“Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, ‘Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?’” — Esther 7:8 NIV
As King Xerxes walked back into the banquet hall, I believe he was determined to protect his wife, Queen Esther, and ultimately stop the order for the annihilation of her people the Jews. What he saw next was the final straw! As Haman realized that his plan was falling apart, he began to completely unravel, and fell onto Esther’s couch. How he got there really doesn’t matter. What does matter was the timing. Take a moment, as I did, to review this whole story and see for yourself how often God’s timing was “right on time.” This time was no different. God’s timing is always perfect.
When we as Christians look back on our lives we can see the Lord’s perfect timing, often even in the bad times. Many years ago, my husband, Steve, needed to transfer with his job from Georgia to California. I did not want to move! We had two young daughters and were foster parents of two boys. California seemed halfway around the world from our families in Florida and Indiana. So as Steve tells the story, I went “kicking and screaming all the way.” In spite of that being a very hard move for me, God knew what was best for me and His timing was perfect. Through a co-worker of Steve’s, we got established in a strong Bible teaching church and we spiritually grew by leaps and bounds. When I look back, I’m so grateful for His perfect timing.
“As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, ‘A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.’ The king said, ‘Hang him on it!’ So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.” — Esther 7:8b-10
Haman’s head was covered, an act many times used when someone is being taken to their execution. It is also a way to prevent one from making eye contact with an authority or an accuser. Covering one’s face can be an act prompted by shame. Children will duck their heads when they’ve done something wrong, and some adults will put their hands over their face when they are admitting a wrong.
When our Lord and Savior Jesus was arrested, beaten, and hanged on the Cross, He did not cover His face. Why? Because He wasn’t guilty of anything…He was sinless. Isaiah 50:6-7, “…I did not hide My face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps Me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set My face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” He took our sins to the Cross and died as payment for our transgressions; but He, personally, had nothing for which to be ashamed.
Because of what Jesus did for us, we can say with the Psalmist, “But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head” (Psalm 3:3). We have nothing to be ashamed of once we have submitted our life completely to Christ Jesus, because He has taken our guilt and shame for us. “Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18, 19).
Satan had Haman believing that he could get away with his sinister plan to kill off all the Jews. But look at these verses:
…He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts….
I Corinthians 4:5
You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
Psalm 90:8
Haman wasn’t going to get away with a thing! What Haman didn’t know was Who God Is! “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:5). God, the Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent One, was and is the God of the Jews, and of all people who have now submitted their life to His Son, Jesus. It is vital that we know Who God Is in our own lives.
It is also important to know Who We Are in God through Christ. We are His children (Galatians 3:26), we are His ambassadors (II Corinthians 5:20), we are His hands and feet (I Corinthians 12:27, Matthew 28:19). Therefore, “it is important for us to live an authentic life that is grounded in Christ” (Darlene Schacht). We need to fill our lives with God’s Word and His Holy Spirit, so there is no room for sin and shame. And when we sin (and we will), God is ready to forgive us. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Let’s Pray:
Dear Lord,
We thank You that Your timing is always perfect. Holy Spirit, please help us to be patient when it seems that You aren’t answering a prayer or providing a way. Remind us that Your ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). We thank You, Jesus, that You took our sin and shame to the Cross. May we “live an authentic life that is grounded” in our maturing relationship with You, The Great I AM. For, in You, we want to “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
Esther – Chapter 5:9
“Haman was a happy man as he left the banquet” (Esther 5:9a, NLT). His seemingly ever- increasing power starting from his promotion (chapter 3:1 and 2) to King Xerxes giving him his signet ring and carte blanche to do what he wanted with this “certain people” (chapter 3:10 and 11) to this intimate banquet with the king and queen (here in chapter 5:4 and 5), was feeding Haman’s pride big time. Not only that but Queen Esther had invited him to a second banquet! His hat didn’t fit his big head anymore, and his buttons were popping off his cloak from his puffed out chest as he walked out the king’s gate to go home for the night! Can you hear his evil cackle? Oh, I don’t like this guy!
“But when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or trembling nervously before him, Haman became furious” (Esther 5:9b). We already know from Esther chapter 3, that Haman planned to destroy Mordecai and all the Jews. Now, when he saw Mordecai sitting there so peacefully with no regard for him at all, Haman almost exploded on the inside with indescribable hatred.
Mordecai “stood” his ground by sitting when Haman walked by. Mordecai knew Who he had to ultimately answer to, and it wasn’t Haman. Mordecai had full confidence in the Lord’s provision and protection. Confidence in God and the humility of obedience and submission to Him gave Mordecai a calm and peaceful presence that was like acid eating away at Haman. (Compare the similarities when Jesus “stood His ground” in His last hours, Matthew 26-27.)
Haman was so full of himself that he couldn’t see that his pedestal of pride had no foundation. One day it would come crashing down around him. As Matthew Henry’s Commentary would describe him: he is a self-admirer, a self-deceiver. Doesn’t he sound like someone else we know? Isaiah 14:13-14, “For you (Satan) say to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne about God’s stars…and be like the Most High.’” Satan’s plan is for the destruction of God’s creation. His pride is so great and his rage against God is so consuming that he intends to kill and destroy (John 10:10) everyone he can. But he has no foundation of truth. He has built his plan on pride and hatred. He and his plan will fall. Isaiah 14:15, “Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary also says: “A slight affront, which a humble man would scarcely notice, will torment a proud man , even to madness, and will mar all his comforts.” Haman was tormented by Mordecai’s affront, his intentional defiance. I believe Satan is tormented by our affronts when we stand against him and his evil plan to destroy us and our families.
We have two life examples to look at here. We have Haman who lived a very self-centered and prideful life. He deceived himself and he deceived others, especially the king, for very selfish motives. Then we have Mordecai, who was a humble man of faith and confidence. His motives were selfless as day after day he watched over and wisely advised Esther, even to the extent of sitting at the gate when “trouble” walked by.
Today we have the opportunity to check our motives for what we do and what we say. If our motives are based on feeding our pride and obtaining power over a person or a situation, we are self-deceived and insecure. If a small offense eats away at us, we will want to check our lives for underlying pride. A life controlled by pride will lead us to “destruction,” as we read in Proverbs 16:18.
If our motives are directed by our faith in God, then we will live selfless lives of submission and service. We will not be easily offended, and will forgive quickly. We will stand in humble confidence and peace, even as we “sit by the gate” when trouble tries to destroy us. (Ephesians 6:13.) We will have an inner assurance that God will show Himself mighty to save.
Who does your life look most like…Haman or Mordecai? Is it one of pride, torment, insecurity, fear, and eventual destruction? Or is it one of humility, peace, confidence, faith, and life? Today is your day to choose “life and have it to the full.”
*****
Let’s Pray:
Dear Lord, we come humbly to Your throne of grace today. Even at this moment we are searching our innermost beings for areas of pride and deception. Help us, Holy Spirit, to find them so we can repent and allow You to cleanse us. We want our motives to be pure and selfless. Please help us to not be easily offended and to quickly forgive. May each of us live a life of humility, peace, confidence, and faith. Thank You for offering us life to the full! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.