Esther

Esther 3: The lot is in God's hand

Begin in prayer

Before we hear how Haman casts the lot, let us pray to the LORD, who rules every lot and every plan. Ask Him to give us trust when we are afraid, and to show us Christ in this dark chapter.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh.

Proverbs 16:33

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You rule over proud men and their plans, and lead us to Jesus, who came from Your people. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Some time after Esther becomes queen, King Ahasuerus raises Haman above all the princes, and the king's servants bow down to him. Mordecai the Jew will not bow, so Haman is full of wrath and plans to destroy all of Mordecai's people. In the first month they cast Pur, the lot, to choose a day, and it falls on the twelfth month. Haman tells the king that a certain people keep different laws, and he promises ten thousand talents of silver. The king gives Haman his ring and tells him to do as he pleases with them. Letters sealed with the ring go to every province, ordering that all Jews, young and old, be killed on one day. The king and Haman sit down to drink, and the city of Susa is perplexed.

As you read Esther 3, look for the answers:

• What does Mordecai refuse to do, and how does Haman answer? (verses 2 to 6)
• What do they cast to choose the day, and which month does it choose? (verse 7)
• Whom does the letter order to be destroyed? (verse 13)

Reflect together

Key truth

Haman casts the lot to choose a day to destroy God's people, but the LORD rules the lot.

After these things the king raises Haman above every other prince, and the king's servants bow to him (verses 1 and 2). Mordecai the Jew will not bow, and the chapter does not say why (verse 2). Haman is full of wrath. Killing Mordecai alone is too little for him, so he plans to destroy every Jew in the kingdom (verses 5 and 6). To choose the day, they cast Pur, which means the lot, and it falls on the twelfth month (verse 7). That day is almost a year away, and Proverbs 16 verse 33 says that every decision of the lot is from the LORD. So Haman's own lot gives God's people time, and the LORD will use that time to save them. Haman promises ten thousand talents of silver, and the king gives him his ring and the people (verses 9 to 11). The people Haman marks for death are the people from whom the promised Christ would come (Romans 9 verse 5).

How does Esther 3 show us that Haman casts the lot to choose a day to destroy God's people, but the LORD rules the lot?

Haman's anger over one man grows into a plan to destroy a people.

Haman has been raised above every other prince, and everyone at the gate bows to him except Mordecai (verses 1 and 2). When he learns that Mordecai is a Jew, he scorns the thought of laying hands on Mordecai alone (verse 6). He wants every Jew in the kingdom dead, and the king signs the order with his ring (verses 6 and 10). Jesus taught that murder comes from the heart (Mark 7 verses 21 and 22), so Haman's plan shows where sin leads.

The lot falls on a day nearly a year away.

They cast the lot from day to day and from month to month, and it chooses the twelfth month (verse 7). A lot was a way of letting chance decide, as we might throw dice. Proverbs 16 verse 33 says every decision of the lot is from the LORD. So Haman's own lot gives God's people almost a year, and nothing in the lot's fall is outside God's rule.

God will keep His people alive, for Christ is to come from them.

The letters order that all Jews be destroyed, young and old, little children and women, in one day (verse 13). They aim at the same people God promised to bring His Son from (Romans 9 verse 5). No decree sealed with a king's ring can stop what God has promised. Jesus, born into this people, came so that sinners who deserve death might have life (John 10 verse 10).

Memorise

they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month

Esther 3:7

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what hatred or pride is in my heart, and who can forgive me?

Haman’s letter ordered every Jew “to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish”, with “little children and women” among them. It was sealed with the king's ring, and the whole kingdom waited for the day. The sentence of death hung over God's people.

A sentence of death hangs over every sinner too, because the wages of sin is death. No ring and no law can cancel it. Yet on the cross Jesus took the death His people had earned. God's judgment fell on Him once for all. He rose from the grave, and the sentence stands answered.

So come to Him. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus. He gives life to sinners who trust Him, and every one who comes will find their sins forgiven.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God keeps His people safe, and that Jesus is the Savior who came from them. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Please explain verses 6 and 13 in your own words, where Haman plans to kill every Jew, including little children.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that the lot is in His hand, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Our help is in Yahweh’s name, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:8

Lord God, thank You that no plan of proud men can overrule You. Please help each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, who came to give life. Take away hatred and pride from our family, and help us to trust Your hand this week. Amen.