We have come to the end of our story. The book of Esther is truly one of the greatest stories of all time, isn’t it? It has drama, suspense, romance . . . what more could we ask for? It takes place in a pagan, godless kingdom. Yet God was there. It was an empire marked with greed and corruption. Yet God’s justice reigned.

In the midst of crime and corruption was a man named Mordecai, who was doing his best to bring up his orphan niece. Mordecai was not a perfect man, by any means. Still, he was a principled man. He stood by his convictions, and he stood by his people.

Mordecai served his king well, and saved him from a murderous plot. He refused to bow to a man he knew to be a scoundrel. Even in the midst of an empire that was corrupt to its core, Mordecai’s integrity was noticed. Xerxes himself made sure that Mordecai’s name and greatness were recorded in the scrolls, so that he would always be held in high esteem. So, I guess good guys really do finish first.

There is another Good Guy who finished first. In spite of Satan’s schemes and plots to do away with Christ, Christ won. Try as he did, Satan could not destroy Him. Jesus overcame evil when He rose from the dead. And He will overcome Satan once more – at the end of the story we are now living.

So you see, no matter what, Good will always overcome evil. And that always makes a great ending to any story, don’t you think?

Dear Father, I’m so glad Your goodness will prevail. Thank You for letting us know the end of the story.

Amen

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Have you ever wondered why the bad guys seem to finish first, much of the time? From corrupt politicians to crooked judges to people who cheat their ways to the tops of the corporate ladders, it just doesn’t seem fair. We watch from afar as they drive their fancy cars and order the rest of us around. And we wonder if nice guys really do finish last.

Well, here’s a little secret. Sometimes, the bad guys win – for a little while. Sometimes, they do get to enjoy the trappings of money and power and fame, and to the rest of us, it may seem that they have won.

But remember the little saying, “What goes around, comes around”? It is true. And Haman is the perfect example. He was wicked and cruel and arrogant, and used his power in the kingdom for evil and not good. And it seemed as if he would truly get away with murder.

But Haman didn’t know what we know. God is a just God, and He does not let the guilty go unpunished (Numbers 14:18). God may seem silent and distant while corruption runs rampant, but He is right there. And in the end, justice will reign. In these verses, things are starting to catch up with Haman, and things don’t look good.

The opposite is true, as well. While God doesn’t leave the guilty unpunished, He also doesn’t leave the righteous without their rewards. Mordecai was rewarded by Xerxes for a job well done. And when we live our lives in faithful, humble service to our King, we will be rewarded, as well.

Dear Father, Please help me to live a life that pleases You, even when it seems that nobody notices. I know that You see all, and You will reward those who live for You.

Amen

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His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered.

When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?”

This is a true story. But it couldn’t have been written any more perfectly if it were fiction! Here is Haman, coming into the king’s courts early in the morning so he can get permission to hang Mordecai. He wants to publicly humiliate Mordecai for the unspeakable crime of refusing to recognize Haman’s importance. Haman assumed himself to be more important to the king than he actually was.

So, when the king asked Haman’s opinion about how to honor a man, he immediately assumed he was the man the king wanted to honor. And we will see in the coming verses the poetic justice that took place, because of Haman’s arrogance.

But as I read about Haman, I have to examine myself. All too often, I become self-absorbed. I become so wrapped up in my own world and my own circumstances that I forget I’m really not that important. Sometimes, I assume that others are thinking things about me or speaking of me – good or bad – when in reality, I’m just not that significant. Most people are too wrapped up in their own circumstances to pay much attention to me.

Haman was arrogant in assuming he was the one to be honored. But I wonder if there is also an element of arrogance in worrying too much about what others think or say about me? After all, Haman was entirely consumed with Mordecai. Instead of being content with his good fortune, his wealth, and his power, Haman lost sleep because one man wouldn’t bow to him. That, my friends, is self-absorption.

I have a wonderful family, and friends who love me. I am healthy, I have a safe place to live, I have plenty to eat and plenty of clothes to wear. You’d think that would be enough. Yet, I confess. I have lost sleep at times, simply because I’ve been upset over what one person may think of me. I’ve also been at the other extreme, thinking I would win something when I didn’t actually win, but we won’t get into that.

I guess what concerns me about Haman is that perhaps I have a little of his arrogance. No, I’ve never plotted to kill anyone. I’ve certainly never conspired to annihilate an entire race of people. But I have been guilty of being self-absorbed.

I looked up the word arrogant in the dictionary. That word means making claims to superior importance or rights; overbearingly assuming. Have I assumed importance that doesn’t belong to me? Antonyms for the word arrogant include meek, modest, and humble. Aren’t these the very qualities that we, as Christians, are called to display in our lives?

In Philippians 2:3, Paul told us to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” In other words, get over yourselves! Treat others like they are the important ones. In comparison to Haman, I can’t help but think of Esther. She was humble and meek, and she became queen. Haman was self-absorbed and arrogant, and he . . . well, I don’t want to give too much of the story away. But let’s just say that humility is the better way.

I don’t want to be like Haman.

Dear Father, Please forgive me for being self-centered, self-absorbed, and self-important. Teach me to be humble like Esther, and like Jesus.

Amen

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“Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.

Have you ever had a sleepless night? I have – the results of everything from hurt feelings to excitement to too much coffee. But whatever the reason, it is frustrating to want to sleep, to know that your body needs sleep, and yet to lie there wide awake. Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I will find the most boring book I have available, and force myself to read. Before long, I will find my eyelids becoming heavy.

This is what the king did. He couldn’t sleep, so he decided to have the royal minutes read to him. He called in the servant and rolled over to listen to the details of his reign. But suddenly, he heard something that caught his attention. “Wait, back up. That fellow Mordecai, who saved my life – was he ever rewarded?”

The servant backed up, read again, and scanned the pages after the event. “No, sir,” he said. “Nothing was ever done for him.”

Well, friends, I have to tell you that there sure are a lot of coincidences piling up in this book. Vashti just happened to get herself royally flushed. Esther just happened to be chosen as the new queen. Mordecai just happened to overhear these guys plotting to kill Xerxes. And now, on the night before Esther is to plea for the lives of her people, the king happens to have a sleepless night, and the servant just happens to randomly open the scrolls to this point in the minutes.

Coincidences? I think not. God, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, has been bringing these events about, one by one, in order to save the Jewish people.

A sleepless night seems like a rather trivial occurrence. We have all had sleepless nights, at one time or another. But God uses the small events in our lives in big ways. We may think that a certain event is just coincidence. But rest assured, God is always at work in the lives of His people. This story has His fingerprints all over it.

And do you know what? Your life has His fingerprints all over it, too. The moment you choose to become His child, He sets His glorious plan into action. Things may seem trivial, or coincidental, or even meaningless. But God is always working behind the scenes in our lives to bring about His purpose.

That makes me sleep better, just thinking about it.

Dear Father, Thank You for working in my life, even when I’m not aware that You are.

Amen

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His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows built, seventy-five feet high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner and be happy.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the gallows built.

Well, well now. Haman is certainly the big man, isn’t he? And he wants to make sure everyone knows it. As soon as he leaves Esther’s banquet, he tells everyone he knows how important he is. He wants to make sure they are all appropriately impressed with him.

You would think that a big, important man like Haman would be able to simply ignore a little nobody like Mordecai. After all, Mordecai was just a lowly judge. Mordecai certainly wasn’t dining with the queen. Why did he even matter?

But Haman wasn’t really a big man at all. He was very small, in my opinion. He was petty. And in my experience, the smaller the person, the bigger the mouth. The smaller the person, the more they have to convince those around them of their importance.

These are the people who gossip, and slander, and act maliciously. They put others down in order to make themselves feel higher. They brag about their accomplishments, and they are miffed when others don’t recognize their importance.

I don’t want to be a small person, like Haman. But I must confess, there have been times when I have acted small and petty. There are times when I should ignore some minor grievance, yet I make big deal out of nothing, simply because of my pride. And for those times, I am embarrassed and ashamed.

Jesus, in Mark 9:35 said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Poor Haman. He wanted to be first. He wanted to be great, but he just didn’t know how to go about it. And it was his own pride and pettiness that later caused his demise. After all, if he hadn’t gotten mad because Mordecai wouldn’t bow to him, we probably wouldn’t be reading this story today.

I wonder what havoc I have caused, what bad feelings, what hurt has come about because of my smallness. I wonder how often, in trying to make myself look good, I have actually caused others to think poorly of me. I don’t want to be like Haman. Instead, I want to be like Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:6 – 11

Dear Father, Please forgive me for the times I have been petty. Forgive me for the times I have bragged. Please help me to be like Jesus, and be the servant of all.

Amen

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Okay, Esther. What are you waiting for? Enough is enough. The king has said he’d give you whatever you ask for. So what is up with this little game you are playing? Just spill the beans, already!

We don’t know exactly what Esther was thinking, by dragging her request out like she did. But we do know that God was in charge. She may have been frightened, and just needed a little more time to work up her nerve. Or she may have known exactly what she was doing – building up her husband’s curiosity.

Whatever her reasons, she was very humble in her request. Notice her wording: If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request . . . Esther certainly knew how to stroke her husband’s ego! Nothing in her wording made him feel she was trying to get the upper hand. Instead, she made him feel important, like he was the one in control of the decision.

Her request was simply for him to come to one more banquet. Surely he wouldn’t turn that down. But by agreeing to come back the next day, he was essentially agreeing to give her whatever she asked for. He knew she had something big in mind, or she wouldn’t have risked her life by coming to him uninvited. But he had no idea how big her request was going to be.

I have to confess to you, I’m not that great at taking my time about things – especially important things. When I see something that needs to be accomplished, I tend to charge ahead of God. The results are usually similar to a bull in a china shop, too. I admire Esther’s patience in waiting for the perfect time to reveal her request. God’s timing is always perfect. Ours isn’t.

When we have a desperate circumstance, sometimes we do need to act immediately. But sometimes, though we feel God telling us to wait, we want to charge ahead anyway. We need to learn to be sensitive to His leading, and allow Him time to do what He needs to do. Whether it be time to soften a prideful old king’s heart, or time to work out the details of a relationship or circumstance, we must be patient – ready to act when He gives the go-ahead, but not a moment before.

Dear Father, Sometimes I let my agenda take precedence over Yours. Please help me to be more sensitive to Your leading, and to be obedient and patient.

Amen

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This reminder to Haman makes me smile one of those cat-ate-the-canary smiles. Take that, Haman! He may have been a powerful man. He may have been a cruel, hateful man. But Esther, a Jew, still outranked him. She was the queen, and the king made sure that Haman knew it. Haman had to do as the queen requested.

Actually, the whole passage makes me smile, for I know what is coming. Ah, the brilliance of the plan! Xerxes has already promised Esther – publicly – to give her anything she wants. He has offered her a blank check. Now, at this wonderful banquet, he asks her again what she wants, and promises to give her anything. That is twice now that he has made this public promise.

Esther knows his pride. She knows he doesn’t like to lose face. If he has promised it publicly, he will do it. After all, remember Vashti? He had promised his guests that she would appear. When she refused, it made him look bad. He didn’t like to go back on his word – he was too much of a politician.

Esther is working her husband brilliantly, in my opinion. Yet, it wasn’t really Esther at all. She wasn’t a worldly, manipulative woman. She was a simple girl, even with all her jewels and crowns. She was simply doing what God led her to do.

God was at the control panel all along, though Esther, trembling and demure, surely had her doubts. Listen to this verse:

Proverbs 21:1

“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord;

He directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”

Friends, no matter our circumstance, God is in control. We, like Esther, may not have a clue what will come next. We may be taking each step in trembling faith, but we can know that our God, who loves us more than life itself, will take care of us. And unlike Xerxes, who had a history of pride and the temper of a child, our God is always loving, always kind, always generous. Xerxes’ promise to Esther was unusual for him, but God’s promises are unfailing and unchanging. He has good things in store for us, even if we have to go through some difficult, scary times to get there.

And He is always, always in control.

Dear Father, Thank You for your promises to me. Thank You that I can depend on those promises, and that I can always enter Your presence without being afraid of You. You are good and kind and loving.

Thank You.

Amen

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‘If it pleases the king,’ replied Esther, ‘let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

Esther appeared before the king, beautiful, demure and trembling, and her husband’s heart went out to her. He was well aware of the law, and he knew she wouldn’t have taken such a risk for no reason. He reassures her of his devotion, and tries to calm her. “What is it, Sweetheart? What do you need? Anything you want, my dear, and it is yours.”

At this point in the story, we all tend to let out a big sigh of relief. But remember, Esther is not out of danger yet. There is still a decree, signed by her husband, which orders the death of all Jews. And a decree signed by the king cannot be reversed. He can’t even reverse it himself! So Esther has to figure a way out of this predicament.

She has fasted and prayed. Yet, God did not give her written instructions as to how to handle herself or her husband. She simply had to come up with a plan, and do the best she could. And her plan was to butter her husband up, with a big feast.

She bowed humbly before her egotistical husband, and said, “If it pleases you, dear husband, I would like to fix a nice meal for you and for Haman.”

Friends, we are often faced with serious circumstances, and we don’t have instructions in black-and-white, telling us how to handle them. The best we can do is to follow Esther’s example. Pray. Come up with a plan. And do the best we can.

We need to always remember that, when we are seeking to do what God wants us to do, He will guide us. He will go before us, just as He went before Esther, and caused her to find favor with the king. And though we may step forward in trepidation, still, we must act. We must step forward in faith, and expect Him to catch us.

Dear Father, Please help me to seek Your guidance in all things. Please help me to act in faith, even when I’m not sure of the outcome.

Amen

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Whoa! Wait a minute! Step on the brakes here! Does anyone notice what I noticed? There are three days missing out of this story!

Three days. That is a long time, when you are afraid for your life. That was a long time for Esther to think about the fact that she may soon perish. In my opinion, those were perhaps the three most important days in the entire story.

For three days, Esther fasted. All of the Jews fasted for her, as well. Remember, Jews didn’t fast just for the sake of being hungry. They fasted for spiritual reasons – to call desperately on God. And they waited.

Sometimes, we get ahead of ourselves, and we get ahead of God. We don’t like to wait, and so we lunge forward without giving God time to work. But during that time, Esther was gaining courage and strength. During that time God was even working in Xerxes’ heart, so that he would miss his little wife, and be happy to see her.

These days, we are spoiled by our fast food and our action adventure movies, and we expect all of life to be that way. But perhaps the most important work that takes place in our hearts is during the waiting time. It is during the quiet times that we draw near to God. It is during these times that our strength is renewed. It’s during these times that God prepares the way for us, so that our paths will be smooth when we do finally move ahead.

I am reminded once again of this verse:

Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.”

I’m glad Esther waited. I want to be better at the waiting, too, for I know that’s where I gain strength.

Dear Father, Please help me to wait on You.

Amen

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In this passage, Esther proves that she is every inch a queen. She is afraid for her life, but she has identified that something is more important than her fear. She is ready to risk her life for her people. Yet, she knew she could use all the help she could get.

By telling her people to fast, she was telling them to pray. She was sending up smoke signals to the Almighty, saying, “A little help here, please?” Esther was more concerned about the survival of her people than about her own safety. So she prayed, and she acted.

Many times, we pray, but we don’t ever get around to acting. Or we act without praying. Neither of those will accomplish all that God wants us to accomplish. While prayer is extremely important, there is a time to get up off our knees and march forward. Yet, moving forward without consulting God, who knows what lies ahead, is just plain foolish.

Esther had no guarantees of the outcome. She only knew that if she didn’t do something, disaster was sure to happen. She said, “If I perish, I perish.” At that moment, she met her destiny, and embraced it.

I am reminded of another who said, “If I perish, I perish.” Only He knew the outcome even before He acted. He knew that, in order to save His people, He would have to die. Yet, He continued on. He didn’t have to give His life for us, just as Esther didn’t have to risk her life. But He did, because His love for us was more important to Him than His own life.

I’m so glad He felt that way, aren’t you?

Dear Father, Thank You for Jesus, who gave His life so that I could be saved.

Amen

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