“All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay honor.”
~ Esther 3:2
Hi James and Ellen,
Bad. Good. Wrong. Right. Haman. Mordecai. Amalekites. Jews. Eradicating. Praying. Susa is the site location. Persia is the stage. (Persia is today Iran) The real life actors are a king, a queen, a bad dude, a good guy and a lot of displaced guys, gals and kids. The stage is set in Esther 3. March 7, 473 B.C. is the day decreed for a despicable, appalling purge to take place. The backdrop for this scene took place about 500 years earlier. An Israelite people group’s king – who was the ruler over God’s specially chosen guys and gals, had annihilated the Amalekite people group’s guys and gals who were living in Susa. Saul was the Israelite people group’s king at that time. Agag was the Amalekite people group’s king at that time. Samuel killed Agag after Saul’s army captured him. Amalekite people group’s kids grew up being conditioned by their dads and mas to harbor an embedded hatred for the Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids. The Israelite people group’s kids grew up being conditioned by their dads and mas to harbor an ingrained enmity towards the Amalekite people group’s guys, gals and kids. The blatant out-and-out loathing that the Amalekite’s people group’s guys and gals had for the Israelite people group’s guys and gals was because of what the Israelite people group’s army did when it pillaged their town and because Samuel killed their king. The blatant out-and-out abhorrence that the Israelite people group’s guys and gals had the Amalekite people group’s guys and gals was because the Amalekite people group’s guys and gals had tried to stop them from going into the land that God had told His specially chosen guys and gals that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . the Israelite people group’s guys and gals are God’s specially chosen guys and gals. Israelites are Jews. When the Jews – the Israelites, did not live out the life and worship mandates that God passed on to them through Moses, God’s bluff was called and He had to go to the ‘if’ and . . . which had God using Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army to remove His specially chosen guys and gals from the land that He had given to them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . .
The world’s stage experienced a dramatic change after God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in the land area of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem were taken away by the Babylonian army to Babylonia in August of 586 B.C. to live as exiles. The Medes and the Persians army in July of 539 B.C. captured Babylonia. Xerxes became one of the rulers as king over the Medes and the Persians guys and gals. Four years earlier – which was would be in 477 B.C., Xerxes selected Esther – a Jew/Israelite people group gal, to be queen. Mordecai – a Jew/Israelite people group guy from the Benjamin tribal clan, was both Esther’s foster dad and a cousin. Saul was also from the Benjamin tribal clan. The plot thickened when an Amalekite guy – Haman, manipulated himself into King Xerxes’ graces. Haman got himself put into a power position where he was perceived as being a leader in the Medes and the Persians nation of guys and gals. Haman thought that every guy, gal and kid should bow down to him. Because of Mordecai’s complete animosity of the Amalekite people group’s guys and gals, Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman. Because Haman knew that Mordecai was a Jew/Israelite people group guy, Haman wanted to do nothing more in his absolute loathing of the Israelite people group’s guys and gals than to kill off every one of the Jew/Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids who were living in his people group’s 127 land areas.
After Haman told King Xerxes that he would give him 10,000 talents of gold if he would give him his okay to kill all the Jew/Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids, Haman got King Xerxes’ okay to do it. 10,000 talents of gold would have weighed 750,000 pounds in Haman’s day. An ounce of gold as of last Friday was $434.30. A pound of gold today is worth almost $7,000 in today’s market. One talent of gold in today’s market would be worth about $521,160.00. Haman was giving King Xerxes five billion dollars’ worth of gold in today’s market just so that he could have all the Jew/Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids killed. March 7, 473 B.C. was the target date on the written decree that Haman had King Xerxes put his signet ring to to have all the Jew/Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids killed. Good was to be overcome by bad. Right was to be defeated by wrong. Prayer was to lose out to eradication. Have you ever pulled a Mordecai by refusing to do something that you knew was bad or wrong to do and you prayed to God for His help? Verse 2 has the good guy taking a decisive, public stand against what is bad, wrong and a really bad dude, “All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay honor.” Christ-follower guys and gals are getting beaten on today by guys and gals who do not know what it is like to have a life that is filled with peace and hope. Mordecai put the lives of his fellow countrymen everywhere on planet Earth in danger by what could be perceived as reckless behavior. God today is expecting reckless adoration from Christ-follower guys and gals – and kids, that is only for Him. Your grandpaa has had holes punched in the gas tank of vehicles that he was driving by an unseen rock in Bolivian streams. The spirits of bad and wrong are hiding where they cannot be seen in the streams of life that are wildly rushing by where they will try to punch holes in the good and right in the lives of Spirit-filled Christ-follower guys, gals and kids. To pull a Mordecai, a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid will not allow bad or wrong to punch a hole in his or her life testimony even though it may put other guys, gals and kids in danger.
Esther 3 (538)