Rejoice.– Thank God for all the things He has done in your life and find a reason to be happy, always.
Our verse of reference in Esther 3 is:
“Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes..” (Esther 3:6 NIV).
Reflection
Reflection
Hatred has no boundaries for evil doing.
Historical commentary. – Through the Agagite Haman, unscrupulous man who exercised great authority in Medo-Persia, Satan worked at that time to counteract God’s will. Haman harbored bitter malice against Mordecai, a Jew who had not done any harm, but simply refused to express reverence to the point of worship. Not content to “lay hands on Mordecai alone,” Haman plotted the destruction of “all the Jews that were in the kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. Deceived by the false statements of Haman, Xerxes was induced to issue a decree that ordered the killing of all Jews, “people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces” Medo-Persian Empire. He appointed a day on which Jews should be killed and their property confiscated. Little understood the king-reaching results that would have accompanied the complete execution of this decree. PR 441.
The Consequences of holding a grudge. – The harbouring of hatred in our hearts can generate terrible consequences even despecable feelings of destruction as in the case of Haman. If he had asked the king Ahasuerus to take Mordecai’s life for not giving him homage, perhaps the king would have had accepted his request, but his anger blinded him and brutalized him to the point that his hatred was extended not only to Mardocai but to the entire Jews nation as well. He desired to exterminate all the Jews living in the Medo-Persian empire. Dear friend, answer these questions: Are we holding a grudge our spouse, boss, neighbor or family member? Are we spending time plotting how to get even or find some way to hurt them? LET’S ASK GOD TO REMOVE THOSE EVIL THOUGHTS.
Others pain should be my sorrow. – After the edict, the passage shows two distinct scenarios : a) Ahasuerus and Haman sitting down for a drink, indifferent to the pain of others, b) In the city of Susa confusion and sadness seems to reign among the people as they wonder what would be the fate of the Jewish nation. Which group would you place yourself?
Prayer
Omniscient and Omnipresent God. Discerns within us if we harbor hatred for someone. We ask that you eradicate those feelings, so we would not damage or harm others. In Jesus name, Amen.
By Dr. Franz Rios and Pablo Rios.
