Focal Passages: Esther 3:1-9, 6:10-14
This week’s lesson points to a secondary character in the book of Esther that serves as a cautionary tale. Haman is the great villain of the story and teaches the dangers of allowing positions of power to serve one’s hubris and pride.
Accept honors with humility. Esther is the great narrative about how a Jewish young woman becomes queen of Persia and helps save her people from destruction. Her uncle, Mordecai, helps and encourages her along the way. Haman was placed by the king of Persia above all other officials, a group that included Mordecai. Each day, as Haman was presented at court, all the officials would bow except Mordecai.
Why did Mordecai refuse to pay homage to his superior? The clue to understand this is in Haman’s name. He was the son of an Agagite. Agag was a dynastic, honorary title given to high-ranking Amalekites.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord God had identified Amalek as a perpetual enemy of Israel’s, “The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:16). Mordecai would not bow down to a sworn enemy.
Moore
When Haman learned of this lack of decorum, he took it as a personal affront. Haman used his power to terrorize Mordecai. Realize that authority given means responsibility owed. Therefore, receive honors with humility and focus on fulfilling the role with a servant’s heart.
Don’t leverage your position for personal gain. Haman sought revenge not only on Mordecai for his refusal to give him honor. When he discovered that Mordecai was a Jew, Haman sought to destroy the entire race throughout the empire. Positions of power are not meant to be utilized to settle personal scores.
We must view all responsibilities as opportunities to serve as faithful stewards of those who have entrusted those roles to us. Haman was to serve the king. Instead, he sought to influence the king into backing a genocidal scheme to eradicate all the Jews. Not only that, but he also bribed the king with a vast amount of money to make sure the plan was approved. This would lead Haman to ruin.
Beware of the destruction of pride. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us, “Pride goeth before destruction.” Haman had made detailed preparations to destroy Mordecai and his people, but he had not factored in the faith and courage of Queen Esther.
Esther displayed the humility that pleases God and preserves a people. Her modesty and tact brought the king quickly to her side and reversed all that Haman had worked tirelessly to achieve. God also intervened for His people in raising Mordecai’s esteem in the eyes of the king. During a restless night before the banquet where Haman would meet his doom, the king remembered the plot that Mordecai had uncovered against the king. Nothing had been done to honor his faithful servant.
Thus, the next day the king rectified that oversight through Haman. Haman’s wife saw this as an ill omen, but it was God who was at work through it all. As we seek to elevate ourselves through pride, we debase others on our way to power. By being humble through serving others to God’s glory, the Lord will lift us up. Haman’s pride led him to the gallows he himself had built. Esther’s humility saved her uncle and her people. B&R
