Psalm 91:15, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.” (AFV)
In continuation with this series of Psalm 91, let us study the life of another man whom God honored, though it seemed that everything was against him.
We read in Esther 6:6,“So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor?” (Webster)
The above were the words of King Ahasuerus to Haman. Haman held a very high position in the kingdom, next to the king. Nonetheless, Haman was filled with hatred towards Mordecai who sat at the entrance of the king’s palace. There was no apparent reason for this hostility towards Mordecai who was a godly man.
In general when someone wishes to honor another person, they might give them a gift or throw a party for them and both of these are just expressions of their love and respect. However, there are those who hate others and these people will do things in accordance with the measure of their hatred.
We read in 1 John 3:12, “Don't be like Cain. He belonged to the Evil One. Cain killed his brother. But why did he kill him? Because what Cain did was evil, and what his brother did was good.” (ERV)
Cain and Abel decide to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Before the Lord looked at their sacrifices, God perceived their hearts and their intentions. Based on this God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. This led Cain to be so filled with hatred towards his brother Abel that he went ahead and killed him. The reason Cain killed Abel was simply because his actions were evil and what his brother Abel did was good, just and acceptable to God.
There are many who believe that when they offers gifts and offering to the Lord, God will be appeased and that they will be accepted by Him. The word of God is clear that the Lord analyzes our hearts before He accepts our gifts. Only when our hearts are pleasing to the Lord, does God delight to receive the gifts from our hands.
Some of us may have gone through this experience of being hated by others without a cause. This could be painful and heart-breaking to us, especially when we have done nothing bad to the person concerned. When this happens, be sure to understand that the reason for this animosity is because you are choosing to do good and walk in God’s ways, which becomes an irritation to them. If we decide to live a just and holy life, be assured that those who are unjust will be resentful and therefore try to malign our good name.
Jesus said it this way in John 15:19, “If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as it loves its own people. But I have chosen you to be different from those in the world. So you don't belong to the world, and that is why the world hates you.” (ERV)
Haman’s hatred towards Mordecai
Not only did Haman hate Mordecai, this hatred he also shared with his wife and his friends who joined together in this conspiracy against Mordecai.
Have you observed how the way we converse with each other about a third person in the family, will lead other family members to either like them or dislike them? Often parents discuss such matters about others in great detail before their children. Sometimes these could be matters pertaining to the way they are being treated by their superiors in their work place. What we fail to understand is that children may be silent, but they are actively listening in to all our conversations. We should therefore be very cautious about all that we discuss among ourselves as spouses. When we express our feeling of hatred we can be certain that this is causing a strong impression in our children as well.
We don’t know if Mordecai’s wife and friends had even set eyes on Mordecai, but simply based on Mordecai’s feeling of animosity, they too detested Mordecai.
We read about this in Esther 5:14, “Then Haman's wife Zeresh and all his friends had a suggestion. They said, "Tell someone to build a post to hang him on. Make it 75 feet tall. In the morning ask the king to hang Mordecai on it. Then go to the party with the king and you can be happy." Haman liked this suggestion, so he ordered someone to build the hanging post.” (ERV)
Think about the evil plot of Haman. In order to get even with Mordecai whom he hated, he prepared a post to hand him right in his house. Sadly, his wife and friends spurred Haman to carry out his wicked plan and gave the cruel suggestion to have Mordecai hung, thereby making a way to get rid of him. Haman listened to this vicious advice and built a gallows 75 feet tall so they could make a public spectacle of Mordecai. This gallows that was built was just an outward sign of the deep hatred that Haman had for Mordecai. I am led to believe that as this tall post was prepared, the entire town may have observed and conversed that this was a trap set for Mordecai, which he could never escape.There may be those who went to Mordecai and informed him of the impending danger at the hands of Haman. However, it does not seem that Mordecai was perturbed or worried about it.
There are times when we too may have to face the malice of people, who turn against us and speak ill of us. Don’t lose heart, because the Lord who watches is aware of everything and He is a God of justice. The Lord’s protection is assured for all those who walk in truth and no evil schemes can prevail against us. There is an important lesson we learn from Haman’s life. Haman heeded to the wrong counsel from his wife and friends. It is critical for us too as to who we receive advice from when we encounter problems in life. If we receive counsel from the wrong people, we will end up making erratic decisions that will be detrimental to us.
We read in Psalm 37:5-6, “Commit your way unto the LORD; trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth your righteousness like the light, and your judgment like the noonday.” (AFV)
Instead of running to men, we need to commit our ways to the Lord and put our trust in Him alone. To those of us who do so, the Lord assures such that He will bring forth our righteousness like the light and the justice of our cause like the noonday sun.
Haman perceived wrong
Haman was all elated as he went to the king the next morning with the hope that his evil scheme would soon be fulfilled, and Mordecai would be no more. These are the words of the king to Haman as he entered the palace that day.
This is recorded in Esther 6:6, “So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself?” (Webster)
When the king asked Haman as to ‘What should be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honor?’ and the only name that came to Haman’s mind was his own. He could not think that there could be anyone else in all the kingdom, whom the king would seek to honor, except himself. One can imagine the pride and ego that filled Haman’s heart that he had no clue that the king could be thinking of someone other than him.
Proverbs 16:18, says it this way, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (AFV)
Isn’t it true that many of us can fall easy prey to pride. A little praise from someone, a small achievement or popularity makes all of us susceptible to pride. We must be cautious as the Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We should not allow ourselves to let pride or arrogance rule our hearts at any time. Our greatest example is the Lord Jesus, who came from heaven, took the lowly form of a man, graciously bore all the griefs that humans goes through, was tempted in all points like we were and yet remained humble and without sin. He humbled Himself even to the point of dying on a cross for the sins of all mankind.
We read in Esther 6:7-9,And Haman answered the king, "For the man whom the king delights to honor, Let the royal clothing be brought, which the king wears, and the horse that the king rides upon, and the royal crown which is set upon his head. And let this clothing and horse be delivered into the hand of one of the king's most noble princes so that they may dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and bring him on horseback through the streets of the city, and proclaim before him, 'This is what shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.'” (AFV)
Haman not knowing whom the king sought to honor, gave an elaborate description as to the kind of glory that such a person should receive. He started off with the king’s robe, his horse and even asked for the crown that is set upon his head to be given to the man whom the king chose to honor. Even these he said were to be handed over by the king’s most noble princes and they were to also dress him up in the royal array. He further went on to say that the man whom the king wished to honor should be paraded with royal pomp and splendor through the streets of the city, with the proclamation that this is what would be done to one whom the king delighted in and wished to honor. Just observe Haman’s cunning plan, as he wanted to make use of his close association with the king to carry out his evil plot. As Haman shared this entire plan, he must have imagined that all of this would be done to him shortly and that he would be paraded around with utmost honor.
Mordecai is honored
What a shock it must have been to Haman when he heard the words of the king as recorded in Esther 6:10, Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” (ESV)
Watch the tables turn as Haman’s schemes came crashing down. All of Haman’s plans to receive this kind of honor from the king were completely destroyed, when he discovered that it was Mordecai whom the king wished to honor and not himself. Haman’s face must have been utterly downcast when he heard these words from the king. This was totally contrary to the evil plans that Haman had in his mind none of which he could even dare utter to the king.
There was a reason why the king sought to honor Mordecai this way. The foremost reason was that Mordecai feared God, respected the king and lived a life of integrity. That very night when Haman was building the gallows for Mordecai, the king had a disturbed night. He asked that the book of records and chronicles be brought out to him and be read to him. As the records were being read, he was told that Mordecai had warned the king about two of his door keepers who had plotted to lay hands on the king. By being informed of this the king had escaped the plot, but was told that Mordecai who was the informant was not honored for this in any way for his loyalty.
We read in Esther 6:3, And the king said, "What honor and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who served him said, "Nothing has been done for him." (AFV)
When the king was told that nothing significant was done to Mordecai, he was disturbed about it. God was mindful of Mordecai and what he did, so at the perfect time God reminded the king to honor Mordecai. There was no time for Haman to even spell out his wicked plan to the king, for the dishonor that he had plotted to mete Mordecai was overpowered by the honor that the king bestowed on him.
This is how it will be for anyone who is wicked. The evil man may flourish for a spell, but when the Lord intervenes, he will be totally destroyed and removed from his place. If we too live this way before the Lord as Mordecai did, we will certainly receive due honor from the Lord at the appropriate time. God can change things around for us in an instant.
Never lose heart that you have not received the due reward for your labor of love. At the right time God will certainly bequeath the honor that is duly yours. Men may forget all our good deeds done to them, but may we take heart to know that God will always remember all of it. Even if the ones we did good to turn against us, we must continue to do good, and not grow weary. The reward will come in due course and blessings and honor will come from the Lord. The very ones who malign your name will be made to speak of you with honor and respect. Don’t be upset or irritated by those who do wrong to you, but continue in your faith walk, knowing that God will intervene to deliver you and honor you.
Haman gets paid back with his own coin
A little later, when the king was told that Haman had prepared the gallows for Mordecai, the king was so infuriated that he had Haman hung on that same post.
Let us keep in mind the truth that God not only delivers us from every evil and hardship, He also honors those who are His own. That’s God’s promise to us in Psalm 91:15,“He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.” (AFV)
I wish to conclude by reminding us from Psalm 37:5-6, “Commit your way unto the LORD; trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth your righteousness like the light, and your judgment like the noonday.” (AFV)
Pastor F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
