ESTHER 3:7-15

Somebody started a rumor. Others believed it, or wanted to. It spread and a reputation was tarnished. It was during the Civil War. Someone reported that Mary Todd Lincoln was responsible for Union defeats. The allegation was that she was selling military secrets to the enemy. She was accused of spying for the Confederacy! Nobody knows who started the rumors. Perhaps it was political enemies of her husband. Perhaps it was the Confederacy itself, hoping to discredit the President. Whatever, rumors were started, rumors spread, and rumors were believed. People took pleasure in the bad report about Mary Todd Lincoln. There are always those eager to spread, and to accept, a bad report about someone else. Haman brought a bad report about the Jews to King Ahasuerus. He represented the Jews as unworthy citizens, undesirables, lawbreakers and traitors who needed to be destroyed. And Ahasuerus believed the lie! There are some lessons to be learned as we consider king Ahasuerus' response to Haman's gossip. Ahasuerus had a real problem. What was the problem with Ahasuerus?

1. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT HE WAS TOO GULLIBLE: V8:
1. He was told a lie and swallowed it, hook, line and sinker. He was offered a lot of baloney and bought it. Oh, Haman told some truth; that's a good liar's way: bait the hook with truth to make it credible.
1. The Jews were scattered through the province and that could give them a good base of influence.
2. The Jews were "a certain people" and though scattered had maintained their national identity and would be a unified enemy.
3. The Jews did have their own Laws with which human laws often conflicted.
2. That truth, however, was corrupted into a lie by Haman and king Ahasuerus ingenuously believed the lie!
1. Haman said, "They do not observe the king's laws." But God fearing Jews were law abiding citizens who meticulously kept civil law insofar as it did not cause them to violate God's higher Law.
2. Haman said, "It is not in the king's interest to let them remain." Hogwash! The Jews represented a huge tax base and it was to the king's profit for them to remain.
3. Haman acted like his concern was for the king and his welfare. That was a big fat lie! He was consumed with his own interests and was playing the king for a fool to achieve his own ends. And gullible Ahasuerus bought it!
3. Be careful that you are not as gullible as Ahasuerus. There are always people who want to give us advice "for our good" but it is really for their own good. They lie to us to manipulate us and to exploit us not for our good, but for their own!
1. Satan lied to Eve: "Eat this fruit and you'll be like God! I'm telling you this for your own good!" What a crock! He didn't give a rip for Eve's good. He had a personal vendetta against God!
2. The cultists lie to us, promising religious truth and freedom but desire to bring us under their control.
3. False friends flatter us and butter us up not for our good but to manipulate us.
4. The "Get Rich Quick" schemers promise a huge profit for little outlay but are pocketing the money of sucker after sucker.
5. How many girls and women are used and cast aside by some predator who promised them love and only sought pleasure for self?
4. Be careful that you are not so gullible that you buy into every line that's tossed your way! Larry Burkett said, "A wise man seeks much counsel; a fool listens to all of it!" Weigh carefully the integrity and credibility of your advisors. God give us a dose of sanctified skepticism when we are being told a whopper! We'll be too gullible if we think things like:
1. "If so many people think it is right, it must be okay!"
2. "If it feels right, it can't be wrong!"
3. "It was on the news, so it has to be true!"
4. "I read it in a book and they wouldn't print it if it was a lie!"
5. "My best friend told me, so it is believable!"

2. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT HE WAS TOO IRRESPONSIBLE: VV10, 11:
1. How do we see his irresponsibility?
1. He believed an unfounded accusation. That's irresponsible in any leader.
2. He allowed himself to be manipulated into making a quick decision. He did that when his counselors told him to get rid of Queen Vashti, too. That's irresponsible.
3. He hastily turned over authority to Haman: he gave him the king's signet ring and carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to the Jews. That's irresponsible.
2. Because Ahasuerus was too gullible, he became too irresponsible. If we are too naive, too gullible, we, too, will act recklessly and irresponsibly.
1. In Proverbs 14:15-16 (NASB) Solomon warns: "The naive believes everything, But the prudent man considers his steps. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless."
2. A wise man is careful who he trusts. Ahasuerus trusted an untrustworthy fellow. That's irresponsible.
3. A wise man doesn't let others do his thinking for him. Ahasuerus let his princes and Haman do his thinking. That's irresponsible.
4. A wise man considers the consequences of his choices, a fool acts without forethought. Ahasuerus gave no thought to the ramifications of the law he allowed Haman to make. That's irresponsible.
3. Beware of that irresponsible approach to life and decisions. The irresponsible person
1. Allows peers to pressure him into wrong doing
2. Expects others to make all his decisions for him.
3. Allows emotions rather than reason to be the basis for making decisions.
4. Blames others for his failures.
5. Expects others to solve all his problems and meet all his needs.
6. Wants others to do his duty for him.
4. Oh, let us be more responsible, more dutiful, more mature than that! 

3. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT HE WAS TOO INDIFFERENT: VV11, 15:
1. His indifference is obvious and offensive:
1. He was indifferent to human life: "Do to them as your please." Thus, he endorsed "Operation Haman" a plot to eradicate Jews.
2. He was indifferent to the confusion he started: While the whole city was in confusion, "the king and Haman sat down to drink." They calmly acted as if they'd signed nothing more important than a title transfer for a camel!
3. He was indifferent to truth: Haman lied and he didn't check it out. The charge was bogus and Ahasuerus had no clue!
2. History is replete with examples of man's callous indifference to the good of his fellows:
1. Egyptian taskmasters made life unbearable for the Israelites to keep them in subjection.
2. Queen Athaliah murdered her own grandchildren to keep her throne.
3. Terrorists wreak havoc in the name of religion, indifferent to kindness or truth.
4. Daily it seems we read about some mother taking the lives of her own children, indifferent to their welfare.
5. Husbands seek their own good at the expense of their wives and children.
6. Some young people act like rebels, indifferent to the grief it brings their parents.
7. We get so caught up in our own problems, pursuits, and interests we become indifferent to those of our peers.
3. That's the kind of man Ahasuerus was and in his indifference he tolerated Haman's odious manipulation.
4. God help us beware
1. of indifference to truth and integrity and justice.
2. of indifference to kindness and generosity and goodwill.
3. of indifference to the needs and hurts and weaknesses of others.

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