Our Ancient Foe
30 Days in Ruth and Esther - day 21
For still our ancient foe
does seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
These lyrics from Luther’s iconic hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” are applicable to the turn the story of Esther takes at the beginning of chapter three. Up to now, any conflict in the story is between men and women who are a part of the unbelieving world—Ahasuerus and Vashti, the king’s eunuchs and the king. This is hatred and struggle within the world.
And if somehow the people of God could distance themselves from the antagonism and hatred of this world, we might think we could live at peace here.
But that is not the way things are.
Jesus clearly taught that in this world His disciples would experience hatred and persecution. From our perspective, that hatred often seems inexplicable and unnecessary. We want nothing more than for God to be glorified and honored, and for all people to live in peace with Him through Jesus Christ.
Luther hits the nail on the head with that line: “For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe.”
Some see Haman as a typological picture of the devil. I’m not sure we need to go that far. What is clear is that the writer of Esther wants us to connect Haman to a conflict that stretches back over centuries—the conflict between the Agagites and the Benjamites.
From an even broader perspective, we can see this—and all conflicts like it between the world and the people of God—as part of something that began in the Garden of Eden. There, the serpent tempted the woman, Adam sinned with Eve, and God determined to decisively deal with the conflict.
It is described for us in Genesis 3 in what has been called the protoevangelium—the first gospel proclamation. This conflict is central to that promise. The Son of Eve would have His heel bruised, but He would crush the serpent’s head.
This conflict in Esther, at first, seems like nothing more than a clash between an egocentric, evil man named Haman and a good man named Mordecai. It is that. But it is more. It is part of a larger conflict and a larger story.
We have an ancient foe. And he is our foe not simply because he hates us, but because he hates Jesus Christ.
Fear not. God is in control.
At the cross, Jesus crushed the serpent’s head. He will reign victorious, and His people will reign with Him.
The Hamans won’t win.
