Esther 6:1-3 - That night the king could
not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was
found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the
king's officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King
Xerxes. "What honor and
recognition has Mordecai received for this?" the king asked. "Nothing
has been done for him," his attendants answered.
One sleepless night…and a history book of
everything that had happened in the king’s reign…brought the past good deed of
a Jew to the king’s mind. With an
urgency to correct the fact that he had never been rewarded…he searched the
heart of the proud Haman….without revealing who he wanted to honor. Next thing
you know…Haman is leading around the king’s royal horse with his enemy Mordecai
clad in a kings robe. And if that was
not enough ….Haman had to shout everywhere they went….that Mordecai was favored
by the king.
It was no accident that the king could not sleep…or that the
thought to read the historical book that would remind him of Mordecai’s good
deed was planted in his brain. It was no accident that Haman’s proud…jealous
heart entered the courtroom at just the right time. It was God’s big plan coming
together to save his people...it was the creator who knows everything before we
do…using what satan meant for harm…to bring about good.
God placed Esther in the Palace…let Mordecai be in the right
place at the right time….allowed jealously and bitterness to develop in Haman…and
twisted it exactly the way he needed to create the perfect example of poetic
justice. Haman’s own pride and jealously locking the key to his death...and God
showing his people once again that he is in control of the world we live in.
Haman’s fall is the perfect example of why pride should be
kept in check at all times. He thought
that no one in the palace could have been loved and honored more than him…so he
picked exactly what he wanted done to himself…because he thought he was all
that. Isaiah had already warned them in
Isaiah 2:12…. “The LORD Almighty has a
day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and
they will be humbled). Solomon had already written in Proverbs 16:5 … “The LORD
detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go
unpunished.” But then Haman wasn’t a Jew…so he had never been taught this
truth.
Many writers of the new testament scriptures give us even
more proof of why we should guard our hearts from pride. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says… “Love is patient,
love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” And James adds in James 4:13-16 … “ Now
listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this
or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know
what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the
Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such
boasting is evil.” I peeked ahead again….and saw that Haman is going to die on
his own gallows…proof that James words are true.
Father…thank you for this story that reminds me that you
are in complete control of my life. Help me to guard against the evil words of
boasting…and keep pride from my heart at all costs. Show me how to wait on your
perfect timing…and allow your great plan to materialize and give me hope.
Father…help me to use the time you have given me here on Earth to think more
about others than I do myself…so I can find the work you have placed me here to
do…and help increase the love you can show to others. Amen.
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