Redemption of a Family Name: The Next Generation

Esther 3:1-6

We are going to jump forward in history about 500 years. Israel is in captivity. Because of the rebellion against God, He allowed the Babylonians to conquer Jerusalem and many of the people were taken to Babylon. Then, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians. It is during this part of the captivity that we will meet the next members of Saul and Agag's family. Things are very different in Persia, but a couple of things remain the same. Saul's family is still among the nobility, though in a much lesser role. Also, King Agag's family is still nobility. We will meet one of them in our text today.

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After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him.  And all the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage.  Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?”  Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.  When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.

Esther 3:1-6

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If you are already familiar with the story in Esther, then you know that Haman is not a good guy. If you are not familiar with the story then you can get that picture from this passage (but let's not get ahead of ourselves). Haman, as verse one tells us, was an "Agag"ite. He was a descendant of King Agag. Apparently, Saul didn't just leave Agag alive back in I Samuel. This family had been taken into captivity as well, and there in Persia, Haman became a prince. This gave him tremendous prestige in the kingdom and influence on Ahasuerus.

Haman was a proud and petty man. He was extremely insecure and used the people's "worship" to find his self-worth. So, when Mordecai refused to bow to him, it challenged his pride. This one man hurt his pride so bad that the very thought consumed him. He wanted Mordecai dead...no, he wanted his entire race dead. So, he plots and plans a way to exterminate the Jews. Whether he was aware of the Jews and the Amalekites history is not told to us. However, the same spirit that caused his ancestors to try and destroy the Jews centuries before, was present in him. It did not take much at all to stir it up either. He would finish what his forefathers had failed to do. He would kill all the Jews.

There is nothing redemptive in Haman's story. He allowed pride to blind him and hate to consume him. It was not until it was too late that we see any remorse from him at all. I do not want to get into the details yet, but feel free to read the book of Esther on your own. Haman learned the hard way what another king wrote, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). If he had humbled himself, this just might be a story of redemption for his family as well. Consider what James and Peter wrote:

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

James 4:10

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

I Peter 5:6

Father, there is no limit to what we are capable of when we let pride and hate consume us. We pray that we would learn humility and not be consumed by our sinful pride. Help us to find our identity in You and not in the praise and adoration of people.