arrogant, but rather a man who is brave – brave enough to do the right thing, even if it costs him his life. One fact that might suggest this is the case, is that the girl he “took to daughter” will later do exactly that. “If I die, I die,” she’ll say when it’s her turn to do right though she stands to lose everything in doing it.

Of course, that all leads back directly to you and me. Whatever may have been Mordecai’s reasons, if he believed that is what he must do before God, then we can all say, “Lord, help me be brave like Mordecai.” It has been very seldom in my career that I’ve had to stand my ground. Most of the time, humility and hard work and faithfulness are highly valued and appreciated, even by godless people. On the other hand, as you and I go out to live in our own godless worlds, we should fully expect it’s only a matter of time before we’ll have to decide whether to bow to Haman or not.

God give us all the grace to serve Him well even under leadership that is less than it ought to be, and God give us the grace to know when we must stand our ground and be people of integrity, regardless of what it seems it might cost us.

Mordecai and Esther could do it 2,600 years ago. You and I can do it today.

 

Esther 2:21-23 “Why Should I?”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²¹In the days the those and Mordecai one dwelling in the gate of the king. Bigtan and Teresh were angry, the two eunuchs of the king, ones watching the threshold. They were seeking to send a hand in the king Xerxes. ²²And the matter was made known to Mordecai and he told to Esther the queen and Esther said to the king in the name of Mordecai. ²³And the matter was sought and it was found. And the two of them were hanged on a tree and it was written in the book of the matters of the days to the face of the king.

There is a great deal to observe and learn from these three simple verses. First of all, observe what we have. A very wicked, selfish, godless king unknowingly has in his employment two believers. He thinks he is the master of his own destiny. He thinks he is a god himself. He is completely oblivious to the spiritual war that is raging about him and utterly does not realize that all his plans and his very life itself hang by a thread. Yet in spite of all that, here are these two people, two gifts from the Lord Himself—two people who are there to do him good, to be his faithful servants, no doubt to pray for him, and to seek God’s favor upon his kingdom.

This should always be true of us believers, wherever we may find ourselves. Jeremiah urged the people: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (29:7). Yes, you and I live in a very wicked world. Yes, the people who lead it may be cruel, selfish, godless people, yet the Lord would have us be good workers and good citizens. He would have us to pray for “kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful, quiet lives” (I Tim. 2:2).

A.B. Davidson observed: “Every follower of Christ, in whatever sphere he moves, may do incalculable good to those around him, even to those who are placed high above him. If you cannot do so much as you would, a consistent and faithful life, spent in all the unobtrusiveness of true humility, will be a lesson to some that may be productive of vast benefit.” Even in our workplaces and even under unbelieving bosses, we are to be people who sincerely try to be assets, to seek to prosper those bosses and that company. Like Xerxes, they may never appreciate the advantages and successes they enjoyed specifically because the Lord had some of His people there, but we should do it anyway.

And look what a benefit Xerxes enjoyed! We don’t know what Bigtan and Teresh were mad about and we don’t know how Mordecai learned of their plot, but such information could not have fallen on better ears. Here is case in point. Palaces (and corporate headquarters) may seem like pinnacles of success, but they invariably are inhabited by a whole variety of sycophants, flatterers, deceivers, and even traitors. They smile in each other’s faces and stab each other in the back. They’re each one “in it for themselves.” But Mordecai and Esther are different.

We need to observe too that this isn’t as simple as it might appear. When Mordecai discovers this plot, next he needs to figure out who to tell. He probably did not have direct access to Esther, so somehow had to get the information to her in some kind of message. Even Esther did not have direct access to the king (note later she cannot enter his presence without hazarding her very life!), so she too probably had to get the information to Xerxes as some kind of message. At each step, you wouldn’t know who is actually involved in this coup. If Mordecai picked the wrong messenger, they no doubt could just quietly kill him and be free to proceed with their plans. If Esther picked the wrong messenger, they could have simply not delivered her warning to the king. As soon as he was dead, she had no standing anyway.  It is a very dangerous thing to get involved in the intrigue that goes on especially in leadership circles.

As David bemoaned, “I am a man of peace, but they are for war.” The people of this world are constantly fighting. We believers don’t want anything to do with their fights but it is the world we live in and so, even in simply doing our jobs, we often end up seeming to “side” with one bunch or the other. That can then land us in trouble. Mordecai, as a believer, should do the right thing and protect the king. He is the king. He may be wicked and selfish, but he is the king. And so Mordecai does do the right thing and our Esther does the right thing, the evil plan is thwarted and the perpetrators are executed.

But then, here is another thing to ponder about it all. One could easily argue, in all this intrigue, the question of who is right and who is wrong. What I mean is, this is a selfish, wicked king. Maybe he should be deposed? On the other hand, the people who would steal his throne are just as wicked as he is. They’re all wicked. So who does a believer side with? Once again, I would suggest we are people who simply do our jobs. Whoever is in charge (today) we seek to serve and support. We have to leave it all in God’s hands who will be in charge tomorrow—and what that will mean for us.

Mordecai and Esther did their jobs. They guys who were supposed to be guarding the king did not.

Now, here’s the next thing to ponder. After doing the right (but dangerous) thing, Mordecai and Esther were both richly rewarded, right? Wrong. What did they get for the risk they took? Nothing. Mordecai just goes on “sitting in the gate,” and Esther just goes along being the queen. Us believers must accept that we may receive no recognition at all for doing our jobs or even for significant sacrifices we make or dangers we face. As Jesus instructed us, we must learn to say, when we’ve done it all, “I am an unprofitable servant, I have done only what was expected of me.” Whatever we do, we are to do it “heartily, as unto the Lord, knowing that of the Lord we will receive the reward of the inheritance.” The Lord Himself is “our Shield and our exceeding great Reward.”

Of course, we know from reading the story that it did get written down and the time will come when Mordecai’s dedication will be rewarded—but he doesn’t know that now. Like us, he has to leave it all in God’s hands and just keep doing his job. Like Mordecai, you and I really have no idea what the Lord is up to. We need to serve Him faithfully today and be willing that our work may go unnoticed and unrewarded. The fact is, our God does see and He knows and He is more than able to make whatever we do weave its way into His great eternal plans.

All of this highlights the difference we find, living in this world where God doesn’t exist. Without Him, this world is a hopelessly confusing ball of dog eat dog, of clamoring for rewards and battling for wealth and position. What else can they do? But those who see the unseen God have Someone to trust. We have the wonderful freedom to do what’s right, to be patient, to be kind to people whether it does us any good or not, to do our jobs well whether we’re ever recognized or not. Because, for us, Someone does care. And it does matter.

Mordecai and Esther live in this world where God doesn’t exist, but look what a difference it makes in their lives. See what admirable people they become. You and I can do the same if we’ll simply see Him who is unseeable. We don’t have to ask, “Why should I?” We live all day every day with that question already answered!