The Root of Murder

Esther 3:1-6

Have you ever seen a murderous Christian? I have. I’ve also been that murderous Christian. I’ve seen Christians who are careless with their words - expressing anger, stirring up controversy against others, using profanity. Yes, this sin of murder is expressed in different ways in different people. It can even express itself in actual murderous action - yes, even in believers have killed others. In 1926, J. Frank Norris, a pastor of an established and famous Bible-believing megachurch, shot and killed a man in his church office. He said it was out of self-defense. But the man was shot in the back. But why should this be the case? Haven’t we been saved unto good works? Well, it’s because “our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin” (Q62). This is why we need to be continually washed - “so that more and more we become dead to sin and lead a holy and blameless life” (Q70). And that’s why we need to die to the old nature, “to grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin, and more and more to hate it and flee from it” (Q89). As believers, if we don’t guard our hearts against the root of murder, we’ll find ourselves thinking about harming others - whether through thought, word, or deed. But we see this murderous way even more keenly in those who aren’t controlled by the Spirit. The Pharisees sought to kill Jesus because they were envious. Stephen was stoned by angry men, who hated his words.

King Ahasuerus put away his wife in a fit of rage. He was well-known for anger. According to the historian Herodotus, when sea storms destroyed a fleet of his ships, he had the sea chained and whipped to punish it. Anger expressed in madness is not uncommon. That’s why in American English, mad is a synonym of anger. Why? Because anger is often insane. When we consider Lord’s Day 40, we look at Q106. God hates the root of murder, such as envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge. He sees as murder. Today, we see the root of murder expressed in 2 people - associates of Ahasuerus; one a believer, but an unspiritual one; and the other an unbeliever, and a very wicked one. We see this in two points: firstly, envy in an unspiritual man; and secondly, hatred, anger, and vindictiveness in a wicked man.

Firstly, envy in an unspiritual man. We’ve seen here in these 6 verses, an account where King Ahasuerus of Persia promoted Haman above his other governors. And what was required of everyone, especially of those who sat at the king’s gate, was to bow to Haman. This was commanded by the king. But Mordecai didn’t bow. Despite the constant counsel of the other governors and magistrates, Mordecai did not budge. Why? He said he was a Jew. That’s the reason he wouldn’t bow. And because he wouldn’t bow, Haman was filled with wrath; it made him want to destroy every Jew in the empire. Now, why didn’t Mordecai bow? Some use this to show he was a spiritual man - he refused to worship a man. In fact, this is one of the passages used to teach why we shouldn’t bow to people. Why? To bow is to worship. This passage, along with others, like Daniel and his 3 friends, are used to teach that we can only bow to God. Only God deserves such an honor. So this argues that Mordecai did right. He was spiritual.

Now, I don’t believe he was. Neither do many other Bible scholars, commentators, and pastors. In fact, I believe the text shows he was less spiritual than we think he was. In fact, he was unspiritual. Why? The Bible doesn’t prohibit bowing or paying homage to a leader as a sign of respect. Joseph received the homage of his brothers. Abraham also bowed to men. In Genesis 23:7, we read, “And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.” This was even the case with Moses. In Exodus 18:7, we read, “And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.” The word “obeisance” means “to bow.” So scripture nowhere insists that we bow not to man unless it is really worship - like how Cornelius tried to worship Peter. Yes, verse 2 says Mordecai wouldn’t reverence Haman. And the Hebrew word “reverence” is often used to refer to worship. So the argument goes, as a Jew, Mordecai wouldn’t bow because he saw it as worship. And he made it a point to tell the others that he was a Jew, verse 4. He was unashamed, spiritual, faithful! Or was he? You see, the word for “reverence,” while it does mean worship, in other places of the Bible it’s used to describe respect or paying homage, especially when it’s used of man. So was Mordecai spiritual and faithful or not?

Consider Esther 2:18-19. We learn that when Esther became queen, Mordecai her uncle sat at the king’s gate. This means he became one of the leaders of the city. The king’s gate was the city hall of those days. He was now one of the judges; he presided over lawsuits of the city, making judgment over them. He would make laws and enforce them as a city official. Now, to get to that kind of position, Mordecai would’ve had to bow to many men, including the king. No one is an official without bowing to the king. Consider what Mordecai had done to get Esther to be queen. If indeed he had been faithful and spiritual, this shows a double standard. When Esther was brought to the palace to join the marriage pageant, he told her to conceal her identity as a Jew. If Mordecai offered his Jewishness as an excuse for disobeying the king’s command, why not her? She could offer no such excuse, she’d been told to conceal her identity. Daniel and his friends revealed their identity and refused to eat the king’s meat. Esther hid her identity and thus, would’ve eaten the king’s meat. Also, she would’ve needed to do obeisance to the king and his officials. If doing so was so wrong, why would Mordecai allow, or as was the case, necessitate her doing so?

It only becomes worse, if you follow the story. Mordecai later on received what he was unwilling to give. In chapter 6, when the king ordered Mordecai be honored, Mordecai was decked out in the king’s robes and crown. He willingly received this honor. If it’s wrong for men to honor a man, as many scholars say in defending Mordecai’s rebellion, why’s it suddenly alright for men to honor Mordecai and he to receive that honor? He sat on the king’s horse, wore the king’s clothes, and was paraded before all, as an honored man. Why then did Mordecai not bow to Haman? It wasn’t because he was spiritual or godly.

It was because of envy. In verse 1, King Ahasuerus had promoted Haman and advanced him beyond all the other governors which were with him. Once upon a time, he and other governors were equal. But for some reason, not known to us, the king made him higher than the rest. And the people had to bow to him. Where did they have to bow to him? Verse 2 - at the king’s gate. In other words, anyone passing by the king’s gate had to bow – meaning, Haman sat at the king’s gate. But who else sat at the king’s gate? Mordecai! This means that Mordecai and Haman were once equals. But now, Haman was elevated higher. It wasn’t wrong of Mordecai to bow, but he couldn’t take it. Why? Context. What’s the Divine Author showing us through the flow of events? Why such a strong reaction from Mordecai? If he bowed to other men, why not Haman? Was it simply because they were once equal and now Haman was above him? There are 2 reasons - but they both point to envy. Envy is a root of murder. It is a root of bitterness that leads to many being defiled. Here’s the first. In chapter 2, Mordecai uncovered a plot against King Ahasuerus. Mordecai told Esther, who in turn told the king. Mordecai got the credit and it was recorded before the king in a book of chronicles. But here’s the strange thing – Mordecai wasn’t rewarded. The king forgot. Usually, such a loyal act would’ve been lavishly rewarded. But no reward. A record yes, but that’s it. And here was someone, who didn’t uncover any plot, but was given such a high honor. Envy is a natural sinful feeling. Envy is distress at someone else’s success. And he couldn’t take it.

But there’s a second reason from the text. Verse 1 reveals Haman was an Agagite. He was a descendent of Agag. Perhaps this made Mordecai professed Jewish identity more meaningful. Agag was the king of the Amalekites. In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was ordered to wipe them out completely. It was judgment for their past crimes. The Amalekites opposed Israel when she was trying to enter the Promised Land. Saul was ordered to destroy them utterly - all men, women, children, and infants; and all livestock. But Saul didn’t listen. He spared King Agag and the best of all the animals. Because of his failure, God told Saul his kingdom would be taken away from him. It was because of Agag, that Saul lost his kingdom. And who was the ancestor of Mordecai? Esther 2:5 - “Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite.” Mordecai was the descendent of Shimei who was a relative of King Saul. Shimei appears in the Bible when he taunted King David when he was running away from Absalom. So likely, Mordecai was from Benjamite nobility. So here, a descendent of Saul’s family refused to bow down to a descendent of Agag.

Envy, pride, feud. In Chinese generational feuds, one clan will have nothing to do with another clan. They refuse to look or talk to each other. But how could Mordecai - a believer - have such envy? Yes, it can happen. God’s people are sadly not always spiritual. We see it in church. It’s childish. Envy, anger, hatred, refusal to communicate - that’s not spirituality. But unfortunately, sometimes we think it is. Remember, the Pharisees thought they were godly by being outraged! But it was envy. Pontius Pilate recognized that. When the Sanhedrin brought Christ to him, Matthew 27:18 says he knew “that for envy they had delivered him.” In John 12:19, at the resurrection of Lazarus, the Pharisees said among themselves that there was nothing they could do, “behold, the world is gone after him.” It they plotted to kill him. You see, envy gives an excuse to be angry. And indignation can seem to be more spiritual. We can often confuse unholy indignation for holy indignation. We can excuse ourselves. And such anger has become the means to justify sin. It’s the atonement we want; we don’t want Christ’s. Christ’s atonement means we have to love our enemies, not revile when we are reviled; to forbear the iniquities of others, and not rejoice in blaming them. But we can now excuse our aloofness, outrage, and angry, toxic, mocking words. But Christ said that such anger itself is murder. And the root of murder here for this unspiritual believer was envy.

We now see another root of murder. Secondly, hatred, anger, and vindictiveness in a wicked man. When Mordecai didn’t bow, Haman became angry - not just angry, but full of wrath. Verse 5 - “And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.” And what proceeded was scary. Verse 6, “And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.” The phrase “thought scorn” means “to despise” or “to hold in contempt.” His anger led to thoughts of hatred towards Mordecai. Now, Ahasuerus was angry and had a tantrum, which was bad enough. It led him to do something foolish. But Haman’s anger is far worse. It led him to massacre. The object of his ange wasn’t only Mordecai, but all Mordecai’s people. Haman’s anger vindicated his thoughts of genocide.

Now, not all anger and desire for justice is wrong. Because of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, God completely destroyed them so that not one stone laid on top of another. That’s judicial anger. Haman’s was a personal anger. Q&A 105 tells us God requires us not to “dishonor, hate, injure or kill our neighbors by thoughts, words, or gestures, much less by deed, whether personally or through another, rather I am to put away all desire of revenge.” But this personal anger led to Haman to get another person - Ahasuerus - to decree the destruction of the Jews. Haman took upon himself the prerogative of God. In the end, the root of his anger was an esteem issue, a pride issue. One pastor said, “Haman was an extremely proud and insecure man; he could only consider himself a success if everyone else thought he was a success.” That’s a very sad position to be in – to find your worth based on everyone else’s opinion of you. Now don’t be mistaken here that Haman had low self-esteem. Low self-esteem doesn’t cause violence. It’s something else.

Let me quote you a study out of psychological journal from 1998. It says, “It has been widely asserted that low self-esteem causes violence, but laboratory evidence is lacking, and some contrary observations have characterized aggressors as having favorable self-opinions. In 2 studies, both simple self-esteem and narcissism were measured, and then individual participants were given an opportunity to aggress against someone who had insulted them or praised them or against an innocent third person. Self-esteem proved irrelevant to aggression. The combination of narcissism and insult led to exceptionally high levels of aggression toward the source of the insult. Neither form of self-regard affected displaced aggression, which was low in general. These findings contradict the popular view that low self-esteem causes aggression and point instead toward threatened egotism as an important cause.” It wasn’t that he thought too low of himself – rather, he thought too highly of himself. He was narcissistic. Pride causes anger when one is insulted. Anger leads to vengeance.

Dearly beloved, this is not the behavior of Christians. In Matthew 20:25-27 we’re told of the disposition of redeemed people. Instead, it’s the behavior of unbelievers. Jesus said, “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” We’re not to be like Ahasuerus or Haman. What they did, by lording over, hungering for respect, and getting angry when they didn’t are characteristics of Gentile princes, but not of the people of God. But dearly beloved, we’re often like Mordecai. But as we sang earlier in Psalm 37 - fret not though sinners’ gains increase, forsake thy wrath, from anger cease, it will to evil tend. The sixth commandment gives us this moral instruction. And Christians, who’ve been given new hearts, we can keep this commandment. Remember that this law was given on Mount Sinai after the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt. And likewise, this commandment is given us because we’ve been delivered from sin and Satan.

And we remember how we were delivered; how the Lord Jesus endured the sin of angry men to purchase that new heart for us. When he was born, Herod was envious, threatened, and sought to kill him - killing all the children 2 years and under in Bethlehem. When crowds followed him and said he spoke with his own authority, the Pharisees were threatened and tried to catch him at his words. When he spoke truth to them, they were enraged. When he showed himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, their rules were broken and they were ashamed. Pilate knew that it was for envy that they delivered him. He was beaten, spat on, had a crown of thorn jammed onto his head by hardened soldiers angry at Jewish rebels. Why? So he can deliver us from envy, hatred, anger, and vindictiveness. Only when we look to the Lord Jesus, in all his righteousness, humbling himself to bear the wrath of man, so sinners won’t have to bear the wrath of God - can we love our enemies.

We can do good to them that revile us. In Christ, we can rejoice for others in the increase of their station. And in times of struggle for us as we see the wicked prosper and oppress, we can have patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of mind, and cheerfulness of spirit. And this disposition is important. This is why even during church controversies and disagreements, we can put away envy, anger, hatred, and vindictiveness. While it’s a sadly common sight to see Christians bite and devour one another, we can have the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord be gracious to his church and his people.