Skip to main content

Haman v Mordecai


                “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.” 
                So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!” 
                 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. 
            His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared. (Esther 6:10-14)
 
            Lightning out of a clear blue sky. Mordecai? Mordecai?! 
           There is some wonderful comparisons and contrasts going on here.
 
Mordecai
Haman
Reports treasonous activity to king
Reports treasonous activity to king
King responds to report
King responds to report
Returns to life as usual
Campaigns for a specific result
Involved only those who were involved
Involved the whole Jewish community
Romance and life
Tragedy and death
             Don’t get me wrong Haman told the king the truth. The Jews were a rebellious bunch. That’s why they weren’t in Israel. But Haman didn’t report it for the king’s sake. He reported it for his own. And now his tragedy is unfolding.
            A tragedy isn’t just a story in which “everyone dies, the end.” A tragedy is a story in which the decisions of the character lead to his destruction and the destruction of all those around him. Haman went way beyond Lex Talionis. He was not interested in justice, he was interested in revenge against people who did nothing wrong to him, whose crime (if it was a crime) was against his ancestors by their ancestors. 
            The lesson I’m hearing in this is that we need to be very careful about our motivations. Justice does not equal revenge, and when the “justice” we seek is in excess of the damaged caused and not from those who actually caused the damage, it is no longer justice. This means “social justice” is not justice. It is inherently unjust and the sort of thing we must associate with the Hamans of the world, not the Mordecais.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more