“All the king’s
servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for
so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor
paid homage.” (v.2)
Up to this
point in our reading, Esther is Queen, and Mordecai has rescued the king’s
life. Now here in chapter 3 Haman appears, the Hitler of the Old Testament, a
descendent of Agag, king of the Amalekites. Haman had everything going for him;
favor with the king, power, position, reverence and homage of the people - all
but one, Mordecai, a Jew that would not bow to him. As a result, Haman became
obsessed with destroying not only Mordecai, but all of the Jews.
Through
history, there has been a concerted effort to get rid of God’s people. Pharaoh
tried to eliminate them in Egypt, Haman in Persia, Herod in the days of Christ,
and Hitler in the twentieth century. Even today, in the twenty first century,
Israel must watch her back as many would love to wipe them from the face of the
earth and destroy the place where Jesus will rule at his second coming.
However,
just as we have seen efforts to destroy God’s people throughout history, we
have also seen the preservation of them as well. Yes, there will be future
attempts to take them out, but God will continue to preserve them just as he
promised.
The Truth
“Don’t be
afraid, for I am with you. Don’t
be discouraged, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you and
help you. I will hold you up with my
victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
