Day 6: Chapter 6
Things are looking bad, aren’t they? The king has, unwittingly, agreed to the destruction of the Jews. Esther has a plan, but will it work? A lot was at stake here. Remember, Israel is just a remnant, and the future of God’s people, and the coming of the Messiah were in jeopardy if Haman succeeded in wiping out the Jews.
And suddenly (don’t you love that phrase?), things happen quickly. By what appears to be a sequence of “coincidences” God moves in his sovereignty. The king can’t sleep, and asks for the record of his reign to be read? Seriously? Who does that? This may appear to be just vanity, however, it was seen as a great injustice for the king to refrain from honoring someone who had saved his life. If he was to be seen as just by the people, he had to honor others.
Haman, a vain man, thinks it MUST be him that the king is talking about when he refers to “the man the king delights to honor.” In a quizzical twist, the king doesn’t tell Haman who is being honored, just as Haman didn’t tell the king who stopped the plot originally.
So, Mordecai is chosen to wear the royal robe and ride on the horse that has the royal crest on it. This wearing of a king’s garment was HUGE in ancient times. The person who wore it would take on the power, honor and stature of the owner. Wow, Haman must have been jealous! He had been wanting to see the king about hanging Mordecai on the 75 foot high gallows, and now Mordecai would be honored.
Have you ever felt like the future was bleak, and that God was not seeing what was going on? He is always with us, Emmanuel, who agreed to come down from heaven to save us. God kept his promises to the Jews, and he keeps his promises to you. As you read the last three chapters of Esther in the coming days, think of how God has kept his promises to you, and talk to him about what promises he will keep in the future.
Key Verse:
So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!” ~ Esther 6:11
Questions to ponder:
- Has someone ever taken the “glory” that you felt you deserved? What did you do? How did it make you feel?
- Have you ever waited patiently for God to give you something like Mordecai did?
- When have you experienced what you thought was a coincidence, and you later recognized it as the hand of God?
- Do you think God is sovereign in all things? Why or why not?
