Mordecai refuses to bow down

The Book of Esther Chapter 3

King Xerxes appointed Haman to prime minister, making him the most powerful official in the empire next to the king. All the king's officials bowed down before Haman, but Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect. When the palace officials asked him about this, he still refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai's conduct, since Mordecai had told him he was a Jew.

Haman was filled with rage against Mordecai, but decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone, so he decided to destroy all the Jews throughout the empire of Xerxes. Lots were cast to determine the best day and month to take this action and the day selected was on March 7 of the following year. Haman approached the King and told him a certain race of people, whose laws are different from those of any other nation are refusing to obey the laws of the King. So he told the King to issue a decree that they be destroyed. The King agreed confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman the Agagite -enemy of the Jews.

On April 7th Haman called the king's secretaries and dictated letters to the princes, the governors, and local officials of each province and he signed the letters with the king's signet ring and sent messengers to all the provinces. The letters decreed that all Jews -young and old, women and children - must be killed on a single day in the next year. Then after the messengers had taken the letters to the provinces, Haman and the King sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: Mordecai did usually bow to government authorities, but Haman's ancestors were enemies of the Jews. Why did Haman want the Jews destroyed? 1. He was an Agagite, an ancient enemy of the Israelites. 2. His hatred was not directed so much at Mordecai, but at all Jews. 3. His powerful role as second in command showed he loved the power and reverence shown to him and the Jews looked to God as their authority, not to a man. Finally he realized his quest for personal power and his hatred of Jews had consumed him. The Jews were dedicated to God and he hated their beliefs.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? It shows that we must worship our God with all of our hearts and minds and soul. No person, institution, or government can take God's place. Sometimes we all have to take a stand. Do you see signs of a person or a government or institution trying to take control of our worship habits? Look around you today. There are false gods at work. Do the "feel-good" preachers on television make you forget the words of the Holy Bible? I heard a person the other day say that there couldn't be anything wrong with listening to feel good things because the old testament was so full of harsh things. Isn't this putting their own twist on our values and morals? Be aware that God is the ultimate teacher. His mercy is everlasting. By his grace we can be redeemed. Can a slick television preacher do that? Take stock of why these preachers gain so much ground. Is it because we are looking for some kind of absolution? Are we blind to our sins? Blocking out the hard lessons given by God is just as much a sin as facing someone who plys you with cotton candy rhetoric.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH:
Update on my niece Suzanne, she is healing but her leg was crushed and will take many months of doctoring. She is in a nursing home for rehab care. Pray for her healing. Also Gabe, Wanda, Pray for Janice Long’s parents, especially her mother whose cancer has returned and her father with Alzheimer’s and now her mother in law also with Alzheimer’s. Their family is feeling the strain both emotionally and financially. Pray for them. Update on this family: Her mother-in-law is being taken to Oklahoma to live with an aunt who will care for her.
Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.
Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer.
Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with MS.
Pray for Cyndi Sullivan who made it six years with cancer but may now go home with hospice in her final days.
Pray for my cousin Diane who had total mastectomy surgery for breast cancer.
UPDATE on Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke, she has her speech back and is home , but continues to have a problem with one arm and hand. Thanks to your prayers, she is able to hobble without a cane and has been granted disability. She still has surgery scheduled on her hand, but I saw her recently and her attitude is fantastic.
Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.
Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.
Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer.
Pray for John’s recovery from a heart attack and for the doctors who have difficulty diagnosing his other symptoms.
Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake, survivors of the devastating tornadoes in our southernmost states and Joplin, Missouri. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.