Tree of Knowledge and Haman’s gallows: Esther shows us how to overcome our desire to replace God

Hallel Fellowship

“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Revelation 11:17–18 NASB 1995

The unspeakably dehumanizing brutality gleefully captured by attackers of Israeli communities bordering Gaza in the early morning hours last Oct. 7 reminds us that just under that veneer of civility lurks the spiritual legacy of an ancient adversary against all that is good, seeking to attack the most vulnerable instead of attacking armed defenders (Deuteronomy 25:17–19).

In the Torah reading וַיִּקְרָא Vayikra (“and He called,” Leviticus 1:1–6:7), we see more about Heaven’s pattern for how humanity will once again live together with our Creator, as it was in Eden (Genesis 2–3). Key to why we’re no longer in that face-to-face relationship is a key choice humanity made in Eden to “become like God,” to define for ourselves what is good and bad (Genesis 3:4–6), rather than to trust the discernment of our Creator.

Restoring that face-to-face relationship is what’s behind the Tabernacle offerings. They are called קָרְבָּן qorban (Lev. 1:2–3; from קָרַב qārab: “come near, approach, enter into”¹), meaning the thing that approaches. In the case of the Tabernacle, the destination is the Presence of God above the Ark of the Testimony. The worshiper’s becoming identifying personally with the qorban is emphasized with the liturgy of putting the hand on — literally, leaning on (סָמַךְ sāmak: “lean upon, lay, put, uphold, support”²) — the head of the animal offering (Ex. 29:10, 15, 19; Lev. 1:4; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:4, 15, 24, 29, 33; 8:14, 18, 22).

Between Genesis 2–3 and the book of Esther, commemorated with the annual festival of Purim, we see parallels between the Tree of Knowledge and Haman’s pride. In the garden, God told the first humans they could eat from any tree but one. The serpent’s sales pitch was to distrust their Creator, claiming that knowledge of what’s good versus bad was being withheld from them out of fea to eat from the tree that would make them like God. Similarly, Mordecai’s respect for the king of Persia but not for Haman was a continual reminder that Haman was not the king, despite the honor he thought was due him. That parallels the serpent’s deception in the garden.

1. Coppes, Leonard J. Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. ︎
2. Patterson, R. D. Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Accordance electronic edition, version 2.8. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. ︎