Esther 3: 7-15 NLT, BSB
We are continuing with our series, “Esther: The Story of Purim”. Part 8 is called, “Haman’s Genocidal Plot”, and we discuss how Haman presents his case against the Jews to Xerxes. The question we will address today is, how did Haman convince Xerxes to pass the law to annihilate the Jews?Esther 3:7-15
7 So in the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign, lots were cast in Haman’s presence (the lots were called purim) to determine the best day and month to take action. And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later.
The purim (dice) were cast in Haman’s presence, so the king had done this before without him and probably regretted it. Xerxes needed Haman’s input because he obviously had proven to be accurate in the past.
In ancient Persia, purim were cast to decide the best day that a yet to be determined action would be successful. The Bible records that the day determined was March 7th of the following year, 473 B.C. (1&2).
8 Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.
Once the date was determined by the stars and the casting of dice, the agenda would then be decided upon. Flattered that the king made certain that he was there for the very important event of the casting of purim, Haman approached the king about what campaign should be pursued on March 7th that guaranteed a smashing victory.
Haman had studied Xerxes well. Instead of directly calling out the Jews, he influences Xerxes’ perspective by tagging negative connotations pointing to this people group, accusing them of three acts of opposition.
1). Separatists: “Keep themselves separate from everyone else”
Haman identified these people as Separatists. Separatists are a specific group of people who reside within a larger body of people but differ in their lifestyle and beliefs because of their ethnicity and religion.
In Esther, Chapter 1, Xerxes threw a ginormous party for 6 months and invited all the kings and the elites of his 127 provinces in order to promote his co-governing style and bring solidarity to his kingdom. Xerxes strived for unity and Haman targeted the Jews as being divisive.
2). Sovereign Citizens: “Their laws are different from those of any other people”
Haman interpreted their governing philosophy as one of sovereign citizenship. It is true that this specific group did not follow the customs and traditions of their surrounding countries. But, Haman deceptively conveyed to Xerxes the false impression that the Jews are a defiant people who followed their own rules and refused to conform to the laws of the land.
3). Expatriates: “They refuse to obey the laws of the king”
Haman reasoned that the Jew’s non-compliant attitude was an affront to the king. Xerxes should be proactive and not wait for a situation to arise. Currently, they are scattered throughout the empire and it would be more difficult to get rid of them should they have more time to propagate and become a larger and united demographic. Certainly, he did not want to be humiliated and then go through all the trouble of covering his backside. Nope. Xerxes could avoid all that mess.
Skillfully, Haman inferred that the Jews were expatriates, a people that pledged their loyalty to the nation of Israel but lived off the bounty of Persia and the good graces of the king. When the Jews would be required to submit to a law of the king that did not match up to their ways, they would muster up their courage and refuse to obey.
Haman’s conclusion: “It is not in the king’s interest to let them live”
Don’t give this scattering of people the opportunity to unite. No! Stop them now before they increase in number and begin an insurrection! Let the world know that they are worthless nobodies! Don’t allow them to take advantage of the greatness of Persia and the king. Only, Haman didn’t want the Jews to be banished - he wanted to annihilate them.
The clincher:
9 If it pleases the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 10,000 large sacks of silver to the government administrators to be deposited in the royal treasury.”
Blood money:
Haman, who is apparently filthy rich and the most influential person in Persian Empire next to the king, wants the Jewish people destroyed and he will deposit an enormous amount of his own money into the treasury to get it done.
To give you an idea how much 10,000 large sacks of silver is worth, it is estimated to be approximately anywhere between $96 million to $420 billion (2&3). However, the real meaning of this amount is in the symbolism.
10:
The number 10 in Hebrew is a symbol for “the law”. Remember the ten commandments in Exodus 20?
1000:
The number 1000 can be interpreted as “to be completely owned” or “to be in possession of” such as the cattle on a thousand hills belong to God (Psalm 50:10). In other words, all the hills and everything on them are owned by God.
Silver:
Silver is symbolic of redemption, an act of reparation for a fault or wrongdoing (4).
What did all this mean to King Xerxes?
In the Hebrew numeric system, it is quite common to add or multiply numbers. Here, we are looking at 10 x 1000 = 10,000.
Haman was telling Xerxes that this deposit would mean that he would be involved with all the decisions regarding the laws and regulations of Persia (10 symbolizing the law).
The meaning of 1000, symbolizing to completely own, would indicate that King Xerxes would be obligated to Haman and laws can only be created and passed with his approval.
Haman was a direct descendant of King Agag and the silver would stand for the reparation of the wrongdoing that was done to his ancestor. The Jewish Prophet Samuel had slaughtered King Agag in front of King Saul of Israel because Saul disobeyed God’s command.
10 The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
Listen to Xerxes’s response.
Esther 3: 11 Berean Study Bible
“Keep your money,” said the king to Haman. “These people are given to you to do with them as you please.”
Xerxes knew exactly what Haman meant by replenishing the royal treasury with 10,000 sacks of silver. He needed the powers that Haman possessed. Their codependent relationship was not one that he could afford to lose. Since it was established that March 7th would be a successful date, Xerxes determined that this people group was trouble waiting to happen and this campaign will be victorious.
So in order to keep him happy, Xerxes compromised by handing Haman his signet ring to word-craft the law and seal it with his own insignia. Yes, Haman could kill off the Jews but, he wasn’t going to be his puppet by taking the money and be legally bound to him in any way. Or so he thought…
12 So on April 17 the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Haman dictated. It was sent to the king’s highest officers, the governors of the respective provinces, and the nobles of each province in their own scripts and languages. The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 Dispatches were sent by swift messengers into all the provinces of the empire, giving the order that all Jews—young and old, including women and children—must be killed, slaughtered, and annihilated on a single day. This was scheduled to happen on March 7 of the next year. The property of the Jews would be given to those who killed them. 14 A copy of this decree was to be issued as law in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, so that they would be ready to do their duty on the appointed day. 15 At the king’s command, the decree went out by swift messengers, and it was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa.
15b Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion.
Ancient Persians believed that only in wine can truth be found and wine was often mixed with drugs so the recipient would divulge information (5). Once again, Xerxes pulled his old trick of pouring wine down Haman’s throat hoping that he would spill some deep dark secrets to hold as leverage over him. While they drank, the citizens of Susa were totally befuddled, dumbfounded, and perplexed at the king’s latest decree and wondered what caused this act of aggression against the Jews.
Let’s pray:
Father,
Thank You for exposing another of Satan's tactics. He doesn't even call Your covenant people, Israel, by name. He places them in the most negative light to stir up hatred. I pray against antisemitism. Give me the courage to speak up for what is right. In Jesus name, Amen
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References:
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/nlt/est/3/1/s_429001
- https://www.biblestudytools.com/archive/old-testament/esther-lesson-three-day-3-11566728.html
- https://attestationupdate.com/2016/06/23/an-indication-of-persian-wealth-from-the-book-of-esther/
- Dream Encounter Symbols, Barbie Breathitt Ministires, www.BreathoftheSpiritMinistries.com
- https://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Culture/wine_good.htm