In chapter 2 it is plain that God was acting behind the scenes, when the Israelitish maiden, Esther, was chosen to be the queen of Persia, but chapter 3 shows an enemy of God's people at the head of the princes of the kingdom, and the signing of a decree by the king for tile killing of every Jew in Persia.
Where God is at work, it seems to generally follow that Satan will try to spoil and to destroy.
So it was in the garden of Eden, and so in every stage of the world's history until now. But the Serpent's (Satan's) head has been bruised through the dying of Jesus on the cross, and he will shortly be shut up where he can do no harm (Rev. 20).
The Word of God, too, shows that though Satan's power is great (2 Cor. 4:44In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:4); Eph. 2:22Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2)), God is infinitely greater (Eph. 2; Col. 1:13, 1413Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1:13‑14); 2 Kings 6:8-23,8Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 9And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. 10And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. 11Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. 13And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. 14Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. 20And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? 22And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. 23And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. (2 Kings 6:8‑23) and other passages).
After Esther had been made queen, and her uncle had exposed the plot of the chamberlains to lay hands on tile king, Haman the Agagite, and not Mordecai, was promoted to a high place in the kingdom.
Haman appears to have been, not only an Amalekite, but of the royal family of that nation of which God had said (Exo. 17:8-148Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. 10So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 14And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (Exodus 17:8‑14); Dent, 25:17-19; 1 Sam. 15) that it should be utterly blotted out of memory, because of their hatred of His people.
To Haman, all the king's servants that were in the king's gate bowed and did reverence, according to the command of the king, but Mordecai, Esther's uncle, did neither, though he also set in the king's gate,
To the questioning servants who did not understand why he would not bow to Haman, Mordecai made no answer, but lie had told them that he was a Jew.
How could he reverence an enemy so bitter as Amalek, whom God had judged? This must explain Mordecai's unwillingness to bow to Haman, the reason not being given, because the name of God is not mentioned in this book, nor any reference to Him.
When Haman learned about Mordecai, he was full of wrath, as might well be expected, but his wicked heart stopped not at the thought of killing him, but planned to destroy all the people of Mordecai, all the Jews, in the entire kingdom of Persia. Ile decided by "casting lots" when the attack on the Jews should be made; it was to be in the twelfth month, eleven months away,—time for much to happen, as Haman found out.
To decide a matter by casting lots, it was common to mark on pieces of wood, baked clay tablets or something similar, the various names or dates from which a selection was to be made, and these things were then shaken together in a fold of a garment, or in a vessel, until one came out.
We can guess what sort of a man the king was, from what we read of him in chapters 1 and 2, and his readiness to agree to Haman's wishes (verses 8-11), he seems to have been at once, and without any conscience, quite willing to have all the Jews in the country killed, and letters so ordering Were sent to all the officers in charge of the provinces. The day for his wholesale slaughter was fixed at the thirteenth of the twelfth month.
No wonder that the city of Shushan was perplexed ! Would God all Haman's plans to succeed?