Esther 3:7 - Meaning and Application

Haman took pride in that bold and wicked plan to destroy all the Jews. He thought it matched his great spirit and would make his name last forever. He believed he could find enough desperate and bloodthirsty men to cut them down if the king would only allow it. The story then tells how he won that permission and official order.

First, he gave the king a false and malicious picture of the Jews (Esther 3:8). Enemies of God’s people could not treat them so badly if they did not first slander them. He wanted the king to think the Jews were a contemptible people, not worth protecting. He spoke of them as if they were nameless, scattered strangers, a burden and disgrace in every land where they lived.

He also wanted the king to think they were dangerous. He claimed they had their own laws and customs, and did not follow the kingdom’s laws or the country’s customs. From that, he tried to make them look disloyal and likely to spread harmful ideas that could end in rebellion. It is nothing new for the best people to be given such unfair names. If it is said that killing them is no sin, then people soon say that lying about them is no sin either.

Next, Haman offered a high price for permission to destroy them all (Esther 3:9). He knew many people already hated the Jews and would gladly attack them if they had royal authority. So he said, in effect, “Write the order that they may be destroyed.” He promised the king ten thousand talents of silver, to be paid into the royal treasury. He thought that would overcome the king’s objections, especially the loss the kingdom would suffer if so many subjects were destroyed.

Proud and hateful people do not mind spending money to get revenge. Yet Haman likely knew he could recover the cost from the Jews’ property, which his men were to seize later (Esther 3:13). In that way, he hoped to make the victims pay for their own ruin. He expected to profit from the whole evil scheme.

Then he got what he wanted, a full order to do as he pleased with the Jews (Esther 3:10, Esther 3:11). The king was careless in his duties and so taken with Haman that he did not bother to check whether the charges were true. He was ready to believe the worst about the Jews, exactly as Haman wished. So he handed them over like lambs to a lion: “The people are yours. Do with them as seems good to you.” He did not even say, “Kill them,” perhaps hoping Haman might choose a milder course. But he gave him complete control.

The king also gave Haman the silver, without thinking about the loss to his own treasury or Haman’s gain from the spoil. He even gave Haman his ring, his seal used to confirm royal commands, so Haman could issue whatever decree he wanted. What a miserable kingdom it is when it rests in the hands of such a ruler, one who only listens to others and has neither judgment nor steady resolve of his own.

Then Haman consulted his astrologers and soothsayers to find a lucky day for the massacre (Esther 3:7). The plan began in the first month of the king’s twelfth year, when Esther had already been his wife for about five years. Some day in that year had to be chosen. As if heaven would favor his plot, he turned to the lot, trusting it to decide the day. But the lot proved a better friend to the Jews than to Haman, because it landed on the twelfth month. That gave Mordecai and Esther eleven months to work against the plan, or at least gave the Jews time to prepare and escape if needed.

Haman was eager to destroy the Jews, yet he still submitted to his superstition and would not act before the supposed lucky day. He would not move ahead even to satisfy his impatience. Perhaps he feared the Jews might prove stronger than their enemies, so he would not risk such a dangerous plan without what he thought was a favorable sign. This should put us to shame, because we often resist Providence when it goes against our wishes. The one who trusts the lot, and even more the one who trusts God’s promise, will not act in frantic haste. God’s wisdom can use human folly to carry out its own purpose. Haman appealed to the lot, and the lot delayed his plan, which turned against him and broke the force of his scheme.

Then the bloody decree was written, sealed, and sent out. The rulers and military officers of every province were told to be ready on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. On that day they were to murder all the Jews, men, women, and children, and seize their property (Esther 3:12-14). Even banishing the Jews from the kingdom would have been severe. But this command was far worse, because it openly ordered their destruction, without even stating any charge against them. No crime was named, no chance for mercy was offered, and no condition was given on which their lives could be spared.

This is how the enemies of the church have long thirsted for the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. They have drunk of it until they were filled with cruelty (Revelation 17:6). Yet, like a horseleech, they still keep crying, “Give, give.” This cruel order was sealed with the king’s signet, sent to his governors, and written in his name, though he did not truly know what he had done. Couriers were sent out quickly to deliver copies of the decree to every province (Esther 3:15). See how restless the malice of the church’s enemies is, it spares neither effort nor time.

The court was very merry about it. The king and Haman sat down to drink, perhaps to toast the “ruin of all the Jews.” Haman was afraid the king’s conscience might trouble him for what he had done, and that he might want to undo it. To prevent that, Haman kept him busy with drinking and drew him close to himself. Many people still use this wicked method to drown their convictions and harden both their own hearts and the hearts of others in sin.

The city was very sad about it, and the other cities in the kingdom likely felt the same once they heard. Shushan, the capital city, was puzzled and distressed. This included not only the Jews themselves, but also their neighbors who still cared about justice and compassion. It grieved them to see their king so badly used, to see wickedness sitting in the place of judgment (Ecclesiastes 3:16), and to see peaceful people treated so cruelly. They also could not tell what harm this might bring on themselves. But the king and Haman cared nothing for these things.

It is foolish and sinful to enjoy ourselves in ease and pleasure when the church is in trouble and the public is in distress.