AP

Esther 3:4  Day after day [the royal officials] spoke to [Mordecai] but he refused to comply [with the king’s order to kneel down and pay honour to Haman].  Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behaviour would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew. 

In line with the teaching and example of their Lord and Saviour, Bible-believing Christians strive to be tolerant with people with whom they disagree.  Although we are committed to the clear teaching of Scripture that there is only one way to heaven, that Jesus is the only Saviour, that “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), nevertheless we seek to live at peace with all people and to love our neighbour, even if he sees himself as our ‘enemy’.  We long and pray for everyone to come to faith in Christ and to find the joy and the hope of eternal life that we have in Jesus.

But we know there is no place in the gospel of grace for trickery, coercion, military force or persecution to bring this about; only the Holy Spirit working in a person’s heart can effect this – which is why we pray for unbelievers.

There is a point, however, when we need to draw a line in the sand.  Arrogant Haman set himself up in Xerxes’ Kingdom in the place of God.  He was the one who was going to decide what was right and wrong, what was acceptable behaviour and attitudes in Persian society.  And Mordecai drew a line in the sand.  As a Jew, Mordecai accepted God’s rightful rule in every part of his world, and he therefore submitted everything to God’s revealed truth in his Word.  Mordecai – otherwise a faithful, compliant, law-abiding citizen in a ‘foreign land’ – was not going to submit to any authority or human law that brought him into direct conflict with the laws of God.

The more our society moves away from God’s truth and models its behaviour on the dictates of secular humanism, the more it will be upset with all those who are seeking to be faithful ambassadors for Christ.  Just as Haman could not ‘tolerate’ Mordecai’s behaviour, so Christian beliefs are becoming less and less tolerable in our society.  Because of the clear, unambiguous teaching of God’s Word, courageous Christians are being forced to draw a line in the sand when they are asked to ‘tolerate’ the enacting in law of things like abortion, same-sex marriage, promoting acceptance in schools of homosexuality or other lifestyle outside the ‘design’ criteria; and the ‘Hamans’ of this world are not happy.

It is helpful for us in our situation to note that, for a time, Haman held the winning hand.  It is interesting to note that this was in spite of the drift of public opinion!  At the end of this chapter we read that after the law for the annihilation of the Jews had been enacted, “The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered” (v.15).  Much parliamentary and media hype is bewildering us today; but let us pray that God will raise up more ‘Mordecais’ and ‘Esthers’ in strategic places for ‘such a time as this’!

– Bruce Christian