Tuesday Feb 04, 2025

Sermon: Haman's Lot (Esther 3:7-15)

Haman’s Lot
Sunday, February 2nd, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA

Esther 3:7-15
In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries. And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring. And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

Prayer

O Father your Word says that by mercy and truth iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. Grant us now mercy, truth, and piety, that we might be cleansed and forsake the paths which lead down to hell. We ask for Your Spirit in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

In Psalm 34:19 we read, “many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Many are the afflictions of the righteous.

  • And that means is that if you are a saint, if you are a Christian beloved of the Lord, there will come moments, times, and even long seasons of crisis. A crisis can disorient you, confuse you, and at times perplex you. And it is in these crisis times that we often ask ourselves, “What have I done to deserve this?” Or “How might I have avoided this?” Or perhaps we bring God into the equation and wonder, “What is God doing by allowing this pain, this evil, this fear to afflict me?”
  • We read the rest of Psalm 34:19 and it goes on to say, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: But the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
    • And so we might define a crisis as being that time between affliction and deliverance, a crisis is the time between suffering and relief, between anxiety and peace, between the testing of our faith and its reward.
    • And in this sense, all of life on this side of glory is crisis time, with greater and lesser crises scattered throughout.
      • As it says in Job 5:7, “Man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward.”
      • And in 1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”
    • It is in these times of trouble that God reveals to us what we actually believe. As God says to Israel in Deuteronomy 8:2, “And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”
      • Those who disobeyed died in the wilderness. While those who persevered in faith entered the promised land.
  • The nation of Israel had 40 years of crisis time in the wilderness. And in the days of Esther, they are just recovering from 70 years of crisis time living as exiles in Babylon. And it is just when things seemed to be improving that Lo, another crisis threatens to destroy them.
    • You will recall from previous sermons that by this time in history, the temple in Jerusalem has just been rebuilt (516 BC), Ezra is working to reform and rebuild the city, Esther is Queen of Persia, and Mordecai is sitting in the king’s gate. And then the action of one man, Mordecai, precipitates a decree to exterminate all the Jews in the empire. This is the greatest crisis they have ever faced as a people, and would be natural to wonder, What is God doing by letting this happen?
  • This morning, I want to consider our text, this moment of crisis, from two perspectives.
    • First, from the human perspective of our characters in the middle of the story.
    • And then from the perspective of a saint who knows how the story ends, we might call this the heavenly or divine perspective.
    • And it is this heavenly perspective that you must learn to strive for when you are experiencing a crisis of your own. We have to place our pain within a larger narrative that can explain it.
    • And that is because if you know how the story ends, and you trust the goodness of the Author writing the story, then you can become like the great saints, the cloud of witnesses, the martyrs and the apostles, and most of all like Christ, who found peace in the eye of the storm.
      • It is for that peace in the middle of crisis that God gave us these stories in His Word.
      • Paul describes his own experience in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
    • So do you have that treasure of truth that Paul had? Do you have the larger narrative of God’s good purpose which explains and gives meaning to your many afflictions? That is the perspective we are striving for, so with that as our purpose, let us walk through this text together.

Verse 7

7In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.

  • Recall the context. Mordecai has just refused to bow and give reverence to Haman, and now Haman desires vengeance. And Haman desires vengeance not only against Mordecai but against all Mordecai’s people, the Jews.
  • Recall also the timeline of this story. The book began in the third year of Ahasuerus (c. 519 BC). Esther becomes queen in the seventh year of his reign (c. 515 BC). And she has been married to Ahasuerus for four years and some months when this casting of the lots occurs in the twelfth year of his reign (c. 510 BC).
  • The date we are given for this casting of the lots is in the first month of the Hebrew calendar, which is called Nisan (or Abib), and corresponds to our March/April. So it is early spring time, the first month of the Jewish Festal Calendar, and Haman is plotting their destruction.
    • And what most likely happened is that Haman had a priest or diviner of some sort, who cast the lot before him for every day in the year. And however, they did this, whether 365 times, or some other way, we are kept in suspense until verse 13 as to exactly what day was chosen.
  • Now why did Haman cast the Pur, the lot, instead of just picking a day of his own desire to destroy the Jews?
    • Given that Haman is an Agagite, a pagan of some sort, the most likely explanation is that he is seeking the will of his god or gods.
    • And we learn from the rest of Scripture that it is not sinful to cast lots,on the contrary there are times when it is good and lawful to do so.
      • We read in Proverbs 18:18, “Casting lots causes contentions to cease, And keeps the mighty apart.”
      • And God commanded in Numbers 26:55-56, “The land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. According to the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and few.”
    • So casting lots is a permissible way to avoid partiality and human interference.And the Apostles themselves used this method to determine whether Matthias or Barsabas would replace Judas.
      • We read in Acts 1:26, “And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”
  • So note that from Haman’s perspective, in that moment, he is seeking the will and favor of his god by casting these Pur for the Jews destruction. And yet from the saints’ perspective, in that same moment, we know that it is our God who governs how the lot falls. As it says Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.”
    • So however powerful Haman’s gods or idols might seem, those demonic powers are subject and subordinate to the God of gods, to the “God of Israel who alone does wondrous things” (Ps. 72:18).
  • The lot is cast, the day is chosen, but its every decision is from the Lord.
  • We read then in verses 8-9, Haman’s accusation against the Jews.

Verse 8-9

8And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them. 9If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.

  • Notice first that Haman omits naming Mordecai or the Jews he intends to destroy. And this deception only makes sense if Haman knows that Ahasuerus is favorable to the Jews, as indeed we know from Ezra 6-7.
    • Ahasuerus (a.k.a. Darius the Great, a.k.a. Artaxerxes), had renewed Cyrus’ decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. And he had sent Ezra the scribe along with money and provisions and a decree to finish the work on the temple and offer sacrifices on his behalf. So this was a king who was publicly favorable to the Jews, and this is almost certainly why Haman never names them, and why he cast lots before going to the king.
    • Moreover, notice that he tries to sweeten the deal by offering to pay the king 10,000 talents of silver (an enormous amount), to execute this decree.
  • Now what is the charge against this unnamed people group, and is it true of the Jews?
    • We could breakdown Haman’s charge into 3 points of persuasion:
      • 1. “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people;”
        • The picture Haman is painting for Ahasuerus is that these people are everywhere, but they are different. And not different in a good way, different like a disease or cancer that is spread throughout the body. Not only are these people different with laws diverse from others, point 2 is that…
      • 2. “Neither keep they the king’s laws:”
        • Now is this second point true? Well yes and no, and that’s what makes this such a cunning accusation. It is true that Mordecai refuses to bow and that he is explicitly violating the king’s commandment. However, for the rest of the Jews in the Empire, this is such a vague accusation that it can hardly be defended or verified.
        • We learn from Ezra and Nehemiah that while the Jews had their own laws and customs, many were not actually obeying them. They were intermarrying with the cute pagan girls, they were breaking the sabbath, they were oppressing one another, they were defiling the priesthood.
        • And so in both Ezra and Nehemiah we see the Jews sinning and then repenting, sinning again and then repenting again. And so it is true that they are breaking their own laws which are different than the nations, but it is not true that they are all rebels against the king like Haman is presenting them.
        • Third and finally, Haman pretends that his motive for destroying such people is to protect the king’s interests.
      • 3. “Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.”
        • Now given the picture that Haman has presented, if it is true, then indeed such rebels and lawbreakers ought to be reprimanded and corrected. Recall that Ahasuerus had already put down a bunch of rebellions in the early years of his reign, and to have that all threatened now would indeed undermine the unity he has been striving for.
        • However, in this case, Ahasuerus fails to verify these charges and fails to inquire further as to who these people are.
      • From a human perspective the king is being manipulated by his closest advisor. An entire people group is threatened because of one man’s accusations.
      • And yet from a divine perspective what is happening here? God is letting Haman dig his own grave. God is allowing the proud to overplay their hand so that when the truth comes to light, the king’s wrath shall burn against them.
      • It is in these moments that the words of Psalm 37 are most appropriate, “Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass…For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more” (Ps. 37:7, 10).
        • By the end of the book we will see the answer to the question, Where is Haman’s place? And that answer will be: his house belongs to Esther, and his position belongs to Mordecai. So do not fret in the present, remember how the story ends.
  • Continuing in verses 10-11, we see how Ahasuerus responds to this accusation.

Verses 10-11

10And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. 11And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.

  • Notice the king does not accept Haman’s money. 10,000 talents as best we can gather was about half the total annual revenue of the whole empire. And so either Haman was an exceedingly wealthy man, or he was planning to plunder the Jews, and pay the king with the spoils.
  • In either case, the king does not accept the money (if it was a bribe he does not take it), and he simply delegates to Haman the authority to do with them according to Haman’s wisdom.
    • Now while we might look at Ahasuerus here as being irresponsible (and indeed he has greatly misjudged Haman’s character), remember that he has no idea about Haman and Mordecai’s personal feud. And from Ahasuerus perspective, he just promoted Haman because he trusts him to get the job done. And so while we know that Haman is a an enemy of the Jews, with a chip on his shoulder, Ahasuerus is still in the dark.
  • Continuing in verses 12-15, Haman’s plan goes into action.

Verses 12-15

12Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring. 13And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. 14The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day. 15The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

  • Notice first, that the day on which this decree goes out, is the “thirteenth day of the first month.” And if you were a Jew, this is a shocking day to receive this news. Because the 13th day of the 1st month is the day before Passover.
    • On the day before the celebration of Israel’s birth as a nation, the decree goes out for their destruction. On the day when Jews would be preparing the Passover lamb, and remembering God’s great deliverance from their bondage in Egypt, a new Pharaoh now intends to kill them all.
    • Imagine that on the day before Easter, a law went out that all Christians are to be destroyed. What kind of Easter Sunday would that be? This is the moment the Jews are experiencing. Crisis. Confusion. Even the city of Shushan was perplexed by this decree.
  • Now in verse 13 it is finally revealed on what day this decree of destruction is to be executed. Here is the result of Haman’s casting of the lots, and the decision we know is from the Lord.
    • The decree goes out on the day before Passover (the 13th day of the first month), but it is not to be executed until the 13th day of the twelfth month. Meaning, there is a full 11-month time period for the Jews and the whole empire to decide what that day is going to look like.
    • The Jews have 11 whole months to decide whether to leave, or fight, or gather in Jerusalem as one nation. This is a long delay that Haman almost certainly did not personally desire, but he had cast the lots, and this is where they fell.

In Conclusion

  • What is God doing in allowing this decree to go forth, in allowing Haman to have the king’s signet ring and authority, and in allowing 11 months before the decree is executed?
    • There are many good purposes that can be found for those who know the end of the story. I’ll give you just three of them.
      • 1. God is baiting the enemies of His people. By letting this decree go forth, any secret enemies of the Jews are now encouraged to show themselves. And when we get to Esther 9 we’ll see that there were 800 such enemies in Shushan alone, and 75,000 throughout the rest of the Empire.
        • So when this decree goes out, it has the effect of emboldening the wicked and flushing them out. God uses His people as bait, he puts blood in the water, and all so that the sharks will gather and be caught in his net.
        • God sometimes permits the wicked to prosper so that He can bring them to sudden end.
      • 2. God is testing the faith of His people. By letting this decree go forth, all the Jews have to decide whether remaining loyal to God and being identified as His covenant people, is worth dying for. Or for those who choose to emigrate out of Persia, is it worth leaving their homes and lands and livelihoods behind?
        • The threat of persecution is how God tests our hearts. Are we willing to suffer for His name? Do we count it an honor to be identified with Christ in his death by dying like he died, innocently, with false accusations against us, and yet entrusting our souls to God who raises the dead?
        • God sometimes permits that we experience crises, because he wants to increase our faith and add to our virtues. To give us fortitude, bravery, purity of heart, unity of desire for Him. He sometimes permits that we lose bodily health and temporal goods so that our soul will yearn for things that cannot be taken: spiritual goods which cannot be destroyed.
        • Of this second purpose we read in James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
        • It is for our perfection that the Lord tests us.
          • And then third and finally…
      • 3. God is foreshadowing through these events, the triumph of Christ and His Church over Satan, sin, and death.
        • From this perspective, Haman signifies Satan, the accuser of the brethren, and Ahasuerus signifies God who gives Satan his signet ring, but only so that Satan will in turn destroy himself.
        • For this is what took place when Jesus Christ came to earth. The Son of God hid His divine nature within human flesh. And that flesh became bait for Leviathan, for the demons, for the scribes and Pharisees, for the proud Romans. And God permitted that Satan carry out a death sentence again Christ, so that in killing a perfectly innocent man, Satan’s legal claim over sinners and the power of death might be broken.
        • Of this it says in Hebrew 2:14-15, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
        • And what is this release from bondage but the glorious decree of Romans 8:1-2, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
      • So observe and take to heart what innumerable and great evils God permitted in order to set you free. He permitted many unjust afflictions of The Righteous One Christ Jesus (afflictions even unto death on a cross),so that you might be loosed from the power of Satan, from the penalty of sin, and from the fear of punishment. That is the goodness of God in His permission of evil. That is the bigger narrative in which our present sufferings become light and momentary. And all of this treasure of truth (the love of God in the death of Christ) is the ground of our hope, which if you believe and take to heart, shall give you peace, even in crisis.
      • May God grant you such peace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.

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