2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
By now, we have met all the main participants in the story of Esther. Our Lord is revealing to us the profiles of people under His mighty influence and others under Satan’s, so that we can get a good look at the traits and reactions of each. I’m virtually certain that this is meant to sharpen our discernment, but not to stimulate us to judge others around us. The contrast between Esther and Mordecai’s faithfulness and Haman’s deceitfulness and malevolence is very obvious. A harder to read character is that of King Ahasuerus. In many ways, he is a product of his materialistic and self-centered culture. Yet, he is not all evil. He loves his wife, Esther, and has enough of a conscience to appreciate and want to thank someone after it is brought to his attention, who has done something good for him. As I said in a previous message, while God’s name is never mentioned in this story, it doesn’t take much to see His hand in the events that transpire and on the people involved in them.
ES 6: 1-3, “That same night the king could not get to sleep, so he had the official records of the empire brought and read to him. The part they read included the account of how Mordecai had uncovered a plot to assassinate the king-the plot made by Bigthana and Teresh, the two palace eunuchs who had guarded the king’s rooms. The king asked, ‘How have we honored and rewarded Mordecai for this?’ His servants answered, ‘Nothing has been done for him.’ “ It is my personal belief that there are times in the lives of people we read about in the Scriptures just as there are in our own lives, when God intervenes by causing insomnia for His own reasons. One example that comes to mind is Joseph’s insomnia when he was deciding whether he should marry Mary after he was told she was pregnant in MT 1: 18-24. I suspect that the angel Gabriel came to Mary in the night time when she was most likely alone to tell her she would become pregnant, although a virgin, with the baby Jesus in LK 1: 26-38.
Now isn’t it just God’s timing that Haman happened to enter the palace courtyard right at the time the king wanted to find a way to honor Mordecai to thank him for saving his royal life? We get a good look into the self-absorbed psyche of Haman in the interchange between him and King Ahasuerus in ES 6: 6. “So Haman came in, and the king said to him, ‘There is someone I wish very much to honor. What should I do for this man?’ Haman thought to himself, ‘Now who could the king want to honor so much? Me, of course.’ “ Because Haman thought he was to be honored, it didn’t take him long to come up with a plan to do this that was what he wanted the most for himself. In this case, his suggestion was to place the king’s own robes on himself, don a royal ornament, and be led through the city on the king’s own horse. I can’t help but be reminded of DN 11: 36 in which it is prophesied that the antichrist will boast that he is greater than any god, superior even to the Supreme God. He will be able to do this until the time comes when God punishes him. God will do exactly what he planned. There seems to be no limit to Haman’s ego any more than there will be to that of antichrist’s. Remember PR 16: 18, “Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.”
In ES 6: 10, the king who hears Haman’s plan, likes it, and orders his Prime Minister to do carry it out for Mordecai (and not Haman-much to Haman’s astonished consternation. Haman has no choice but to obey this order and is mortified by it. ES 6: 11, “So Haman got the robes and the horse, and he put the robes on Mordecai. Mordecai got on the horse, and Haman led him through the city square, announcing to the people as they went: ‘See how the king rewards a man he wishes to honor!’ “ That night, once he returned home and told his wife and all his friends in embarrassment of what had happened, then they told him in (13), “You are beginning to lose power to Mordecai. He is a Jew, and you cannot overcome him. He will certainly defeat you.” I find this comment quite interesting, because it suggests that at least some of the Gentiles in Persia have some understanding of a superior power or at least protection that the Jews have. They may not have understood that it comes from God being behind them, and there may certainly have been some jealousy toward the Jews for this. [Remember at that time, the Gospel had not yet been made available to Gentiles].
A person with the profile that Haman fits is not equipped to understand either God’s ultimate sovereignty or a man’s responsibility to respond to it. Because of his own deceitfulness, he can’t conceive of a superior Being in total charge of his life with an entirely righteous agenda. Righteousness simply isn’t part of his life. From RO 1: 16-17, we are blessed enough to know a truth that has not yet been revealed to the people in the story of Esther. Reflect on these important words from Paul, “I have complete confidence in the Gospel; it is God’s power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. For the Gospel reveals how God puts people right with Himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the Scriptures [HB 2:4 & GA 3: 11] say, ‘the person who is put right with God through faith shall live.’ “ The concept expressed in PHIL 2: 10-11 is equally unknown to them. “And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees, and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we are so blessed to live when we do in the church age or age of grace. You encourage us to read and reflect on stories like that of Esther, so that we can have a better understanding of what righteousness and what unbelief are. That is for our own good, for that is the only agenda You ultimately have for us. By letting us look at a personality like Haman’s, You show us a foreshadowing of the coming antichrist to give us the discernment to recognize traits we should reject. Your hand is seen in the rewarding of courage granted to Mordecai and Esther in this story. We learn about Your ultimate sovereignty by reading how it impacts the lives of others. Then, we can recognize it in our own lives. We thank and praise You for sacrificing Your only Son on the cross for us. We adore and honor You for the guidance You continually give us. To You belongs the glory! In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue this story and get to see what happens next to Haman. In the meanwhile, know that we are a greatly blessed people. Our Lord seeks and deserves our complete loyalty and worship. He also stretches His hands and His heart to us when we are in need. His is a loving, compassionate heart that offers us rest. Feel loved today, because you are by both your Lord and your friends, Lynn and Pete.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn