Esther 3
There was one prince in the court of the great king of Persia to whom the king gave the best honors of all the nobles. The name of this prince was Haman; it seems he was the son of the ruler of a small country in Arabia. We do not read that Ile ever had done any great deed for the king, yet he was given a higher place than any other prince; and the king gave a command for all the servants to bow down when Haman. passed by. This was not just a bow of respect as should be given to an officer or man in rule, but, of reverence or worship, as these people did to their idols.
There was one officer at the palace gates who did not bow down when Haman passed by: that was Mordecai, the cousin of Queen Esther, who knew it was wrong to offer worship to any man.
The other servants told Haman that Mordecai, the Jew, did not obey the order to bow before him; then Haman took notice of Mordecai and saw that he did not bow down to him. This made the proud prince very, very angry. He could easily have had Mordecai punished or killed for disobeying the king’s order, but he was so offended and angry he wanted to kill, not only Mordecai, but all Jewish people. Mordecai knew of Haman’s anger, yet he obeyed God’s Words.
So Haman went to the king and told him that the Jewish people who lived in different parts of his empire were not a race who were of profit for the king, because their ways and laws were opposite to the laws of the great heathen ruler. He asked the king to make a command for all the Jews in the empire to be destroyed, and said he would pay the king a large amount of silver money if he would do so.
The plan of Haman was a most awful and wicked one, for the Jewish people had done no wrong against the king, yet he was willing to make the command, and called for the scribes to write the orders in all languages, and gave Haman his ring to mark the seal on each order, which would show that the command was from the king and must be obeyed.
Haman had cast lots to decide what day the dreadful killing of the Jewish people should happen, and the lot fell for the 13th day of the last month of the year, and the orders were written on the 13th day of the first month and sent to every part of the king’s empire, so the men carrying the orders would have time to reach the farthest countries in those eleven months.
After the cruel orders were sent, the king and Haman sat down to feast, but others who knew of the matter were very troubled.
Did the king order that the Jewish children should be saved? (Esther 3:1313And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. (Esther 3:13)).
ML 02/25/1940