Arch-villain Haman caught in own trap

Aug. 27—Acknowledged or not, the hand of God often moves in the affairs of mankind to see that his purposes are accomplished.

It's a big part of the story of Mordecai, Haman and Queen Esther in which Mordecai refuses to bow down to Haman, a high official in the vast Persian kingdom of Xerxes, and Haman persuades the king to kill every Jew in the land.

The Rev. Mark Roosinck and Rabbi Jordan Parr say Esther risked her life to save Mordecai, her uncle, and her people by coming before Xerxes unbidden, revealing herself as a Jew and begging the king not to carry out Haman's plot. "Haman was clearly anti-Semitic because only one Jew had offended him, but he went against the whole nation," said the Rev. Roosinck, pastor of Westover Baptist Church. "Isn't that where prejudice and racism come from? Somebody has a bad experience with one person in a group and they hate everybody in that group."

God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther, which dates to the Fifth Century B.C., Roosinck said, but his intervention is obvious. "Esther is in the right place at the right time," he said.

"She became queen after Vashti displeased Xerxes and was sent away, Haman and Mordecai have an altercation and there is a divine intervention to protect the Jewish people. That is the basis of the Jewish Feast of Purim.

"Not even the queen could come before the king without being summoned and he could have had her exiled or killed at the drop of a hat. It was risky."

Later, when Xerxes returned from walking in his garden and found Haman with his head in Esther's lap, pleading for mercy, he was so outraged that he ordered Haman hanged on the 75-foot-tall gallows that Haman had built for Mordecai.

"As the Bible says in Numbers 32:23, surely your sin will find you out," Roosinck said. "Even though the name of God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther, you see the evidence of his work."

Rabbi Parr, of Temple Beth El, said Haman's malevolence stemmed from his heritage as a descendant of King Agag of the Amalekites, who had been the Jews' most implacable enemies for seven centuries.

"The Amalekites are the anti-God boogiemen of the entire Bible," Parr said. "We celebrate Purim in late February or March and it has become a very fun day. The adults and children come in costumes and we eat, drink and read the Book of Esther.

"Haman came within a day or two of having tens of thousands of Jews killed throughout the Persian empire, which was the largest kingdom in the world at that time."

Asked if Haman should be considered a ancestor of Hitler, Parr said that comparison is sometimes made, but there "is no way to draw a direct line and determine the genealogy.

"Esther had basically hidden her identity, but when push came to shove she put her life on the line to save our people. Mordecai pushed her to do that and she stepped up to the plate."