Read: Esther 3

What do you think is really happening in this chapter of Esther?  Is it just an interesting story or more than that?

We see in this passage the antithesis, the struggle, between God and Satan, between God’s people and Satan’s people. When Mordecai didn’t bow down to Haman, it wasn’t because he was a proud man, nor was it because God had commanded them not to bow to other people.

The reason Mordecai didn’t bow down to Haman, was because Haman was an Agagite, which means that he was an Amalekite. You may remember that it was the Amalekites who fought against the Israelites when they were in the wilderness. That was the time when Moses had to hold up his hands in prayer to keep the Israelites winning. God had cursed the Amalekites and declared war against them. King Saul was supposed to destroy them all completely. Haman was a descendant of these people who were cursed by God. And that’s why Mordecai didn’t bow down to him.

This made Haman very angry. He wanted to kill Mordecai and all his people. Behind Haman’s anger, we see Satan’s anger. He hates the people of God and he wants to destroy them completely. And so, he used Haman to come up with this plan to get rid of all God’s people. He wanted to destroy them all because he knew that Jesus was going to be born from one of the Jews. And so, he thought that if he destroyed all the Jews, then Jesus couldn’t be born. That was his aim! Satan didn’t want Jesus to come to save us.

But God was at work here also. He made sure the that lot Haman cast fell on the month Adar. This was eleven months away. God gave this time so that he could work in Esther and Mordecai to go to the king to come up with a way to save his people. He was not going to let his plan of salvation stop. He was going to send Jesus to save his people!

Reflection with your child:

How can you see the struggle between God and Satan in this chapter?