Quick Note – Esther 3:8 – Foreign Law

Esther 3:8 – 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them.

When you go to a different country, it is important that you check some of the laws and customs of that place, lest you accidentally break them.  For example, I believe that it is illegal for one to chew gum in Singapore to keep the place clean.  It is also illegal to feed the pigeons in Venice, Italy at St. Mark’s Square.  And even in a town in France called Sarpourenx, you aren’t allowed to die unless you’ve already pre-purchased a burial plot in the local cemetery.  Although these laws may sound weird, there are reasons for them, and it is certainly important to follow the laws of that place.  (Referenced from Far & Wide website – https://www.farandwide.com/s/weird-laws-world-4961c1ede8d749bf)

However, if a law goes against the commands of God, we should always obey God first.  This is why in Acts 5:29, when the high priest told Peter and the apostles to no longer speak the name of Christ, Peter responded by saying, “We must obey God rather than man.”  It is more important to follow God’s laws than to follow the laws of the world.  That doesn’t mean that you can just break whatever law you want to and sin whenever you desire and use God as an excuse.  No!  Rather it means that if the law goes against what is written in the Bible, you follow God first.  But if the Bible does not address it and there is no indication as to how to rule based on God’s character as described in the Bible, then you should obey the law.  Regardless, because the laws of this world often go against the laws of man, Christians will stand out, because they don’t follow the customs of this world. 

Look at what happened to the Jewish people in the book of Esther.  The Jews were not to worship anyone except the Lord their God.  Although bowing down to a person can simply indicate reverence and respect, it could be mistaken for worship.  So very often, the Jews would not bow down to anyone.  However, when the Persian King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite to power, the servants of the king were told to bow down to Haman.  Rather than appearing like he was worshipping Haman, Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, a Jew, refused to bow down.  Because of this, Haman became furious and sought to destroy the Jewish people.  He told the king that laws of the Jews were different from those of every other people in the Persian Empire and for that reason, they needed to be eliminated.  They were seen as different because they followed God’s laws – laws that were different from those of the world’s. 

Just like the Jews in the Persian Empire, we as Christians follow a different set of laws from those of the world’s.  The world tells us that it is okay to indulge in sexual immorality, to commit adultery, and to divorce; but God abhors these things.  The world tells us that to aggressively use others and to deceive is the way to get honor and power, but God tells us to act with meekness and humility.  The world tells us that we should seek money and power, but God tells us to seek His kingdom first.  Because our goals, our methods, and our desires don’t align with this world’s, we will be looked upon as different.  And that is a good thing.  We shouldn’t look the same.  Our laws should be different.  They should feel foreign, because we follow God, which the world is diametrically opposed to.  So let us not feel ashamed of our faith, but rather let us be proud to stand different, to have a foreign law and to follow it.