[Esther 3] Act 1 Scene 3: The Villain Is Introduced, and He Begins His Evil Plan

In Esther 1, God’s providence is shown through God setting the stage for Esther to be queen. In Esther 2, God’s providence is demonstrated through God strategically placing Esther and Mordecai. Up to this point, the heroes have been introduced. In Esther 3, we, the readers, will meet the villain. We’ll watch him introduce conflict into our story. Then we’ll ask ourselves, “How does God’s providence work when evil is afoot?”

So let’s meet our villain. Start reading Esther 3, and you’ll bump into him right away. First, we learn that his name is Haman. Second, we learn Haman is the son of Hammedatha. Third, we learn that Haman made his way through the ranks to second-in-command. Haman, in our terms, was a prime minister. We don’t know why he was elevated; the Bible simply tells us he was. Fourth, we learn Haman was an Agagite. The term “Agagite” could mean a couple of things. The complicated answer is that it means he’s a descendant of Agag, the last king of the Amalekites. To give you a brief history reminder, the Amalekites were Israel’s greatest rival. Because of their sin and great hatred towards God’s people, God planned to blot them out. So in the last war between the Israelites and Amalekites, God, through Samuel, told King Saul to totally wipe out the Amalekites. That includes every man, every woman and every child. But King Saul did not listen. Instead, he let King Agag and his family live. It wasn’t until Samuel appeared that the king was killed. Haman might be a descendant of Agag, but it’s dependant on the fact the King Agag’s wife or child escaped the Israelite army somehow. A more simple answer would be Agagite means “from the town/region of Agag” and Agag is either a town or providence of Persia. Unfortunately, the uncertainty of the location also brings this theory into question. Also, may I add, to further the frustration, that Haman’s name has not been found in any archaeological records. But to anyone who says that, I add “yet” to the end. It could still be out there, and it’s just that no one has found it. And even if they can’t find anything, that does not mean Haman didn’t exist.

Continue onto Esther 3:1-5. From the first 5 verses of Esther 3, the conflict is clear. Mordecai won’t bow down or pay honor to Haman. Haman here connects the fact that Mordecai won’t bow down because he is a Jew, and that’s the best reason I can give you, too. Mordecai won’t bow down or pay honor to Haman because Mordecai is a Jew. If I tried to explain it more specifically, I couldn’t because there is no clear, specific answer. Perhaps Mordecai is simply following the 2^nd commandment, which commands the Jews to bow down to no one or nothing but God Himself. So perhaps Mordecai considers bowing down to Haman as idolatry. Maybe it goes back to a historic battle, the battle between King Saul and King Agag. Now it’s the descendant of King Saul who refuses to pay homage to the descendent of King Agag, just King Saul refused to surrender to King Agag. But that would require for both of them to know each other’s ancestry. Or maybe it’s as simple as Mordecai not recognizing Haman as a legitimate authority or power. Remember Mordecai sides with Xerxes, the king, but he doesn’t side with Haman, the second-in-command. Since we don’t know how Haman got into power, it’s possible he got into power in a dishonest way. So maybe Mordecai doesn’t recognize Haman as a legitimate leader and ruler. The specific reasons could be any and every reason given, so it’s hard to say officially. But broadly speaking, we can make the same connection as Haman. It has something to do with Mordecai being a Jew.

So now Haman doesn’t want to kill just Mordecai, but he wants to kill all the Jews, as seen in Esther 3:6. This might seem a little excessive. Wouldn’t killing Mordecai be alone enough to communicate the message to not disrespect the king’s second-in-command? Not in the eyes of prideful Haman! To kill Mordecai alone might make the matter seem insignicant, but to kill Mordecai, his family and his race would send a clear message that this was a significant issue. Once again, I will raise the question, “Does this go back to a historical battle?” Haman might be trying to win the war against King Saul’s descendants that his ancestor King Agag could not finish in victory. I also want to remind you that “every Jew” means every Jew in the Persian Empire. That includes the Jewish refugees trying to rebuild Jerusalem! They already have enough trouble from adversaries, they don’t need more problems.

Haman begins his evil plan in Esther 3:7. The word “pur” comes from the Babylonian word “the lot.” This would the same as flipping a coil, rolling a dice, or even using a roulette wheel. It has been used many times in the Bible, in both the godly and ungodly circumstances. Examples would include, but not be limited to: Lots were cast to choose Mathias as the new disciple, lots were cast to divide Christ’s clothes, lots were cast to figure out whose fault the storm was in Jonah, etc. Now whether the pur is a godly pursuit or not is up for debate. Those for it will quote Proverbs 16:33; those against it will demonstrate that casting the lot came from pagan roots. Let me add one more piece to that equation: the results. The pur is cast on Nisan, which is during our April-May, but for them, it’s the first month of the year. The lot falls on Adar, which for us is February-March, but for them, it’s the last month of the year. Is this a coincidence that it’s going to take a whole year to execute or not? Let that resonate with you for the rest of this chapter. I’ll come back to that, so make sure you have an answer, or at least a thought by the end of this devotional commentary on Esther 3.

Haman presents his plans to Xerxes in Esther 3:8,9. Haman convinces Xerxes that Jews’ customs will not allow them to follow the laws of the land, which will lead to anarchy. Haman suggests the only way to solve this problem is to completely annihilate all the Jews. Haman even offers to donate 10,000 talents of silver to the nation’s treasury, just in case Xerxes feared this would put a hole in the national budget. With the wealth the reader sees Xerxes pour in the first 2 chapters of Esther, it would not have caused a financial, and thus Haman’s payment can be more understood as a bribe. In today’s weight, that would be 666,000 pounds of silver. In today’s currency, that would be worth around $135 million. $135 million is a lot, back then and today, to commit genocide. But Haman sees it necessary and worth it.

Let’s finish up the chapter with verses 10 to 15. King Xerxes does what he does best. He does not consider the consequence of his decision; he just acts. The deal Haman presented sounds pretty good. What’s to disagree with? King Xerxes foolishly gives his signet ring to Haman. The signet ring was what was used to make a seal. The seal of the king was the king’s official word. It gave laws power. What this means is Haman’s words and King Xerxes’s words are now one and the same. Haman’s law declares that every Jew be destroyed, killed and annihiliated, including women and children. Once again, I draw you back to the historic battle between King Saul and King Agag. God, through Samuel, commanded Saul to kill women and children Amalekites, but Saul did not. Because Saul did not, now the descendant of the Amalekites, Haman, sought to kill the Jewish women and children. Haman issues the law to be written in every language and sent off to every province. It was to be proclaimed, or read aloud, for the illiterate. Everyone in the empire is going to know about the law because everyone in the empire is going to be effected. And at the end of this chapter, the only two people who are at peace are Haman and Xerxes. The whole empire is confused, bewildered and scared. This is out of character for King Xerxes. And as we know, the whole reason is because Xerxes is just a puppet for Haman.

Time is up. Do you think the pur is a good method or a bad method? Do you think the timing worked out well, perhaps too well? I’m not sure the method is exactly the mostly godly, but I do believe that the results are godly. Is it just a coincidence that of all the months it could have fallen on it has to fall on the last month, especially when the lot is thrown in the first month. I truly believe this is the providence of God. We’re going to call it “perfect timing.” God providence is perfect timing. For a picture to help you remember, I’m going to put on a calendar. If yesterday’s, which we called “strategically placed” is could be summarized as “in the right place” then “perfect timing” could be summarized as “at the right time.” Ever have one of those moments were things happened at the right time? Maybe you finished a test just before the bell rang. Maybe all your homework end up being due on the Thursday before the big Friday night big game, so you could watch the game without worrying about homework. Maybe the concert just so happens to fall on the weekend you have off of school or work. If I were to think of one, I remember a time where it was down pouring rain on and off. I had forgot my raincoat and I was carrying important papers with me. I was afraid they were going to get wet. Well, just I was about the building, the rain stopped. I walked across the parking lot dry. And just as I starting pulling out of my parking space, it began to downpour again. It stormed the whole time, until I got back to my place. As I parked, the rain stopped again so I could get inside dry. Once I was inside, the rain continued. Of course I praised God. I cannot say that was pure coincidence. It had to be God. I gave you my testimony about how God used perfect timing in my life, and I gave some possible scenarios. I hope you can find some scenarios in your life. And I hope once you realize those moments, you will respond in the same way I did: by praising God.

And with the end of chapter 3 comes the end of Act 1 of the Esther epic. All the characters have been introduced, from the heroes, to the villains, and everyone in between. The villain has brought in the conflict, which will lead us into Act 2 and the rising action. How will the heroes react to the conflict? Will they think up a plan to save themselves and their people? We’ll find out as we continue through Esther!