Esther 3:1-10

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 3:9-15

Clearly Haman knew that his plan to exterminate the Jews needed careful thought if it was to succeed. As Persia prided itself on its structure of law, his first task was to draw up a new edict which demanded the death of all those who were Jews, then have it approved by the king. When, at last, the cruel document is...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 3:5-6

When the news is carried to Haman that one man in the kingdom will not bow down to him, he is extremely angry. By this time it is a well known fact that Mordecai is a Jew. Haman, bearing as he did a strong hatred of the Jewish people, would have liked to have ended Mordecai's life there and then. He knows, however, that to...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 3:7-8

We pause to expand on the point we made yesterday, namely that the fierce persecution which has been directed toward the Jewish people has been the very thing that has enabled them to maintain their clear spiritual identity. The fact that they have survived the cunning of such evil rulers as Pharaoh, Haman, and, in modern...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 3:1-4

Today a new name appears in our story - that of Haman. We know very little about him except for the fact that, through a series of promotions, he rises to a position of great eminence, second only to the king. The Scripture records one detail about him, however, which is rather significant: it says he was "the son of...