The Dragon's Ire more Fierce than Fire. (Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite)

“Haman’s lineage”

When we were introduced to Haman we were told that he was the son of Hammedatha and he was described as an “Agagite''. What is the significance of this seemingly boring detail? 

Smaug the dragon from JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit" as set for the screen by Rankin Bass in 1977.

If removed from any context, this term is innocuous enough in itself. “Agagite” is a reference to the royal lineage of a particular king in the ancient middle east. If it’s so mundane, why include it? Is this simply to explain why Haman found favor in the eyes of Xerxes? Is this simply to juxtapose another Persian lord (Haman) with our lowly hero and heroine (Mordecai and Esther)? Or is there something more going on here? 

(this snapshot was taken from blueletterbible.com) 

I will posit (as many other commentators have done so) that something is going on here, something beyond a simple introduction with some detailed niceties. I believe this word is a way in which the book of Esther communicates the essence of Haman’s villainy. The word “Agagite” only appears in the Old Testament in the book of Esther. Those 5 times it is mentioned it is of course in relationship to Haman. This becomes a term not only used to describe Haman’s family tree or background, but it becomes attached to Haman at particular moments throughout the story. 

(This is a snapshot from this entry on Blueletterbible.com)

In Esther 3:1 we’re first introduced to Haman and he is there first referred to as an Agagite. The next time the term is used is later in chapter 3 when Xerxes and Haman have agreed to make law the systematic extermination of God’s Old Testament covenant people. This second use (3:10) begins a pattern that we see played out for the remaining occurrences of the word. The word “Agagite” follows Haman like a title of derision rather than nobility. Haman is referred to again by his parentage mimicking the formula of 3:1. This time however, there is a new addition to Haman’s description. His title has been lengthened to include “The Jews enemy” (3:10 NIV). From this mention in 3:10 onward, Haman’s status as an Agagite will always be mentioned in connection with hostility towards the Jews. 

Later in the book (8:3) we see the term “Agagite” come up again attached to Haman. This occurrence accompanies a short description of Haman’s “mischief” as “his device that he had devised against the Jews”. Only two verses later Haman’s “Agagite” background comes up again at 8:5. Yet again his title is expanded upon via an accompaniment describing his evil plot “letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews”. The final mention of this word is in 9:24. Chapter 9 begins a sort of epilogue of the story of Esther. Haman is mentioned several times through chapter 9, but only once in chapter 9 does his Agagite lineage come up, and when it does, so too accompanies the description “Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews”.

“So What?”

At this point you might be thinking something along the lines of...“Ok Jacob, we get it, when Haman’s Agagite heritage is brought up, it’s a reference to him being a bad guy in the story of Esther....so what?” 

What if we were to discover together, that Haman’s lineage is a reference to a long standing blood feud between two families? A few weeks ago I wrote a bit about the importance of paying attention to references, quotes, and allusions made in a biblical narrative. So let’s put into practice that skill of following a reference. We will certainly learn more of the intended meaning of the writer of Esther by including Haman’s Agagite lineage. 

The term “Agagite” is to refer to descendants of the kings of the Amalekites. The Amalekites would call their king “Agag” through multiple generations, it was a local or tribal title. This gives us our first clue, Haman is in some way in the line of a king of Amalek. Haman wasn’t simply a Persian lord, and he wasn’t “Persian” at all in his lineage. He was a foreigner in the midst of Persia, seeking his own prosperity. He’s noble in his lineage, but his nobility comes from a people group that the ancient Israelites had previously known of. 

(This is a snapshot from this entry on Blueletterbible.com)

You may recognize this name “Amalek” from other spots in the Old Testament and you’d be right! As the Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon above states “The Amalekites, a very ancient people (Gen 14:7; Numbers 24:20)”. The Amalekites were descendants of the sons of Esau (36:12,16). If you remember anything from the Jacob and Esau story it might be that Jacob and Esau didn’t see eye to eye. At times Jacob swindled Esau and took his birthright (Genesis 27), and Esau at times sought to kill Jacob (Genesis 27:41). There was always tension between these brothers, and the tension continued for generations in full scale open war between their descendants. Soon after the Lord had delivered Israel from Egypt, the people were camped at Rephidim and the Amalekites struck out at Israel:

8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.” (Exodus 17:8-16 NIV)

“The Lord Remembered” 

Because of the violent attack of the Amalekites God made a promise. The Amalekite attack would be remembered by the Lord, the God who had delivered Israel. The Lord who is just, the Lord who is righteous, the Lord who made heaven and earth, that Lord is the one who protected and provided for his ancient people. That is the same God who so loved the world that he sent His only Son into the world, that whoever should believe in His Son would be saved. The God who has never let a single of His promises go unfulfilled, made a promise to “blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven”.

This promise made by God after the battle at Rephidim is referenced multiple times throughout the Old Testament (Numbers 24:20, Deuteronomy 25:17,19, Judges 10:12, 1 Samuel 15:2). Several of the heroes of the Old Testament fought battles against the Amalekites and their allies. Some of the names that waged war against the Amalekites are the most famous warriors in the Old Testament: Moses, Joshua, Ehud, Gideon, Saul, Samuel, David and in their own way, Mordecai and Esther. 

The promises God makes, he remembers. Even though there are glimpses of the Amalekites from time to time, there is always the ever looming hand of justice. God’s righteous decree to bring about the destruction of Amalek is what we finally see coming to final fruition in the book of Esther with Haman the Agagite. Haman was a descendent of the kings of Amalek. He and his lineage for generations had sought to destroy the people of God. Haman in this regard is only renewing a family tradition, plotting to kill all of God’s people. The Lord does not take threats to his people lightly. 

As I’ve prayed and studied Haman in the book of Esther, this phrase from Proverbs keeps coming back to mind:

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. (Proverbs 26:27)

This might as well be Haman’s life verse. He sought to plot against God’s people, he dug a proverbial pit to destroy the chosen, he rolled a proverbial stone to crush the children of Abraham. Esau sought to destroy Jacob, Amalek sought to destroy Israel, Haman sought to destroy Mordecai & the Jews. Yet in each instance, while Esau seemed to be strong, while Amalek was a battle hardened people, while Haman seemed to hold the power of the king in his hands, it is God almighty who protects and delivers His people. God would not allow his beloved to be crushed, He would not allow his bride to be destroyed, He would not allow his people’s light to be extinguished. 

“Esther a Book on the End Times”

The last time we ever read in the biblical account of the lineage of Agag, king of the Amalekites is in Esther. God brought about the deliverance of his people. More than that, He ensured that justice would be brought to those who sought to destroy His people. Haman in this way is a picture of the threats against the promises of God. At every turn throughout history, whether it is Old Testament history, or the present age, God’s people are threatened by a dragon. The seed of the Serpent (Genesis 3:14-15) is always at enmity with the seed of the Woman. Haman’s threat was, during Esther’s day, the attempt to strike at the seed of the Woman. 

Esther is an ancient book. The story of Esther is dramatic, in it there lays an evil which is most foul. The story of Esther is ancient, it is a wealth of wisdom, it is a story of the Old Testament family of God, it is an encouragement, a challenge, and a warning from days long gone. It is a family treasure to be passed down from generation to generation. In this story we find the hope of God’s provision from days past. 

And, the story of Esther is a hope. This hope is new, it is recent, it is present. The wisdom the book of Esther shares with us is as needed today as it was in days of old. We must find God himself at work, in every present trouble, every present trial, every present tension to work his glory, his purposes. We must look around us today, and every day expecting that as things look worse and worse, God’s power is all the more on display. God is not asleep, he is not absent, he is at work by his Spirit and his Word. Through the book of Esther we are challenged to come to grips with God’s sovereign oversight. In this story we find the hope of God’s provision when God appears silent or absent. The battle is indeed the Lords! 

As we look to the future we must pray that we will be seeking, hungering, looking, yearning, pleading for the mighty hand of God’s providence. He is as active now as he was in Esther’s days. The book of Esther is a book of wisdom, it is a story, and it is a book of the end of days and the time when time will have no expiration date. For in the book of Esther we see the rise of a dragon in the person of Haman, we see the apparent power of the world in the king Xerxes, we see the imperfect church in Esther being in the midst of a foreign people, far too often following foreign ways. We begin to see in this book an eschatological outlook. This outlook tells a story in historical narrative form, with characters and the lives of people, that is comparable to the apocalyptic vision of the Apostle John. We see a rhythm throughout the book that is akin to the book of Revelation. The holiness and delight of God, the bride adorned for marital bliss, and a dragon rising to threaten all that which is good. The dragon in the end of days will come to an end as Haman did, defeated, and cast down. Every threat uttered against God and his promised people will be vanity, and every promise of God to protect, provide, and take pleasure in his people will be fulfilled. 

The book of Esther acts as a sign post for Christians today. This sign post encourages us because of God's faithfulness in the past, and empowers us to persevere in the midst of the threats of our day. Esther's sign post for us today might serve to remind us: know that the battle is the Lord's, God is at work.