The enemy of God's people

Text Ezra 3 Time 05/01/15 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We have begun to look at the Book of Esther and we have said what an unusual book it is in that it does not mention God's name. Nevertheless, it has a lot to teach us about God and about how he is at work in every situation.

So far we have looked at the first two chapters and we have considered first man's greatness and wisdom and contrasted it with his weakness and foolishness, drawing attention to the unseen one who may seem weak and foolish but who is truly great and wise. Last time we looked at Chapter 2 where our heroes, Mordecai and Esther, are introduced and at what happens to Esther who becomes queen and Mordecai who uncovers a plot against the king, bearing in mind the implications for both of these events and what happens later in the book.

This week we come to Chapter 3 where we are introduced to Haman, the villain of the whole piece. It is in this chapter that we learn of how Haman hatched his plan to have all the Jews destroyed.

 I have never gone to a creative writing class but I would imagine that one of the first things they would tell you would be that for a good story there needs to be conflict. Just as a pearl is never formed unless a piece of grit first gets into the oyster shell so a great story never gets off the ground unless there is first some sort of conflict or set back. Simply saying that there was once a beautiful princess who grew up to marry a handsome prince, who everyone loved, and they all lived happily ever after is not much of a story. There has to be some dramatic conflict. The princess is not beautiful or she doesn't want to marry or she can't find a prince or the prince is ugly or cruel or her father disapproves her choice, etc. The story then becomes a real story as we learn how the difficulty is overcome.

Now the story of Esther is not fiction. These things really happened about 500 years or so before Christ in the land of Persia. What makes it such a gripping story, however, is that there is a dramatic conflict and it is in Chapter 3 that this first comes out.

The conflict is between Haman and initially only Mordecai but it quickly broadens so that it is Haman against the Jews.

Haman is an evil man, right up there with Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin and Pol Pot. He is the arch anti-Semite and because the Jews are God's chosen people he is typical of the arch enemy of God's people the Devil himself. From this chapter I want us to learn two important things.

1. God's enemy has honour and seeks honour but we who believe must not honour him

1. Make no mistake about the honour God's enemy has

In 2:1 we read that After these events, after Esther became Queen in the seventh year and the twelfth year mentioned in verse 7 King Xerxes honoured Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honour higher than that of all the other nobles. We are not given any of the background to this just the bare statement. No doubt Haman was an able man and had found some way to distinguish himself in the eyes of the king and so he was honoured.

It reminds us of the fact that Satan seems also to have been honoured at one point. God, it appears, honoured him elevating him and giving him a seat of honour higher than that of all the other creatures. Of course, in the case of Satan we know he was proud and wanted more and so in due time he was cast down from his position as was Haman.

We would be foolish to underestimate our enemy Satan. He is gifted. He is powerful. He has influence. He is no mean foe.

2. Make no mistake about his desire for more honour

We then read (in verse 2) that All the royal officials at the king's gate knelt down and paid honour to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. This command may suggest some reluctance to bow. Again things are slightly different here anyway. At this point the king is in the dark. God knows everything but Xerxes does not realise what sort of a person he is and so he wants everyone to bow down before this man and pay him honour.

Again, it is not difficult to see him as a Satanic figure. People do not know him. They do not realise what he will shortly seek to do. And so they honour him and kneel before him. They do not speak against him.

We know from a subsequent chapter that Haman loved this sort of thing and we can easily imagine him lapping up the applause. Satan also longs for such plaudits. We know that when he tempted the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness one of the things he wanted was for Jesus to bow down before him and worship him. That is what he wants from us all. Many give it not knowing all that lies behind him and his schemes but we must not. That leads us on to Mordecai's example.

3. Be determined not to give him honour

We read in verse 2 the jarring words But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honour. Verse 3 tells us that the royal officials at the king's gate asked Mordecai, Why do you disobey the king's command? They were surprised at his attitude. They knew he was loyal to the king and not a trouble maker. So what was he playing at? Why was he unwilling to do something so simple? There must be an explanation as to why although (4) Day after day they spoke to him yet he refused to comply.

We read later that Mordecai did tell them he was a Jew. Was it simply that Jews do not bow to any human being? That does not seem to have been the explanation. They certainly bowed down to their own kings. Was it that Haman was not a Jew? That seems equally unlikely. Did he know something about Haman's character which made him unwilling to bow down. There is not a hint of that in the text. No, it is far more likely that it is all to do with the fact that this was Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which strongly suggests that this man (being descended from King Agag) was an Amalekite.

And here we need to know some history. Amalek was the grandson of Esau, the brother of Jacob or Israel, the father of the twelve tribes. In Exodus 17 we read how the Amalekites attacked Israel, when they were in the desert and at their weakest, and were only defeated by God's supernatural intervention through Moses and others. In verses 14-16 we read

Then the LORD said to Moses, Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.

In case the Israelites were tempted to forget this, it is repeated in Deuteronomy 25:17-19

emember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

Mordecai knew his Bible and so he knew that verse and he was determined to keep it in mind. He did not try to kill Haman. That would not have been right under a foreign government as he was. But he was determined not to give an inch to Haman the Amalekite, regardless of what the result might be. He was conscious too no doubt of how his own ancestor King Saul had failed to put Agag to death when he had the opportunity and was sternly rebuked for it by Samuel. There was no way he could bow down to Haman.

We also need to be determined not to give him honour either.

One of the things about the great men in the Old Testament is that they knew where to take a stand. Think of Joseph refusing to be anywhere near Potiphar's wife. Think of Daniel and his friends and the stand they took over what they would eat and who they would pray to. They knew where to draw the line and we should too.

4. Do not expect him to ignore such behaviour

We must not miss that last bit either (verse 4) Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai's behaviour would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew. Let's be in no doubt. If we set our face against Satan he will know about it. Perhaps Haman would not have noticed Mordecai but others made sure he did know what was going on. Satan is one creature and he can only be in one place at one time. There are many ready to inform him, however, if we stand against him. If you are determined not to serve him or honour him then he will know and you ought to realise that.

That is the first thing to be clear on then - God's enemy has honour and seeks honour but we who believe must not honour him no matter what trouble that may cause us.

2. Consider God's enemy and the nature of his opposition

What characteristics can we say typify the opposition of Satan and those who serve him? Five things

1. Expect hatred

We learn (5, 6) that When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honour, he was enraged. Like Herod this morning he was furious. The writer makes a little pun something like Haman got the hump. Yet having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. The noble thing would have been to ignore Mordecai's silent protest. The natural thing would have been to seek to have him punished. The evil thing would have been to have him killed. But see how the mind of this Amalekite works. He becomes a Jew hater. He is a racist of the worst sort. God's people can expect the same sort of hatred.

In this country Christians are at best tolerated. In many places they are punished if they do certain things like evangelising, teaching children the gospel or holding large meetings. In some places Christians are likely to be put in prison or killed. In a place like North Korea they are absolutely forbidden.

This is Satan's true aim – to destroy all trace of Christianity wherever he can. Beware of his inveterate hatred.

2. Expect superstition

Verse 7 may strike us a strange In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, they cast the "pur" (that is, the lot) in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar. Superstition is common among the wicked. They love it. Astrology, games of chance, talismans and taboos abound. Why is this? Basically, because they reject God they need to believe that there is some other controlling factor. They usually think it is luck or fortune, chance. Here we see it in action, Haman trying to get beyond himself to something higher. It is a waste of time, of course, because even the lot or the dice is controlled by God. He decides the outcome. That applies to loaded dice as well. The more unbelief the more superstition. That is why we see an increase in gambling (as in the middle ages) the return of things like paganism and witchcraft and so called new age and alternative beliefs.

Superstition is one of the characteristics of false religion – be it old fashioned Catholicism or so-called modern science.

3. Expect deceit

We read next of how Haman spoke to the King. 8, 9 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people that bit is true enough although slanted and he goes on and who do not obey the king's laws; and concludes it is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will put 10,000 talents of silver into the royal treasury (using a Persian word) for the men who carry out this business.

We should not be surprised that the servants of our enemy who is the father of lies are willing to use deceit. They will lie and deceive and do whatever it takes to have their own way.

4. Expect complacency

Of course, the king bears some responsibility. 10, 11 So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. Keep the money, the king said to Haman, and do with the people as you please.

You know that quote from Edmund Burke “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” The Devil does not need to have everyone actively brining about evil. He needs only a few to do evil and the rest to be complacent. This is how he can be as successful as he is.

5. Expect efficiency and organisation

Finally, in verses 12-15, we read of the issuing of the edict. Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. The date would strike a chord for a Jew. This was the day before the fourteenth when the Passover lamb was slain. The God who saved them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians would save them from Haman and his plans too.

They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman's orders to the king's satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate (a bit of legalese there) all the Jews - young and old, women and little children - on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy (Persian word again) of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day. Spurred on by the king's command, the couriers went out, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa referring to ordinary citizens was bewildered.

It conjures up for us the orderliness and the efficiency of the Persian Empire, hell bent on this occasion on promoting a great injustice. It is a reminder of the orderliness and efficiency that Satan so often employs. Like a well oiled machine.

So here is a reminder of our great enemy and his characteristics – hateful, superstitious, deceitful, ready to take advantage of complacency and most efficient and orderly. He is a formidable foe. Nevertheless we are assured (in 1 John 4:4) You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, (the world) because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.