I Am a Christian of Jesus Christ!

 

Haman the Agagite — some people connect this man with Agag, the king of the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15, and say that he was his descendant, but this cannot be confirmed. What is more important is the “reason” Haman became angry when Mordecai would neither bow down nor do him reverence, and then sought to destroy all the Jews. We can know this reason from what he said to King Ahasuerus.

 

Esther 3:8 “And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.”

 

That is right. The Jews had the law that God had given through Moses. Because this law was above any law of this world for the Jews, Mordecai, as we saw above, did not do what all the king’s servants urged him to do daily according to the king’s command — to bow down and do reverence to Haman. Instead, he told them that he was a Jew. When Haman learned this, he sought to destroy not only Mordecai, but all the Jews.

 

In Mordecai’s words to all the king’s servants, “I am a Jew!” was contained the meaning, “I will bow down and worship only God.”

 

Deuteronomy 6:12-13 “12then beware lest thou forget Jehovah, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 13Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; and him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by his name.”

 

In the days of Zedekiah, the last king of the southern kingdom of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and carried King Zedekiah and the people of Judah away to Babylon (2 Chr. 36:11-20). But although the Jews were carried away to Babylon, the word of God can never be bound. Therefore, among the Jews who came to live in a foreign land, there appeared those who kept the word of God even at the risk of their lives.

 

Daniel 3:1-18 “1Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon... 4Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up... 8Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews... 14Nebuchadnezzar answered and said unto them, Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that ye serve not my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? 16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. 17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

 

Not only Daniel’s three friends, but Daniel himself also acted as follows, even though he knew he would be cast into the den of lions.

 

Daniel 6:3-10 “3Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.... 7All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counsellors and the governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong interdict, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict. 10And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem; and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”

 

In Korean history as well, during the Japanese colonial period, Korean Christians were once forced by the Japanese to worship at Shinto shrines, as the Japanese built shrines in various places and compelled people to bow there. Yet we know well that many Christians resisted this even at the risk of their lives.

 

Likewise, Mordecai, as a Jew, could not kneel down or bow before Haman, even if it was the command of King Ahasuerus, because by faith he feared the command of God more than the command of man.

 

Exodus 1:15-21 “15And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birth-stool; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. 17But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.... 21And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them households.”

 

Thus, the One whom we must fear is not man, but God.

 

Matthew 10:28-29 “28And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father.”

 

Pilate, as governor of Judea, thought that he had authority to release Jesus and authority to crucify Him. But Jesus told him that this was not so.

 

John 19:10-11 “10Pilate therefore saith unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee? 11Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above...”

 

That is right. The life and death, blessing and calamity of man do not depend on man, but are governed only by God (Deut. 30:19-20). Therefore, in whatever situation or circumstance we may be, it is only natural that we should fear Jesus, not man. Since our citizenship is in heaven, and we wait for the Savior from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20), we must always keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus with patience (Rev. 14:12).

 

Long ago, Elijah said that he alone was left. But God told him, “I have left for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal” (1 Kings 19:9-18). And Scripture says that it is so even now.

 

Romans 11:3-5 “3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal. 5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

 

Therefore, we too must not think that there is no one in this world who keeps the words of Jesus, or that we are alone or only a few (John 6:65-68, John 15:18-19). Regardless of what others do, we must become “Christians who belong to Jesus Christ,” boldly living in this world by the words of Jesus and in the name of Jesus (Phil. 2:15). For the God who saved the Jews through Mordecai and Esther is with those who live in the name of Jesus even today, and He will save the remnant to the end. Truly, we are Christians who belong to Jesus Christ in this world!

 

1 Peter 4:14-16 “14If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; because the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God resteth upon you. 15For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer, or as a meddler in other men’s matters: 16but if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name.”

 

Romans 9:27-28 “27And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved: 28for the Lord will execute his word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short.”

 

Amen.