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 was not only a very proud man, but he was also a vain man. The two usually go hand in hand. The king gathered likeminded men around himself. Haman was no asset to the kingdom, but the king did not concern himself with this. He needed ‘yes men’ and he needed foolish, wicked counsellors who would satisfy his ego. Occasionally, as we see in the book of Daniel, the king got upset with his clowns. In the book of Esther, eventually the king would see that the friendship he had with Haman was not a good thing.
The world empires that God revealed to king Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel could not last. They were ungodly empires, and they refused to learn. God sent Daniel and his three friends into Babylon to help them to see the need to know the truth. However, we know that God judged them and overthrew that empire and replaced it with the Medo/Persian empire. That empire was likewise governed by vain leaders and it could not stand either. The same happened to the Greek empire and the Roman empire.
The U.S. has been a nation now for several hundred years. It is crumbling. Canada is a much younger nation but it is also falling apart. The only reason that Israel has such a long history is because God made a promise to Abraham and God does not go back on His promises. He did not make a mistake. He is following His plan and the end is glorious for those who choose to know Him.
Haman was riding high as he left the banquet that day. However, as he left he encountered Mordecai again. Mordecai would not give the required honour to this wicked man. Haman could not stand to have to meet this man at the gate. We read he refrained himself temporarily. He went home to consult with his wife and his friends. They were likeminded. They were of no help to him.

Proverbs 17:17  A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 27:17  Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Good friends are important. Good friends care about one another. There are all kinds of clubs and gangs that recruit likeminded people. Those people do not help their followers to become better people. O, they may teach them how to speak better, or have a more positive outlook on life, but they offer nothing of any real value. We have some very smooth talkers in government but they are not worth 5 cents per day, never mind the exorbitant salaries they steal from us every year.
Haman did not have good friends, nor was he a good friend. His friends were just like he was and they would just encourage him to remain a vain, proud man. His wife also was of no help to him. In verse 11 we see that Haman was a wealthy man. He had managed to climb the power ladder and was close to the king. He had so many things going for him, so he thought. In verse 12 Haman also assumed that Esther was in favour of him. He assumed that because he was invited to this banquet and to the one for the next day and only the king was invited along with him. She must have noticed just how important he was.
In verse 13 we see that there was one major problem. Mordecai sat at the king’s gate and he would not honour him. Haman could not stand that. He would allow this one man to mess up his day. He wanted to be honoured by all people. He was so insecure that he could not handle having one man reject his assumed high standing. He had not earned his place of power. He had just managed to weasel his way into the king’s inner circle. Then he had conspired to convince the king to let him write the death warrant for all the Jews. However, none of this satisfied Haman as long as Mordecai, the Jew, sat in the gate.
His wife and friends had the answer. They were as wicked as he was. They suggested that he build a gallows and have Mordecai put to death ahead of all the other Jews. They were sure that the king would not stop him from murdering Mordecai prior to the next banquet meeting. No trial was necessary. This man was an offence to Haman and that was enough to have him murdered. The government was so corrupt that a crime did not need to be committed. If a person was in the way of the ruling class, he needed to be eliminated.
Sounds very much like our current government. We have a very crafty government. The scandals that have been exposed are enough to run any government out of office in a just society. However, the media and the police and the courts are on the side of the corruption and they will not interfere with the government. After all, they are well paid by this government as they steal our money to cover up their crimes. We see one little victory in court and we assume that things are turning around. Christians need to be sure they do not have their heads in the sand. We need to look at the bigger picture and understand that we are not far from the Persian system of Esther’s day, nor of the Roman system of the time of Christ and the apostles.
Jesus Christ came into the world in a time of great deception and corruption. He did not come to pamper anyone. He came to teach the truth and to lay down His life for the sheep. He knew that few would accept Him. He knew that few would be saved in the future as well. Why would He bother to come? He was and is a true friend and He is the true Saviour of mankind. No one would enter heaven except through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus stated:

Luke 15:7  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

That is still the fact. Yes, God would want all to be saved. He would want us to learn from the history He recorded in the book of Esther. Yet, we are seeing a repeat of this history, not a moving on to righteousness. Those who are saved need to ask others to pray that we might have boldness to speak the truth in these last days.
Our world is running around and assuming they have the answers. The U.S. still assumes they are the chosen people of the world. They think they have the right to interfere with the current Israeli government. They assume they know the truth about Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran, etc. They are blind as bats.
God is in charge and He is protecting the nation of Israel in spite of their rebellion against Him. He is still proving that He is the only true God. His people need to honour Him today as in any generation. God is still the One we need for such a time as this. He is the answer to man’s troubles. Knowing Him and serving Him will make all the difference.
Pastor Bartel