Purim is a celebration of great deliverance. Disaster was turned into victory. Mourning was turned into rejoicing. Fear was turned into freedom. And yet the Book of Esther never mentions the name of God.
 
Why do you think God’s name is not mentioned in Esther?
 
Even though God is not named, He is everywhere present. Purim teaches us that when life feels out of control, God is still on the throne.
 
But Esther does something more. It reveals not only a historical enemy but a spiritual principle that operates in every human heart.
 
Tonight we are going to look at Esther 3 and ask: Is there a Haman we need to recognize today?
 
Read Esther 3:1 After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him.
 
Haman is called an Agagite. Agag was king of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15. Saul was told to go to war against the Amalekites.
 
(1 Sam 15:8-10) He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he destroyed with the sword. {9} But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs–everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. {10} Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel:
 
Because of this failure the prophet Samuel was sent by God to tell Saul that the kingdom was to be taken from him and given to another (David) since he had refused to obey the command of God to destroy Agag, the king of the Amalekites.
 
Amalek was the enemy of Israel when they came through the wilderness on the way from Egypt into Canaan. 
 
(Exo 17:8-16) 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 memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 
 
Centuries later Saul’s incomplete obedience allowed Amalek to survive. And centuries later… an Agagite rises again. What does that teach us about partial obedience?
 
Allow responses. Make the connection: Unfinished obedience today can become tomorrow’s crisis.
 
Amalek was descended from Esau.  Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. This is the language of God’s covenant and will, not emotional hatred. It reflects God’s sovereign choice of His redemptive line.
 
What does Esau represent in Scripture? He represents the world the flesh, and the devil. Eph 3:1: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.the natural man, and the natural tendency to be independent from God.
 
Throughout the Bible, Amalek is a symbol of the enemy of God’s purposes.
 
 
What is the relationship between the flesh and the Spirit? They are in opposition.
 
Mordecai and Haman
Spirit and flesh
Submission and self-exaltation
 
How does Haman reveal himself in Esther 3?  Pride, desire for honor, rage when not honored. The flesh is always seeking status. It wants recognition. It esteems itself more important others. While the spirit Paul cited in Phil 2:5-7:
 
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant … Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
 
Have you ever been disturbed by not being recognized? I know I have
 
Esther 3:5-6. When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were; therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
 
Why does Haman go after the Jews instead of just Mordecai? Because both Moredcai and the Jews were chosen by God. Whom God loves the world, the flesh and the devil despises.
 
Instead we are called to abide in Yeshua and if we do we will manifest the fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22 to 23.
 
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
 
The world the flesh and the devil are at work regularly to convince us that these qualities are weaknesses.
 
Has the flesh ever told you:
Patience will make you look weak?
Gentleness will make you irrelevant?
Honesty will cost you advancement?
Love will make you vulnerable?
 
Allow responses.
 
Haman whispers. He flatters.  He disguises ambition as wisdom.
 
He does not begin by saying “Rebel against God.” He says, to himself and the king “Take care of yourself first.”
 
Where do you most feel that temptation today?
 
Work, marriage, leadership, ministry?
 
Back in Exodus 17. God said He would make war against Amalek from generation to generation.  Why does God never make peace with Amalek? Because the world, the flesh and the devil cannot be reformed.
 
Romans 8:7-8 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
 
The flesh cannot please God. It can be religious.  It can be moral. It can be disciplined.  But it cannot submit.
 
When the Spirit takes up residence in a believer’s heart. The war intensifies. The presence of the Spirit arouses the flesh just as Mordecai’s refusal enraged Haman.
 
Nothing happens in our lives without the consent of our will.
What does that tell us about responsibility? We choose which voice we follow.
 
We can listen to the spirit of Haman or we can walk in the Spirit.
 
Practically, how do we recognize the schemes of the enemy? 1 Pet 5:9-10: Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
 
We recognize his schemes by 
Knowing Scripture
Recognize patterns
Identify pride early
Confess sin that the Word and God’s Spirit reveals and Submit quickly
 
Purim is not just about ancient Persia. It is about reversal. The enemy builds gallows. God prepares deliverance. We can see it in our day in the events unfolding in Persia.
 
Haman builds gallows for Mordecai. The decree of death goes out. The enemy appears unstoppable. And then — everything turns.
 
The one marked for death lives. The enemy falls. The people are delivered.
 
But here is something profound. In Esther, the Jews are saved from physical destruction. But Amalek still exists as a principle.
 
The flesh still wars.  Pride still whispers.  Self exaltation still tempts.
 
Purim gives us deliverance in history. But Messiah gives us deliverance in the heart.
 
Haman sought authority he did not deserve. He wanted every knee to bow. But Scripture tells us there is One to whom every knee will bow.
 
The difference is this: Haman demanded worship. Messiah did not demand it.
He humbled Himself.
 
Haman built gallows to destroy the righteous. Messiah allowed Himself to be placed upon an instrument of execution. And what looked like defeat became the greatest reversal in history.
 
The enemy thought he had won. Just as Haman thought he had secured the king’s signet ring and sealed the fate of the Jews.
 
But the cross became the ultimate Purim. What appeared to be death became life. What appeared to be defeat became victory. What appeared to be shame became glory.
 
As we come toward the end, we need to widen the lens. Haman is not just a picture of internal pride. He represents something larger. Scripture teaches that the believer faces three enemies:
The world The flesh And the devil And Purim speaks to all three.
1. The World – In Esther 3, Haman manipulates the political system.
He works through law. Through influence. Through culture. Through the king’s authority. The decree goes out into the entire empire.
That is the world system. The organized structure of society that can be shaped against God’s purposes.
The Jewish people were not attacked because of immorality or rebellion. They were targeted because they were distinct. They will always be different for the Lord has ordained that shall ever be.
The world still pressures us in the same way.
Conform. Blend in. Bow to the spirit of the age.
Where do you feel pressure to conform rather than stand distinct?
At work? In family?  In cultural conversations?
 
2. The Flesh – Haman’s rage begins with wounded pride. Mordecai would not bow. And instead of shrugging it off, Haman burns with fury.
That is the flesh. The flesh is not merely bad behavior. It is the self life demanding supremacy. It is pride. It is self preservation. It is self promotion.
 
The flesh says: If I am not honored, I am grieved or worse retaliate.  Paul tells us in Galatians that the flesh wars against the Spirit. And here is the reality.
The world outside pressures us. The flesh inside tempts us.
Where does pride rise quickest in you? When you are overlooked? Corrected? Misunderstood? That is where Haman lives.
3. The Devil – But we must go even deeper. Behind Haman stands something darker. Throughout Scripture, Amalek represents more than a tribe. It represents satanic opposition to God’s covenant purposes.
In Exodus 17, Amalek attacked Israel when they were weak. That is exactly how the enemy works. He attacks the weary. He attacks the vulnerable. He attacks when faith is fragile.
Haman’s plan was genocide. Total annihilation of the covenant people. That is not just flesh. That is the serpent’s ancient hatred of the promised seed.
From Pharaoh To Amalek To Haman To Herod and in the future Rev. 12:13-14 “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
The enemy has always tried to destroy the covenant line. Purim shows us that the devil works through the world system and through human pride.
But God overturns his plans.
Now here is where Purim connects to Messiah in a deeper way. The Jews in Persia faced destruction from: A hostile world system A prideful leader filled with rageAnd a spiritual hatred behind it all
And yet God reversed it. But Purim was temporary deliverance. The world still pressures. The flesh still tempts. The devil still accuses.
 
Yeshua addresses all three.
At the cross: The world condemned Him. The flesh mocked Him. The devil believed he had won. It looked like total defeat.
Just as the decree in Esther looked irreversible. But the resurrection was the ultimate Purim. What looked sealed was overturned. What looked final was reversed.
And through Messiah: The power of the world is broken. The dominion of the flesh is crucified. The authority of the devil is defeated.
Colossians says He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them.
Haman built gallows for Mordecai. The enemy moved Messiah toward the cross. But the cross became the instrument of victory.
That is the great reversal.
Purim teaches us: God is sovereign over the world. The Spirit empowers us against the flesh. Messiah has defeated the devil.
We still feel the battle. We still face pressure. But we fight from victory, not for victory. So the question is not whether the world, the flesh, and the devil exist.
The question is: Who sits on the throne? In Esther, God’s name is hidden. In Messiah, God’s victory is revealed.
And one day the war against Amalek will end completely. Until then: We resist the world’s pressure. We crucify the flesh. We stand firm against the devil. And we bow willingly to the true King.