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“What A Difference A Day Makes!"
• 3.31.19 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- When we were last in this book,
Queen Esther had been told by her guardian Mordecai of her need to intercede on
behalf of her people.
- Haman, the Prime Minister of
Persia, has arranged for all Jews within the Kingdom to be slaughtered in just
under a year.
- Esther has asked for a three day
fast from her people to be sure of the proper time to present herself to the
King. She is risking her own life if she arrives at a bad time. We pick it up
in chapter 5.
Text
• Esther 5:1-5 : "Now it happened on the third day that
Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s
palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne in
the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. So
it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found
favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was
in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. And the king said to her, 'What do
you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to
half the kingdom!' So Esther answered, 'If it pleases the king, let the king and
Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.' Then the king said, 'Bring Haman
quickly, that he may do as Esther has said.' So the king and Haman went to the
banquet that Esther had prepared." : Esther has been strengthened by God to pursue her course. She is
decked out in all of her royal regalia and in the sight line of the King.
- Whatever insecurities she had
dealt with personally and internally, the King immediately looked upon her
favorably and was gracious toward her.
- The King genuinely loved her,
extending his royal scepter and a typical invitation to possess half of his
Kingdom!
- Esther simply requests that he
and Haman attend a special feast prepared for them. Toward the end, Ahasuerus
is ready to hear her true request of him. Verse 6.
• Esther 5:6-8 : "At the banquet of wine the king
said to Esther, 'What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your
request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!' Then Esther answered and said, 'My petition
and request is this: If I have
found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my
petition and fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the
banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has
said.'" : The King
is intent upon Esther's satisfaction. He really wants her to have what she
wants!
- He pushes the agenda and asks again. The eyes
of Haman and the court are fixed squarely upon her, in awe of the chance to
make such a request of the King.
- Esther looks at the King and asks to have
another chance to entertain he and Haman the next day. She will reveal her
request then. What a strange moment!
- We are left scratching our heads and I wonder
if Esther wasn't doing the same after the banquet let out. "Why didn't I
take advantage of the moment?"
- You have to consider that Esther felt a sense
of confusion and then, fear! "What if something changes in his tone
tomorrow? What if something comes up and the banquet is cancelled?"
- The information we are not given leaves us
with more questions than answers. Somehow, even though all of the pieces were
in place and the timing seemed perfect, Esther knew it wasn't!
- Something still needed to work out. This is
one of the most advanced concepts in following the Lord. God's will isn't just
about the right action.
- It's about the right action performed for the
right reason at just the right time!
- You and I are called to walk by faith and not
by sight. We are called to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and that can
sometimes mean waiting when we want to pounce and vice versa.
- God is most certainly the One who put on Esther's
brakes and led her to this decision. We'll leave Esther here and follow Haman
out of the banquet. Verse 9.
• Esther 5:9-13 : "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.'" : Haman was about as happy as a man with his riches could be. That
is, until he saw Mordecai in the King's gate! He didn't bow or even tremble at
him!
- Haman's joy and glee turned to inner rage and
fury at the thought of Mordecai's disrespect.
- He was filled full of
"indignation," which is also used figuratively of a venom or poison
that rushes through the blood stream. When we allow such hatred to rule, it is
very much a poison.
- Haman felt this acutely but forced himself to
calm down before going home, where he called together his friends to boast of
all that had happened to him. How could anyone like this be unhappy?
- He's the possessor of great wealth. He has a
wonderful brood of children. He has position in life given to him by the
reigning, self-proclaimed King of Kings. He has the respect of all of the
court!
- Then, to top it all off, the Queen herself
requested his presence at not one, but two banquets! What does all of that
amount to? What price would you pay to have this?
- In Haman's mind, none of this amounted to
anything so long as Mordecai had a position at the King's gate! He would turn
everything in just to remove Mordecai from view. Verse 14.
• Esther 5:14 : "Then his wife Zeresh and all his
friends said to him, 'Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and
in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go
merrily with the king to the banquet.' And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made." : Haman's wife's name means
"gold." She really lives up to her name here as she and Haman's
friends sought to "comfort" Haman.
- They do so by suggesting that he pour his
hostility into some form of "positive action." This brings about the
idea of constructing a 75 foot high impaling pole that Mordecai can be hung
upon!
- This gives new application to the saying,
"Behind every great man is a great woman!" What a perfectly matched
pair! He prepared the gallows and prepared to let Mordecai be it's first
victim!
- It's amazing what can be plotted in a single
afternoon against the people of God! How will God get Mordecai out of this
mess? Let's leave Haman and visit the chamber of the King. Chapter 6.
• Esther 6:1-3 : "That night the king could not sleep. So
one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they
were read before the king. And it was found written
that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the
doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. Then
the king said, 'What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?' And the king’s servants who
attended him said, 'Nothing has been done for him.'" : Consider all that was happening in
Persia on this night.
- Esther is on her knees before the
Lord, begging Him to give her another chance. Haman is up to his knees in
sawdust, partying and gloating over his freshly constructed gallows.
- Meanwhile, In the royal chamber,
the King was hit with a sudden bout of insomnia! It got bad enough that he
called for some poor soul to read Chronicles to him! Of all the things to call
for!
- The most powerful man in the
world could have called for music, dramatics, a whole host of women. Somehow,
he settled on having the Chronicles read to him! Where did he get that idea?
- The King's servant brought out
the scroll and kept checking to see if he was still awake? The middle of the
night can feel eternal! "Why isn't this working," the servant
thought.
- But this lack of sleep was a
divine action! The King would be kept wide awake until the servant came to
Mordecai's story which we remember from the end of chapter 2.
- Bigthana and Teresh, the King's
eunuch doorkeepers had plotted an assassination of the King and Esther reported
it in Mordecai's name. This had occurred three, maybe four years earlier.
- Everyone has moved on. It's out
of the collective consciousness. When it happened, it was a blip on the radar,
perhaps because of the emergence of Haman!
- Whatever the case, the King
realizes that he has made a great error.
- The Persians were extreme in
their punishments and were equally enthusiastic about their rewards! Both were
meant to leave an impression! The King was shocked to hear of this!
- Remember our comment at the time?
Why is it that God keeps us from being honored at our time? It's because He
knows how to maximize and make the most of our blessing!
- Mordecai's action deserved
recognition and it's neglect made the need for it much more urgent and far more
extravagent due to the King's oversight.
- Can you hear the King coming to
his senses? "We did something for this man didn't we?"
- The servant who was reading
scanned ahead in the book and flatly replied, "Nothing has been done for
him." What do you see in the eyes of the King?
- He didn't honor a man that saved
his life? That was going to change this very day! Verse 4.
• Esther 6:4-9 : "So the king said, 'Who is in the
court?' Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to
suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for
him. The
king’s servants said to him, 'Haman is there, standing in the court.' And the king said, 'Let him come in.' So Haman came in, and the king asked him, 'What shall be
done for the man whom the king delights to honor?' Now Haman thought in his heart, 'Whom would the king delight
to honor more than me?' And Haman answered the
king, 'For the man whom the king delights to honor, let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a
horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.
Then let this robe and horse be delivered to
the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man
whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city
square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the
king delights to honor!’" :
The night has passed into the early morning and Naman is ready to present his
idea. Neither man has slept and both are quite excited on account of their respective
"brilliant" ideas!
- Before Haman could get a word out, the King
asks him for his opinion. Men like Haman live for this moment! When the King
asks about honoring a person, he naturally assumes it to be him!
- What a statement by the way: "What shall
be done for the man whom the King delights to honor?" Haman's mind is
racing at the thought and he spells out what he would enjoy.
- "Let him be clothed like the King and be
driven around on one of the King's steeds." He'll ride in style and be escorted
by one of the King's richest princes.
- The job of the prince would be to "array
the man." Essentially, someone is to make sure that the man is properly
clothed and then, he is to act as the King's herald throught the city.
- As the man rides on the royal steed, wearing
the robes of the King, the Prince is to publically shout that this is the
reward that the King loves to give to his faithful servants.
- King Ahasuerus is loving Haman's creativity
and responds enthusiastically in verse 10.
• Esther 6:10-12 : "Then the king said to Haman, 'Hurry,
take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the
Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have
spoken. So Haman
took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through
the city square, and proclaimed before him, 'Thus shall it be done to the man
whom the king delights to honor!' Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman
hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.'" : The King wants this done now! He
releases everything into Haman's hand. The irony is amazing!
- Remember that he had given the Jews into the
hands of Haman? In chapter 3, he signed over the lives of the people
that Haman wanted to destroy.
- Now, Haman's hands are full of blessing for
the chief provocateur of his ire! Haman will be forced by royal decree to honor
the Jewish man that he hated the most!
- This gives us a little insight into how
little the King seemed to know or care about the decree he had just signed a
few days ago. He wants "Mordecai the Jew" honored.
- Why honor a man who is a part of a doomed
race of people? I can only surmise that the King took Haman's money and run!
Haman is left standing speechless!
- The King leaves the room with the words,
"leave nothing undone of all that YOU have spoken!" Haman would have
to perform his own words. Can you imagine the humilation?
- Haman, this proud prince, is leading Mordecai
throughout the city square, calling everyone in sight to recognize and honor
his enemy! What a dramatic turn of events!
- For Mordecai, this was undoubtedly a surreal
day and seemingly one that ended with him resuming his duties at the King's
gate. He hardly cares. He just shrugs off the honor!
- Haman however, went home under the crushing
weight of defeat! He could not bear to be seen as he wept all the way home!
Verse 13.
• Esther 6:13,14 : "When Haman told his wife Zeresh and
all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife
Zeresh said to him, 'If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of
Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before
him.' While
they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to
bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared." : Zeresh had seen Haman off that
morning with all the joy and exuberance that a man has when he is on top of the
world.
- When he returned home and faced her, her
heart fell to the ground and when Haman's circle heard what had happened, they
interpreted the events rightly.
- "Of all the people that you could have
been an enemy of, you chose Mordecai, a national hero, a Jewish icon!"
Mordecai's ascension was just as unexpected and meteoric as Haman's!
- Mordecai was rising and Haman was falling
below him! While he was taking that truth in, the King's eunuchs came to gather
Haman for the banquet. Chapter 7.
• Esther 7:1-6 : "So the king and Haman went to dine with
Queen Esther. And on the second day, at the banquet
of wine, the king again said to Esther, 'What is your petition, Queen Esther?
It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It
shall be done!' Then
Queen Esther answered and said, 'If I have found favor in your sight, O king,
and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people
at my request. For
we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be
annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my
tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.' So King Ahasuerus answered and said
to Queen Esther, 'Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his
heart to do such a thing?' And Esther said, 'The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!'
So Haman was terrified before the king and queen." : This has been an epic bad day for
Haman, but it has been a day of confirmation for Esther!
- What do you think she thought when
she saw her guardian Mordecai paraded around the court like a hero by Haman no
less! She is emboldened! She sees what God was working on!
- It's amazing what a single 24
hour period can produce! A day earlier there was fear and concern. On this day,
there is a bold confidence that issues in incredible clarity.
- "Let me have my life and the
life of my people!" Selling off a people would have been a huge loss to
the King, but Esther would have been able to allow that.
- In the meantime, the King is as
surprised as anyone in the court. "Who would threaten My Queen's
life?" Who would have the gall to consider this?
- Haman is about 1 inch off of the
ground by this time when Esther points across the room and calls him
"ishtar" and the enemy! Understandably, Haman was overwhelmed with
fear. Verse 7.
• Esther 7:7-10 : "Then the king arose in his wrath
from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood
before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined
against him by the king. When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of
the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then
the king said, 'Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?' As the
word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs,
said to the king, 'Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for
Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of
Haman.' Then the
king said, 'Hang him on it!' So they hanged
Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath
subsided." :
Ahasuerus was a man given to great temper. He needs a moment to cool down. This
had been his most celebrated friend. What a betrayal!
- The King had to take a moment to walk this
off, to consider what he should do!
- As he was cooling down, Haman took the
opportunity to beg the Queen for leniency! "I didn't know that you were
Jewish! Please spare my life!"
- Persian law forbid anyone from coming nearer
than 7 paces from the Queen and touching her or being on the same couch as her
would have been an instant death sentence!
- At just the right moment, Haman rushed toward
Esther to be closer to her and it seems that he tripped and fell near Esther.
Without context, the King assumed a sexual assault!
- "Who does this guy think he is? He's
gonna attack my Queen in MY HOUSE!?" That was the end of this wicked man.
The men came and covered Haman's head, a sign of condemnation.
- Before the King could pronounce judgment, Harbonah
mentioned that he saw a great gallows over by Haman's place. The King knew
exactly what to do with that information.
- The very gallows that had been completed just
hours earlier would now be inaugurated by the very man that ordered it's
construction! Chapter 8.
• Esther 8:1,2 : "On that day King Ahasuerus gave
Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came
before the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. So the king took off his signet
ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther
appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman." : Haman had just been bragging about
his wealth and riches. On this day of his judgment, all of that was given to
her!
- When she revealed her relation to Mordecai,
the King naturally continued the trend by giving Mordecai the very ring that
Haman had worn and Esther gave him management of Haman's estate!
Conclusion
- When you look
back upon this section of scripture, I pray that you will more fully enjoy the
power of God's providential hand and that you will see the type.
- Haman
represents our enemy, who relentlessly plots our demise and desires to see us
killed and destroyed. He even devises cruel means to dispose of us.
- In the
providence of God, Mordecai avoided the stake that was set up for him. In
history, Jesus Christ stood on the stake and absorbed all of the wrath of God
against our sin.
- As with our
story, the final humilation was put upon the enemy! Haman believed that he
would see Mordecai destroyed and instead, was ultimately defeated on his own
gallows.
- When Jesus
Christ died, Satan not only failed to stop God's plan of redemption, he ushered
in the means of His own defeat!
- It was at the
cross, the stake, that Jesus Christ took the curse upon Himself and freed us
from the penalty of sin, saving us from Satan's schemes and saving us for
Himself!