Introduction:
This 12-part series takes a new look at an old story and finds fresh words of courage, faith, and challenge for today’s Church. It is based on Carol Bechtel’s commentary on Esther in the Interpretation series (Westminster John Knox, 2002).
Study #4
Haman’s Way with Words
Read: Esther 3:7-15
If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued for their destruction…. (v. 9, NRSV)
Whoever coined the proverb “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” had never met Haman. Haman’s words are designed to hurt, and to hurt badly. By the end of this chapter, he succeeds in issuing an edict to “destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day….” (v. 13).
The only thing more astonishing than the scope of Haman’s words is their sinister quality. Hidden behind the Hebrew of his immodest proposal is a deceptive word play. The Hebrew word for “destroy” sounds almost exactly like the word for “enslave.” So it’s entirely possible that Ahasuerus thought he was agreeing to enslave these allegedly disloyal subjects. (See Esther’s argument in 7:4.) All ambiguity disappears, however, in the written version of the edict (3:14).
The chapter closes with Haman and King Ahasuerus sitting down for a celebratory drink. Outside the palace, panic spreads like wildfire.
For believers of every age, there are times when the wicked seem to be winning. Yet, we are not called people of faith for nothing. In Esther’s story and in ours, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrew 11:1).
Prayer: Savior, help us to have faith even when evil seems to be winning.