Introduction:
A. When I was growing up, my favorite cartoons were the Warner Bros “Looney Tunes.”
1. There was Bugs Bunny “What’s Up Doc?”, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fud.
2. There was Tweety Bird “I taught I saw a Puty Tat”, Sylvester the Cat, and Granny.
3. There was Pepe Le Pew, Marty Martian, and the Tasmanian Devil.
4. There was Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales, and Porky Pig “That’s All Folks.”
B. But as I got to thinking about our topic for today, I immediately thought of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.
1. As one person described it, “It’s an eternal battle of need verses speed, aggravation verses acceleration.
2. The luckless Wile E. comes up with increasingly elaborate and seemingly foolproof schemes to snag Road Runner who, oblivious to the danger, always eludes the pathetic coyote’s plans.
3. Do you remember how Wile E. always ordered the things he needed for his schemes from the Acme Company? Here are some of the products he used:
a. Anvils, Axle Grease, Bed springs, Bird seed, Bombs, Female Road Runner costume, Giant mouse trap, Glue, Invisible Paint, Iron pellets, Jet propelled pogo sticks, Nitroglycerin, Roller skates, Roller skis, and TNT.
4. And so, everything Wile E. Coyote tried to do to get Road Runner, ended up backfiring and harming himself.
5. Bombs set for Road Runner didn’t go off, until Wile E got there. Anvils that were supposed to fall on Road Runner always fell on him. So many times he learned about gravity the hard way.
6. That’s how it is with trying to bring about the demise of someone else.
7. Trying to get revenge usually ends up hurting you more than the person you are trying to hurt.
C. All this reminds me of one of my favorite Proverbs.
1. Proverbs 26:27, “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.”
2. The Message has a simple rendering of that verse: “Malice backfires, spite boomerangs.”
D. As we continue our series – Avoiding Life’s Biggest Mistakes, today we are going to talk about avoiding the mistake of REVENGE.
1. Our good/bad example comes out of the Old Testament book of Esther.
2. It is the story of a man called Haman.
3. It is a powerful story about the danger of seeking revenge.
I. The Story
A. The story begins with King Xerxes needing to find a new Queen.
1. And so they searched the kingdom for the most beautiful virgins and invited them to come for a beauty pageant.
2. You talk about a reality program with a big prize. This one out does the Bachelor, the Apprentice and American Idol.
3. The winner of this pageant would be the Queen!
B. One girl, known as Esther was “lovely in form and feature.” (2:7)
1. She was Jewish, and her parents had died, so she was being raised by her cousin, Mordecai, who was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin.
2. Mordecai had counseled Esther not to reveal her nationality and family background.
3. All of the girls chosen for the competition received 12 months of beauty treatments.
4. When the competition took place, Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.
5. The king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any other, and so he set a royal crown on her head. She became Queen!
C. Not long after that, Mordecai, Queen Esther’s cousin, discovered a plot that two of the king’s officers had concocted to assassinate King Xerxes.
1. Mordecai immediately told Esther about it, and Esther immediately told her husband, the King about it, being sure to give credit to Mordecai for uncovering the plot the King’s life.
2. An investigation took place, Mordecai’s report was found to be true, and the two officials were hanged on the gallows.
3. All of this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
D. After these events, King Xerxes honored a man named Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite.
1. The King elevated him giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles.
2. All the royal officials at the king’s gate bowed down and paid honor to Haman, but Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
3. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down, he was enraged.
4. Having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai.
5. Instead, he looked for a way to kill all the Jews.
E. There is some debate about the ancestry of Haman.
1. The title “Agagite” could refer to some relative, or more likely, it refers to Agag, king of Amalek (1 Sa. 15:20)/
2. The Amalekites had attacked Israel after she fled from Egypt (Ex. 17), and for this reason the Lord would “be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation” (Ex. 17:16).
3. Israel was not to forget, but must “blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Dt. 25:17-19).
4. King Saul’s attack on Amalek (1 Sa. 15) resulted in the death of King Agag and most, but not all of the city’s population.
5. Here in this story, some 500 years later, the Benjamite Mordecai continues the war with the Amalekites by refusing to bow down to Haman.
6. Only the long-standing enmity between the Jews and the Amalekites accounts both for Mordecai’s refusal and for Haman’s intent to destroy all the Jews.
F. Haman came up with a plan, and told it to King Xerxes.
1. He said that there is a certain group of people dispersed and scattered among the people of his kingdom.
2. Haman said that they have customs different from those of the rest of the people, and that they do not obey the king’s laws.
3. He suggested that it is not in the King’s best interest to tolerate these people. He suggested that the King issue a decree to destroy this group of people.
4. Haman said that he would put 10,000 talents of silver into the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business. He said, “I’ll pick up the tab.”
5. This was a lot of money. Records show that the annual income of the whole Persian empire was 15,000 talents of silver.
6. Perhaps the money was going to come from the plunder of the Jews who would be killed.
G. The King agreed with Haman, saying, “Do with the people what you please, and keep the money.”(3:11)
1. So, the royal secretaries were summoned and they wrote out Haman’s orders that would be delivered to all parts of the kingdom.
2. The orders were issued on the 13th day of the first month, and were to be carried out on the 13th day of the 12th month.
3. The order was to kill and annihilate all the Jews – young and old, women and little children – on a single day, and to plunder their goods.
H. When Mordecai learned of the decree, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out
into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
1. There was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many laid in the streets in sackcloth and ashes.
2. Mordecai sent word to Esther about the decree, and urged her to go to the King on their behalf.
3. But Esther reminded him of the danger of approaching the king uninvited.
4. Any man or woman who approached the king in the inner court without being summoned, the king had only one law; that he or she be put to death.
5. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life.
6. Esther said that it had been 30 days since she was last called to go to the king.
7. Mordecai’s response to Esther was, “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (4:13-14)
8. Esther requested that Mordecai have all the Jews fast and pray for three days and nights. After that, she would go to the king even though it was against the law.
9. She said, “If I perish, I perish.”
I. After the time of fasting and praying, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall.
1. The king was sitting on his throne.
2. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand.
3. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
4. The king asked her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” (5:3)
5. “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.” (5:4)
6. The king said, “Bring Haman at once, so we may do what Esther asks.”
7. So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.
8. As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” (5:6)
9. Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.” (5:7-8)
10. We can only guess why Esther delayed her answer until the king asked her a third time.
11. Certainly, the author of Esther uses these delays as a plot device to sustain the tension, and permit the introduction of new material about Haman’s boasting and Mordecai’s reward.
J. Haman left the presence of the king and queen very happy and in high spirits.
1. But immediately, he met Mordecai and was filled with rage when Mordecai neither rose nor showed fear in Haman’s presence.
2. Haman restrained himself and went home.
3. Calling together his friends and family, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had elevated him above the other nobles and officials.
4. “And that’s not all,” Haman added, “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.” (5:12-13)
5. Haman’s wife and friends encouraged him to have a gallows built, seventy-five feet high, and then ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it.
6. The suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the gallows built.
K. That night the king could not sleep.
1. So he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign to be brought in and read to him.
2. You talk about a cure for insomnia! That’s worse than Larry King Live.
3. As the record was being read to him, the reader read about the assassination plot that Mordecai had exposed.
4. The king stopped the reader and asked if any honor or recognition had been given to Mordecai for such a service.
5. The attendant replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”
6. Now this is where the story gets very interesting.
L. The king asked, “Who is in the court?” (You know, are there any officials hanging around in the middle of the night?)
1. Guess who had just arrived? Haman. He had come early to talk with the king about having Mordecai hung on his newly constructed gallows.
2. So they brought Haman in to the king.
3. The king asked Haman, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
4. Haman, thinking that he was the one the king wanted to honor said, “For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’ ” (6:7-9)
5. The king liked Haman’s idea. Can you imagine the shock that must have come over Haman when the king commanded, “Go at once. Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” (6:10) Ouch!
M. Haman did just as he was commanded.
1. It must have been excruciating, every step of the way.
2. Afterward, Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, and told his wife and friends everything that had happened.
3. They replied, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him – you will surely come to ruin!” (6:13b)
4. This wasn’t the song they sang to him the day before!
5. Before Haman could adjust to what had just taken place, the limo arrived to take him to Esther’s banquet.
N. As the king and Haman were dining with the Queen Esther, the king asked again about Esther’s petition.
1. Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.” (7:3-4)
2. The king was furious and demanded to know who would dare to do such a thing.
3. Can you picture Haman trying to slide under the table and look invisible.
4. Esther pointed at Haman and said, “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman.”
5. The king got up in a rage and went out to the garden to cool off.
6. Haman, meanwhile, realizing his desperate situation, stayed behind to beg the queen for his life.
7. As Haman tried to throw himself down before the queen in humility, the king returned to the room, and it appeared to him that Haman was assaulting his wife.
8. The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?” (7:8)
9. While the king paused to decide what to do with Haman, one of his attendants said, “A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” (7:9)
10. The king said, “Hang him on it!” So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
11. Proverbs 26:27, “If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it; if a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.”
II. The Application
A. Wow! What an incredible story. Let’s talk about the application.
1. Obviously, it is a powerful story of the faith of Esther and Mordecai.
2. Certainly, the most powerful truth of all is the sovereignty of God.
a. God was watching over his people.
b. It is no coincidence that the king could not sleep and happened to stumble over Mordecai’s good deed that had never been rewarded.
c. It was no coincidence that Haman entered early to see the king and that he assumed that he was the one the king wanted to honor.
d. How ironic that he was hung on the very gallows he built for his enemy!
B. The personal application that I want us to benefit from today is this: We must avoid the mistake of seeking revenge.
1. All of us have been wronged by others, and if we haven’t yet it will come.
2. What are we supposed to do when someone wrongs us and brings all sorts of misery to us and those we love?
a. What do we do if our spouse leaves us for someone else?
b. What do we do if we have discovered that a relative has molested one of our children?
c. What do we do if someone has stolen our identity and ruined us financially?
d. What do we do if our loved one dies because of a drunk driver?
e. What do we do if we get let go because our boss lies about our work production?
3. If any of these things, or things like them happen to any of us, then our typical reaction will be to want to get even; to get revenge.
4. That may be the typical or natural response, but it is not the spiritual nor helpful response.
5. Philip Yancy writes, “Vengeance is a passion to get even. It is a hot desire to give back as much pain as someone gives you. The problem with revenge is that it never gets what it wants; it never evens the score. Fairness never comes. The chain reaction set off by every act of vengeance always takes its unhindered course. It ties both the injured and the injurer to an escalator of pain. Both are stuck on the escalator as long as parity is demanded, and the escalator never stops, never lets anyone off.”
C. Now please don’t misunderstand me.
1. I’m not trying to say that people who harm us should be allowed to just walk away without addressing the injury.
2. Forgiveness does not mean that there will be no consequences.
3. God forgives us of our sins, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have to go to jail, or pay a fine, or face some other kind of consequence.
D. Our Scripture reading from Romans 12:17-21 gives us the instructions we need about these matters.
1. Read the passage with me again, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
2. What do we learn from that passage?
a. First, We learn that paying back evil for evil does not further God’s kingdom.
b. Second, We learn that we should make a serious effort to be at peace with others.
c. Third, We learn that the desire for revenge is not wrong, but taking our own revenge is.
d. Fourth, We learn that God’s way to overcome evil is not with evil, but with good.
E. Please understand me, I’m not trying to say that any of this is easy.
1. Trying to do what’s right, even when others have done us wrong is hard.
2. Trying to live at peace with others who want to live at war is hard.
3. Trusting in God to avenge and repay and bring justice is hard.
4. Overcoming our enemies with good is hard.
5. All of this is beyond our human abilities, and can only come through the power of the Spirit, as we submit ourselves to God.
F. How wonderful to know that we have put our trust in God, and He will take up our cause.
1. How wonderful to know that we have acted in accordance with His will!
2. This leads to true peace and ultimate satisfaction.
G. So, the next time we are wronged, and that strong desire to take vengeance into our own hands hits us, just remember Wile E. Coyote and Haman the Agagite.
1. We don’t want to make the mistakes that they made. Amen!
