Esther: A Reminder of God’s Faithfulness

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?

Romans 3:3

The book of Esther displays God’s dealings with those whom He has exiled. Even when God’s children are placed in a significant and painful timeout in which they do not experience many of the promised blessings, God remains faithful. Last time we considered how God’s faithfulness is seen in Lamentations and Esther’s connection to each other. Now we will go deeper into Esther to see God working in the details of the story for the good of His people and the executing of His plan.

Enter Israel’s Enemy

After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him.

Esther 3:1

As we step into the third chapter of Esther we are introduced to an old enemy of the people of God.

If you know the story of Esther you will know that Haman will plan to execute the Jewish people from one end of Persia to the other. But did you know that he was not acting at random or on his own. Haman was carrying on his family’s animosity toward the Jews. His family goes all the way back to Esau the brother of Jacob. Therefore, what we find in the story of Esther is a family feud that goes back to Rebekah’s womb:

And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.”

Genesis 25:23

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Haman’s Family History

Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.

Genesis 36:12, 16

The enmity and division spoken of by the Lord is seen in individuals in the womb as well as the posterity that would come forth down through the centuries. After this word from the Lord we do not see much in scripture recording the trouble between the offspring of Esau and that of Jacob. But when we fast forward to the Exodus we see the division arise to the surface of the Bible’s narrative:

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.

Exodus 17:8

Now the two families of Jacob and Esau are two nations. Israel has just come out of Egypt and the first source of trouble is Amalek, the nation of Esau’s grandson. They proved to be a ruthless enemy yet one that Israel was delivered from by God. The Amalekites did not stop here but would be a thorn in the side of Israel up through the time of the Judges and Samuel. They prove to always be an enemy to God’s people and purposes.

In the next and final stop in our History of Haman’s Family we see the clear connection between Haman and the Amalekites.

And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

1 Samuel 15:33

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King Saul of Israel had been commanded by God to attack and destroy king Agag and the Amalekites. This was in line with what God had called Israel to do years earlier:

Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Deuteronomy 25:17-19

Yet Saul was unfaithful to the Lord, and neglected to follow the command of God. Although Samuel dealt with Agag as we saw above (1 Sam. 15:33), the people of the Amalekites were yet allowed to survive…including the family line that lead to Haman the Agagite (Esther 3:1).

Saul’s faithless actions allowed for an ancient enemy to survive. This enemy would survive to be a lethal threat to Jacob’s family when they were exiled from the Promised Land.

BUT…

if we are faithless, He remains faithful— for He cannot deny Himself.

2 Timothy 2:13

His People Preserved and Enemies Executed

Back in Persia as Haman plots to execute the Jews, God is at work to execute His plan. Haman carries on his family tradition that goes back to Esau. He is in line with his Amalekite heritage. However, the Lord in His faithfulness would see to it that the Amalekites would be ended for their treachery (Deut. 25:17-19). In God’s providence Haman’s plot is uncovered and God’s people preserved. The enemy is executed.

By this we see a great truth: God remains faithful, always.

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

Psalm 36:5

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Closing Thought

If God would remain faithful then before sending His Son, how much more now. God is One who acts because of and in the covenant promises He has established with his people. When we see the faithfulness to promises made in the Old Covenant, we ought to rejoice that we live in a New and Better Covenant.

The child of God lives with Christ, the one who has received every promise(…). Israel looked ahead in hope for what was to come. The New Testament saint lives in the reality of what Christ has done. God’s faithfulness has been put on full display by the sacrifice of Jesus.

In this knowledge we may live confidently that he who didi not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, will also give us all things (Rom. 8).

As Haman the Amalekite, who was of the offspring of Esau, was an enemy to the people of God, so also we continue to face our Enemy who was from the beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Yet, the Offspring of the woman has already begun to crush the serpents head. God’s enemies have a certain end.