Esther 3 – Arrogance leads to intolerance

In Esther 3, we see the resurgence of an old enemy of the Jews. It came in the person of Haman, an Agagite and descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. These people had a long history of hostility toward the Jews. Here, we are given insight into Haman’s character.

Upon Haman’s appointment as chief minister of the Persian Empire, Esther had already served as queen for four years. He was an ambitious and arrogant individual, who demanded unwavering homage and respect from all. However, Mordecai, a Jewish exile, defied him and refused to bow to him because of his beliefs. This refusal annoyed and greatly enraged Haman, prompting him to devise a plan to annihilate all the Jews in the Empire.

So, he approached the king and slandered the Jews, insinuating that they were disloyal to the king and disobedient. For the king’s benefit, Haman made the case that these people should not be allowed to exist.

Sinisterly, he offered to use his funds of ten thousand talents of silver to engage people to carry out the king’s business. Haman suggested confiscating the possessions of the Jews and transferring them to the royal treasury. King Xerxes fell for it and granted Haman his ring, giving him the authority to use the royal seal on any orders he issued.

But Haman was not only immensely proud, but he was also profoundly superstitious. In his pursuit to execute his murderous plan to annihilate the Jews, he resorted to casting lots to determine the most favorable day. As divine providence would have it, the day the lots had determined for the annihilation of the Jews was eleven months away.

Being superstitious, Haman did not want to change the day. Hence, he issued a decree stating that in eleven months, all Jews would be annihilated. The decree was issued and adequately sealed and sent to all provinces that all Jews, male or female, children, and adults would be exterminated, and their possessions seized and plundered.

We need to recognize the dangers of allowing pride to overshadow our logic and reasonableness. Pride can cause us to be prejudiced and discriminative. This chapter cautions us not to allow pride to cause us to become intolerant of others.