Esther Chapter 3 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Esther 3:1
Some time later King Achashverosh began to single out Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi for advancement; eventually he gave him precedence over all his fellow officers.
After the plot to kill the king was dealt with, he honored Haman to a position higher than anyone else. This man was an Agagite which means he was descended from the royal family of the Amalekites. This is the same group of people that attacked God's people when they were on their way to the promised land from Egypt and they became known for their cowardice and cruelty (see Exodus 17:8-16). They were descended from the grandson of Esau which was Jacob's twin brother and Jacob was the father of the tribes of Israel. We can see by this that the cause of antisemitism is a simple case of jealousy between brothers. It is no different than the story of Cain's jealousy and murder of Abel (Genesis 4). According to traditional Arab history, the Amalekites originated from the area of Mecca in what is known today as Saudi Arabia.
Esther 3:2
All the king's servants at the King's Gate would kneel and bow down before Haman, because the king had so ordered. But Mordekhai would neither kneel nor bow down to him.
So the king ordered everyone to bow down to Haman but Mordecai would not. We must remember that Mordecai was a Jew and it was against the Mosaic Law to bow down to anyone but God. (We can see another example of this in Daniel chapter three.)
Esther 3:3 & 4
The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordekhai, "Why don't you obey the king's order?" But after they had confronted him a number of times without his paying attention to them, they told Haman, in order to find out whether Mordekhai's explanation that he was a Jew would suffice to justify his behavior.
This is a good example of what we would call peer pressure. The officials tried to get Mordecai to go along and do what he knew was wrong but he held fast to the Word of God. Therefore, his "friends" turned him in to see what would happen. Mordecai had not had the faith to obey God and return to Jerusalem but he does have the faith to stand firm on this point.
Esther 3:5 & 6
Haman was furious when he saw that Mordekhai was not kneeling and bowing down to him. However, on learning what people Mordekhai belonged to, it seemed to him a waste to lay hands on Mordekhai alone. Rather, he decided to destroy all of Mordekhai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole of Achashverosh's kingdom.
The idea that someone would not bow down to him was bad but to have a Jew refuse to honor him sent Haman over the top. He had been raised with this anti-semitism (hatred of the Jewish people) and it was just waiting to explode. The same type of thing is happening in many places around the world today as children are raised to hate God's people (the Jews). We can take comfort in the fact that they (and we as Christians) are God's people and he takes care of his own. (see Revelation 11)
Esther 3:7
In the first month, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of Achashverosh, they began throwing pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman every day and every month until the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
So, they needed to decide on a date for the mass killing of the Jews. To pick a date, they cast lots and the date was revealed to them.
Esther 3:8 & 9
Then Haman said to Achashverosh, "There is a particular people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people; moreover, they don't observe the king's laws. It doesn't befit the king to tolerate them. If it please the king, have a decree written for their destruction; and I will hand over 330 tons of silver to the officials in charge of the king's affairs to deposit in the royal treasury."
Haman knows that he cannot eliminate them on his own, so he looks to the king for help. He appeals to the king's fear of losing power to get a law to authorize the killing. Haman even offers a reward for the men that will do the killing. The same sort of tactics are being used today to attack Israel in that those that actually hate the most pay others to do the killing. Some "religious leader" will issue a decree and offer money so that some poor young man will do his dirty work.
Esther 3:10
The king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi, the enemy of the Jews.
The king agreed with Haman and gave him his ring. The ring would be used to put a mark on the decree so that everyone would know that it was done on the king's authority. Haman is once again described as an Agagite and "enemy of the Jews". We must remember that the Jews are God's chosen people and so it is logical that, if you are an enemy of the Jews, you are an enemy of God.
Esther 3:11
The king said to Haman, "The money is given to you, and the people too, to do with as seems good to you."
So, the king not only gave Haman the ability to act on the king's authority but now he is going to supply the money as well. The king didn't have any personal problem with the Jews as a people but was simply eliminating a potential threat to his control.
Esther 3:12
The king's secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month. They wrote down all Haman's orders to the king's army commanders and governors in all the provinces and to the officials of every people, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language; everything was written in the name of King Achashverosh and sealed with the king's signet ring.
It is awesome how God is in charge of the smallest of details even when men think that they are in control. Here is another example as the secretaries were gathered to write the king's law for the destruction of God's people (the Jews). This happened on "the thirteenth day of the first month" which might not have meant anything to these pagans but is significant to God and his children. This is the day before the celebration of the Passover which occurs on the fourteenth day and is a feast of remembering the deliverance of God's people from Egypt. Just as God delivered his people from Egypt, he is already at work here in delivering his people from the hatred of Haman.
Esther 3:13
Letters were sent by courier to all the royal provinces "to destroy, kill and exterminate all Jews, from young to old, including small children and women, on a specific day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to seize their goods as plunder."
Haman's plans are moving forward to kill all of the Jews as he is even telling them to kill the children. The hate is deep rooted and is the same hate that was demonstrated by Hitler in World War Two and is coming out of the leadership of Iran today.
Esther 3:14
A copy of the document to be issued as a decree in every province was to be publicly proclaimed to all the peoples, so that they would be ready for that day.
Haman was determined to get maximum involvement of all people in his plan to kill the Jews. It was about eleven months between the time the secretaries were gathered to draft the law and the date for it to happen. Throughout the Bible, the number eleven is associated with chaos and disorder and that is what Haman had planned but it was disguised as a way of keeping order in the kingdom. We are told, in James 3, that this disorder does not come from God but is of Satan. Satan hates all of God's people and that is the root of all anti-semitism.
Esther 3:15
At the king's order the runners went out quickly, and the decree was issued in Shushan the capital. Then the king and Haman sat down for a drink together, but the city of Shushan was thrown into confusion.
So the law went out to all of the lands as well as being posted in the capital city. Haman and the king celebrated but the common city people did not understand why the order was issued. Though it may seem like the darkest of times for God's people and that the enemies are rejoicing, we must know that God is at work behind the scenes and the celebration of the evil will end. God is still in control and that applies to our lives today as well.