Esther’s world is about to
be
turned upside-down.
Some history……..remember
the story from Exodus chapter 17 of Moses, Aaron, and Hur who went up to the
top of the hill while the Israelites were in battle with the Amalekites below? When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed:
and when he let down his hand, they lost strength. We are told that when his hands got heavy,
Aaron and Hur held them up.
In verse 16 of that chapter
it says, “The Lord will have war with
Amalek from generation to generation.” In Deuteronomy 25:17-19 God declared the
Amalekites would be blotted out."
So how does this relate to
Haman?
Haman was a descendant of Agag, who we see from 1 Samuel 15:8 was king
of the Amalekites who fought against the
Jews during the time of King Saul. (Keep in mind that Saul was Mordecai’s ancestor Esther 2:5) When Saul became king, God
commanded him to strike the Amalekites and totally destroy everything belonging
to them. (1 Samuel 15). Saul did attack and God gave
him victory, but Saul spared Agag’s life and kept the best of his cattle for
himself. For his disobedience, Saul lost the Lord’s anointing as king of
Israel. Samuel put King Agag to death but because Saul failed to obey the Lord,
some Amalekites lived.
So, why did Mordecai
refuse to bow to Haman? In Esther chapter 2:21-23 we
learned how Mordecai saved the king’s life. He was loyal to the king, but he
wasn’t loyal to the Amalekites which fueled Haman’s anger toward all Jewish
people. The strongest hint we are given by Scripture for Mordecai not bowing is
found in verse 4 - chapter 3, where it says that Mordecai told them he was a Jew.
As a Jew, why would Mordecai object to
honoring Haman?
Bowing was not a
religious act; it was social protocol for that time, much like a curtsy or bow
to the Queen of England is today. With that in mind, we can be sure it wasn’t “bowing
down” that Mordecai objected to—it was bowing down “to Haman.”
*****By
refusing to bow down to a sworn enemy of God’s people, Mordecai was
courageously standing up in loyalty to God.
Mordecai stood on his
principles in spite of pressure!
He would honor God no
matter what the consequences to himself.
Also, Mordecai experienced
pressure from his peers to compromise.
When he would not bow (to Haman or their
pressure) they stirred up trouble by calling attention to Mordecai.
In the same way, a believer
today might be singled out for making a Godly stand on principle.
Take
a closer look and consider what it means to take a stand for God.
Further study:
Read and carefully
consider all that 1 Peter 3:15-16 says about
preparing for—and responding
to—pressure to compromise.
What does God promise to
those
who stand up for godly principles?
Psalm 97:10-11 _________________________________________________________
Isaiah 3:10 _________________________________________________________
Luke 2: 8, 11-12 ________________________________________________________
Hebrews 13:6 ________________________________________________________
1 Peter 2:19-20 ________________________________________________________
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