Tuesday, April 1, Esther 5, 6 – Additional reading, Prophets and Kings Pages 598-606, and The Bible Story, Volume 6, Pages145-154.

1. What was it with Mordecai that upset Haman so much? (Esther 5:9)

2. What did Haman plan to do with Mordecai? (Esther 5:14)

3. Instead of what he planned, what did Haman end up doing with Mordecai? (Esther 6:11)

You can’t read chapters 5 and 6 of Esther without realizing God takes care of His people, and He has a great sense of humor. Also, God’s timing is impeccable.

Haman is all bent out of shape because every time he walks by the gate, he sees Mordecai, who refuses to bow to him. Mordecai worships the One True God and refuses to bow to or worship anyone else, according to the second commandment found in Exodus 20: 4-5. Haman finds Mordecai’s faithfulness to God offensive to his pride and ego. Do we see Haman’s attitude being replicated in people today? Has anyone ever been offended by your faithfulness to God? Has anyone ever sneered at you when you prayed for your meal in public? If so, no worries, God is with you.

Haman’s family encourages him to build some gallows and have Mordecai hang on them. Talk about narcissism! But before we start condemning Haman’s pride and arrogance, maybe we should pause and ask ourselves, have we ever been offended when someone did not applaud us when we thought they should have? Have we ever been offended when someone did not give us the credit or respect we felt we were due? While we admire Mordecai’s faithfulness, let’s also take heed of the example Haman gives us and not repeat his failure. Let’s make sure our security is being satisfied by the pure nutrition of God’s love and not the junk food of the praises of man.

So, late at night, Haman goes to see the king to tell him about his idea and plans for Mordecai. Here is where God’s impeccable timing works out so beautifully. The king can’t sleep, so he is up reading the record books when he comes across the record of Mordecai saving the king’s life. The king asks what was done for Mordecai. He is informed that nothing has been done so far. Haman walks in at this point, and the king asks, Haman, “What should be done for someone the king delights to honor?” Haman thinks to himself, who would the king want to honor but me? So, he tells the king that the man should be clothed with a royal robe worn by the king and placed on a horse ridden by the king, and then someone should parade him through town, saying, “This is the man the king delights to honor!” Well, I would have loved to have been there to see the look on Haman’s face when the king said, “Great! Go do that for Mordecai.”

So, Haman’s evil plot backfires. As a matter of fact, we will read later where Haman is hung on his own gallows. God vindicated Mordecai at just the perfect time. God could have had Mordecai honored earlier, but then this story would not have had such a powerful and even humorous punchline as it made Haman’s malicious plan blow up in his face.

I know someone who told me I could briefly tell her story without using her name. She was working with a group of people who wanted to get rid of her because of her faith. They came up with a plot to unjustly accuse her of being prejudiced against a certain group of people, which simply was not true. Well, just as their plot was coming together, she got promoted. She had the privilege of telling the people trying to get rid of her that she could no longer work with them as she had just been promoted. Again, God’s timing was perfect.

God always vindicates his people, often with humor. And the timing of his vindication is always impeccable. God will vindicate your faithfulness, too.