Biblical Ancestry: How Saul and David Shaped the Story of Esther

Yes, Haman would never have existed because he was a direct descendant of the Amalekite king, Agag, whom Saul failed to execute in accordance with God's commandSITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16+2.

🛡️ The Root of the Conflict

The enmity between Mordecai and Haman was not merely a personal dispute; it was the continuation of an ancient struggle that began shortly after Israel left EgyptSITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16. The Amalekites had treacherously ambushed the Israelites at Rephidim, cruelly attacking the faint and weary who trailed at the rear of the host Deuteronomy 25:17-18SITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16. Because of this act of defiance against the throne of Jehovah, God decreed that the remembrance of Amalek should be utterly blotted out from under heaven Exodus 17:14+1PP 299.3+1.

👑 Saul's Partial Obedience

When Saul was anointed king, he was given a specific commission to execute this long-delayed sentence by destroying the Amalekites and all they possessed 1 Samuel 15:1-3PP 628.3+1. While he was victorious in battle, his obedience was only partialEP 456.3+1.

• Sparing Agag: Ambitious for the honor of returning with a royal captive, Saul spared Agag, the fierce king of the Amalekites 1 Samuel 15:8-9PP 628.3+1.

• The Spoil: The people reserved the finest of the flocks and herds for themselves, destroying only what was "vile and refuse" 1 Samuel 15:9PP 628.3+1.

👤 The Lineage of Haman

Haman is identified as "the Agagite," which means he was a direct descendant of King Agag Esther 3:1SITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16+2. Because Saul ventured to imitate the customs of other nations by sparing the royal captive, the Amalekite line continuedPP 628.3+1. Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people in the time of Queen Esther was a perpetuation of the original Amalekite treacherySITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16+1.

⚔️ The Historical Parallel

There is a striking tribal connection in this history that highlights Saul's failureSITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16:

• Mordecai was a Benjamite, of the same tribe as King Saul Esther 2:5SITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16+1.

• Haman was an Agagite, a descendant of the king Saul sparedSITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16+1.

Had Saul fully executed the divine edict to destroy all the Amalekites, the "secret spring" that Satan touched to urge Haman toward the destruction of the Jewish nation would have been removedSITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16+1. Mordecai would not have had to face this "enemy of the Jews," and the crisis that required Esther's life-risking intercession would never have arisen Esther 3:10SITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16+2. Ultimately, God turned Haman's wicked plot back upon his own head, and Mordecai was advanced to a position of high honor Esther 8:7PK 602.3+2.

1 Samuel 15

1 Samuel also said to Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore listen you to the voice of the words of the LORD.

2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.

5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.

6 And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until you come to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatted calves, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

10 Then came the word of the LORD to Samuel, saying,

11 It repents me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried to the LORD all night.

12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said to him, Blessed be you of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

14 And Samuel said, What means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?

15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell you what the LORD has said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on.

17 And Samuel said, When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed you king over Israel?

18 And the LORD sent you on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but did fly on the spoil, and did evil in the sight of the LORD?

20 And Saul said to Samuel, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.

22 And Samuel said, Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.

24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and your words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

25 Now therefore, I pray you, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you: for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.

27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold on the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

28 And Samuel said to him, The LORD has rent the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, that is better than you.

29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.

31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.

32 Then said Samuel, Bring you here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came to him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.

33 And Samuel said, As the sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.

35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Yes, Samuel did execute Agag, but Saul’s failure to destroy the Amalekite people and their possessions allowed the lineage and spirit of that nation to survive1SP 366.3+1. While Samuel performed the stern act of justice by hewing Agag in pieces to vindicate God's honor, the seeds of future conflict had already been sown through Saul’s earlier disobedienceEP 459.2+1.

⚖️ The Execution of Agag

After Saul’s rebellion was made clear, Samuel carried out the sentence that the king had failed to execute1SP 366.3.

• A Final Act of Justice: Samuel commanded that Agag be brought before him, and despite the captive king’s polite and flattering approach, the prophet declared that as Agag's sword had made women childless, so should his own mother be childless1SP 366.3+1.

• Vindicating God's Honor: By hewing Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal, Samuel publicly rebuked Saul’s course and demonstrated that God's commands are not optionalPP 632.3+1.

🛡️ Why the Lineage Continued

Although Agag himself died that day, Saul’s "partial obedience" had already compromised the missionPP 627.3+1.

• The Survival of the People: Saul was commanded to "utterly destroy" everything, but he and the people spared the best of the spoil and failed to ensure every Amalekite was consumed according to the divine edict 1 Samuel 15:3ST June 1, 1888, par. 10.

• A Persistent Enemy: Because the destruction was incomplete, the Amalekites continued to exist as a powerful and unrelenting foePP 545.3+1. They later plundered David’s city of Ziklag and continued to ravage the land for generationsPP 692.4+1.

• The Agagite Heritage: Haman, identified as an "Agagite," carried the royal title or ancestral name of the Amalekite kingsSS 310.3+1. This lineage was preserved because Saul chose to follow his own human judgment rather than the explicit command of GodYI December 1, 1898, par. 8+1.

⚠️ The Lesson of Saul’s Disobedience

Saul’s failure to act decisively at the appointed time created a lasting danger for the people of GodST September 14, 1882, par. 14+1.

• Spirit of Rebellion: Saul’s stubbornness was as the sin of witchcraft, and his refusal to admit his wrong made his case hopeless15MR 173.1+1.

• Consequences of Leniency: By sparing the "chief of the things" and the wicked king, Saul led the nation to feel they could follow their own judgment instead of God's wordST August 31, 1882, par. 8+1.

• Future Peril: The malice Haman later displayed toward Mordecai and the Jews was a direct result of this unfinished work5T 450.1+1. Satan used Haman as an agent to attempt to rid the earth of those who preserved the knowledge of the true God—a scheme that only failed because of God's marvelous counter-workingRR 212.1+1.

Ultimately, while Samuel’s hands were stayed in righteousness to finish the work regarding Agag, the broader failure of Saul to "utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek" allowed the enemy to rise again in the person of Haman Deuteronomy 25:195T 245.1+1.

Yes, Agag and his people, the Amalekites, were direct descendants of EsauBHOTV4 72.3. The genealogical records confirm that Esau was the father of the Edomites and that his grandson, Amalek, became the founder of the Amalekite nation Genesis 36:9-12+1.

📜 The Ancestry of Agag

The connection between Esau and the Amalekite kings is established through specific family lines:

• The Line of Descent: Esau’s firstborn son was Eliphaz Genesis 36:10+1. Eliphaz had a concubine named Timna, who bore him a son named Amalek Genesis 36:12+1.

• The Amalekite Nation: From this grandson of Esau descended the tribe that occupied the territory south and southwest of Palestine Numbers 13:29BHOTV4 72.3.

• The Royal Title: Agag was the hereditary name or title given to the kings of these Amalekites, much like "Pharaoh" was used for the kings of Egypt Numbers 24:7PP 449.3+1.

🛡️ The Perpetual Enmity

This family connection is significant because it explains the deep-seated rivalry between the descendants of Jacob (Israel) and the descendants of Esau (Amalek and Edom)BHOTV4 72.3+1.

• A Family Feud: The Amalekites were the first to wantonly attack the children of Israel during their journey from Egypt Exodus 17:8BHOTV4 72.3. This act of violence against "brother Jacob" led to a divine decree of war against Amalek from generation to generation Obadiah 1:10+1BHOTV4 72.3.

• The Character of Esau: Esau himself is described as a "profane person" who lived for self-gratification and despised his birthright Hebrews 12:16PP 177.2+1. This spirit of indifference to God's promises and hostility toward His people was manifested in his Amalekite descendantsST July 17, 1884, par. 10+1.

• Judgment on the House of Esau: Because of their persistent hatred and cruelty toward Israel, prophets later foretold that the "house of Esau" would be as stubble to be devoured, with no survivor remaining Obadiah 1:18ETI Obadiah, Book of.2.

⚖️ The Significance for King Saul

When God commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites, He was specifically addressing the "sinners the Amalekites" for their historical and continued opposition to His worship 1 Samuel 15:18ST July 17, 1884, par. 10. Saul’s decision to spare Agag was not just a military oversight; it was a failure to execute judgment on a lineage that had proven itself to be a relentless enemy of God's people4aSG 73.3+1. This failure eventually allowed another descendant of this line, Haman the Agagite, to seek vengeance upon the tribe of Benjamin and the whole Jewish nation centuries laterSITI April 23, 1902, page 3.16.

Mordecai existed as a Benjamite because David chose to show mercy to Shimei, an ancestor of Mordecai who belonged to the house of SaulCIS 350.2+2.

🛡️ The Mercy of David Toward Shimei

During the rebellion of Absalom, a Benjamite named Shimei, who was of the family of the house of Saul, cursed David and threw stones at himKJV — 2Samuel 16:5+1. Although David's followers wanted to execute Shimei for this treason, David rebuked them and allowed the man to live, viewing the trial as something permitted by the Lord4aSG 90.2+1.

• The Benjamite Connection: Shimei was a kinsman of Saul and harbored deep envy toward David because the throne had been taken from Saul’s house4aSG 90.2.

• The Act of Sparing: Even when David returned to Jerusalem and Shimei fell before him in confession, David swore an oath that Shimei would not be put to death at that timeKJV — 2Samuel 19:17+1.

• The Lineage of Mordecai: The genealogical record in the book of Esther identifies Mordecai as "the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite"KJV — Esther 2:5+1.

⚖️ A Contrast in Tribal History

The history of the tribe of Benjamin presents a striking contrast between King Saul and MordecaiCIS 350.2. While Saul spent his manhood plotting to destroy David, the "man after God’s own heart," Mordecai spent his life seeking the deliverance of his peopleCIS 350.2.

• Saul's Failure: Saul, also a son of Kish, was rejected by the Lord when he became exalted in his own mind and turned into a "ravening wolf" who chased David like a partridge in the mountains 1 Samuel 24:1-22CIS 350.2.

• Mordecai’s Faithfulness: In direct contrast, Mordecai remained true to principle and risked everything to protect the "beloved of the Lord"CIS 350.2+1.

• The Providential Preservation: Because David did not seek personal vengeance against his enemies of the house of Saul, but committed his cause to God, the line of Shimei was preserved4aSG 90.2+1. This allowed Mordecai to be born generations later in Shushan to serve as a witness for God in the Persian courtMB 41.2+1.

🌟 The Light in the Darkness

Mordecai, like Joseph and Daniel before him, acted as a light-bearer in a heathen landMB 41.2+1. God used the kindness Mordecai had shown to the Persian king—and the fact that his life had been preserved through his ancestry—to bring about a series of deliverances for the entire Jewish nationCIS 350.2+2. Thus, the mercy David showed to a rebellious Benjamite eventually resulted in the salvation of the Jewish people during the crisis of Haman's decreeCIS 350.2+1.