Four times in the book of Esther, Haman was called the Jews’ enemy (3:10, 8:1, 9:10, 24). This description was given to Haman for one simple reason; he planned on killing all of the Jews. His motivation? Anger! Haman was angry at Mordecai, and he allowed his anger to boil over until it reached a point that he didn’t want any Jewish person to live (3:5-6).

Anger is the catalyst for much evil today. It is for this reason that we are warned not to allow anger to lead us into sin (Eph. 4:26-27). Elders in the Lord’s church are told not to be “soon angry” since it is evident that anger will not produce any good (Titus 1:7). Man’s anger doesn’t work God’s righteousness (Jas. 1:20)!

Men allow anger to cause them to justify sinful actions, but we need to remember that anger puts us on a “slippery slope” to worse sins (Col. 3:5). Anger was Haman’s motivation to kill not just one man, but an entire race of people! Today, men allow anger to fester until they lash out against others verbally and physically. Anger has been man’s justification for murder today, just as it was Haman’s!

The book of Esther shows us the consequences of unrestrained anger. By contrast, God is slow to anger (Ps. 145:8). Let us be slow to anger as well (Prov. 16:32; Jas. 1:19).

- Jarrod M. Jacobs