Esther 5:9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.
10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
Haman had his head in the sky. He was so joyful with what had just happened and what was going to happen. At least what he thought was going to happen. As he left the king’s palace, he encountered Mordecai at the king’s gate. As usual he refused to acknowledge Haman as the “great man” he thought he was. Mordecai chose to be in this public place and he chose to continue to stir the pot against Haman.
In verse 10 we read that Haman showed some discipline here. He had a plan and he would wait to enact the plan that he assumed would make him happy. At home he could not wait to tell his wife and his friends all that had happened.
In verse 11 he continued his vanity. His wife and his friends would already know all that he told them there. A man that is full of himself does not have much else to talk about. It is not the type of person you want to spend time with, but obviously his friends were of a similar vein as he was.
In verse 12 Haman continued his gleeful attitude. He reported that he was invited to a second banquet with the king and the queen. No one else was allowed into the banquets that she had planned. Again we see that a vain man assumes no one is more important than they are. They believe they are in a class by themselves and of course that class is higher than everyone else.
In verse 13 he bemoaned the fact that even though he had all this prestige, Mordecai was still alive and still a major problem for him. Mordecai kept sitting at the king’s gate and Haman needed to go through that gate to get to the king’s palace.
In verse 14 we see that Haman’s wife and friends were of the same ilk as he was. They counselled him to build a gallows of fifty cubits high to hang Mordecai on. They thought that he could seek the authority to carry out his evil deed the next day. After receiving permission for his dirty deed, he could then go merrily to queen Esther’s banquet.
Haman, of course, was pleased with this counsel. He had no morals. Fairness was not in his playbook. Greed and vengeance were at the top of his list. The Persian empire was certainly in a bad way with such wicked leadership. However, even though God is not mentioned by name in this book, He was certainly very much involved in what was going on. He was not the instigator of the wickedness that was taking place. As we noted before, He will use evil people for His glory. He will show that wicked people do not have a free reign to do as they please. There is an accountability and there is a judgment for them.
We read at the end of verse 14 that Haman sent out orders to have this gallows built even before he spoke to the king about it. He was quite confident that the king would agree with his evil plan. Over confidence is never a good thing.
Humility is always a good thing. We need to make plans. We should make sure the plans we are making please God. If they do not we can be assured there will be a day of reckoning coming. Even though it does not come immediately, it will come.
Romans 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
God sees all that is going on. He knows our thoughts afar off. He keeps accurate records. Unless a person turns to God in repentance and seeks His forgiveness through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that record remains. In the end, every person will meet the Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a loving Saviour, but He is also a just Judge. He provided the way of salvation and forgiveness through His sacrificial death and His shed blood. Those who despise that and think they can somehow find favour with God on their own are dangerously deceived. It will not go well for them in the end.
Up to this point, Haman was riding high. He had been to one banquet and had another on the way. He was going to have a gallows built to get rid of one of his chief enemies. What could be better?
Sometimes God allows the wicked to get along with their evil plans. Hitler was able to slaughter many Jews and Christians with his evil plans. He was not alone in that wickedness. He had the backing of the Catholics and the Muslims in his evil plans. Both of those groups are already condemned by God. Judgment day is coming.
Even though there have been many attempts to destroy the Jews, they are still around. In fact, since 1948, they are back in a portion of the land that God promised to Abraham. In the Millennium they will have all that God promised to them. Ezekiel 47-48 speak about that. We are currently studying that in our Wednesday evening Bible Study.
It is always wise to trust in the true God and follow His way. Anything else is disaster. Don’t go by some superficial experience that you might be excited about. Haman did that. It did not work out well for him or his family. It will not work out well for you either.
God’s way is right and it is rewarding. His rewards are nothing to sneeze at. They are to be enjoyed because they are real. Are you walking with the Lord today?
Pastor Bartel