Bibledoorajar Looks at the Depth of Mordecai's Humiliation

  "...yet You have made him a little lower than God and

You crown him with glory and majesty."

Psalm 8:5

"You have made him to be a little lower than the

angels, You crowned him with glory and honor."

Hebrews 2:7

      Mordecai held a public office in the kingdom; some say he sat on the Superior Court. The Bible records that he sat at the king's gate indicating his role was one of public closeness to the king. The time came when he had to make a choice. He determined that he could not bow to Haman as the king directed. He felt compelled to take some action. The action would be for the people, whom though  ignorant of their impending plight, stood in need of salvation. Mordecai was compelled to action, but he knew that the magnitude of what needed to be accomplished would take God. So Mordecai took action to make himself acceptable to God and His Holiness by sitting by the gate in sackcloth and ashes. This descendant of the first king of Israel humbled himself and took on a lowly state in a very public way to demonstrate his faith that God alone could do the mighty work necessary to save his people from certain death. He loved God and his people more than he loved his own lofty position. There he sat wailing to God for his people.

..."and going a little farther He fell on His face

and prayed,  My Father, if it be possible, let

the cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will,

but as you will."

Jesus in Matthew 26:39

 

"I'm giving you my heart and all that is within,

I lay it down for the sake of you, my king

I'm giving you my dreams,

I'm laying down my rights,

I'm giving my pride for the promise of new life."

 

Song by Seventh Day Slumber

Hope each and everyone had a grateful time of Thanksgiving and now it's on to the next celebration!

Bibledoorajar Watches As Haman Pursues His Beliefs

"IT'S A LIE THAT WOULD NOT DIE; believed to be true by

Adolph Hitler, Henry Ford, and the late Osama bin Laden. It

was introduced by the Russian secret police in an attempt

to bolster the reign of Tzar Nicholas II. It erroneously 

exposed his enemies as co-conspirators with the Jews in

a plot to take over the world. This fabricated document

was embraced by a religious fanatic, Sergei Nilus, and

published in 1905 in Russia. He published three separate

versions of the book, and the last in 1917 indicated that 

Theodor Herzl was the writer of the mythical conspiracy

theory. The book birthed the pogroms in Russia, and

was used by Hitler as an excuse to exterminate six million

Jews in Europe. Many Muslim leaders worldwide keep it within 

reach as the most revered book, after the Quran.

Quoted from backflap of The Protocols

Haman has been successful in convincing the king that the Jews are a danger worthy of annihilation. His argument erupted from a steady diet of antisemitic thought within his family. The thoughts became beliefs that led to action. Now the king is ecstatic with Haman's proposed rescue of his kingdom and they have sat down to have a drink and be merry.

When the news of the pogrom to exterminate the Jews was found out by the Gentile peoples of Shushan, they were perplexed and when the news found the Jews they were extremely fearful. Their people had been at this very place before many times. This thought of exterminating them would just not go away. Every time they became productive in a society, antisemitic elements arose to do them harm. 

The pogrom date established through the occult was now eleven months away. That's the time Mordecai had to defeat Haman in this tense clash of values. Soon, if action was not taken, it would be more than a clash of values, people would be suffering and dying. Nothing could help his people unless someone responded to the issue at hand. Fortunately Mordecai could. And, more importantly, his God WOULD.

Bibledoorajar continues to look at hatred of the Jews

The Jew has always been

a people with definite

racial characteristics and

never a religion.

Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf

Haman's hatred of the Jews had mushroomed to the point that armed with the date received via occultism, he was ready to approach the king. He started out benignly: "There is a people." But then he moved on. These people: "Their laws are different from the rest of us." And on: "They do not keep the king's laws." And sire: "It is not good for the King to tolerate them." And then the bribe: "I'll give 10,000 talents of silver to the treasury if you decree their death."

It is interesting to consider evil and it's role in the world and even in God's church. Consider those leaders who believe dictatorial edicts against selected peoples is within their rights as leaders. Hitler's negative thoughts against the Jews escalated over time. When he became Chancellor of Germany, he took the title, Der Fuhrer. This title (one that had been long debated in Germany even prior to Hitler's rise to power) held within its meaning the ability to be a dictatorial guide. This evil title coupled with Hitler's growing antisemitic thought, lead the Germans (even the church) to seek to annihilate the Jews.

Haman had the king's ear. He was the king's trusted servant. So far the king was not privy to Haman's undercover plans. And so, the king fearing problems within his kingdom, decreed the death of a selected people. Destruction was to supersede life. Haman, a doorkeeper in the kingdom, was far from a righteous one. 

King David said he would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Our king in our story has been outwitted and it is as if he has chosen the tents of the wicked. I am sure in his heart he desired to be a good king, but in this instance, evil counsel has lead him astray and justice will not be served in his kingdom.

Christ has given us His Spirit to help the church live justly so that all peoples might be able to seek the Lord. It is a terrible thing when church leadership takes on  "Der Fuhrer"  characteristics because many can be left out and unable to partake of the fruits of the kingdom. "Riffraff" are not wanted. Different viewpoints are not tolerated. Decisions are made in secret and evil counsel is considered. 

"Holy Spirit, search our hearts and deliver us from such evil ways. Particularly, help our leaders be broken before you, seeking the best for all who wish to be a part of your kingdom. Amen."

Bibledoorajar abhors Haman's hatred

"Even if you were to knock my head off, 

God would still exist."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Unless your faith is firm,

I cannot make you stand firm".

God in Isaiah 7:9

     We have been looking at the difference between Haman and Mordecai. We have seen that both men have obsessions of great magnitude. Haman lives and dreams of eradicating God's people, the Jews. Mordecai lives and dreams of God's people prospering. Haman trusts in himself and the occult and Mordecai trusts in Jehovah God. In Mordecai we see the human spirit uplifted and magnified. In Haman, the human spirit is shrunken by flaring hatred. Old wounds have festered for generations in his preoccupied family. 

     As a counselor, I was often called upon to try to help people who were nursing long held anger. We have all been angry and often for good reason. But long held anger usually manifest in all other types of problems and often does more damage to the one holding it than they realize. Like the comedian, Jim Labriola has said:

    "I thought I was giving the poison to them,

but all of a sudden I was drinking it!"

Haman's long held anger is spilling over everywhere. He is burdening his wife with it. She doesn't help him deal with the root of his anger which is his obsession that Mordecai refuses to bow down to him.  Instead, she suggests ways that he can channel his anger against Mordecai and still promote himself with the king. Her husband is screaming and yelling and apparently she feels the penalty would be too great if she challenged his anger at the root. They are both caught in the anger trap. Instead of helping her husband deal with his anger within himself, she explores ways he can express his anger externally with harm as its' goal. No insight there.

      This is the same anger our great enemy, Satan, has for Jesus. He simply cannot stand Him and goes to great lengths to recruit others to assist in harming Jesus or those that love Him. Fortunately, many  Christians have learned to recognize his ways and have learned helpful ways to stop him in his tracks.

And that's a good thing. Let's all be dedicated to helping each other find healthier ways to handle our anger. Like Bonhoeffer said, God is not going anywhere and if we have faith, He can help us stand firm for the right.