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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangei, and today we're in Esther chapter three,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the message. Sometime later, King
Speaker 1: Xerxes promoted Haman, son of Hamatatha the Agagite, making him
Speaker 1: the highest ranking official in the government. All the king's
Speaker 1: servants at the king's gate used to honor him by
Speaker 1: bowing down and kneeling before Hayman. That's what the king
Speaker 1: had commanded, except Mordecai. Mordecai wouldn't do it, wouldn't bow
Speaker 1: down and kneel. The king's servants at the king's gate
Speaker 1: asked Mordecai about it. Why do you cross the king's command?
Speaker 1: Day after day they spoke to him about this, but
Speaker 1: he wouldn't listen. So they went to Haman to see
Speaker 1: whether something shouldn't be done about it. Mordechai had told
Speaker 1: them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw for
Speaker 1: himself that Mordechai didn't bow down and kneel before him,
Speaker 1: he was outraged. Meanwhile, having learned that Mordechai was a Jew.
Speaker 1: Haman hated to waste his fury on just one Jew.
Speaker 1: He looked for a way to eliminate not just Mordechai,
Speaker 1: but all Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. In
Speaker 1: the first month, the month of Nissan of the twelfth
Speaker 1: year of Xerxes, the purr that is the lot was
Speaker 1: cast under Hayman's charge to determine the propitious day and month.
Speaker 1: The lot turned up the thirteenth day of the twelfth month,
Speaker 1: which is the month of Adar. Haman then spoke with
Speaker 1: King Xerxes. There is an odd set of people scattered
Speaker 1: through the provinces of your kingdom who don't fit in.
Speaker 1: Their customs and ways are different from those of everybody else. Worse,
Speaker 1: they disregard the King's laws. They're in affront. The King
Speaker 1: shouldn't put up with them. If it pleases the King,
Speaker 1: let orders be given that they be destroyed. I'll pay
Speaker 1: for it myself. I'll deposit three hundred and seventy five
Speaker 1: tons of silver in the royal bank to finance the operation.
Speaker 1: The king slipped his signet ring from his hand and
Speaker 1: gave it to Haman, son of Hamatatha, the Agagite arch
Speaker 1: enemy of the Jews. Go ahead, the king said to Haman,
Speaker 1: it's your money. Do whatever you want with those people.
Speaker 1: The king's secretaries were brought in on the thirteenth day
Speaker 1: of the first month. The orders were written out word
Speaker 1: for word as Hayman had addressed them to the King, satraps,
Speaker 1: the governors of every province, and the officials of every people.
Speaker 1: They were written in the script of each province and
Speaker 1: the language of each people, in the name of King Xerxes,
Speaker 1: and sealed with the royal signet ring. Bulletins were sent
Speaker 1: out by couriers to all the King's provinces with orders
Speaker 1: to massacre, kill, and eliminate all the Jews, youngsters and
Speaker 1: old men, women and babies on a single day, the
Speaker 1: thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,
Speaker 1: and to plunder their goods. Copies of the bulletin were
Speaker 1: to be posted in each province publicly available to all
Speaker 1: peoples to get them ready for that day. At the
Speaker 1: King's command, the couriers took off. The order was also
Speaker 1: posted in the palace complex of Susa. The King and
Speaker 1: Hayman sat back and had a drink while the city
Speaker 1: of Susa reeled from the news. Let's pray, Lord, we
Speaker 1: thank you for your word, and we thank you for
Speaker 1: the privilege of being able to look at it today.
Speaker 1: And Lord, when we look at this portion of scripture,
Speaker 1: we see a pattern that's been repeated throughout the course
Speaker 1: of history. We see people that have risen up against
Speaker 1: the Jewish people for no other reason other than the
Speaker 1: fact that they have followed your laws and stood out
Speaker 1: as peculiar among the other nations. Lord, we know that
Speaker 1: Satan inspires these kinds of attacks against the Jewish people.
Speaker 1: Here in the Old Covenant we see this taking place,
Speaker 1: and we recognize that as Satan was attempting to do this,
Speaker 1: he was trying to eliminate the people through whom the
Speaker 1: Messiah was prophesied to come. So, in one respect, this
Speaker 1: was an attack on the Jewish people, but in another respect,
Speaker 1: this was an attempt to go against what you had
Speaker 1: prophesied would take place, that, namely, a son of Abraham,
Speaker 1: a son of David, would come and would offer salvation
Speaker 1: to the nations. Lord, we can see your hand at
Speaker 1: work in this passage of scripture, and throughout the course
Speaker 1: of this book, and we could see your hand at
Speaker 1: work throughout the course of human history. And Lord, it's
Speaker 1: been your desire and your effort to draw mankind unto yourself.
Speaker 1: And we thank you Lord that nothing can get in
Speaker 1: the way of your plan and succeed. That you always prevail,
Speaker 1: no matter what the obstacle or the opposition. So we're
Speaker 1: grateful that we have the privilege to see this take
Speaker 1: place in this book, and we pray Lord that we
Speaker 1: would be reminded of these things as well throughout the
Speaker 1: course of our lives. We love you, Lord, We commit
Speaker 1: this day to your care, and we thank you for
Speaker 1: all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.