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.
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