When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him
honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he
scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to
destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of
Xerxes.
Esther
3:5-6
There was a long dark history between the Amalekites and the
Jews. The Amalekites fiercely attacked God’s people as they were headed to the
Promised Land in the time of Moses (Deuteronomy 25:17-19). King Saul was
commissioned to eliminate the Amalekites, but failed in completing his mission
(1 Samuel 15). In fact, an Amalekite claimed to have killed Saul on the
battlefield (2 Samuel 1:1-10). Bad blood ran very deep.
While Haman had a particular hatred toward Mordecai, because
he refused to bow, Haman’s hatred was generalized to all of the Jewish people.
Whether they bowed or not, Haman was determine to wipe them all out, if for any
other reason, to eliminate Mordecai. There was no way to reason with the evil
in Haman’s heart. His motives were both personal and dark.
Motives are tricky things to manage. In fact, people can so
deceive themselves that they will do irrational and outrageous things to
justify themselves. The Bible says, “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but
motives are weighed by the LORD” (Proverbs 16:2). What we don’t understand
about ourselves, God sees very clearly. We need to invite God to examine us,
and to make sure that our heads are screwed on straight. “Search me, God, and
know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any
offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
None of us sees all sides of ourselves.
Every one of us has blind spots. Think about it. Why is it
so easy for us to recognize flaws and poor motivations in other people, yet we
have a hard time owning up to our own? When people point out our flaws, we
often become irritated. After all, they must be wrong. We don’t see that in
ourselves. We all need people who love us, but who are not impressed with us,
to speak into our lives. If we surround ourselves with people who only tell us
what we want to hear, watch out. This is dangerous territory.
Wrong motives become toxic when they interact with our
pride. Stubbornness sets in. At this point, failure is the only thing that can
cure us. But, who will be the casualties in the process?
What are you working hard at justifying these days? What
insecurities does this justification reveal? Who are you seeking out for godly
counsel? What is God saying to you?
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