Esther 3 tells us Haman is an Agagite. This is an intriguing note because Haman is living in a Persian empire under a Persian king (Persia had conquered Babylon). What's an Agagite? To answer this, we have to go all the way back to 1 Samuel 15. In this passage the prophet Samuel tells Saul, king of Israel, to defeat the Amalekites. The Amalekites weren't friendly innocents; they were a cruel and ruthless group of people who worshiped violent, demonic gods. Israel's conquest was God's judgment on this evil nation for its deeds. This is one of the few times in Scripture where we see Israel commanded to completely destroy a nation.

 

Saul takes two hundred thousand soldiers and attacks the Amalekites. He defeats them… with a few exceptions:

 

“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.” 1 Sam. 15:1

 

Saul obeyed God… sort of. He destroyed everything… except the best things. The things that proved his conquest - the best livestock (equivalent to money in that day) and the king of the Amalekites he kept for himself as evidence of his great accomplishment. There was one problem: this accomplishment wasn't about Saul! This was God's war on evil, not Saul's opportunity for fame. When Samuel comes to rebuke Saul, Saul has the audacity to greet him with: “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” (1 Sam. 15:13) He had done nothing of the kind.

 

But what I really want you to notice is the other king in this story, the one Saul spared. Did you notice his name?

 

 

The great, great, great-times-eight grandfather of Haman.

 

Agag’s descendents lived to oppose and target the Jewish people through Haman. Saul’s selfish disobedience directly resulted in the enemy Esther had to face generations later.  But what we discover in Esther’s story is that even the evil decisions of our ancestors cannot defeat the purpose of God.

The sin of your forefathers - even the sin not-so-distant, of your father and mother - does not have the power to dictate your life story. Our society is intensely focused on processing childhood trauma. This can be a healthy, good, and necessary step IF it is a step directed toward healing. Endless rehearsal of the sins of our fathers… that is not healing. Living in constant fear of becoming our parents or grandparents… that is not freedom. Parenting from anxiety that we are destined to BE the worst parts of our parents… that is not wisdom. Hear what I am saying, not what I'm not saying. Josh and I see a counselor every 6-8 weeks and her work with us has involved looking backwards in order to move forward. But there has to be the moving forward. 

 

The Cross has power. The gospel is not just about eternity. It's a very present reality, a reality of bondage-breaking and Spirit-empowered freedom from patterns of the past. Saul's disobedience caused a ripple effect that his own descendants had to suffer with. He directly CAUSED their pain. But Esther's obedience and faith in the face of fear (more on that in my message below) reversed Saul's sin and made God's hand visible in Israel's story. This reversal of the sins of our lineage - the things they did wrong, the habits and addictions and patterns they introduced to us - is available to us in Christ. It may not be an easy process. It probably won't be. But God has promised freedom, and we get to ask for it, press for it, partner with him in it. Generational sin does not have power over the Lord who conquered death.

 

My ministry exists today because I have parents who let Christ break chains of divorce, legalism, sexual sin, and deceit. They didn't do it perfectly (hi mom! ;) but they did their best to let Jesus do His work, willing to say: This ends with me. 

 

Esther said - perhaps unknowingly - It ends with me, even if it ends me.

 

And sometimes that's what it feels like. Fighting uphill will feel like an ending, but really, it's just the beginning of a story Jesus wants to tell through you.

 

 

 

 

To Break a Chain, by P. Masonheimer (poster in the shop)
 

 

 

 

Below: The farmhouse rearranged for filming the Bible study. We took down the chandelier and the kitchen table was moved and staged. There were a total of eight sessions, each session discussing a different type of theology. It was an amazing experience and an awesome team to work with! 

 

 

 

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