The letter to Titus (Part 8)

Our relationship with our employees/employers should be one that is God-glorifying. We cannot claim to love God, honour our church leaders, respect the members of our church and maltreat our employees/employers. Whatever we do to any one should be done with the understanding that we are doing it for the Lord. As Paul continued his instructions to Titus concerning raising a church that meets God’s standards, Paul also admonished Titus to encourage slaves to serve their masters well. At the time of this letter, slaves were workers bought by a master to work for them. Slaves were assigned several jobs depending on what the master does. Sometimes, slaves would escape from their masters just like Onesimus escaped from Philemon. Some of these slaves also heard the gospel and became believers. Paul admonished the slaves through Titus that their new life in Christ should not be that of rebellion but of obedience. Doing that, they will make the teaching of Christ worthwhile.

Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.‭ (Titus 2:9-10)‬

In Titus 2:9-10, Paul admonish Titus to “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive.” The following key points are important.  First, slaves were to be taught to be subject to their masters in everything. Second, slaves were to please their masters. Thirdly, slaves shouldn’t talk back to their masters. In addition to these, slaves should not steal from their masters. However,  by their godliness,  slaves should rather show to their masters that they can be fully trusted. According to Paul, such a lifestyle will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive. Here, we see Paul redefining the Slave-Master relationship in every way. The popular notions about this relationship in the days this letter was written was not so attractive. Some slaves were fond of squandering their masters’ resources and such slaves, if arrested, were dealt with harshly. Here Paul’s letter was to have a relationship that is not built in the world’s system but on the understanding that in Christ, there is neither slave nor free. A cordial and lovely relationship between a slave and the master cancels the societal perceptions of this relationship.

Similarly, we have also been called to demonstrate Christ wherever we go. Our workplaces are very important marketplaces for evangelism. We may not have the pulpits to preach at work, but by our lives and approach to our work, we should make it obvious for all to know that we are different. We should learn to appreciate those who are our leaders. Serving in love and humility is not a sign of weakness. We should stay away from malicious people, wicked co-workers, and serve with all diligence as if working for the Lord. We should not make room for people to doubt our faith. Our conversations should be seasoned with salt. We should be trustworthy in all our ways. We cannot promote Christ with our words and promote the devil by our lifestyles. That is living two different lifestyles. As we desire to make Christ known everywhere and everyday, our workplaces should also experience the love of Christ through us. If Jesus was your manager, would you have served Him like you are serving your current manager? If your answer is NO, you still need to have a change of mind.

Zaresh: The wife of Haman

The study of the women in the book of Esther has revealed different lessons to learn. We have seen characters to avoid and characters to desire. We have seen the different ways favour and disfavour can lead to either elevation or demotion. When Vashti’s disobedience led to disfavour, she was deposed as queen of Persia. When Esther found favour, she was promoted as the queen of Persia. We also see that when King Xerxes favoured Haman, he honoured Haman through elevation and gave Haman a seat of honour higher than that of all the other nobles (Esther 3:1). Haman nurtured a grudge with Mordecai, the cousin of Queen Esther and ultimately decided that killing Mordecai wasn’t enough but he would wipe out the whole Jewish community to satisfy his wrath. As Mordecai, Esther and the entire Jewish people fasted for God’s intervention, Haman and his house rooted for the death of the Jews. Haman’s wife, Zaresh is the main focus of this post. Just as her husband, she seemed to be heartless and lacked compassion. 

His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up. (Esther 5:14)

Even after Esther had invited the King and Haman to the banquet, Haman still nurtured hatred for Mordecai. Although Haman was happy to have been invited by the queen, when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and realized that Mordecai would not bow down to him, Haman was filled with rage (Esther 5:9). When he got home, Haman boasted of his accomplishments to his wife and friends and he said, “But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate” (Esther 5:13). When he said this, his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself” (Esther 5:14a). The question I ask is this, “How would Mordecai enjoy himself right after killing someone?” Certainly Zaresh and the friends of Haman are brute and vile. Unfortunately this wicked suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up (Esther 5:14b). Zaresh saw that the death of another man would please her husband. She desired to see Mordecai killed rather than seeing her husband sad. One of the innate traits of femininity is compassion but Zaresh had none. She didn’t even advise her husband to ask Mordecai why he refused to bow before Haman. Zaresh wanted the fame, the pomp and the positional advantage of being the wife of the king’s right hand man. 

The pole was made at Haman’s request. Haman couldn’t sleep that night in anticipation of morning to ask permission from the king to hang Mordecai on the pole. The king couldn’t sleep either because something had to be done urgently. The king requested the chronicles to be read and made note of Mordecai’s heroic act of exposing two evil men. The king asked, “What honour and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” and his attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him” (Esther 6:3). Zaresh proposed a pole to kill Mordecai (dishonour) and the king looked forward to giving Mordecai honour and recognition. Haman went to the palace early in the morning to facilitate his plans of killing Mordecai. He arrived at the same time the king was searching for the best way to honour Mordecai. The king asked his attendants, “Who is in the court?” Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him (Esther 6:4). The attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court” and the king ordered, “Bring him in” (Esther 6:5). The king asked Haman, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honour?” Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honour than me?” (Esther 6:6).

Haman, thinking that this honour was meant for him replied, “For the man the king delights to honour, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honour, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honour!’ ” (Esther 6:7‭-‬9). The king commanded Haman, “Go at once. Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended” (Esther 6:10). Imagine the shame and the hurt. Haman foolishly listened to his wife to kill Mordecai, now here he was preparing to parade Mordecai through the city to honour him. The king’s command had to be carried to the later, so Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!” (Esther 6:11). Imagine the anger and the disdain in Haman. His plan failed woefully. Instead of dishonour, he rather honoured Mordecai. 

Haman couldn’t hide his grief. He told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” (Esther 6:13). The same people who advised Haman to get rid of Mordecai were the same people who prophesied his ruin. Zaresh wanted honour for her husband and dishonour for Mordecai. But she got the opposite. The story is not over. We learn that “the plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful” (Proverbs 12:5). We also learn that one should not be quick to condemn others by digging a pit for them. Remember that “whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them” (Proverbs 26:27). 

Before Haman could get over his grief, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared (Esther 6:14).