Devotion
Do not anger the king’s queen!
David Jacobs

It may sound chauvinistic, but I am extremely protective of the women that I care about the most in my life. If anyone tries to harm my mother, sister, or wife, they will certainly have to deal with me as well. I try to be a good Christian and control my temper, but it is easy to lose my temper even thinking about something bad happening to them because of someone else. Unfortunately for the genocidal prince to King Xerxes, Haman, he messed with the wrong woman.

Esther was a Jewish woman and wife of King Xerxes. When Haman was promoted to the highest aid of the king, a Jewish man, Mordecai, refused to bow to him. Infuriated by Mordecai's lack of respect, Haman approached the king with a plan to kill all of the Jews in the kingdom. When Esther learnt of this, she hatched her own plan to kill Haman. She organized two feasts with Haman and the king, hoping to get them a bit drunk and let their guards down. On the second day and after winning the favor of her husband, Esther asked him to kill Haman. When the king left in a fury, he came back to see that Haman had collapsed, perhaps hiding from the king, in the same bed as Esther. Further enraged, Xerxes ordered Haman to be killed on the exact gallows that Haman had constructed for Mordecai. Ah, sweet revenge!

Although this passage is devoid of much Godly action, it does paint a good picture of what the Jews have faced throughout much of their existence: persecution, slavery, and genocide. Brother and sisters of Christ! We must be better than the wicked Haman!

Prayer

Although there are certainly differences between people, we know that we should treat others as we would like them to treat us (Matthew 7:12). Not as Haman, Xerxes, or Esther, but like Christ. Let us give thanks to God for allowing us the choice. Amen.