Esther 6
Providence is God’s sovereign arrangement and control of all things. As believers we must understand there is no such thing as luck. Proverbs 20:24 says, “A man’s steps are directed by the Lord . . . .” Behind the scenes of everyday living stands a sovereign God directing, working, and controlling all our situations through His gracious providence. He rarely announces His plan ahead of time. He is content to work quietly behind the scenes, working out everything in conformity to the purposes of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). As we saw in chapter three, even the roll of the dice (the lot) is under God’s control. Note Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
Perhaps one of the most providential texts in all of Scripture is before us today. When things could not look worse for the Jewish people, a series of seemingly unrelated events mark a providential turn of occurrences that brings resolution to the story: Haman’s noisy carpentry in the early hours of the morning, the king’s sleepless night, Haman’s early morning entry into the outer court and his assumption he was the man the king wished to honor. All these events testified to God’s sovereignty over them and their providential timing. Circumstances that seemed unrelated earlier in the story now take on crucial significance. Just as in the story of Joseph (Genesis 41), the hero’s personal fortunes were reversed because of a monarch’s disturbed sleep.
Sleepless in Susa (vv. 1-9)
The night following Esther’s first banquet, the king had difficulty sleeping. Perhaps he was still wondering why the queen would risk her life to see him and then choose to wait another day before she voiced her request. Maybe he overate! Regardless, God used a sleepless night in His sovereign plan.
Xerxes had a clerk read from the court chronicles (annals or records). This book would have been the official record of all court business. Persian kings were well known to have kept accurate records of events that affected their kingdoms. What a cure for sleeplessness! In the providence of God, the clerk read to the king about what happened five years before (compare 2:16 with 3:7). The king immediately asked, “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” To which his attendants answered, “Nothing has been done for him” (v. 3).
Secular history tells us that Persian kings liked to promptly and generously reward their benefactors for the king’s own protection. This was part of their personal security detail. Mordecai’s deed had gone unnoticed and this wasn’t good. Was this a coincidence? Humanly speaking, we are at a loss as to why the king would have chosen to review these particular official records in that they were five years old, except for the fact that God was orchestrating the whole thing. The story of Mordecai’s loyalty “just happened” to come to the king’s attention at the very same moment when Haman was plotting Mordecai’s death!
The next morning, the king quickly inquired to see who was at hand to help him reward Mordecai. Haman, fresh from a night of scheming and plotting Mordecai’s death, was first in line. But before he could request the king’s permission, the king asked Haman, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Haman arrogantly thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” (v. 6) If there ever was a picture of pride going before a fall, this was it. The fact that Haman had a list of things that could be done indicates he had already fantasized how the king would honor him! And so he suggested, “For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’” (vv. 7-9).
There is some evidence from ancient historians that the Persian royal robes, as well as the king’s bed and throne, were believed to have power to impart the benefits of royalty in a mysterious way. Being permitted to wear the king’s robe would vest a man certain status, much like if the president of any country allowed the use of his personal jet to one of his associates.
2. Mordecai Honored (vv. 10-14)
Delighted with Haman’s recommendations, the king directed Haman to honor Mordecai. Words would have been inadequate to describe Haman’s face at this point! Imagine his eyes bulging out in unbelief and his mouth open wide as he hears these directions. How humiliating! Crushing humiliation! Horrified Haman had to robe the man he despised and parade him through the city!
What a turn of events! The man Haman wanted to impale on a stick was to be given the honor and prestige he himself so desperately sought. Again, Haman is a living illustration of Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Haman sought to humiliate Mordecai; now he must honor him.
We might wonder what Mordecai thought about all of this? Perhaps he had been disappointed when the king had failed to honor him or advance his career five years before. It speaks to his character that he simply continued to serve quietly without drawing attention to being forgotten. And even after the parade through the city it appears the pomp and praise didn’t affect him. He didn’t let this adulation go to his head. Esther 6:12 says, “Afterward Mordecai simply returned to the king’s gate” (he went back to his job). Adversity is hard on a man, but so is prosperity. He didn’t appear to let either change him much; he didn’t appear to lord it over Haman (at least Scripture doesn’t mention anything).
After parading his mortal enemy through the streets of Susa, “Haman rushed home with his head covered in grief and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him” (vv. 12-13).
No comfort awaited him at home. Note v. 13b, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” They saw the handwriting on the wall. Zeresh’s words are a muted echo of God’s blessing of the Jewish people back in Genesis 12:2-3, “I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.” Haman’s ruin was certain and Zeresh and Haman’s friends seemed to be the first ones to tell him so.
This certainly would not have brought comfort to Haman. The day before Zeresh was in favor of killing all the Jews (5:14). However, it’s interesting to note that Zeresh and her friends knew something of the Jewish people and God’s blessing of protection on them.
This conversation was interrupted by escorts arriving and ushering Haman to Esther’s second banquet. With his head still spinning, maybe Haman could find some comfort in that the queen’s special banquet had been prepared for him and the king only – and then maybe not!
Remember that when all seems lost, God is involved. The author of Esther is teaching us ever so subtly (he doesn’t even mention the name of God) that beneath the surface of human circumstances, God is at work. Psalm 75:7 says, “But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.” No matter if we are enjoying prosperity or if we’re going through a terrible trial, God is not distant or indifferent to His children. He sees, He cares, He intervenes. We are never out of His watchful eye or far from His protective care. The psalmist said that God neither slumbers nor sleeps. He was up all last night watching over you (Psalm 121:3)!
Remember that when no one seems to notice, God does. Mordecai’s act of loyalty and devotion to his king was overlooked and forgotten, but not by God. Note Ephesians 6:7-8: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” This is true for all believers whose service for Christ has been overlooked by others. Even a cup of cold water given in the name of Christ will not go unrewarded! (Matthew 10:42).
Remember when nothing seems just or fair, God is fair. Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” God is keeping the only set of books that really count. He will not allow evil to go unpunished or good to go unrewarded, maybe not in this lifetime, but surely in the next.
Out of 12 years of Xerxer’s monarchy the clerk could have chosen to read, he chose the incident involving Mordecai’s heroic deed five years earlier. Of all the times Haman could have sought to kill Mordecai, he waited for the one morning after the king’s sleepless night when he had read of Mordecai’s heroic deed. God was at work, faithfully and quietly behind the scenes, weaving together the seemingly unrelated events to overrule Haman and his evil intentions.
Consider your life. Think back to your salvation. Each event may have seemed unimportant, but each served as a significant link to your salvation. Perhaps you were randomly changing channels on the TV or radio when you “happened” to hear a preacher who God used to speak to you. Maybe you picked up an evangelistic tract that opened your heart to the Lord. For others, it may have been a friend or casual acquaintance who “happened” to invite you to church or Bible study. This most important work of God in your life came about through a chain of events, each of which probably seemed unimportant at the time. For each significant milestone in your life, you could probably reconstruct a similar chain of providential events.
Of course, not all of life’s events are pleasant. Tragedies happen. Many dark days, illness or death of a loved one, wayward children, broken relationships, shattered hopes and dreams, a tragic car accident, job loss, home loss, someone sinning against you. Author Karen Jobes writes, “The path of the joy God promises may wind through the swamps of suffering and despair.” While God’s providence is sweet, sometimes it’s very painful.
The Jew’s destination was annihilation, but because of God’s ancient covenant with His people, He delivered them. Likewise, our destiny was death, but it has been reversed from death to life because of the cross of Christ. The greatest role reversal in the history of the world was when God took sinners like you and me and adopted us as His children. No wonder John said in I John 3:1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.” Have you responded to the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin? Have you received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of your life, so that you are a child of God? You need to do so today.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).
Take Home Truth: Instead of powerful biblical miracles, God’s care for us today normally comes through quiet providence (with some exceptions).
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