Haman's Plot

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen people. 00:00:03 Speaker 2: It is the Jews my king. Their laws are different from everyone else's. They don't obey the king's laws. It is not in the King's best interest to tolerate them. If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction. 00:00:20 Speaker 1: The city of Sousa stirred with whispers, But at the city gate whispers had turned to Wales. 00:00:28 Speaker 3: Was it my defiance of Hayman that condemned us all? Did my boldness doom countless lives after years of hiding my heritage? Did my stubbornness give a madman the excuse he craved? 00:00:44 Speaker 2: Who would he have sought blood? 00:00:45 Speaker 3: Regardless? 00:00:47 Speaker 4: And what should I do? If I stay silent? I may save my own life, but what of my cousin? 00:00:55 Speaker 2: What of my people? Could I truly live with. 00:00:58 Speaker 1: Myself if I don't try to go before my husband and beg him to change his mind. 00:01:06 Speaker 4: You were placed here for such a time. 00:01:08 Speaker 1: As this Esther's breath trembled in her chest. She felt the weight of nations on her shoulders. 00:01:21 Speaker 5: Shello, my friends from here in the Holy Land of Israel, i'm ya l Exstein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and welcome to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel's story, we will find this truth that we are all chosen for something great. So take a moment today to follow the podcast. If you're feeling extra grateful for these stories, we would love it if you left us a review. I read every single one of them, and if you're interested in hearing more about the prophetic, life saving work of the Fellowship, you can visit IFCJ dot org. Let's begin. 00:02:12 Speaker 1: Hayman's head buzzed with wine and self importance. The Queen herself had invited him to dine twice. No man was closer to the throne than he. Every noble and attendant in Persia bowed low in his presence, their admiration like incense rising before him. He burst through the palace doors into the cool night air. The moon climbed high over the city, and people still milled about, enjoying the relief from the day's heat. Every guards, scribe and courtier he passed stooped low as they should. He drank in their reverence like fine wine. But as he neared the city gate, his steps slowed. There sad mordecai sackcloth still draped his shoulders, ash smeared across his brow, both signs of mourning for his pitiful people. But his posture was straight, his gaze calm and unyielding. 00:03:18 Speaker 6: How still you did not bow? 00:03:22 Speaker 1: Mordecui met his gaze, steel forged in desperation and faith. 00:03:28 Speaker 3: Why would I bow? 00:03:30 Speaker 7: Now? 00:03:31 Speaker 8: My posture will. 00:03:32 Speaker 1: Not change our fate. Hayman's eyes darkened, his fury sparking, but instead of lashing out, a slow, cruel smile curled across his face. His right hand clenched around the heavy signatu ring the engraved gold biting into his palm. With a single twist pressed into warm wax. He could end this man's life. He could end thousands. He done it before, he would do it again. 00:04:03 Speaker 6: Oh, but there are a hundred demas of condemn Make eye good out fret, Mordecai, the Jew. You will not need to wait long to meet your thoat. 00:04:17 Speaker 1: Mordecai remained motionless, his haunted eyes steady. Any other man might have shivered at the sight, but not Hayman. Instead, it stoked the fire already smoldering. 00:04:31 Speaker 8: In his veins. 00:04:32 Speaker 1: He spun on his heel and stormed toward the stables, striking the slow moving stable boy across the ear as he brought his horse around. Once mounted, he drove his heels into the horse's sides. He shrieked and bolted beneath him, tearing down the streets, scattering nighttime stragglers in his wake. As he rode, Haymon muttered darkly. 00:04:58 Speaker 2: He must be laden. 00:04:59 Speaker 3: It so his death. 00:05:03 Speaker 2: And most importantly brutal. Let all Jews know my words. Sealed with the King's ring is law. I will not be mocked, I will not be undermined. 00:05:17 Speaker 1: At his estate, he barked orders for his friends to be summoned, despite the late hour. Within minutes, they gathered in his grand dining room. Haymon twisted the King's signat ring on his finger, admiring the power it represented. Servants poured wine. Laughter rang out, but it was forced and shallow. Haymon regaled them, clinging to the illusion of control and his own self importance. 00:05:45 Speaker 9: Ha ha ha, I alone dined with the King and Queen. Today, I alone am invited again tomorrow. Ha ha ha ah, No man is more honored. I'm on the right a toast. 00:06:02 Speaker 3: He is shakened only to the king, but his wine is shakened to love. 00:06:09 Speaker 1: Laughter followed, but Hayman's smile faltered, and the mood in the room shifted dangerously. The memory of Mordecai gnawed at him. He slammed his goblet down, wine sloshing over the rim. 00:06:24 Speaker 2: Yet none of it satisfies his longness. That you sit the gate. 00:06:33 Speaker 1: His wife, Saresh, leaned forward and grasped his forearm, her voice soothing and her eyes full of mannic devotion. 00:06:42 Speaker 4: Then remove him. Do it tomorrow before the queen's banquets, so you can put the matter from your mind. You are Lord Haman. You hold the King's signet ring and speak with his authority. Have a gallows built tomorrow, high enough for all of Sousa to see. Hang him there in the morning, and go to the banquet with peace in your heart. 00:07:08 Speaker 1: The friends nodded in agreement. The suggestion pleased Hayman. His eyes glittered with malice. I will see that it is done before dawn. The hammers rang out, workers gathered heavy timbers, building the gallows that reached toward the sky, seventy five feet high, casting long shadows over the sleeping city. The birds had not yet begun to sing, but the sound of iron striking wood echoed across Susa, a grim herald of what was to come. That same night, the night of Queen Esther's banquet, the palace was quiet, but King Xerxes could not sleep. He tossed and turned beneath fine linen sheets, but the weight of luxury offered no comfort. His mind churned. Perhaps it was too much wine, too much excess, some other reason, the hand of fate decreeing that sleep evade him on this night of all nights. Outside his windows, the faint clang of hammers echoed in the distance, her gallows rising in the darkness. Though he knew nothing of it. Yet he sat up with a groan and shouted for attendance. 00:08:25 Speaker 8: Bring the royal records, read the Read them to me. 00:08:30 Speaker 1: The scribe arrived, looking sleep deprived, but dutifully unrolled a few scrolls by candlelight. His voice droned on, listing victories, tributes, taxes, until a line caught the King's ear. 00:08:46 Speaker 4: On the seventh day of the month, two royal guards conspired against the king. The plot was uncovered and reported by Mordecai. 00:08:53 Speaker 1: Serxes held up a hand to stop the scribe from going further as he recalled this event from five years ago. 00:09:01 Speaker 8: Ah, yes, the man more the game that found a way to get the message to me through Esther. 00:09:08 Speaker 1: Serxy smiled at the thought of Esther. 00:09:11 Speaker 8: My young queen is full of surprises, isn't she. I must remember to thank her for her role in uncovering that plot when I see her this evening, when she makes her request. 00:09:23 Speaker 7: What honor or reward was given to the man. 00:09:28 Speaker 1: The scribe shuffled anxiously through the scrolls, his brow furrowing None, my King, nothing has been recorded about a reward. Xerxy scowled, perplexed, and ran a hand through his hair. 00:09:41 Speaker 8: That will not stand. A man saves the king's life in this is forgotten. I cannot abide such an oversight in finding the wreath of the God's knowledce. It is most for daughters that I found such an error. 00:09:57 Speaker 1: King Xerxes then dismissed the scribe and summoned his attendants to help him dress. He knew there would be no finding sleep after such a discovery. And beyond the palace walls, the sound of hammers continued, steady, ominous. At dawn, Haymon swept into the palace courtyard, his mind set and his heart straining at the thought of revenge with cruel satisfaction. Today Mordecai would hang, and he would arrive at the Queen's banquet with peace in his heart and vengeance in his hand. But before he could summon the royal guards to command them to carry out the execution, a voice called from the palace steps. It was his old friend or pawn, Memucan. There was a curiously devious smile across his face, which Hayman mistook as admiration. 00:10:56 Speaker 2: Ah, Lord hamon my own frame, the King has been notified of your arrival at court. He wishes you to attend. 00:11:05 Speaker 1: To him right away, and he has specifically sought out your advice. Over all aburs, Hayman nodded graciously to Mamucan, more for show than earnest respect for the man. Haymon had long considered the old eunuch to have served his purpose on his rise to the top, but was needed no more. The king's eunuch was just one of many discarded by Hayman on his ruthless ascent. Haymon's sighed his plans of execution would have to wait. 00:11:39 Speaker 2: Of course, I won't keep it waiting. Did he tell your advice, Lord Mamukelen. It appears he requires the advice of a real man after all. 00:11:50 Speaker 1: Haymon watched with vindictive delight as Mamucan's smile tightened with restraint at the slight. Haymon laughed as he brushed past. Moments later, Haymon stood at the door of the King's audience chamber and saw the king accepting a silver goblet and plucking grapes from the vine on a gilded tray. 00:12:11 Speaker 8: Ah com on, just the man I was hoping to see come. 00:12:16 Speaker 1: Xerxes fumbled for the golden scepter, leaning against his throne, and hastily extended it toward Hayman. Haymon straightened his robes and entered the King's chamber, bowing deeply, his smile fixed and smug. The king sat forward, his expression thoughtful, almost eager. 00:12:36 Speaker 8: Tell me, amen, what should be done for the men? The king the lights to honor. 00:12:42 Speaker 1: Hayman's heart surged. Today was really turning around from the night before his breath quickened as he drew closer to the throne. 00:12:52 Speaker 2: A how else were the king on me? What other monarch that he was sot on me that I don't already have? Who else could it be? Who else? With the king wished to honor me? 00:13:05 Speaker 1: But aloud He chose his words with care, adopting what he assumed sounded like plausible humility, savoring each suggestion. 00:13:15 Speaker 2: A Well, for the man the King wants to honor, they should bring a royal garment that the king himself is worn, and the horse the king himself doesn't adorned with a royal crown on his head. Put the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king's most noble officials. Have them clothed. The man the king wants to honor a paradeum on the horse through the city square, and call up before him. This is what is done for the man the king who wants to honor. 00:13:54 Speaker 1: Xerxes smiled, pleased. 00:13:57 Speaker 7: Excellent perry, and do just as you propose. 00:14:00 Speaker 8: For more, da Kai the joe who sits at the city gate, to take my own garment and a horse from my stables for. 00:14:06 Speaker 7: Him, and you you should be the man who leads the honorary parade for who is more noble or respected than you? Ah, And I do not delay, and do not leave out anything you suggested. I love it God. 00:14:22 Speaker 1: The words struck like a hammer blow. Haymon's vision blurred, his stomach twisted, his mouth went dry. He struggled to breathe to respond, but the weight of humiliation pinned him to the floor. But then he remembered himself and where he was. He bowed before his king. He could do nothing else, Yes, my King. A short while later, the streets of Sousa buzzed with whispers. Crowds pressed in, leaning against market stalls and stone walls, craning their necks to see the spectacle. And there it was, Hayman, the king's highest official, walking ahead of the royal horse, leading it by gilded reins. The whispers turned to gasps. The very man who had sought Mordecai's death was now parading him through the city streets. Everyone knew by now the towering gallows outside Hayman's estate had been built for Mordecai. And now Haymon walked ahead of the king's own horse, with his enemy seated high above in glory. Haymon's robes dragged in the dust, while Mordecais were pristinely spread across the horses hind quarters. Hayman's face burned hot with humiliation, and though it felt like swallowing glass, he forced himself to cry out the very words he had offered so confidently that morning. 00:16:02 Speaker 2: This is what is done for the man the King delights to honor. 00:16:07 Speaker 1: Street after street, corner after corner. He repeated it until the words lost meaning, until his voice was raw, until he felt empty and exposed. Mordecai, on the other hand, sat tall atop the king's own horse, draped in royal robes, his posture straight, his expression calm and composed. He did not gloat. He did not glance down at Hayman. He did not have to. His gaze remained fixed ahead, dignified, resolute, now confident at this reversal of fate, that the God of his people was working out his people's rescue. Children whispered, Merchant stared. The mighty Hayman was reduced to a herald for the man he despised. Haymon could feel the weight of every gaze, every whisper, scraped against his pride like a blade. Afterward, Haymon returned home in silence, his head covered in shame, his expression hollow. The grand estate that once echoed with laughter and celebration now felt cold and cavernous. Servants hurried past with lowered eyes. The wine sat untouched. His wife, Zeresh, and his closest friends gathered, but the confidence that once filled their voices had vanished. After what they had witnessed in the streets. They had seen him, the king's highest official, reduced to a herald for the man he despised. No one spoke. At last, Zaresch broke the silence. Her voice was low, cold, and waited with something deeper than fear superstition. 00:18:05 Speaker 4: If Mordecai is of the Jewish people, and you have already begun to fall before him, then this is not chance. This is something greater. You will not overcome him. Your downfall has already begun. 00:18:23 Speaker 1: Her words hung in the air like a curse, like fate. In that moment, Hayman knew the winds had shifted, and the rope he had ordered was tightening around his own neck. Outside, the gallows loomed in the midday sun, a monument to pride an omen of doom. The trap was set, but not for the man it was built for. 00:18:57 Speaker 5: If your faith has been kindled by this padcast and it has affected your life, we'd love it if you left her review. We read them, and me personally I cherish them as you venture forth boldly and faithfully. I leave you with the biblical blessing from numbers six Iva Hashem vishmerechra Yeah heir hashempanave eleven ye sa hashempanave lera salon. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be gracious to you. Made the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. 00:19:39 Speaker 1: Amen. You can listen to the Chosen People with You Isle Exstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the pray dot Com app today. This prey dog com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellavaga and Ben Gammon are the execut give producers of the Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Gotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvado, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.