Divine Appointments: One Sleepless Night in Susa

Transcript

JROT 33
10/27/2024
Divine Appointments. “One Sleepless Night in Susa”
Esther 6:1-14
Jesse Randolph

Well, welcome back. It’s been a while, a long, long while. But here we are, resuming our study of the book of Esther. In fact, I had to go back through my files earlier this week to trace back to carbon date when it was the last time we were in the book of Esther and the answer is May 19th of this year. May 19th by the way was High School Graduation Sunday. I’m pretty sure most of those high school graduates are now retired. That’s how long it’s been since we were in the book of Esther.

Now, it’s not like I was hoping that we would just forget about Esther. Or that you would forget that I was preaching through Esther. No, there were good reasons for the delay I can assure you. We had the 10-week series in Christology over the summer in our Summer in the Systematics series. We just finished up our Biblical Blueprints Workshops series on Sunday evenings. I do believe, and I have heard from others, that our series in Esther has been profitable just to go through some Old Testament narrative. We just got slowed down by some other things that are happening around the church, which are not bad things. They are just different things, and I’m really glad we are getting back into it tonight.

So far, we’ve covered the first five chapters of Esther. Since Esther is a ten-chapter book, that means were just about halfway to completing it. I’m not sure if the verse breakdown makes it exactly halfway but we’re close and tonight, we’re going to go through Esther chapter 6. All fourteen verses of it. Then the plan is over the next four Sunday nights, we’ll cover the remaining four chapters of the book of Esther; finishing this fascinating book by Thanksgiving weekend. Then the idea is in December we will have our normal Christmas concerts schedule that will occupy much of our Sunday evening time. Then the plan yet remains is to start the book of Revelation on Sunday nights, likely mid to late January.

So back to the book of Esther. Since nearly half a year has gone by, we should do a little bit of review. The book of Esther is set in the Persian Empire, likely sometime around the year 483 B.C. That would be the date context for our study of this book. The people of Israel, the Jews at this time are in exile. They had been taken into captivity we know by the Babylonians, but then the Babylonians themselves were taken captive by the Persians, or they were defeated by the Persians. Now the Persian Empire by this point in history was the dominant world power. So far in our study of Esther, we’ve met the king of Persia. The king of Persia was this impulsive and easily influenced pushover of a king name Ahasuerus, also known as “Xerxes.” “Xerxes” is far easier to say than “Ahasuerus” and much easier to spell so we have been going with that name.

You will recall that early on in the book of Esther, Xerxes banishes his wife. Her name is Queen Vashti. He banishes here when she refuses to play along with his deviant sexual fantasies at a banquet that he was hosting for his military men and military commanders that he was sending out to fight the Greeks. So, we’ve met Ahasuerus, Xerxes. We have also met various members of Xerxes inner court. Various advisers and counselors who though they were referred to as “wise men” at different parts of the account, were exceptionally adept at giving Xerxes unwise advice and prove themselves not to be wise men at all. We’ve met a man named Haman. Haman was a member of King Xerxes’ inner circle. He was not only was a ruthless power-grabber but was this man who was on this merciless mission to eliminate a specific man in the kingdom there. We’ve also met a man named Mordecai. That’s the man that Haman was on this merciless mission to eliminate. Mordecai was a Jewish subject of the Persian Empire and the way that Mordecai drew Haman’s ire, you recall, was by refusing to bow down when Haman strutted his way past him. We’ve met the book’s namesake; her name is Esther. Actually, her given name would have been Hadassah. That’s the Jewish name which means Myrtle, and she was a beautiful Jewish young girl who replaced the deposed Queen Vashti. She moved her way on up from the king’s harem to the queen’s throne, by winning Xerxes’ favor through a sordid competition of sorts. I will leave that there.

So that’s sort of the lay of the land in terms of where we’ve been so far in the book of Esther. Because we’ve got a lot of territory to cover tonight, I can’t take up too much more time by more thoroughly surveying all 5 chapters that we have already covered. So, if you are fuzzy on some of the details from the first five chapters of the book of Esther, what I’d encourage you to do is go back and listen to those first five sermons in the series or at minimum take some time this week to read through Esther 1-5.

Now, in terms of the immediate context. Where we left off last time, with this six-month cliff hanger, was with wicked Haman, this is at the end of Esther 5, feasting with King Xerxes and with Queen Esther. Esther 5:9 tells us that Haman left this feast “glad and merry of heart.” That same verse says that “when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate and that he did not stand up or tremble before him, Haman was filled with wrath against Mordecai.” Haman then went home and invited his wife Zeresh and this group of friends to come gather around him in his home. Why he gathered them for was to hear him boast not only about his riches and boast not only about the number his sons he had sired, but about this invite he had been given to this feast involving the king and the queen of the Persian Empire, Xerxes and Esther. But that wasn’t enough for Haman. No. Look at Esther 5:13. These are Haman’s words. He says, “Yet all of this (the wealth, the sons, the dinner invites) is worth nothing to me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

Recall that the Jews in the Persian Kingdom at this point in history were already under this death warrant, which king Xerxes had unwittingly signed into law at Haman’s prompting. But for Haman the death of this one specific Jew couldn’t come fast enough. He wanted Mordecai dead even sooner and all because of the great disrespect Mordecai had shown Haman earlier by refusing to bow down before him. So, at the prompting of his wife and his friends here in Esther 5:14 he had gallows made that was fifty cubits high, meaning, some seventy-five feet tall.

That’s where we left last time. The title of the last sermon in this series was Going to the Gallows. We left with gallows which might have actually been not a pole with a rope for hanging, but instead a large spear or stake for impaling. It was built we see in the middle of the night and this gallows, and by the way for continuity’s sake I’ll just keep calling it a “gallows” not a stake, was built by Haman’s men, for the purposes of carrying out Haman’s wishes which were to have Mordecai, this perceived thorn in Haman’s side, executed right away. So, Haman’s plan was to go now to King Xerxes as soon as this gallows was built and get the king’s rubber stamp on his wicked plot and then to hang Mordecai on that gallows and finally be done with him. That was what Haman had hatched in his mind.

So that’s where we left off last time and we are now officially caught up and with that as our background the narrative rolls right into Esther chapter 6. As we turn here, what we are rolling into is really another major turning point in this story. Note that the turning point is not brought about by a battle, or by a lightning bolt from the sky, or by an audible voice from above. The turning point rather is brought about, by a King Xerxes who could not sleep, and that’s why I have titled the message this evening, One Sleepless Night in Susa.

We have 4 points for this sermon, and these will be sort of our navigating lights as we work our way through these fourteen fascinating verses. In verses 1 through 3, we are going to see ROYAL INSOMNIA. In verses 4 through 9, we are going to see RICH IRONY. In verses 10 and 11, we are going to see a ROBED INVITEE, and in verses 12 through 14, we will see REAL INDIGNITY.

Let’s start with the first one, ROYAL INSOMNIA, verses 1-3. It reads this way. “During that night, sleep had fled from the king, so he said for them to bring the book of memoranda, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written what Mordecai had told concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus. And the king said, ‘What honor or greatness has been done to Mordecai for this?’ Then the king’s young men who attended him said, ‘Nothing has been done for him.’” So, while Haman’s men are outside the king’s palace, working feverishly through the night, building this giant gallow on which to hang Mordecai, something else is happening inside the palace, which is that the king is having difficulty sleeping. You see it there in verse 1. “During that night, sleep had fled from the king.” I really appreciate the work of the LSB translators there because that’s literally what it says in Hebrew that “sleep fled from the king.” Sleep had escaped him. It was one of those nights we’ve all had, where he was staring at the ceiling, and tossing and turning and desperately waiting for his eyes to finally shut so that he could finally get some rest. But it wasn’t happening. He couldn’t sleep.

What was it that was keeping Xerxes awake? Was it something he ate that disagreed with him at the feast with Esther? Was it too much wine at the feast? Was it the sound of the hammers swinging as the gallows were built outside his window or wall? Was he just generally worried about the Persian Kingdom? As Shakespeare once wrote in his play Henry IV, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” We’re not told. We are actually not given a specific reason. But what we are told in Scripture is that whether we are alertly awake or we are sound asleep or whether the king here was alertly awake or sound asleep, the living God of all is always watching. In fact, even as we saw from this evening’s Scripture reading from Psalm 121. “Our God is a God who never slumbers nor sleeps.” Though He is not named here in the book of Esther, this same God who never slumbers nor sleeps apparently wanted Xerxes to stay awake this night. It was all part of His divine design to eventually deliver His people.

So, the king couldn’t sleep. Sleep fled from the king. Next as we see in verse 1, “so he said for them to bring the book of memoranda, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.” Now, one thing we know about this king, Xerxes which would be true of any king during this time, is that it’s not he was lacking for potential sources of entertainment to pass the time until he finally fell asleep. This man could have had anything he wanted to eat, anything he wanted to drink, musicians to perform for him, actors to perform for him. He had an entire harem. He had his pick of women to bring up to his bedchamber to do whatever he wanted to do with them. Yet, of all those things he chose to have certain government regulations and records read to him. That was his choice of entertainment, and it included there you can see “the book of the memoranda.” and “the chronicles.”

Now the “book of the memoranda” or in your NASB it says, “the book of records,” that would have been the Persian equivalent of like our Congressional Record or a Congressional digest, or the U.S. tax code. That’s a great way to fall asleep right? To read through something like that and then the book of “the chronicles” you see here. That would have been a catalog of all the victories that Xerxes had won and the lands he had conquered, and tributes he had imposed during his reign. Those “chronicles” would have been some real feel-good reading for Xerxes, filled to the brim with all these accounts of his greatness and successes and surely with any record of his failures being conveniently scrubbed out to make him look really really good.

Well, it was through that case of royal insomnia as these “memoranda” as it says, and these “chronicles” were read to him that God caused Xerxes to learn something very interesting. Look at verse 2. It says, “And it was found written what Mordecai had told concerning Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus.” Now keep in mind, at this point in the narrative, Xerxes ruled for something like 12 years in Persia. So, the records of the “memoranda” and the “chronicles” of his reign, they would have already been quite voluminous to have 12 years of records going back that far. That makes it all the more remarkable that of all the scrolls and records and memoranda and chronicles that Xerxes’ handlers could have pulled from and started reading from, that it was this one, that records this incident where Mordecai uncovers this previous assassination attempt on Xerxes from years before. It was just remarkable, that that would be the one volume that they would pull off the shelf. In case your memory is a little fuzzy, and that would be understandable because it’s been a long time since we’ve been in this book. That assassination plot against Xerxes is actually recorded back in Esther 2:21. This is the assassination plot against Xerxes that’s now referenced later in these records that we are studying tonight. Esther 2:21 says “In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, became furious and sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus. But the matter became known to Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther said it to the king in Mordecai’s name. Then the matter was sought out and found to be true, so they were both hanged on the gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king’s presence.”

So here is now Xerxes in our text, chapter 6, now several years removed from that assassination plot. He’s having this hard time sleeping. He’s having a series of royal edicts and decrees read to him. Maybe his eyes are starting to droop. Maybe his head is starting to nod and bounce off his chest. Maybe he’s ready to doze off finally. We don’t really know. But then suddenly this detailed account of how Mordecai had saved his life years ago is read out loud to him from these chronicles. Suddenly Xerxes’ ears perk up. Suddenly that name “Mordecai” is brought to the forefront of his mind, and all while at this very moment, outside a gallows is being prepared to hang that very man, Mordecai, to end his life, that guy on that very night. Just a “chance” event, though right? Just a “coincidence”? No.

Moving on to verse 3. The narrative continues. “And the king said, ‘What honor or greatness has been done to Mordecai for this?’” So having learned that this man, Mordecai, having recalled now that this man had sniffed out this assassination plot from years ago. This man had saved his life. We are reminded of all that. Xerxes here is now asking surely Mordecai had been rewarded for this right? Surely, he was given something for his efforts because that was the norm in this culture. That was the expectation and the custom. In fact, Persian kings, you can look through the history and see all this, were known for being extravagantly generous toward those who served them well. In fact, Xerxes’ own father and his grandfather were known for rewarding faithful citizens with jewelry and garments. Xerxes great-great grandfather, Cyrus had given a loyal general a horse with a solid gold bridle and a dagger along with a beautiful Persian robe. Xerxes himself, like his forefathers, had rewarded other noble servants on different occasions. For instance, there is a record of Xerxes giving a faithful admiral a plot of land. There’s a record of Xerxes giving a man the Governorship over Cilicia as a reward for saving Xerxes’ brother’s life.

That is why what we see in the second half of verse 3 would have been so confusing and so alarming to Xerxes. Note what it says there. “Then the king’s young men who attended him said, ‘Nothing has been done for him.’” In other words, Mordecai’s good deed of service had been written down somewhere, but it had been forgotten. Did some junior clerk in the Persian bureaucracy have a grudge against Mordecai, and so conveniently forget to give him his reward? Did some sort of inter office memo in Persia get lost? We don’t know. But what we do know is that by Xerxes’ own standards of governance, failing to reward Mordecai for previously saving his life was a major oversight. It was an exceptional blunder and Xerxes wanted to remedy it right away. That Mordecai had gone completely unrewarded was this source of embarrassment for the king and actually was a safety issue, because you didn’t want disgruntled subjects in your kingdom. That would be a safety risk, he wanted to take care of it. This whole episode starts with Xerxes’ insomnia. He’s just up one night. But now he really can’t sleep because now there is this major blunder that he’s just become aware of involving not giving Mordecai his reward, it was all committed on his watch.

That’s the ROYAL INSOMNIA that sort of sets up this whole scene. Now as we come to the next several verses, which will take us all the way down to verse 9, we see our second major point here which is RICH IRONY. Let’s pick it up in verse 4. “So, the king said, ‘Who is in the court?’ Now Haman had entered the outer court of the king’s house in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had set up for him. And the king’s young men said to him, ‘Behold, Haman is standing in the court.’ And the king said, ‘Let him come in.’ So, Haman came in, and the king said to him, ‘What is to be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?’ And Haman said in his heart, ‘Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?’ Then Haman said to the king, ‘For the man whom the king delights to honor, let them bring a royal robe which the king clothes himself in, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; and let the robe and the horse be given over to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, and let them clothe the man whom the king delights to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square and call out before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’”

What a twist we’re about to get into as that which is expected to happen does not happen and that which is unexpected does happen. Again, though the name of God isn’t mentioned anywhere explicitly here or elsewhere in the book of Esther, His divine plan and design is plainly seen throughout. As one commentator has noted, “He is behind the scenes, moving all the scenes that He is behind.” Let’s pick it up in verse 4. The narrator notes, “So the king said, ‘Who is in the court?’” We can almost picture Xerxes here ever the impulsive one, leaping out of his bed once he has heard that Mordecai hadn’t been rewarded for sparing his life, and with a trail of attendants and servants behind him looking for someone who can help him figure this out right now, right in the middle of the night, no matter what it costs.

Then, at just the right time, guess who shows up? Guess who “just happens” to be there? Haman. In the wee hours of the morning there’s Haman and he was there for a specific reason and for a specific purpose. Look at the second part of verse 4. “Now Haman had entered the outer court of the king’s house in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had set up for him.” So, Haman was there in the outer court of the king’s house at this unspeakably late, or early, time, depending on your perspective on late vs. early. Why in the world was Haman up at this hour? Was he just this night owl that was known for prowling around the palace? Aimlessly wandering around the palatial grounds there in Susa? No. He was up for a reason. He and his crew had just finished building the gallows on which Mordecai would soon hang. Now he wanted to see Xerxes as soon as possible, to secure royal permission as soon as possible to carry out the execution.

Then note this little detail. If you look back in Esther 5:14, the last verse of chapter 5, you will see here that Haman’s wife and his friends say this. “Have a gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning say to the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it.” But now in our passage here’s Haman wandering around the palace grounds in Susa in the late-night hours, too excited to sleep. Unable to wait for dawn to break. Unable to wait for the sun to rise. Eager to be rid of Mordecai and quickly. He couldn’t wait for morning even to take care of this problem and he “just happened” to be awake out of excitement in his case. At the same time, he’s awake the same time King Xerxes “just happens” to be awake out of insomnia. The palace is now suddenly buzzing with life and activity in the wee hours on this fateful night. As God is about to cause these two paths to converge.

Speaking of their paths converging, look at verse 5. It says, “And the king’s young men said to him, ‘Behold, Haman is standing in the court.’ And the king said, ‘Let him come in.’ Remember while Haman wanted to see Xerxes to get his permission to hang Mordecai. From Xerxes’ vantage point he just wanted to talk to somebody in Persian leadership at this hour late at night or early in the morning, so that he could make right the wrong that had been done to Mordecai by not giving him his reward many years ago. Haman “just happens” to be the guy that he bumps into late in the night. So, Xerxes summons Haman to join him. “And the king said, there in verse 5, ‘Let him come in.’” Now that invitation, let him come in, that must have further bolstered Haman’s false confidence and pride. By now he’s thinking “The king not only wants to feast with me during normal feasting hours and have dinner with me, but now he is calling me into his bedroom for some late-night cabinet meeting. I must be someone really special.” Haman must have been thrilled for another reason which is that he was now getting his immediate appointment with the king. He was seeing the king early, which means he could now receive his approval to hang Mordecai even sooner and who knows, maybe Mordecai could finally be strung up and maybe even before sunrise. Haman was winning. Well, little did Haman know this was a pivotal moment. The very moment that the tables started to turn and little did Haman know that he was already lowering himself into his own trap.

Totally oblivious to what was happening here. Totally oblivious to God’s turning of the tables not only against him but in favor of God’s chosen people Israel. He’s oblivious to it all and he now enters Xerxes’ bed chamber and as he enters the bed chamber, the king has a question for him. Look at verse 6. “Haman came in, and the king said to him, ‘What is to be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?’ So, Xerxes’ question has a clear aim and intent to it. The aim and the intent of Xerxes question here is that he wants to honor someone in his kingdom. The question is vague. He doesn’t mention the name of the person he seeks to honor. He doesn’t give any other context to this desire he has to honor this unnamed person. But that didn’t matter to Haman. No. Because Haman believed the world revolved around Haman. So, Haman here simply assumes in saying that he wishes to honor someone, the king naturally must have been referring to him. To Haman. Look at the rest of verse 6. “And Haman said in his heart, ‘Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?’ So again, Xerxes never identified who he wanted to honor. But in his pride, Haman leapt to the conclusion that the king had to have been referring to him. After all, who else in Persia deserved that sort of honor from the king?

From Haman’s vantage point there was no one else in the kingdom that he could think of that the king would delight to honor. So, under his breath and in his heart, he asked the question, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” With that question, it’s almost silly to even comment on it. It’s so plainly obvious what is happening here in this man’s heart. But clearly this man has a massive ego. He’s so sick with pride. Swollen with pride. He is a walking illustration of passages like Proverbs 11:2, “When arrogance comes, then comes disgrace.” Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.” Proverbs 18:12, “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty.” Or Proverbs 29:23, “A man’s lofty pride will bring him low.”
See the way Haman was seeing it at this point, blinded by his pride, is that he was really on his way to having the “perfect day.” The way that Haman sort of visualized how this was all going to go down, is that first he would be honored by the king, because again, verse 6, who else would the king “delight to honor” and then, Mordecai would be hanged on the gallows. Finally gone, finally dealt with. Then, by the end of the day, Haman would be enjoying another feast with King Xerxes and Queen Esther and the wine would be flowing and everybody would be happy, and it was shaping up to be a really awesome day. What Haman didn’t quite realize yet though is that before this day was over this rosy picture that he had started to paint in his own mind was going to completely be reversed. As he was going to be forced to honor Mordecai in front of everyone there in Susa, and that feast there with Esther would turn out to be a place where he was exposed as a traitor and it would be Haman, not Mordecai, who would eventually be hanging from the gallows.

The account continues, in verse 7. After Xerxes poses that question to Haman in verse 6. “What is to be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Xerxes, of course, has Mordecai in view, not Haman or anyone else in view as he asked that question. Well, Haman takes the bait and Haman bites down fast on that bait. He doesn’t even pretend to extend the courtesy that would come with typically addressing a king at this time. He doesn’t begin with something like “If it pleases the king or if it seems good to the king.” No, he just starts answering. He is so full of anticipation and so loaded up with giddy excitement, he just blurts out this response in verse 7. “Then Haman said to the king, ‘For the man whom the king delights to honor, let them bring a royal robe which the king clothes himself in, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; and let the robe and the horse be given over to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, and let them clothe the man whom the king delights to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square and call out before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’”

Remember, the king’s question in verse 6 was, “What is to be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Haman here was all too eager to answer that question. Clearly, this was something that Haman had thought long and hard about before. This was something, this whole scenario he had contemplated before. He had dreamt up something like this happening to him before. As the king asks that question in verse 6, what is to be done for the man whom the king delights to honor, the answer from Haman just rolls right off his tongue. Because he’s been in this scenario in his head before. When this actual scenario comes to fruition, and the proposal was put before him, it’s lobbed up to him like a softball and he’s ready to know it right out of the park. You really did think that he crushed it. He starts by saying “For the man whom the king delights to honor.” Those are Haman’s words in verse 7. That’s a really nice and respectful way to quote the king’s question back to him. Not only that though, but Haman thought he was being tasteful and tactful in giving his answer because he left his own name out of it. He kept it more at the hypothetical level. The highbrow level. He spoke of “the man” whom the king delights to honor. He resisted that temptation to say back to the king: “Let’s just be real. You’re talking about me, right Xerxes?” He didn’t do that.

Then here in verses 8 and 9. Without mentioning his name, he gives this long-ago-memorized list of the ways that he, Haman, could be honored by the king; and so, believing that the king was speaking about him, he gives this long list of ways that he, Haman, could be honored. He starts with royal garments. Verse 8. “Let them bring a royal robe which the king clothes himself in.” In these times, in this part of the world, one’s clothing, one’s garments, were considered an extension of one’s identity and extension of one’s being. We think of Aaron’s priestly garments, and how they were given to Aaron’s sons to wear when they inherited the priestly office. We think of the cloak of Elijah, that Elisha received, which represented to him now being designated a prophet. Clothing meant something in these times. So, Haman here wanted to wear the king’s robe because he wanted to masquerade as royalty. It’s hard to picture a more indulgent idea. He also wanted to ride the king’s own horse. Look at the second half of verse 8. In addition to wearing the king’s royal robes, he wanted them to bring “the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed.” Like the dates on which the governor of Syria, Quirinius had been one of those sources of controversy and biblical studies, especially by liberal scholars like we looked at this morning. Liberal scholars have also attempted to use this verse, verse 8, as a way to discredit the Bible. As a way to show that there are errors in the Bible because, obviously, horses don’t wear crowns. The only problem is there have been certain archaeological discoveries in recent centuries, which actually are from this region, and they had their inscriptions of horses with headdresses which resemble actual crowns. So, it’s not a conflict or a problem or a discrepancy in Scripture. Then in verse 9, the level of pomp that Haman had in mind for the honor that he believed that he was due is fully exposed when he says: “and let the robe and the horse be given over to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, and let them clothe the man whom the king delights to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square and call out before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” In other words, Haman had a very high view of the public estimation and acclaim that he believed he was due.

That was really the issue here at the heart of it. Haman wanted to be watched. He wanted to be noticed. He wanted to be seen. This wasn’t ultimately about riches or titles or positions. He already had all of that. He was already fabulously wealthy. He already had many sons. Remember, he was boasting about those very things the night before he began constructing the gallows. He already had been elevated over all other princes and nobles in the Persian Kingdom. In terms of position and rank, he was second only to the king. I guess he could put it this way because the Persian Empire was so vast and mighty at this time, he was the second most powerful man in the world.

So, what was it then that Haman was after? Well, what he really wanted was a crowd. He really wanted public recognition. He wanted across-the-board respect from everybody in the kingdom. That was his idol. To be mighty in the eyes of the world. The reality is, he feared man. He craved man’s approval and praise. He lusted after respect. He wanted to be treated like the king and viewed as the king. He wanted to play this game of royal dress-up. It was because of this fear of man and craving for man’s approval that he had deep down. He was a self-focused, pride-sick man who was blinded by his own arrogance. He was a man who arrogance and pride were expressed by this desire he had to play this game of royal dress up, where he would wear royal robes and ride on a royal steed and receive a royal procession. He was totally unaware of the fact that he would, in fact, be involved in a royal procession very soon, but it wouldn’t be him who was being honored, it would be Mordecai the Jew.

That brings us to the next turn of events, in verses 10 and 11, where we see that Xerxes takes up Haman on his suggestion. But it’s not Haman who Xerxes has in mind, but Mordecai. So, we’ve seen ROYAL INSOMNIA, verses 1 through 3. We’ve seen RICH IRONY, verses 4 through 9. Here is our third point for this evening in verses 10 and 11. This is a ROBED INVITEE. Verse 10, “Then the king said to Haman, ‘Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have spoken.’ So, Haman took the robe and the horse and clothed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square and called out before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” Haman’s ideas of how to show honor were apparently well received by King Xerxes. He thought it was a great plan. A great idea. Such great ideas were these that Xerxes we see here commands Haman to carry them out. But not for himself. Rather for Mordecai. Verse 10. “Then the king said to Haman, ‘Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have spoken.” What a turn of events. You have Mordecai here, the one Haman hated who is now the one to be robed and was now the one to be given this great honor. Whereas you have Haman, who so desperately yearned for respect and recognition from Mordecai the one who would not bow down to him, now the one that is being used to give public recognition to Mordecai. Note the immediacy of the command here in verse 10, “Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said.” Note the precision of the command. He says, “do so for Mordecai the Jew” and then note the warning behind the command. “Do not fall short in anything of all that you have spoken.”

This is not only a radical reversal of events and it’s not only ironic in different ways. It’s humorous. It’s hilarious. As we see self-centered Haman being denied what he wanted so badly, and then we see non-self-assuming Mordecai being thrust into this position of prominence. The whole scene here, this is a very Jewish book, would have caused the original Jewish audience who are reading the book of Esther to chuckle and laugh with delight and to not only laugh with delight, but to beam with national pride. Because they would have understood this broader theme that’s being carried out in this narrative which we will get into later in this book, which is God’s protection of the Jewish people. Remember it wasn’t long before this whole episode, that Xerxes had issued his law, his edict to destroy the Jews through Haman’s influence. Remember he had been persuaded to pass that law sanctioning the destruction of the Jews in the Persian Empire. Meaning, on paper at least, Xerxes was an enemy of the Jews. But now here’s Xerxes, openly and publicly and repeatedly honoring a Jew. Who he even identifies as a Jew. He calls him “Mordecai the Jew.”

In the book of Esther, and we have seen this throughout and again this is why I encourage you to go back and listen to some of the older sermons. Xerxes is portrayed as a sort of this buffoon, who was constantly reliant upon the direction and influence of others. A guy that could hardly think for himself. He dismissed his wife, Vashti; he passed all these ridiculous laws. He ultimately orders the destruction of the Jews, an order that apparently now he has forgotten about or at least never understood the breadth or the scope of. Though he ruled the entire nation, the Persian Empire, and though he was charged with ruling this entire people, though he was the most powerful world ruler on the planet at the time, he was pretty much asleep at the switch. He was a king who wasn’t especially good at knowing things. But the one thing he did know, though was that he had a debt to pay. He had a debt to pay Mordecai for saving his life years ago.

Now back to Haman for a moment. Haman, you recall, had been assuming all along that he would be the one who would be honored. But we now see that wasn’t going to happen. Rather, all of the things that he was hoping and assuming would happen to him, prestige, honor, attention, respect, and praise. They instead were going to be given to Mordecai and that must have been a crushing blow to Haman. Was he shocked? Most certainly. Did he show his astonishment? Did he huff and puff? Almost certainly not, and that’s because to openly refute a king would have meant a swift death sentence. Instead, he complied. Verse 11, “So, Haman took the robe and the horse and clothed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square and called out before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’”

Think about all that must have meant. This would have meant that Haman would have had to go to the king’s gate to retrieve Mordecai and bring him to the royal palace. Imagine what that conversation would have been like between those two men as that was going on. Then Haman would have had to dress Mordecai in the king’s robe, not swinging it around his own shoulders, but rather draping it over Mordecai. Then he would have had to put Mordecai on the king’s horse, the very horse that Haman was hoping to mount and ride. Now he’d have to walk in front of the horse, leading it through the streets with Mordecai mounted upon it behind him. Then Haman would have had to lead the horse throughout the city and proclaim, as it says here in verse 11, “Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights honor.” Surely knowing that what we know about Haman, he was just burning inside with rage, as he battled the thoughts that it should have been him on top of that horse, and it should have been him wearing those robes on top of that horse. Surely, he was seething as he heard the crowds in the streets openly cheering Mordecai the Jew rather than him. After all of that, Haman would have had to lead the horse back to the palace, and then remove the royal garments from Mordecai’s shoulders, and then send him back to his place at the city gate. So, for a whole day, then Haman was the servant of Mordecai. The night before he had built this gallows on which to hang Mordecai, and now here he was under the shadow of that very gallows, commanding the people of Susa to bow down and honor the very man that he had designed to put to death.

We’ve seen ROYAL INSOMNIA. We’ve seen RICH IRONY. We’ve seen the ROBED INVITEE, that would be Mordecai. Now that takes us to our fourth and final point. In verses 12 -14 we are going to see REAL INDIGNITY. Verses 12 through 14, “Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hastened home, mourning, with his head covered. And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, ‘If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.’ While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs reached Haman’s home and hastily brought Haman to the feast which Esther had prepared.” We start with this simple sentence, in verse 12, “Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate.” I mean what a contrast between Mordecai and Haman here. Apparently, the day of this whole “best day ever” of pageantry and prominence for Mordecai didn’t really get to his head. Having worn the king’s robes. Having ridden atop the king’s horse and having heard all these shouts of acclaim and praise in the streets. He just goes right back to his normal duties. It was business as usual for Mordecai. No pretense. None at all.

Look at the contrast between Haman and Mordecai at the end of verse 12, “But Haman hastened home, mourning, with his head covered.” Haman was devastated. He was humiliated. He hurries home here, in shame, to lick his wounds and seek solace with his wife and his friends. That word for “mourning” here is the same word that is used earlier in Esther, in Esther 4:1 and Esther 4:3, to describe the mourning the Jews underwent, when they first learned of Xerxes’ wicked extermination order. But now it’s Haman who is mourning and he’s covering his head as a sign of his mourning. Remember when he had left his wife just hours earlier, to build the very gallows upon which Mordecai was to hang, he was elated. But now the bottom had fallen out from under him, and he relays that fact to his wife. Look at verse 13, “And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.”

Now, look at the contrast we see here in verse 13, with what Haman shared with this very same group literally the night before in Esther 5:10. The scene here is he’s gone to this first banquet with Xerxes and Esther. He walks by Mordecai. Mordecai refuses to bow. Haman is filled with wrath against Mordecai it says at the end of verse 9. Then verse 10 says, “But Haman controlled himself, went to his house, and sent for and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches and the number of his sons and every instance where the king had magnified him and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman also said, ‘Even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the feast which she had prepared; and tomorrow also I am called to come to her with the king.’”

The night before, Haman is sitting on top of the world and he’s there bragging and boasting in the presence of his wife and his friends. But a day later, he’s no longer boasting. Rather, all he could express here in verse 13 was humiliation which had befallen him. He’s no longer bragging about his own greatness. Rather he’s confessing to have been humiliated. He was completely demoralized. Well, his wife and his friends don’t exactly lift his spirits. Look at the second half of verse 13, “Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, ‘If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.’” So, they are predicting nothing but trouble for Haman in the future, on account of Mordecai’s Jewish origin. “The seed of the Jews” they call him. So, Haman was doomed. They say, “You will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.”

Apparently, like Rahab, the prostitute in Jericho in the book of Joshua. These pagans here in Persia, knew something at least of the divine favor which had been shown the people of Israel by their God. Even the godless Persians understood that this series of events here, wasn’t a total accident. Rather, something was at work here. More accurately, someone was at work here. Haman, at this point, as they are giving their doomsday prophecy here in verse 13, must have been thinking something like well “Thanks for telling me now!” “Maybe you could have told me this yesterday before I went on my plan on building the gallows.” But it was too late. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20, and Haman’s demise and his fall, now had begun and would inevitably continue. The answer Haman’s wife and friends gave him would have given him no comfort, but they were accurate because there was no hope for him. He was bound to fail.

Tragically, though there was no recorded change in Haman as a result of what his wife and his friends shared with him. It was too late. Look at verse 14. “While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs reached Haman’s home and hastily brought Haman to the feast which Esther had prepared.” So now, with his world crashing down all around him, Haman is hustled off to a second banquet with Xerxes and Esther. These words from his wife and his friends had hardly left their lips and the king’s chariot pulled up and Haman was whisked away to this second banquet with Esther. It’s a banquet by the way just the night before he desperately desired to be a part of. That’s what he was boasting to his friends about. But now he dreads it and for good reason.

Actually, we are going to Esther 7 next week but just for preview let’s just get the first 6 verses of Esther 7 here to whet our appetites and get us ready. “Then the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the feast, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be given you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.’ Then Queen Esther answered and said, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it seems good to the king, let my life be given to me as my petition, and my people as my request; for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be caused to perish. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the adversity would not be worth the annoyance to the king.’ Then King Ahasuerus said, he said to Esther the Queen, ‘Who is this one, and where is this one, who fills his heart to do thus?’ Esther said, ‘An adversary and an enemy is this evil Haman!’ Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.” We will have to get into that more next week.

There are a number of “it just so happened” incidences in the account that we’ve been working through tonight. A number of seeming “coincidences” which, of course, weren’t coincidences at all. The King and his insomnia, on the sleepless night in Susa. The reading of certain royal records which just so happened to be records about Mordecai’s forgotten deed from years earlier. Haman being in the proximity of the king’s court that very night as those records were being read to the king. Haman walking into the king’s court just as the king was thinking about how he was to reward Mordecai. King Xerxes asking Haman how this unnamed honoree should be rewarded without yet, in that moment, mentioning Mordecai by name. Haman taking the bait and thinking that he’d be the one who would be honored and then listing off the various ways a person great as him should be honored. The king then revealing the person of honor as not being Haman, but Mordecai. Then Haman going through the humiliating process of leading this procession of pomp and honor for Mordecai. Then Haman going home to his wife and friends who just the night before he had been boasting to. The very friends who had told Haman that he should build a gallows for the execution of Mordecai but now those friends, in light of the day’s events, were telling him that he was toast. Then the king’s men arrive at Haman’s door to take him to the queen’s banquet, which was supposed to be an event full of merriment and mirth, but now, it’s nothing of the sort. Those weren’t “coincidences,” of course. As one old commentator said, “Coincidences are just God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Rather, those were incidents which put God’s sovereignty on display. These were events where God’s providential hand was perfectly steering all that was happening.

God was moving the pieces of this story with divine precision, and it all came together on this One Sleepless Night in Susa. The edict, the law had been written. The nearby gallows had been built. This murderous hater of the Jews was wielding great power in the Persian Kingdom. This incompetent king was on the throne. Sin was reigning. But we remember these words from earlier this evening. Psalm 121:1, “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to stumble; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will not slumber and will not sleep.” Let’s pray.

Father, thank you for the chance this evening to work through this remarkable section of Scripture, so many twists and turns, so many changes of course turning of tables. Thank
you for the wisdom You have revealed in this book, wisdom that first and foremost showcases Your perfect and providential direction of all things and circumstances in people and rulers, not only in the days of Esther but our day. Thank you for Your promises to Israel, Your promises to protect her as the apple of Your eye and the future you have for her. Thank you for allowing us as the church to be drafted into Your perfect plan of world history. Thank you for the salvation that we have been given for we who have believed in Jesus Christ through the seed of the One that would come through this line of people of Israel. Thank you for allowing us to worship You both morning and evening and to do so with freedom not concerned overly with intrusion by outside officials or governing rulers or authorities. Thank you that we can trust You, we can understand that You are there that You are sovereign, that You are good that You are all wise and protective of us. That You neither slumber nor sleep even while we do. I pray that as we go through this book the remaining four chapters of this book we would grow in our appreciation of your Sovereignty and grow in our love for You in light of that study. God we simply want to say thank you for this day of worship. We thank you for all that has happened here today through song, through the Word, through fellowship, though prayer. God, we ask that we would be faithful stewards of what You have
entrusted us with this week and that we would honor Your great name, in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.