 The book of Esther describes an episode that took place while the Jewish people were in exile under the rule of the Persian king. The book of Esther tells us that a fellow named Haman, who was the second most powerful person in the Persian kingdom, he was the advisor to the king, persuaded the king to destroy the Jewish people, and the book goes on to tell us how God intervened and through Mordechai and Esther, Esther was the queen, saved the Jewish people and we have the celebration of Purim and commemoration of that miracle. But why did Haman, why did this wicked person want to destroy the Jewish people? What was the trigger? What was the trigger that brought out the hatred that was in his heart towards the Jewish people? And the book of Esther tells us it was Mordechai's refusal to bow to him. The king had commanded that everyone should bow down to Haman and Mordechai refused to bow down to him. And that's what, when Haman saw that, Mordechai refused to bow down to him, that triggered off his hatred, that persuaded him, that instigated him to try to destroy the Jewish people. And the fact is that throughout history this conflict came about between the Jews and their enemies. The Jews, as a nation, refused to bow. They refused to bend themselves. When the Romans were worshiping their emperors, the Jews refused. They refused to bow to the emperors. When the various nations of the world were worshiping forces of nature, the sun, the mountains, the rivers, and they saw beauty and mystery and majesty in the sun, in the rivers, in the mountains. And the Jew refused to join them in their worship of these entities, of the mountains, of the sun, whatever it might be. And the enemies of the Jews saw this Jewish refusal to bow as a disrespect, as a Jewish disdain for the Gentile world, for the non-Jewish world. Why can't you, the Jew, respect what we the Gentiles respect? Why can't you honor what we respect? The Gentiles, the non-Jews, the enemies of the Jewish people saw this as an inherent Jewish disrespect for that which the non-Jewish world saw as holy and reverent. But the fact is, that's a misunderstanding of the Jewish position. The Jewish position is not that we disrespect non-Jews. The exact opposite is true. The message of the Jewish people, and really the underlying message of the Jewish Bible is, is a message of honor and respect to the human being. Our message is that you as a human being are the highest creation in God's world. You shouldn't be submitting yourself in worship. You shouldn't be bending and bowing to anything else but the God who created you. Not to the mountains, not to the trees, not to men who are honored and elevated and worshiped by the nations of the world. You owe your devotion to God and to no one else. You shouldn't be bending to anything or anyone else. That is the underlying message of the Jewish people. That is the testimony of the Jewish people. That is the testimony of the Jewish Bible. And that is the lesson of the story of Esther. The lesson of the story of Esther is, the Jewish people will not bow. And eventually they'll be vindicated. Our refusal to bow will be seen and heard as a message of respect for humanity, as a message of respect for humanity, not as a message of disdain for humanity as the enemies of the Jews would like to see it, would like to have other people read it and hear it that way. Rather, it's a message that elevates man, that tells man you're not a subject, you're not less than any other creation on this earth. All of creation are subject to God and to God alone.