Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. The writer of Esther is making it very, very clear that this man, Haman. Hates the Jew. He's an anti-Semitic. He wants to commit genocide.
He wants to wipe out the Jewish nation from the face of the earth. He's planning a Holocaust. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. The Book of Esther contains a sobering account of attempted genocide of the Jewish people. Today, as we continue our series, we'll examine the roots of anti-Semitism through the story of Haman, a man consumed with hatred towards God's people.
As we look back through Scripture, we'll better understand the spiritual battle behind Jewish persecution.
Now. Here's Pastor John Monroe. The Old Testament story of Esther is a fascinating one. It is all the ingredients of an exciting drama. It is a beautiful hero.
and an evil villain. Today we will meet the villain, Haman. and learn of his hatred of the Jewish nation. Last time we saw that rather than Mordecai being promoted by King Ahasuerus. Because he revealed a conspiracy to kill the king, the king promotes Haman.
kind of Prime Minister position. Haman is proud, evil and vicious. and he hates all of the Jews. and in particular Mordecai. What's going to happen?
What's God doing? How is the story going to unfold? What we do learn about the personification of evil in someone like Haman? And why do so many throughout the world today still hate the Jewish nation? In the Gospels, our Lord Jesus describes the devil.
as the father of lies. and a murderer from the beginning. And uh as we're studying Esther chapter three, as we're studying Esther, We have seen And we will see increasingly The devil's persecution. His hatred, indeed his murderous intent, against God's ancient people, the Jews, who are living at the time of Esther, at least some of them, in pagan Persia. In our world today, as was the case then, there is a constant battle between God and the devil, between good and evil, between right and wrong.
and wrong, between light and darkness. Between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, between heaven And hell. But I want you to grasp this. That in spite of the opposition, the conflict, the hostility, and the hatred, God always. Always takes care.
of his people. Jesus said, in the world you have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world. John 16 verse 33, Paul writes, In that great chapter, Romans chapter 8. What shall we say then to these things?
Yes, there are many things against us. What are we going to say? What is our response as the people of God? He's asking the question rhetorically. The answer: if God be for us, Is God for us?
Of course he's for us. If God is for us, who can be Against us. And in the book of Esther, the small book that we often ignore, we're learning of God taking care of the Jewish nation. The word you is used fifty times in Esther. only twenty-six other times in the Old Testament.
And behind the darkness and persecution, God is setting the stage for the deliverance of these people. Through the removal of Queen Vashtai, as we've learned. and the coronation of Esther, this Jewish queen. Also, God is at work through the positioning of Mordecai, her Jewish cousin. God watching over his people.
Do you think God's watching over you today? Think God knows you. Caring for you. You may not feel that, but we're learning that God always cares for his people.
Now, in the first five verses, we're introduced to the villain of the story. This is a drama, isn't it? Whose name is Heyman? And we see him in his promotion to power. Prestige in the first five verses of Esther chapter 3.
Let's first of all read verse 1. Esther 3, verse 1. Why are we reading from an old Scripture rather than listening to some hype and motivational. Uh Talk about how we are going to get through in a tough world. The answer: this is God's Word.
It has stood the test of time. The grass withers. And the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever. Esther 3, verse 1. Now After these things, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all of the officials who were with him.
Aster is still queen in Persia. Between the end of chapter two and chapter three, there's about four years. You may recall, as we saw last week at the end of chapter 2, Mordecai discovers a conspiracy to kill the king, King Ahasuerus. Rather than the king then honoring Mordecai, he promotes Haman. The villain.
of the story. When the book of Esther is read, In synagogues, when Haman's name is mentioned, Children boo and stamp. If you feel like doing that, Go ahead. When Mordecai's name is mentioned, they cheer. Notice what we read: that the king advanced Haman and set his throne above all of the officials who were with him.
He becomes, in a sense, Prime Minister. Throughout the immense and powerful kingdom of Persia, he is, in effect, second only to King Ahasuerus. This evil man, Haman, is going to use his power. And his position, as is the case so often for those in leadership, he's going to use that. As he tries to control and, in fact, manipulate events.
In our wicked world, people who are wicked often Prosper. We say that, don't we? Perhaps you are an authentic follower of Jesus Christ, seeking to display Christ at your work. As God opened doors to testify of the uniqueness of our Lord Jesus Christ. And while you're doing that at work, A very unscrupulous colleague is promoted over you, and he may, in fact, be placed in authority over you.
Pretty hard, isn't it? This is happening in ancient Persia. But remember God is a work. invisibly and silently behind the scenes. And in all circumstances, Dealing with what seems to us to be so unfair.
We are to continue to trust the Lord.
Now, Haman's promoted, but now he's going to be provoked. His insecurities are going to be demonstrated. Verse 2. And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman. Didn't he love it?
For the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecaia, Why do you transgress the king's command? And when they spoke to him day after day, and he would not listen to them, They told Hammond. in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand.
Notice this. For he had told them, That he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury.
So King Hajuaras commands everyone to bow down and pay homage to Haman. And this message is communicated to Mordecai day after day, and Mordecai consistently refuses to bow down. To him, and it becomes, in a sense, the talk of the town.
Now, why does Mordecai not bow down? It wasn't really wrong for a Jew to bow before someone in authority. I wasn't worshipping. Esther is going to fall at the king's feet in chapter eight. Wasn't it just a matter of court protocol to bow before the Prime Minister, even though you may not have much respect for him?
Would that have been the advice that you've given Mordecai? Is he just kind of one of these awkward individuals? Is he too proud, too stubborn? Too envious of him and his promotion, and he didn't get it, even though he exposed that conspiracy to kill the king. The clue, I think.
is given in the text of Scripture. I emphasized it at the end of verse 4, for he had told him. He was a Jew.
Now who is Haman? Did you notice as I read in verse 1 that he's called Haman the Agagite? He is a descendant of the Amalekites. Agag, after whom Haman is called, was the king of the Amalekites. And the writer is drawing attention in this context to Mordecai being a Jew.
And Haman, far from being a Jew, is a descendant of the Amalekites who were the bitter enemies of Israel. You may remember after the Exodus. From Egypt. Very early on in their wilderness journey. the Amalekites attack.
The people Of God. They are enemies of the God. You can read about it in Exodus. In Deuteronomy chapter 25, it expressly says this. And you may recall that King Saul.
Who was a Benjamite, as is Mordecai. We read that before. Mordecai is from the tribe of Benjamin, as King Saul was, and Mordecai must have heard the story of King Saul. You remember. King Saul is instructed by the prophet Samuel to kill all of the Amalekites.
They're the enemies of Israel. They're trying to kill Israel. And so Instead of obeying the command of God, which was relayed to him through God's prophet Samuel, he kept a king, King Agag. Haman is an agagite. He keeps King Agag alive.
And he keeps the best of the sheep. And the goats and the oxens and the lambs, and did not. utterly destroy them we read in 1 Samuel. Samuel learns of this. And he confronts Saul and says, Why?
Did you spare? King Agard. Why did you keep the best of the flocks? And Saul with his pseudo dripping Spirituality says to Samuel, Come on, Samuel, I kept the best.
so that we could offer them as sacrifices to God. What are you complaining about? Do you know Member Samuel's wonderful answer? that we need to hear.
So obedience. is better than sacrifice. And to hearken and to listen. That is, listen and obey the word of God, is far better than the fat of rams. And what does Samuel do?
As King Agag comes to him, and King Agag says to Samuel, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel hacks Agak to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. You say that's pretty. The rastake. What did we do with the enemy?
behind the blowing up of the Towers. Our government then Said he must be It's terminated. That those who are about to kill us, we are to go and kill them. Mordecai knows the story, from the same tribe as Saul, and he'd be very familiar with that story. And Haman's description then as a Nagagite makes it very clear that Haman.
Can I say, like Hamas today, Yeah. The enemy of the Jew. Look down at verse 10, where the writer tells us that. We're getting ahead of the story, but I want you to notice this. The king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha.
The enemy Of the Jews. Chapter 7. Verse six. Esther said, A foe, an enemy, this wicked Payment. Chapter 8, verse 1.
On that day, King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther, the house of Haman, the enemy. of the Jews. Chapter nine verse Ten. The ten sons of Himon, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of the Jews. There's 24 For Hamon, the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them.
The writer of Esther is making it very, very clear that this man Haman Hate. The Jew. He's the enemy. of the Jew. Summit.
Now his promotion. Here's his plan to deal with this, Heyman's plan. Verse six. But he disdained, that's Haman, disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone.
So as they'd made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, through the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast pure, that is, they cast lots before Haman, day after day, and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month. Which is the month of Adar. Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There's a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all of the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people.
They don't keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed. I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have the charge of the king's business that they may put it into the king's. Treasuries. His fury, this hatred of Mordecai.
Goes further, he wants, as we read in verse 6, to destroy all of the Jews who are throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. He wants to commit genocide. He wants to wipe out the Jewish nation from the face of the earth. He's planning a Holocaust. Heyman does not know, however.
that the very course on which he is embarking will result in disaster for himself. In the Abrahamic covenant, You read about it? In Genesis. 12, 15, and 17, a very, very important covenant in Scripture. In the Abrahamic covenant, God promises.
I will bless those who bless you, as Abraham and his descendants. And him who dishonors you, I will curse. This man doesn't know it. But he's under the curse. Of God because he's going to attack the people of God.
He's an evil man, he's superstitious. He seeks astrological Guidance, he casts these lot, the pure, which is the Persian word for lot. They're like dice. And he's trying to work out the best day uh to hatch this plot. Isn't it interesting when people In their sin, turn from the Word of God.
They go to the most ridiculous places for advice about the future. Horoscopes, astrology, mediums. You may have heard. On the radio, the adverse about these psychics in California. I almost feel like calling one just to see the nonsense they would say.
But people believe it, and people pay a lot of money.
Some day in California, I imagine them calling and saying, hey, I'm John Monroe. What about my future? And they're going to tell me the future. But even in the casting of lots, this wicked man Haman, we see the sovereign control of the Lord. Proverbs 16, verse 33: The lot is cast into the lap, but his every decision is from the Lord.
No luck. No chance with God. And the day selected for the genocide was almost a year away, which gave the Jewish people time to prepare for the coming Holocaust. God not only is in control of events, he's in control of the timing of events. He's always watching his people.
And so Haman goes to the king, he doesn't mention the Jews by name, he explains that there's a certain kingdom. as it certain people King throughout your kingdom, they don't respect you, they don't obey your laws, you don't get any profit for them, they're against you. Time they were wiped out. King says, Okay. And slippery, evil Haman bribes the king by giving him 10,000 talents of silver, a huge amount.
So the king makes this terrible proclamation, verse 10.
So the king took his signet ring from his hand, gave it to him and the Agagai, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of the Jews. And the king said to him, The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you. And the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all of the provinces, and to the officials of all of the peoples, to every province, in his own script, and every people in his own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction.
to destroy to kill. And to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day. The thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the people to be ready for that day. The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa, the capital.
and the king and himon sat down to drink. Totally hardened. But the city of Susa was thrown. Into confusion. You know, Persia was normally tolerant of ethnic and religious differences.
But the king is manipulated and he agrees to Haman's Hate filled. Request. And so the king gave Stehimon, the enemy of the Jews, permission. to annihilate them. To wipe them out and to take all of their possessions.
And to do it as seems good to you, Haman. And this proclamation goes out to all of the kingdom. All the people speaking different languages, different ethnicities, but the message is the same. We're going to annihilate all of the Jews, young and old. women and children in one day and we're going to plunder their goods.
And that had the force. of law. What a story, isn't it? It's a very vivid and dark illustration of Satan's attempt to exterminate the Jewish people. Haman is an agent of Satan seeking to thwart the purposes of God.
He is in fact a precursor of the Antichrist who during the tribulation period will seek to exterminate the Jewish nation and all those who don't have the mark of the beast. But scripture says Our Lord says, John 4, salvation. Where does salvation come from? Salvation is from America, salvation is from Europe. Salvation is from Russia.
Salvation is from Persia. No. Salvation is from the Jews. John 4 verse 22. And we know that our Messiah Our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, he comes from the tribe of Judah, the kingly tribe.
And this is God's plan of salvation. From the ages of eternity. that he's going to send his only son into this dark. Hateful world, and when he sends his son. Yes, salvation has come from the Jews.
He's born in Bethlehem. His ministry is in Israel. but he comes as the Saviour of all of the world. He comes to seek and to save. The last.
And Satan. Down through history, right from the garden. Remember Genesis 3:15, where the Lord says the Satan. that there's going to be this conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, and they're going to continue that fight, as it were, and we see it continuing down through redemptive history. We see Pharaoh at the time of Moses.
trying to kill all of the baby boys in ancient Egypt. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the start of a message titled Anti-Semitism. The story of Haman's hatred toward the Jews provides profound insight into a spiritual battle that continues to this day. To deepen your understanding of this pivotal biblical narrative, we've created the Esther Listening Guide. This resource helps you connect the dots between the ancient story and its relevance for today.
The account of Esther reminds us how God preserves his people even when powerful forces are aligned against them. Request your free copy of this valuable companion guide by visiting theverdict.org. The harsh reality of anti-Semitism in our world today reinforces the eternal relevance of Scripture. Through your partnership with the Verdict, you help bring biblical clarity to those who need the Word of God in their lives. Your financial support enables these messages to reach those searching for answers in a confusing world.
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Now, with his closing remarks, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? How do you treat Jewish people? Why is it that historically so many have hated, persecuted and even killed Jews? In this ancient story, we see the strength of Satan and the Satan. and his servants.
And his hatred for the people of God. and he's still active against God's people today. But we're also going to be reminded that Almighty God is in charge. and his purposes will be carried out. Don't forget to tune in next time as we continue this exciting story of Esther.
Mordecai, human. and the Jews. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
