Year of Realization - Day 44: Evil is willing to do whatever it takes to get what it wants.

“Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast." This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.”

‭‭Esther‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV

Ahab was the seventh king of Israel. Sadly, he was only one in a line of evil kings.

As the story goes, Ahab saw a vineyard next to his palace that he wanted for himself. After offering Naboth (the owner of the vineyard) money or a different vineyard for it, Naboth turned him down because this vineyard was his inheritance. As evil often does when it doesn’t get what it wants, Ahab threw a temper tantrum, after which, his evil wife Jezebel concocted a plan to have Naboth falsely accused and stoned. Upon hearing of Naboth’s death, Ahab immediately went to claim the vineyard. In the meantime, the Lord spoke to Elijah and told him to give Ahab a message:

“Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" He answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.”

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭21‬:‭20‬ ‭ESV‬‬

After this Elijah pronounces a severe judgment on Ahab. Indeed, Ahab was killed in battle; and eventually, all of the members of his family were also killed.

“What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so. When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance.”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Make no mistake, evil plots how to get what it wants and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. And that brings us back to Haman.

In our opening scripture we see that Haman—having expressed his angst with Mordecai—is encouraged by his wife and friends to build a gallows upon which Mordecai can be hanged. Apparently, waiting for Mordecai to be killed later on was just too much for him; and now, there’s a way to get what he wants even more quickly than he thought. And…Haman is ready to carry it out. What could possibly go wrong?

We may look at stories like that of Ahab and Haman and wonder how they could do or allow such evil just to be able to get what they want. But—rather than marveling at their level of evil—let us examine ourselves and make sure that we don’t let evil slip into our way of being and doing through our own agenda. It happens more often than we even know.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#yearofrealization