Think Before You Act

We really need to think before we act.  In this post we will see how King Ahasuerus made a decision without thinking about the consequences.  

As we continue our study we come to the second step that Haman took as he executed his plan to destroy the Jewish people found in Esther 3:8-11.

The date is set and now it is time for Haman to take his plan to king Ahasuerus to seek permission. Notice in verse 8 that Haman did not identify the Jews in these verses when he sought permission to annihilate them, instead he simply informed the king that there was a certain race of people who were obeying their own laws and disobeying the Persian law. Of course Haman was over exaggerating, the Jews had not rebelled against the Persian law; In fact, the prophet Jeremiah had encouraged the Jews to settle down and build a new life, being good citizens in the land to which they had been taken captive as we see in Jeremiah 29:4-7.

He was inferring that it was dangerous to allow them to remain for fear of political disturbance and uprising. Then we see in verse 9 that he requests a decree to be written that cannot be destroyed. To insure the king will accept he sweetens the deal and offers to pay ten thousand talents of silver which was a lot in those days. At this time the funds in the empire would be low due to the wars, so Haman knew it would entice the king. 

The King accepts Haman's offer and willingly gives Haman his signet ring, which empowered Haman to act with royal authority as the ring was used to seal official documents. It was a foolish thing for king Ahasuerus to do giving Haman total control and empowered him where he could write anything he wanted, place the royal seal and it became law not to be changed. 

Did you know that Haman is called "the enemy of the Jews" five different times in the book of Esther: 3:10, 7:6, 8:1, 9:10, and 9:24.  Can you imagine giving a wicked man free reign to do what he wanted to do. This is a clear sign for disaster and yet king Ahasuerus didn't see it, he did not think about the consequences of handing over his ring to Haman. 

My friend, It is always better to think before we act, think before making decisions, think about the consequences and make sure we are receiving Godly advice.