The Book of Esther is an amazing account of the sovereignty of God preserving the line of promise in some incredible ways. A major part of what happens involves a political plot by an evil man to attempt to destroy the Jews. And, if we watch carefully, we will see some modern-day parallels.
Haman was a wicked and powerful political official. IN the opening paragraph of Esther 3, Haman is offended by Mordecai the Jew, because Mordecai would not bow to Haman in the way that Haman wanted. Haman’s selfishness, pride, and bitterness led him to find out what was Mordecai’s nationality, and then to seek the destruction of all Jews. Note, this was all about Haman’s personal offense.
Here is Haman’s plot hatched.
Esther 3:8-9 – 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.”
Haman approaches the king with two factors to attempt to sway the king against the Jews. First, Haman argues that there is a people who do not benefit the king because they are different. Haman highlights that a people group with different values, different morality, from the king are dangerous and unhelpful. Haman also falsely accuses the Jews of not keeping the law of the land. This was a lie, but it piggy-backed nicely with what he had already done to accuse the Jews. Note, Haman says these people are dangers because they are different and then he lied about them to make them look even worse.
Third, Haman then offered the king straight cash. If the king would let Haman take care of this pesky problem, Haman would see to it that a lot of gold would find its way into the treasury. Note, Haman tried to buy influence, and succeeded.
Are there modern-day parallels? IF you pay attention to politics, yes. In the U.S., Canada, and Britain, we have seen stories of people rising up against Christians in various ways. What is interesting is that the rationale and tactics are nearly identical. People are opposing the people of God because they are offended by us. We will not bow to things they want us to bow to, we will not celebrate what they demand we applaud, and they are furious—just like Haman. So they attempt to sway the governments and courts—just like Haman. Some will tell society that we are dangerous because we are different, we do not value what others value, we are on the wrong side of history—just like Haman. Some will say that we are refusing to obey the laws of the nation, an accusation that is not true but which is costly to defend against—just like Haman. And many of the most outspoken against Christians and our values are those who are dumping massive amounts of funds into political campaigns—just like Haman.
But if we see those parallels, we should also see the major parallel that goes with them: God is in control as much today as yesterday. God moved in Esther’s day to preserve his people. His moves were amazing. His moves were unexpected by many. But his moves kept his people alive, keeping his promise alive. And we have no reason to believe that God is unable to do the same today.
God does not promise us a peaceful political future. He may indeed allow us to glorify him by living in a nation where it is very hard to be a believer in society. But, and this is important, God is just as much in control of the world today as he has ever been. So we need not lose hope or lose heart. God will, in the end, show that his name is glorious and his ways are right. God will set all right, Christ will reign, and we, the people of God, will find our blessing in eternity with the Savior.
Pastor Travis Peterson 