HealingStrong's Around the Word

Episode 49 - The Esther Series: Haman's Plot - Genocide and God's Providence (Esther 3:7-15 NIV)

• HealingStrong • Episode 49

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We explore Esther 3:7-15, where Haman convinces King Xerxes to issue an edict for the destruction of all Jews in the Persian Empire, setting the stage for one of the Bible's greatest rescue stories.

• Haman's manipulation of King Xerxes through vague generalizations about "a certain people"
• The king's disturbing readiness to authorize genocide without asking questions
• Historical connections between Haman (an Agagite) and the longstanding enemies of God's people
• The enemy's repeated tactics throughout history to destroy the Jewish people and God's plan of salvation
• The origins of Purim in this story and its connection to other Jewish festivals like Passover
• Why understanding the Old Testament is essential to grasping God's complete redemptive story
• Modern parallels to ancient persecution patterns seen in events like the Holocaust

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Suggested Resources:

BIBLE PLAN - Trusting God's Plan When You Don't See Him: Lessons From the Book of Esther

PODCAST - Genesis to Revelation Bible Reading

TOOLS - Refresh Your Spirit through God's Word


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Speaker 1:

The enemy keeps on using the same tactics over and over His goal. Take out the Jews and, more importantly, take out salvation for everyone. Hey, there I'm Cheryl and you're listening to Healing Strong's Around the Word. We're a group of friends sitting around a table that love God and we love digging deep into His Word. Each day you'll hear me reading a Bible passage and then you'll hear us chatting about what we're learning from it. Today I'll be reading Esther, chapter 3, verses 7 through 15, all from the NIV version of the Bible. So join us Around the Word. Esther, chapter 3, verses 7 through 15. Esther, chapter 3, verses 7 through 15.

Speaker 1:

In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur that is, the lot was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month, and the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar. Then Haman said to King Xerxes there is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people and they do not obey the king's laws. It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them and I will give 10,000 talents of silver to the king's administrators for the royal treasury. So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman, son of Hamadathah, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. Keep the money, the king said to Haman, and do with the people as you please. Then, on the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out, in the script of each province and in the language of each people, all Haman's orders to the king's satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring.

Speaker 1:

Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, women and children, on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality, so they would be ready for that day. The couriers went out, spurred on by the king's command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered. That was our Bible passage for the day. Now let's see what Jeff, susie, angie and myself were talking about around the word. We're starting off the story here with the rolling of the dice, or what they call the purr or purim in this culture. First of all, what's going on in the first part of this story?

Speaker 2:

Well, haman wanted not only Mordecai to be killed, but he's made it clear that he thinks the whole Jewish race that lives in all those provinces be killed, genocide, destroyed. So the king says, oh okay, let's do that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I find that very interesting from a ruler perspective. You have one of your nobles men come up and say oh, by the way, we need to take out this whole group of people in your kingdom. Doesn't even give a good reason why. And Xerxes, yeah, like you said, is like okay, yeah, sure, whatever.

Speaker 3:

But he also says oh, by the way, I think so much about it, I'm going to put 10,000 talents or whatever.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm going to put my money down on it.

Speaker 3:

I'm going to put my money down. I'm going to put my money down. I really believe this needs to take place. So here's my money. Of course, the king has it.

Speaker 2:

I think he's trying to entice the king, and the king has everything. What did they have to do with it?

Speaker 1:

And I don't see where Xerxes is saying well, tell me about these people. What did they do? What's going on? How are they making it bad for my?

Speaker 4:

He said that they were following different customs, they didn't follow the laws that he would and they were not observing everything that the king wanted.

Speaker 1:

Notice. It's absolutes, it's like they. It's only one guy, Mordecai that was not bowing down to him, Nobody else. So isn't it funny how, when people are sometimes trying to make a case for themselves, they will use absolutes like you never do this for me, or you always do that, or they are all doing it when it was just one guy that didn't bow down a few times.

Speaker 2:

They knew. They knew the history of the Jewish nation All throughout the Bible. The other peoples knew that the Jewish people were set apart and they acted differently. They acted strangely. Most of the world thought.

Speaker 4:

I don't even see where he said anything about it being the Jews.

Speaker 1:

He said a certain people, yes, a certain people, so who knows what the king was thinking.

Speaker 4:

You know he may have thought it was another people group but he was giving no specifics to the king was thinking. You know he may have thought it was another people group but he was giving no specifics to the king. Just a lot of generalities of these people are no good. You need them out of the kingdom.

Speaker 1:

And what does the king do? He gives over his.

Speaker 2:

He says, okay, and I'll give you my ring, my signet ring, so that you can make an order, an edict, and put my seal on it and go ahead and have it done. And then they go okay, well, when are we going to do this thing? Well, let's get out the dice and roll it and give us a date. I mean, it's just extraordinary situation here.

Speaker 1:

So it says in verse, I think, 12,. Then, on the 13th day of the first month, the royal secretaries were summoned in and they wrote out in the script of each province because, remember, this is an enormous empire, so not everyone speaks Persian, they're all different cultures. They're writing in their own language the edict of Haman's orders, so they're getting the word out to everybody. And that here's the actual order itself. It's basically saying destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, women and little children, on a single day, the 13th day of the 12th month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. Again, I feel like that goes back in history too, where what started this whole feud with the Amalekites and stuff, and that King Saul plundered their goods. He was supposed to get rid of it and he plundered the goods. He kept it for himself. So I feel like this is almost specific payback even on that.

Speaker 2:

You know that's what the Nazis did too. You know they tried to destroy all the Jews and they stole everything the people had. Yeah, all the artwork, all the jewels, all the everything that was valuable. So that's sort of a common theme we want to wipe you out and take all your stuff.

Speaker 1:

That's what the enemy wants to do to all of us, really, yeah ultimately, this is the enemy's goal, Like we put a name on Haman, but this is the devil's doing let's be real about that To wipe out the Jews or the plan of salvation for people. Ultimately he's always wanting to take them out. Whenever Jesus was coming on the scene, you know we had Herod wanting to take out all the Jewish young boys that were two years or younger, because he had heard that there was going to be a king of the Jews that was coming. The enemy keeps on using the same tactics, over and over His goal take out the Jews and, more importantly, take out salvation for everyone.

Speaker 3:

And Cheryl, I think this is you make such a good point because I hear people say just this week I was with somebody and they're like why do we even read the Old Testament? Right, yeah this is such an amazing and important point that it is so important to understand God's plan, his people, and how salvation fits into all of it. This is part of that story and it's so important, important. It's one story, that's right.

Speaker 2:

You cannot understand the New Testament and that's man named. We named it the New Testament and made a demarcation in the book. It's really just one long story, ancient times up into more modern times, which is still 2,000 years ago.

Speaker 1:

It's one story, can't have one without the other the dates are all important the time, like the dates, the months, everything. It's important to note this because we literally have the celebration of Purim lined up with what happened then now. So I encourage you all to go back and and start researching Purim. Why do they celebrate it? Why this day? And then it also lines up later on, about a month later, with Passover. So we are not the experts on this, but definitely go and look at that too, because we're researching this on our own.

Speaker 2:

Passover was celebrating the time when the Jewish people were rescued from Egypt, and Purim is a celebration of the rescue from Haman, and they're celebrated about a month apart and they're still celebrated today. Those are huge festivals in the Jewish custom, so these are events that were a part of God's destiny from the beginning to the end.

Speaker 1:

Didn't think you'd be getting a history lesson, were you? Or one about the Jewish festivals, purim being one of them. It's so cool to learn the backstory of Purim and why they celebrate it today. So, if you have some time, do a little homework. Go read up online about the Jewish customs and how they celebrate Purim today. It's just so cool. And thank you so much for joining us for Healing Strong's Around the Word podcast. I hope you are encouraged to read and explore God's word. If you have a minute and you like our podcast, please consider giving us a five-star rating. Leave a comment like us, tell your friends about us too, and check out our website, healingstrongorg, where you can find out more about our mission and our amazing community groups. Until next time, remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.