Bible Study with the Cincottis – Spirit of Conflict – 09/20/2026
Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti.
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Spirit of Conflict
“The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation. Ex. 17:16
Conflict is a prevalent theme in the Scripture. We see it almost out of the starting gate, in Genesis 3, the account of the fall of man, and it persists all the way to maps. Back on July 27, 2024, I did a study on conflict, which focused mostly, but not exclusively, on the natural plane. Today we are going to pull back the curtain on the subject to see the evidence of a long-time spiritual battle, and how it may be driving all the others.
To ferret this out we will start by looking at a passage of Scripture in the book of Esther that God breathed on, for me, during our reading of it last week. “When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath.” Es. 3:5.
“filled with wrath” is also cross referenced to Dan. 3:19, where in King Nebuchadnezzar was likewise, “full of fury” towards Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, because they would not bow down before him. Haman is so incensed by the gesture of one man that he connives to have all the Jews, in all the provinces, “annihilated.” So he uses his position to coerce the king to make a decree to such end, and he succeeds. Yet this is not even satisfying for Haman’s wrath, for further in the narrative we read:
“So Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh. Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king. Moreover Haman said, ‘Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.’” Es. 5:9-14
That’s the part that God breathed on for me, and whenever He does that it’s wisdom to take notice.
The saga of Haman goes way back in the pages of Scripture, for Est. 3:1 tells us that he was an, “Agagite.” It takes many cross references to carve this back but, essentially it means that he seems to have been a decedent of King Agag. In I Sam. 15, through the prophet Samuel, the LORD instructs King Saul to, “utterly destroy” the Amalekites. This was because, back in Ex. 17:8-16, the Amalekites, “attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.” as they came out of Egypt, in the wilderness. Deut. 25:17-19. It goes on to say, “Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven, you shall not forget.” Deut. 25:19. The Samuel account goes on to tell how King Saul spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, for which he was severely scolded. Samuel kills Agag, but it seems as though a few “Agagites” may have also slipped away; thus Haman. Just to close out the family tree, we read in Gen. 36:12, “Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.”
There was a lot of generational hatred between Esau and the descendants of Jacob.
We could look at this as tribal feuding or even go a little deeper by calling it generational curses but, we recognize a cosmic battle. Whenever we see patterns in the Scriptures, or, I will even go so far as to say, in our personal history, we are witnessing a transcendent footprint. This is not the only place in Scripture where unrequited hatred has been perpetrated toward the Jews, or more specifically, the “Seed.” Cain kills Abel over a trivial matter. Pharaoh tries to kill all the male Jewish children in Goshen, and in a similar fashion, Herod massacres all the male children in Bethlehem and its districts, from two years old and under.
God calls Israel His, “firstborn son.” in Ex. 4:22, and, “the apple of His eye” Deut. 32:10. Whatever God sets His affections on, Satan is determined to corrupt and destroy. I was shocked to see the volume of antisemitism in, what’s called “The Common Era” from 250 to 1945 (Taken from SimpleToRemember.com; Judaism Online). God doesn’t change His affections; “there is no variation or shadow of turning” in Him. Js. 1:17. Even in Israel’s greatest apostasy, God is still wooing them back to Himself while perfectly executing His plan for the redemption of mankind. In Romans, chapters 9-11, Paul goes to great lengths to express that Israel’s rejection is not total: “All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.” Is. 65:2, and “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Rm. 11:1.
Now that we know the playing field, we’re obligated to make some decisions. It breaks my heart that much of the persecution of Jews in the “CE” was perpetrated by Christians. Somehow they failed to read, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” Eph. 2:14-18.
However, the purpose of this study is not to call out antisemitism, but to unveil Satan, who is determined to crush what God turns His affection towards. We don’t have the same impetus that Mordecai had, who finds himself in a position of power, with the king’s signet ring, and is able to make a decree that the Jews should defend themselves. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Eph. 6:12, but we can glean some principles from the book of Esther.
First, God is for His elect. Reading through the entire account of Esther, we see God orchestrating events for both the extinction of Amalek and for the preservation of His Seed. “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” Rm. 8:31. Second, we see how God has given His elect authority. Mordecai ends up with the signet ring previously worn by Haman. We, likewise, as sons and heirs; co-heirs with Christ, have been given spiritual authority by the Father. As we read previously in Ephesians, we have “access”. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16. What the enemy intends for evil we can turn to good, for the glory of God. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.” II Cor. 10:4. In his book, Spiritual Authority, Rob Reimer says this authority is, “rooted in identity, expanded in intimacy, and activated by faith.” Finally, we see that our protection and well-being is insured because of God’s love affair with His church. Even though Esther wasn’t summoned, King Ahasuerus extended the royal scepter and offered her up to half his kingdom. If the church could only grasp that our King offers us so much more. “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come – all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” I Cor. 3:21-23
“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Rm. 8:37
The book of Esther is all about Kingdom and the king’s love for his bride.
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