Esther 3

Good afternoon guys and gals! It's time for Esther 3! I know it's kinda late but I slept in... like very late! Haha but here is Esther 3:

Esther 3: 1-2

"Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire. All the king's officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect." (NLT)

This chapter starts of talking about Haman, the most powerful official. Due to Haman's power, all the other workers would have to bow down to Haman except for Mordecai.

Esther 3:5-6

"When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage. He had learned of Mordecai's nationality, so he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he looked for a way to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes." (NLT)

Esther 3:10-11

"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. The king said, 'The money and the people are both yours to do with as you see fit.'" (NLT)

The fact that Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, it reminds me of the story of Daniel. The king at the time, King Darius, had workers that convinced him to make a decree. The decree said that anyone who prayed to God or any man besides the King would be thrown in a lion's den. Despite this law, Daniel continued to pray to God. The king's administrators caught him and brought him to  Darius. Darius had found favor in Daniel and tried to get him out of it but his previous decree revoked Darius' attempts, but we all know that everything worked out in the end because of Daniel's un-shaken faith in God.  In this case, Daniel reminds me of Mordecai (despite the Lion's den part). In both situations, there was a law that was meant to prevent them from having a relationship with God, but both of them men disregared the rules and continued to follow due to their strong faith.

Esther 3:13-15

"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. 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. At the king's command, the decree went out by swift messengers, and it was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion." (NLT)

This was definitley a confusing situation to the Jews. One minute they're leaving peacefully among the kingdom and the next, they are going to be slaughtered. All the while, they were just wondering what they had done wrong. It kinda reminds me of the Holocaust. But Haman's reasoning was the fact that one of the many Jews did not bow down to him.

Well that's Chapter 3! Tomorrow is a free day since it's Sunday but we'll pick up where we left off on Monday! See you all at church tomorrow! BYE :) :) :)