Esther 6

The King Honors Mordecai

6 On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”

Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

Esther Reveals Haman’s Plot

While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.

(ESV)

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Esther 6 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

Generally speaking, we tend to fall into one of two categories. Either we are detail-oriented thinkers or big-picture thinkers. People who focus on the details tend to lack the vision to see how it will affect future development. Those who are casting vision into the future tend to overlook the important details of how to get there. Where am I going with this?

God is the ultimate detailed, big-picture thinker. He orchestrates the smallest details that seem totally random or coincidental to us. Then, He weaves those details together to reveal an unfathomable big-picture plan. God loves to take dead-end, impossible situations and transform us with His glory. He uses the things perceived as foolish to humble the proud.

Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.  28  God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,  29  so that no one can boast in His presence.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 HCSB

None of these events in Esther 6 were a coincidence. They seem to line up too perfectly to be true, but God had been working the entire time. For Haman, covering his head in mourning would have indicated someone just died. This was a crushing blow to his pride!

The lesson here is that the wrath of man is always used to glorify God. Even in the worst of circumstances, in this life or the next, God will orchestrate every detail to baffle the enemy and leave all people glorifying God. The truth of this is understood as we read what Haman’s wife and friends say to him. “You won’t overcome him, because your downfall is certain.” This is our God!