📅 June 19, 2026
📚 BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
📖 Daily Bible Reading: 👑 Esther 3
⚔️ The Plan of Destruction
✨ When Hatred Grows and God’s People Are Threatened
🌐 Read online here
📍 Introduction
In Esther chapter 3, the true adversary of the story appears. Haman rises to great power and becomes the enemy of the Jewish people. What begins with wounded pride develops into a plan that threatens the lives of thousands of people. Yet even though God is still not mentioned, He is already preparing deliverance in the background.
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🧵 Commentary
After the events of the previous chapter, King Ahasuerus raises a man named Haman to great power. He receives a position above all the other officials of the kingdom. As a sign of his authority, all the king’s servants are to bow down before him.
Mordecai, however, refuses to do this. The reasons are not explained in detail, but for Mordecai it is clear that he cannot give Haman this honor. His decision does not go unnoticed. Other officials observe his behavior and report it to Haman.
When Haman hears about it, he is filled with anger. But his hatred is not directed only against Mordecai. When he learns that Mordecai is a Jew, he decides to destroy the entire Jewish people.
Out of personal offense, a murderous plan emerges. Haman looks for a suitable time and has the Pur—the lot—cast. In this way, a specific day is set on which his plan is to be carried out.
Afterward, Haman comes before the king. He describes the Jews as a people who are different from others and who supposedly disregard the king’s laws. In doing so, he hides his true motives and deliberately presents the situation in a distorted way.
The king believes his words. Without examining the background more closely, he gives Haman permission to carry out his plan. A decree is spread throughout the whole kingdom. It orders that on a fixed day all Jews may be killed and their possessions plundered.
For the Jewish population, this news is devastating. From one day to the next, they stand under a sentence of death. No one knows how deliverance could be possible.
The contrast at the end of the chapter is especially striking. While the people in the city of Susa are confused and frightened, Haman and the king sit together and drink. The decision over life and death seems to them to be only a political matter.
Yet although the situation appears hopeless, God’s hidden intervention begins here. The enemy seems to triumph, but the story is not yet over.
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🧺 Summary
In Esther 3, Haman is raised to a powerful position in the Persian Empire. Out of hatred for Mordecai, he plans the destruction of all the Jews. Through a royal decree, a day is set on which the Jewish people are to be wiped out.
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🔦 Message for Us Today
Hatred and pride can lead people to destructive decisions. At the same time, this chapter reminds us that God is at work even when we do not see His hand. Even in seemingly hopeless situations, He remains the Lord of history.
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📝 Thought Prompt
How do you react when you encounter injustice or hatred—with fear, bitterness, or with trust that God is still at work even then?
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📆 June 14–20, 2026
📚 BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
📖 Weekly Reading from the Spirit of Prophecy
👑 Ellen White | Prophets and Kings
🌩️ Chapter 9: Elijah the Tishbite
✨ Elijah – God’s Courageous Voice in a Time of Apostasy
🌐 Read online here
📖 Blog 6: ⚔️ The Hatred Against God’s Messengers
When People Reject the Message
📍 Introduction
Instead of recognizing their guilt, Ahab and Jezebel looked for someone to blame.
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🧵 Commentary
The anger was directed against Elijah. The queen did everything she could to find him and kill him.
Many of God’s prophets were also persecuted. But God worked through Obadiah to save one hundred of them.
The hatred showed how far the people had already moved away from God.
The people preferred to get rid of the messenger rather than accept the message.
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🧺 Summary
The resistance against God’s truth grew stronger and stronger.
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🔦 Message for Us Today
Not every rejection means that you are on the wrong path.
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📝 Thought Prompt
How do I respond when God’s Word corrects me?
