Haman's Ancestry

9/25/2011 7:48:48 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                                                                                             Focus:  His ancestry

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                                         Reference:  Ester 3:1a

                Message of the verse:  “1 After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite,”

                Today’s SD begins the third chapter in the book of Ester and also in the commentary of Warren Wiersbe’s book on Ester “Be Committed.”  He entitles this chapter “An Old enemy With A New Name,” and we are introduced to another of the characters in this drama, Haman.”  Dr Wiersbe writes at the beginning of this chapter “In which an evil man challenges the throne of Almighty God.”  It is good to be reminded of what John MacArthur committed on in the introduction to his notes from his study Bible on Ester, and that is that the book of Ester is like a chess game between God and Satan, and one of the key players on the side of Satan is Haman.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Haman personifies everybody who has tried to exterminate the people of Israel.  This chapter explains to us why Haman was such a dangerous man.”  The first reason that will show how dangerous he is will be his ancestry, and that will be the subject of this SD.

                Ester is read out loud in the Synagogues each year during the feasible of Purim, and when the name of Haman is mentioned the people will stomp their feet and say “May his name be blotted out.”  The people of God were in great danger because of this man Haman, and yet the promises of the Lord concerning His keeping of Israel are scattered through all of Scripture including in the book of Romans in the NT. 

                I have mentioned in passing the ancestry of Haman in an earlier SD, but now we are at the point in the book of Ester where he is mentioned.  This chapter takes place four years after Ester was named queen and all of this time Mordecia was doing the business of the king at the gate, and now we see that Haman is promoted by the king.  In the chess game mentioned above this would be a move by Satan.

                I wish to start the portion of my SD with a quote from Proverbs that when watched throughout this book of Ester will describe Haman, and the important thing to remember is that the things mentioned in this section of Proverbs is what God HATES.  “16  There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17  Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18  A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19  A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers (Proverbs 6:16-19).

                I have always been a person who loves history and so that makes it easier for me to study the book of history that are in the OT, of which Ester is the last.  When we begin to look at the battle that went on between Haman and the Jews we must go all the way back to the book of Genesis for Haman descends from Jacob’s brother Esau.  Esau and Jacob never did get a long and when their mother was pregnant with these two boys God told her that there were two nations within her womb.  The reason that Rebecca enquired of the Lord about this was because the two boys being formed in her womb were struggling within her womb and this is the answer that the Lord gave to her “The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.’”  (Gen. 25:23)    I would suppose one could say that it was inside the womb of Rebecca that this battle began for the grandson of Esau was the father of the Amalekites and there was hatred between these two nations and it began in the womb.

                We move to the book of Exodus and find that while the children of Israel were in the wilderness that the Amalekites attacked them from the rear, and it was because of this deed that God promised to destroy them and Moses reminded the children of Israel of this in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, “17  "Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, 18  how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. 19  "Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.”

                We now move to the book of 1Samuel where the Lord gives orders to King Saul to destroy the Amalekites, but Saul did not do as the Lord told him to do and because of this Saul would lose his crown and any chance of a dynasty.  There is irony found here for when Saul would lose his life it was told to David by an Amalekite that he had killed Saul.  Saul was from Benjamin and so was Mordecia and so this battle would again be fought between an Amalekite and a descendant of Benjamin.   The results will be different this time.

                Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at the story of Ester and some of the stories within the stories I seen the hand of God, and I also see God being faithful in keeping His promises that He made to Israel and this gives confidence to me that He will keep His promises to me that were made to those in His Church.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.       Believe the promises of God, for He is faithful.

2.       Continue the hard road of learning contentment.

9/25/2011 8:46:10 AM