Introduction
We are now on the verge of battle. The battle is not yet joined, but it is about to be. What was going to be an official slaughter, a purge, an extermination, a genocide, with the full force of the state behind it all, is now going to be a battle between rival factions within the empire. And so this is the time for us to consider Haman’s ancestry in greater detail.
The Text
“On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai . . .” (Esther 8:1-17).
Summary of the Text
The king then bestowed all of Haman’s possessions on the queen, and Esther revealed the identity of Mordecai to the king (v. 1). The king then gave the ring that had been on Haman’s hand to Mordecai, and Esther put Mordecai over the house of Haman (v. 2). But the law against the Jews was still in effect, and so Esther now made her request openly (v. 3). She pleads, prostrate, with tears, and calls Haman the Agagite (v. 3), drawing attention to his ancestry. The king extended his scepter, as before, and so Esther stood up (v. 4). She repeats her petition, which is to reverse the scheme of Haman—again, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite (v. 5). How could she endure to see the destruction of her people (v. 6)? The king speaks to Esther, and to Mordecai, saying that Haman has already been hanged because of his action against the Jews (v. 7). He then says that even he cannot reverse the decree, but here, you can have my ring. Come up with something (v. 8). And so Mordecai did come up with something, and it was sent out everywhere (v. 9), particularly to the Jews. This was all done in the king’s name and distributed by every means (v. 10). This decree granted to the Jews a royal permission to defend themselves on the day they were attacked (vv. 11-12). This right of defense was published everywhere (v. 13). The decree was published in all of the provinces, and in the palace city (v. 14). And Mordecai was displayed in regal splendor again, and the city of Susa rejoiced in that fact (v. 15). As a result, the Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor (v. 16). This joy was evident across the empire, and even many of the Gentiles became Jews—for fear of the Jews had fallen on them (v. 17).
Did Ezekiel See It Coming?
In this chapter, as the stage for the conflict is setting up, Haman is described twice as an Agagite (vv. 3, 5). Why is this? To answer the question properly, we need to go back to the ministry of Ezekiel (c. 593 to 571 B.C), about 169 years before Artaxerxes came to the throne. Ezekiel lived in the Babylonian era, while Esther is set in the subsequent Persian era. But I am convinced that Ezekiel prophesied this particular clash (Eze. 38-39). This almost-genocide was biblically significant. Appealing to it as an archetypical clash is therefore legitimate.
We have already seen that Agag was the king that Saul failed to execute, and thereby he lost his dynasty. Haman was descended from Agag, and Mordecai was descended from Kish, the father of Saul, This means our story is the revenge of the house of Kish, as we have already noted. But there is much more involved than this.
The Pride of Amalek
“Amalek was the first of the nations; But his latter end shall be that he perish for ever” (Numbers 24:20b).
Agag was king of the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:8), and that title Agag could actually refer to any leader of the Amalekites (Num. 24:7). Haman therefore represents an ancient antipathy (Ex. 17:8-16; Deut. 25:17-19). “For he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Ex. 17:16).
Now Magog was the son of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), and although Amalek was descended from Seth through Esau, there were some ancient rabbis who identified Amalek as spiritual son of Magog. If you compare the Hebrew of Num. 24:7 to the LXX, you can see Gog there in place of Agag.
Ezekiel prophesies the coming of Haman by name (Eze. 39:11,15,16).
The prophets foretold multi-generational war between Amalek and Israel (Ex. 17:16; Num. 14:43; 24:20; Deut. 25:17-19; 1 Sam. 14:48; 15:18). Amalek was spoken of by Moses (Ex. 17:16), by Balaam (Num. 24:20), Samuel (1 Sam. 15:1-3; 17-23), Deborah (Judg. 5:14), Gideon (Judg. 6-7), an anonymous prophet (Judg. 10:11-14), David (1 Sam. 30), and Asaph (Ps. 83).
There is a large overlap of territories mentioned in Esther and Ezekiel. The point was plunder in both accounts. Some Gentiles fight alongside Jews in both. There is a reversal of fortune in both. The Jews gain great respect in both. And there are numerous other points of connection.
The Antithesis
The fact that Ezekiel predicts this near extinction of the Jews shows that the events of Esther were not trivial at all. And the fact that the apostle John picks up and uses the language of Gog and Magog in Revelation shows that the archetypical conflict between Israel and Amalek is one that continues on for the New Israel. We have our very own Amalek, and always will. In this fallen world, you cannot have an Israel without also having an Amalek.
In the long war against God, there is always a fundamental antithesis between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Love for Christ and love for the world will always separate out, the way oil and water do. And not only will they separate, but they will then be in conflict with each other. Attempts to erase or ease the conflict between the two are actually attempts to go over to the other side.
As we make our way through this world, we are confronted with a constant stream of choices, and they are always, at bottom, binary. This way or that way? Are you with Israel or with Amalek? With Mordecai or with Haman? With Christ or with Belial?
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).