The Devil in Disguise: Haman the Agagite and Amalekite
Samuel slaying king Agag. King Agag was an ancestor of prince Haman according to the Book of Esther
Introduction
The post is intended to help the reader more clearly understand how to read the Bible, and to more clearly understand that the Bible is not just a collection of literal-historical accounts meant to convey moral, ethical, and historical truths. Rather, this post is intended to help teach the reader (using a different hermeneutic than that which is generally taught) of how God has perfectly crafted His Word, the entire Bible, to reveal His Magnificent Salvation Plan wrought in the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. A key part of that Salvation Plan is showing mankind’s need of a Savior (The Lord Jesus Christ) from the sin that indwells all of mankind because of the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden because of the Devil’s lie. The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus defeated the Devil, along with death and Hell, solely through His Atoning Sacrifice for sin in complete fulfillment of God’s Law.
The Bible, the majority of which is the Old Testament, is replete with “hidden spiritual treasures” that expound upon that Salvation Plan in miraculous, mysterious, and non-obvious ways that can be easily missed in casual reading. Jesus taught this key principle to His disciples on the Road to Emmaus.
For the curious reader, it should be understood that this study is one of six “Character Profiles”, which in addition to this one include 1) King Ahasuerus, 2) Vashti, 3) Mordecai, 4) Esther, 5) Heggai/Hatach. These profiles are all excerpted from an in-depth, expositional commentary of The Book of Esther (a shorter summary of the Book of Esther has also been posted), which shows, by many examples, how the Book of Esther was supernaturally crafted by God, through the orchestration of time and space along with God’s Holy Spirit inspired recording of it, to perfectly form an Historical Parable. More clearly stated, the Book of Esther has both an earthly/historical meaning and a heavenly/eternal spiritual meaning, which involves significant use of “allegories” and “types“. This study is one of many posted on this website to show that there are many such Hidden Treasures embedded within the various historical accounts that are recorded in the Bible. The Bible is a Spiritual Book, and the understanding of many of the key aspects of the Bible requires spiritual discernment. It should also be remembered that Jesus only spoke in parables to the multitude for the reasons explained here: “Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables?“.
Jesus explained that He spoke in Parables, by using allegories, for the purpose of concealing His message from the non-elect of God. The non-elect cannot hear to understand, nor see to perceive, the Truth (Who Is Jesus) as The Only Means for Salvation from sin. May God graciously grant the readers of this post the Spiritual ears to hear and Spiritual eyes to see.
This post focuses on the “Typological” role that prince Haman serves in representing the Adversary, the Devil, and how that typology can be proven through careful comparison of Holy Biblical scripture with other Holy Biblical scripture (which includes the information available from Haman’s genealogy.)
The Book of Esther Reveals God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan Through Jesus Christ…From Beginning to End and Forever
Perhaps the most important of God’s purposes for the Book of Esther was to convey (albeit in a concealed manner) most, if not all, of the key elements of God’s magnificent salvation plan in one short (ten chapter) account. Moreover, the Message of the Book of Esther is the same Gospel Message that can be found everywhere else in the Bible as it focuses on the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Just as significantly, the Book of Esther is also a little known book of “Prophecy“! This is because it pointed to the Person and Work of Jesus 450 years into the future, and Jesus’ establishing the New Covenant to offer a way of escape from the demands of God’s Law under the Old Covenant, and the New Testament era that followed. It also culminates by going further into the future with a picture of Judgment Day, which is yet to come at the end of creation, and also the transition into eternity in Heaven that will follow for all who are counted among the people of Jesus… as well as the eternal death and destruction in Hell for all those who are not among the people of Jesus, that will begin with the Devil.
Haman, as an Agagite, Was Also an Amalekite: a Vessel “Unto Dishonour” and an Unmistakeable Portrait of the Devil
We are able to learn a lot about Haman, and his correlation with the devil, because of three distinct factors:
- The meaning of Haman’s name
- Haman’s ancestral lineage and its Biblical spiritual implications
- Haman’s personality traits and named attributes
1) Haman’s Name
Haman: According to Strong’s Concordance: the name “Haman” הָמָן (hāmān)H2001 is of foreign derivation said to mean “Magnificent“, but is phonetically similar to the Hebrew word חֵמָה (ḥēmâ)H2534 meaning fury (67x), wrath (34x), poison (6x). As was pointed out earlier, it was the word for “wrath” חֵמָה (ḥēmâ))H2534 that was specifically used to describe the “hate” that filled Haman against Mordecai in Esther 3:5 where we read, “And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath (חֵמָה (ḥēmâ))H2534.”
Also interestingly, “Magnificent” is also consistent with what we read of the devil in Isaiah 14:12…”How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
2) Haman’s Ancestral Lineage and Genealogy:
Esther 3:1 “After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that [were] with him.“
Hammedatha: “Threshing“? Possibly pertains to the last judgment, or threshing, when the evil are cast into hell. The Threshing Floor is where the wheat is separated from the chaff that is taken out and burned as we read in Matthew 3:12, “Whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor (threshing floor), and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.“
Agagite: “Flame“? Again possibly pertaining to those things that are taken out and burned by fire.
Note: We see a similar wicked character (another “type” of the devil) mentioned in Psalm 52:1-7, “[[To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.]] Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God [endureth] continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; [and] lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O [thou] deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of [thy] dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, [this is] the man [that] made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, [and] strengthened himself in his wickedness.” The Psalm ends on a positive note with Psalm 52:8&9, “But I [am] like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done [it]: and I will wait on thy name; for [it is] good before thy saints.“
Haman was a direct descendent of King Agag, hence Amalek, hence Esau (via Esau’s son Eliphaz). We know this because the Amalekites were descended from Esau’s grandson, Amalek, Genesis 36:12, “And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these [were] the sons of Adah Esau’s wife” Amalek עֲמָלֵק (ʿămālēq H6002 simply means “Dweller in a valley“). See also: 1 Chronicles 1:35&36, “The sons of Esau; Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek.“
Haman’s lineage traces back to Esau
Let’s see what God has to say about each of these individuals that make up the ancestry of Haman:
Esau: (Please see more about Esau in the Parable of the Prodigal Son)
Genesis 36:1, “Now these [are] the generations of Esau, who [is] Edom.”
Malachi 1:2&3, “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? [Was] not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.“
In Obadiah 1:1-6, God condemns Edom, hence Esau (made clear later in Obadiah), hence Haman… “¶The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation [is] high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt [thyself] as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD. If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grape gatherers came to thee, would they not leave [some] grapes? How are [the things] of Esau searched out! [how] are his hidden things sought up!“
In Obadiah 1:8-10, “Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men] out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty [men], O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.“
Romans 9:13, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.“
Amalek:
As noted above, the Amalekites were descended from Esau’s grandson, Amalek, Genesis 36:12, “And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these [were] the sons of Adah Esau‘s wife” Amalek עֲמָלֵק (ʿămālēq) H6002 simply means “Dweller in a valley.”
We also can find that, in Exodus 17:8-13, Joshua fought against Amalek under the inspiration of Moses, who arms were supported by Aaron and Hur, and that “Joshua” (who’s very name in the original Hebrew (יְהוֹשׁוּעַ (yᵊhôšûaʿ), meaning “God is Salvation” or “Savior”) is exactly the same name as “Jesus” Ἰησοῦς (iēsous) in the Greek) slew the Amalekites with the sword. The Amalekites were evidently not completely destroyed, however, and at the end of this war Moses was ordered to write in a document, as a reminder, that the Lord would one day blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven as we read in Exodus 17:14-16, “¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.“
The reader should also note that another translation, of the original Hebrew for the beginning word “Because” in Exodus 17:16, asserts that it is actually a phrase which means “Because the hand of Amalek is against the throne of the LORD,” and therefore “the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Given that this is the case, we can even more confidently say that this is another clear indicator that the Book of Esther is intended to provide us with insights on the “spiritual” warfare that will be ongoing until Judgment Day… the devil against God… as it is typified by Haman against Mordecai (and hence also against King Ahaseurus).
God reiterates His command in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, “¶ Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, [even] all [that were] feeble behind thee, when thou [wast] faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance to possess it, [that] thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget[it].“
In that context it should be remembered that it was the Edomites who would not let the Israelites pass and threatened to kill them if they even set foot inside of Edom as we are told in Numbers 20:14-21. We must also remember that “Esau is Edom” as we read four times in Genesis 36 (verses 1, 8, 19, 43). Note that with regard to “Edom“, God has nothing good to say in the Bible, in fact, the last time that Edom is mentioned in the Bible, in Malachi 1:4, we read, “Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.”
Amalek was the first enemy that Israel encountered after the crossing of the Red Sea as we read in 1 Samuel 15:2&3, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.“
We should also note that in Judges 3:12-14, that Amalekites joined forces with the Moabites to defeat Israel, “¶And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.” And later in Judges 5:14, we are given to understand that the Amalekites were similarly going to join forces with the Canaanites, but were evidently intercepted by the tribe of Eprhraim, “Out of Ephraim [was there] a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.“
King Agag, Father of the Agagites:
In 1 Samuel 15:8 we read where king Saul captured king Agag, and rather than killing him as God commanded, “And he (king Saul) took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.“
But, clearly, God had told king Saul to destroy all of the Amalekites (which would have included king Agag), as we read in 1 Samuel 15:18, where the prophet Samuel sternly said to king Saul, “And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.“ King Saul disobeyed God and would lose the kingdom as a result.
1 Samuel 15:22&23, “¶And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.“
As a result, we later read in 1 Samuel 15:32&33, “Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.“ (For more on the spiritual meaning of Gilgal, please see also this post: Gilgal)
It is also interesting to note that in the parable of Balaam versus Israel (where Balak, the king of Moab, sought to hire Balaam to curse Israel), God made Balaam prophesy that Israel (and its ultimate King, Jesus Christ) would be exalted above king Agag as we read Numbers 24:7, “He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed [shall be] in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.” However, Balaam was forced by God to curse the line of Amalek as we read in Numbers 24:20, “ And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek [was] the first of the nations (the first of the nations to confront returning Israel); but his latter end [shall be] that he perish for ever.” (NOTE: There are several references to the slaying of the Amalekites, with some, at times, escaping. It is not clear how Haman’s family escaped, but obviously they did. In 1 Samuel 30:17 we find, “And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.” and in 1 Chronicles 4:43, “And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.“)
(Another NOTE: The Bible, in Joshua 13:22, also tells us that this same Balaam (the son of Beor, “of Pethor of Mesopotamia”, according to Deuteronomy 23:4) was a “soothsayer” (diviner) and that Balaam was among those that Israel subsequently slew with the sword (also in Numbers 31:8). According to the Bible, Balaam was deserving of death because he gave counsel to Balak to cause Israel to stumble, as we read in Numbers 31:16, “to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.” and in Revelation 2:14,”But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac (Balak) to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Moreover in Micah 5:12 God specifically stated, “And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:”)
3) Haman’s Personality Traits and Named Attributes
Pride was a Key Element of Haman’s Personality
We read in Esther 6:6, where Haman, in his pride, presumed that he was the most honorable man in the kingdom, “¶So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?” But as we read later in Esther 6:10, that highest honor went instead to Haman’s hated enemy, Mordecai.
God has a lot to say about “pride”, and these verses are but a sample:
Proverbs 16:18, “Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.“
Psalm 10:4, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.“
Psalm 73:6-10, “Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly [concerning] oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.“
2 Samual 22:28, “And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes [are] upon the haughty, [that] thou mayest bring [them] down.“
Proverbs 18:12, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour [is] humility.“
Proverbs 21:24, “Proud [and] haughty scorner [is] his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.”
Job 26:12, “He (God) divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.“
Mary, during her meeting with Elizabeth while bearing Jesus, said in Luke 1:51, “He (God) hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from [their] seats, and exalted them of low degree.“
Attributes Arising from Haman’s Pride: Hate of Mordecai and Mordecai’s people the Jews
Esther 7:6, “And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.“*
The specific words “adversary“, “enemy“, and “wicked” (when taken together) are used pointedly in the Bible to unequivocally describe the devil, Satan (e.g., 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:“; Matthew 13:39, “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.“; and, Matthew 13:38, “The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one];”
One more thing should be noted however…the word that the King James translators took to mean as “adversary”in the Book of Esther is actually the Hebrew word אִישׁ (‘îš) H376, which is actually a far more benign word, translated over 1000 times in the Bible, as simply meaning “man”, which is never translated anywhere else in the Bible as “adversary”. However, when we do look up the proper Hebrew word for “adversary“… Lo and behold…the word is, most significantly, שָׂטָן (śāṭān) H7854! Yes, the adversary is the devil himself, the arch-enemy of God and of all of God’s elect! Is it possible that somehow the translators were moved by God to lead us to this interpretation, perhaps even unbeknownst to themselves? Only God knows for sure.
Haman, like Satan, is not just the Adversary, the Enemy and the Wicked one , but he also is the “Accuser” of Jesus and His People the Eternal Jews
Note the similarity between the accusation by Haman against the Jews in Esther 3:8&9 (“And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.“) with what we find in Ezra 4:4-6, “Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they [unto him] an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.”
Furthermore, we also know according to Revelation 12:10, that Satan (described in the immediately preceding verse as, “…the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.“) is the accuser of the brethren before God, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.“
And let us consider the end of all those, like Haman, who are deemed to be enemies and wicked as we had read in Esther 7:6, “And Esther said, The adversary and enemy [is] this wicked Haman…”
Job, serving as a “Type”, spiritually representing the Lord Jesus Christ said in Job 29:17, “And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.”
Psalm 9:5, “Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.”
Psalm 37:20, “But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD [shall] be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.“
Psalm 37:28, “For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.“
Psalm 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God.”
Psalm 11:2 “For, lo, the wicked bend [their] bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.“
Proverbs 21:10, “The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.“
Then there is this analysis that was recently found on the internet at http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Esther.html under “Foreshadowings“, and it is very well said:
“Just as Haman plotted against the Jews in order to destroy them, so has Satan has set himself against Christ and God’s people. Just as Haman is defeated on the gallows he built for Mordecai, so does Christ use the very weapon that his enemy devised to destroy Him and His spiritual seed. For the cross, by which Satan planned to destroy the Messiah, was the very means through which Christ “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:14-15). Just as Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai, so the devil was crushed by the cross he erected to destroy Christ.”
Desiring to Usurp God’s Authority
We should remember what God tells us in Isaiah 14:12-15, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart (לֵבָב (lēḇāḇ))H3824, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Please see again also Obadiah 1:4.) Note also the parallels with what we read in Job 20:5-7, “That the triumphing of the wicked [is] short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where [is] he?“
The devil, in his pride, sought to replace God, and to usurp God’s authority, and take the church/congregations (the Bride of Christ, represented by “the stars of God”) by force for himself. We see this being symbolized by Haman being observed on Esther’s bed whereupon Haman was immediately sentenced to the Gallows and the king’s wrath was “pacified”. And, for the record, regarding “stars” as a “Type” for the believer, we should remember that God said in Genesis 22:16&17, “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son]: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;”. God points to “the stars of the heaven” as representative of the seed of Abraham…the eternal seed in Christ. Note also the consistency with what we read in Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?“
Haman’s shame portends the devil’s consignment to Hell
In Esther 7:8-10 we read, “Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther [was]. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered (חָפָה (ḥāp̄â))H2645 Haman’s face. And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. ¶So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.“
Psalm 109:29, “Let mine adversaries (שָׂטָן (śāṭān))H7854 be clothed לָבַשׁ (lāḇaš)H3847 with shame (כְּלִמָּה (kᵊlimmâ))H3639, and let them cover (עָטָה (ʿāṭâ)) themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.” The word כְּלִמָּה (kᵊlimmâ)H3639 is tied to consignment to Hell as we read in Ezekiel 32:24, “There [is] Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame (כְּלִמָּה (kᵊlimmâ))H3639 with them that go down to the pit.”
Notice that the “adversaries” is (שָׂטָן (śāṭān))H7854, the devil, who is to be clothed with shame, and he, and all of his host, are consigned to the pit, and the “pit” is a picture of Hell! And God’s (the ultimate King) wrath will be pacified on Judgment Day.
We should also note that not only was Haman hung on the gallows, but so also were later all of his ten sons hung on the gallows, which were his posterity, as we in Ester 9:13&14. This is entirely consistent with what we read regarding the judgment on the wicked that we read in Job 20:28, “The increase of his house shall depart, [and his goods] shall flow away in the day of his wrath. This [is] the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.”
And regarding Judgment Day, we read in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.“
Conclusion
The Book of Esther provides us with an accurate account of an actual period in history, but it was nonetheless orchestrated, recorded, and written under the inspiration of Almighty God, by His Holy Spirit, and it is incorporated into God’s Word the Bible for the edification and consolation of His people, which glorifies God in the process. The Book of Esther is, therefore, an historical vignette (an Historical Parable) orchestrated by God in the first instance (historically), and written down as precisely crafted in the Bible in the second instance (spiritually) to fulfill God’s own purposes. Those purposes include the conveyance (albeit in a concealed manner) of most, if not all, of the key elements of God’s magnificent salvation plan in one short (ten chapter) account. Part of God’s Plan involves the adversarial role of the devil and his defeat by Jesus at the Cross of Calvary.
Knowing the truth about the Book of Esther, or anything else in the Bible, will not save anyone, but knowing Jesus Christ as Lord God and Savior (for Salvation from the just penalty for sins via his Atoning Sacrifice) will. This study and all the studies on this website are intended to be a witness that the Bible is true and trustworthy and that Jesus is Who He said that He was.
May this study be a blessing to all who find it.
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Tags: agagite, amalek, Bible, Christianity, Esther, faith, Haman, Mordecai, typology-in-the-bible
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