EXPOSITION
MORDECAI, BY WANT OF RESPECT, OFFENDS HAMAN, AHASUERUS' CHIEF MINISTER. HAMAN, IN REVENGE, RESOLVES TO DESTROY THE ENTIRE NATION OF THE JEWS (Esther 3:1-6). A break, probably of some years, separates Esther 2:1-23. from Esther 3:1-15. In the interval a new and important event has occurred a new character has made appearance upon the scene. Haman, the son of Hammedatha, an Agagite, has risen high in the favour of Ahasu-erus, and been assigned by him the second place in the kingdom. It has been granted him to sit upon a throne; and his throne has been set above those of all the other "princes" (Esther 3:1). He has in fact become "grand vizier," or chief minister. In the East men are so servile that a new favourite commonly receives the profoundest homage and reverence from all classes, and royal orders to bow down to such an one are superfluous. But on the occasion of Haman's elevation, for some reason that is not stated, a special command to bow down before him was issued by Ahasuerus (Esther 3:2). All obeyed as a matter of course, excepting one man. This was Mordecai the Jew. Whether there was anything extreme and unusual in the degree of honour required to be paid to the new favourite, or whether Mordecai regarded the usual Oriental prostration as unlawful, we cannot say for certain; but at any rate he would not do as his fellows did, not even when they remonstrated with him and taxed him with disobedience to the royal order (Esther 3:3). In the course of their remonstrances—probably in order to account for his reluctance—Mordecai stated himself to be a Jew (Esther 3:4). It would seem to have been after this that Haman's attention was first called by the other porters to Mordecai's want of respect—these persons being desirous of knowing whether his excuse would be allowed and the obeisance in his case dispensed with. Haman was violently enraged (Esther 3:5); but instead of taking proceedings against the individual, he resolved to go to the root of the matter, and, if Mordecai would not bow down to him because he was a Jew, then there should be no more Jews—he would have them exterminated (Esther 3:6). It did not occur to him that this would be a matter of much difficulty, so confident was he of his own influence over Ahasuerus, and so certain that he would feel no insuperable repugnance to the measure. The event justified his calculations, as appears from the latter part of the chapter (Esther 3:10-15).