Building For Your Own Demise -- A Look At Hamam

Building for Your Own Demise

A Look At Haman

The book of Esther is a strange book to be included in the Scriptures. Most visible when one reads this book is the absence of the name of God from the entire writing. With this in mind , a few things come to mind:

1. At the time of the writing there must have been an intense spiritual carnality with the people of Israel.

2. God’s inspiration does not need man.

3. Regardless of the lack of acknowledgment concerning God, Esther reveals some wonderful truths regarding God’s faithfulness.

When we thing about Haman, we need to consider how he got to be where he was ………….

Esther 3:1-6

1. Haman was given a promotion by the king

a. We do not know why he was promoted

b. We do know that his promotion was significant

i. Advanced to a “vizier”

ii. All were to bow to him

2. Haman was promoted because of disobedience

a. 1 Samuel 15:1-3 Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. 2This is what the LORD Almighty says: ’I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ "

b. 1 Samuel 15:7-9 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs--everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

i. God had declared that ALL of the Amalakites were to be destroyed

ii. Saul chose to spare Agag – probably his family also

iii. Now the heir to the Amalakites – the focus of God’s wrath is in a position to wipe out the people of Israel

Haman had a particular hatred for the Jews

3. Mordecai would not bow down

a. Haman was from an accursed race

Deut. 25:17-19 Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 18When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. 19When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

b. This kind of worship is only due God, not men

4. Haman’s rage is national

a. Mordecai is the catalyst

b. Moves Haman’s thinking to destroy the whole nation of Israel

i. He “rolls the dice” seeking the right day

ii. Common practice was to cast lots for discerning favorable conditions

Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

iii. He approaches the king to get his wish

5. Hamans plan before the King – 3:7-11

a. Haman appeals to the safety of the nation

i. Certain people are scattered throughout the kingdom – (breed rebellion)

ii. Have different customs

iii. Do not obey the king

b. Haman appeals to the King’s mercenary nature

i. Offers ten thousand talents -- 164383.56164383561643835616438356 years of work!

ii. Haman REALLY hates the Jews!

God’s Provision

6. We have skipped the earlier chapters of Esther, but now return to them

Esther 2:7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

Esther 2:17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

a. God has positioned Mordecai’s orphan cousin as Queen

7. Mordecai is grieving over the ruling of the king

Esther 4:1-16 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. 2But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 3In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.