Introduction
• One man put in motion a plan to wipe out every man, woman, and child who worshipped the one true God. Government officials had their orders to carry out this plan. The date was set. Not even the King of the kingdom could stop the slaughter.
• One woman who worshipped God intervened and saved her people. Her victory was so astounding that the anniversary of this event is still celebrated to this day.
• I’m Brent and this is the Bible Unplugged. In this episode we explore the struggle between good and evil found in the Book of Esther.
• We will look at what this story means to us and learn some ways we can apply these lessons to our lives.
• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab.
The Setup
• Haman, a man intoxicated with his own self-importance, rose to power and was second only to the king of the Persian Empire. Haman’s inflated ego was his downfall and almost succeeded in wiping out the Jewish people who were captive in Persia.
• Queen Esther, who was herself Jewish, foiled the plot, saving her people and showing how God works through seemingly average people to complete his will and plan for our world. We will focus on Esther in the next episode.
Who was Haman
• Haman was an Amalekite and a descendant of the royal family. The Amalekites were the first nation to attack immediately after the people of Israel miraculously crossed the Red Sea into their territory. The Amalekites attacked from behind to kill and capture the weak and the stragglers who could not keep up with the group. We find this story in the Book of Exodus, chapter 17.
• Animosity and hatred between Israel and the Amalekites continued throughout most of Israel’s history in the Old Testament.
• Haman’s hatred likely stemmed from the fact that the prophet Samuel executed Haman’s ancestor during King Saul’s reign in Israel. This is found in 1 Samuel chapter 15.
Haman and Mordecai
• Haman’s downfall starts with his anger towards Mordecai, Esther’s kinsman, who gave his allegiance to no one besides his God.
• In the Book of Esther chapter 3 we learn that Haman demanded that everyone bow down when he passed by. Mordecai didn’t bow and Haman hated Mordecai because of it.
• Haman’s hatred for Mordecai became an obsession that drove him to devise a plan to kill not only Mordecai, but every Jewish captive in Persia.
• Haman convinced King Xerxes that Jewish beliefs were so different than those of the Persians that the Jews posed a threat to the whole Kingdom.
• Haman devised a plot to have Persian leaders to kill every Jewish captive in their area on a date set by Haman. Haman was so calloused that he cast lots, known in Hebrew as purim, to randomly set the date. Purim were objects used the way we use dice today.
• King Cyrus decreed the plan and legally sealed it so that even he, Cyrus the Great, could not stop the process.
Haman’s downfall
• Haman was so pleased with himself and so captivated by his ego that he built a 75-foot-tall gallows on which he planned to execute Mordecai.
• Haman planned to tell the king about his desire to kill Mordecai on that gallows when he was summoned to the king’s presence.
• Insult was added to Haman however. King Xerxes remembered that Mordecai saved his life. He asked Haman, “what shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.” Haman, of course, thought the king was talking about him. Haman said that such a man should be given royal clothing and ride the king’s horse to city square to receive the adulation of the people.
• The king told Haman to do just that, but for Mordecai, not him. Can you imagine the anger and humiliation Haman felt for having to honor the man he hated the most?
• Haman’s undoing, though, started when Mordecai learned of the plan and warned Queen Esther. She devised her own plan to set up Haman for failure. That is the subject of our next episode.
• After King Xerxes learned of the plot, he had Haman executed on the gallows built to kill Mordecai. That is one of the most delicious ironies in the Bible. I’m reminded of a saying in the Book of Proverbs chapter 16 verse 18 that says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
• The threat to the Jewish captives wasn’t over, but God worked through the events to lead to a great victory. The Jewish people celebrate this victory with the Festival of Purim, named after the Hebrew word for “lots,” the objects Haman used to randomly set the date for the slaughter.
What we learn from this
• When we look to our own abilities we can may see an inflated and fabricated version of reality. Haman made that mistake and it cost him his life. The Apostle Paul, in Romans chapter 12 verse 3, warns that a believer should … not think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.”
• The Jewish captives in Persia dreaded the announcement of their impending annihilation. Even when the plot became public the Jews were still in danger, but God provided the means to defend them. There are problems and threats around us all the time, but God has set up a plan to benefit his people.
• As we will discuss in the next episode, Queen Esther was a reluctant participant in saving her people, but submitted to God’s will and became a powerful force for God. We may be called on to fulfill God’s will in situations where we are not comfortable, but God provides the support we need.
What do we do with this
• Make an honest assessment of how you deal challenges in your life. Are there situations where your pride or ego got in the way of God blessing you and everyone else involved? If so, ask God to show you how you should view yourself and your abilities in the light of his love for you and others.
• Always be vigilant to what is happening in your world. Ask God to show you how he is working to fulfill his will and how you can participate.
• Are there times when you have felt the Holy Spirit urge you to say something to another person, but you stopped yourself? God can fulfill his will through another person if necessary. When we follow the prompting of the spirit we participate in and receive the blessings God has in store for us.
The conclusion
• Well, the music in the background means I have run out of time for this episode. I’ll be back with more.
• I hope this has been helpful. If so, give this podcast a high rating and share it with others.
• In the next episode we will look at how Esther responded to God’s call to saver her people. In following episodes we will look at the different leadership styles of Ezra and Nehemiah to see how God worked through them in different ways to fulfill his promises to the people of Israel.
• My prayer for you see know that as a participant in God’s will, you can have an eternal impact on other people and the world.
• Have a blessed week
The disclaimers
• Just to let you know
• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening, you may learn something
• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work
• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license
• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2025 by J. Brent Eaton
• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production
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