Role Reversals (Esther 6)
Some stories are slow moving and when we read them we realise that is the author’s intention. For example, if we want to read the life of George Whitefield, we can choose between longer two volume accounts or much briefer accounts. We can do the same with the authors of the lives of George Muller, C. H. Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor and Martin Lloyd-Jones. The book of Esther is a fast moving account of what took place. And we are introduced into surprising places where God is at work.
Deprived of sleep
Sleep is a precious gift from God. We are aware of the problems caused by a lack of sleep. We are also aware that sometimes we just find it difficult to get to sleep. Maybe we are tempted to count sheep when that happens. Yet it could be the case that God wants to direct us about something at such a time.
I don’t know if you have thought about what the Bible says about sleepless nights. Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians 6:4-5, says that sleepless nights was a feature of his calling; in 2 Corinthians 11:27, he says that he had many of them. Nebuchadnezzar could not sleep because of the contents of a vision that God sent to him (Dan. 2:1). Darius could not sleep after he was tricked into imprisoning Daniel in the den of lions (Dan. 6:18). In Psalm 77:1-5, Asaph complained that his prolonged spiritual distress had caused him to have sleepless nights. Job also complained, ‘When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night is long, and I am full of tossing till the dawn’ (Job 7:4). The psalmist in Psalm 119:148 says that he thought of God’s promises when he could not sleep.
This may happen to anyone, even to the mightiest ruler on earth. Ahasuerus did not have the ability to make himself sleep. Perhaps his conscious bothered him and niggled him that there was something he had not done that he should have done. I suppose we could deduce that from his instruction to his servants to locate a particular book.
The book of memorable deeds was a record of activities that individuals had performed on behalf of the king. When such a person did something for the king, the action was recorded, and the king would then reward that person. An allusion is made to this practice in the Book of Malachi when the prophet refers to the Lord’s book of remembrance.
As the book was read to the king, it was realised that Mordecai had not been rewarded for his action in discovering a plot against the king. Mordecai’s prompt response had saved the king’s life on that occasion. We are not told what Mordecai had thought about this failure because he, as a civil servant, probably would have known about the Persian practice. He certainly had not used the king’s failure as a reason not to continue serving the king. The king’s failure to reward was not a reason for Mordecai to fail to serve him.
In any case, the king realised that the failure had to be dealt with immediately. From one point of view, here is a good illustration of restitution. When we realise that we have done something wrong, we should seek to rectify it. It was not beneath a king to do so, and it should not be for anyone. An unwillingness to put things right is an indication that we have not taken the wrong seriously.
Divine timing
Somebody else was thinking about Mordecai and he too wanted to elevate him in a prominent place. The other person was Haman and he had already made plans for Mordecai. His intention was to put Mordecai to death. It is extraordinary that the king and Haman should have been thinking about Mordecai at the same time. More importantly, God was thinking about Mordecai and looking after his affairs. Both the king and Haman had their plans, but the only plan that would happen would be the Lord’s plan.
If God is working against a person, that individual is in trouble. Usually, to begin with, the person will not realise it. Indeed, he may imagine that things are going very well for him. That was certainly the case with Haman. From his point of view, he was soon to achieve his plans for the extermination of the Jews, and before that happened, he would have the pleasure of seeing Mordecai destroyed.
The wisdom of God can also arrange for the person to choose his own plan of humiliation. Haman imagined that the king was speaking about him when speaking about what should be done for a person whom the king wants to honour. As we read, Haman spoke out of his own pride and selfishness when giving his answer. Yet in the process he was arranging for his own collapse and for Mordecai’s promotion.
We see here a graphic example of how divine wisdom and human choices play out. No one forced Haman to go to the palace at the time he chose, no one forced Haman to spell out in such detail what should be done to the man whom the king wanted to honour, and no one forced Haman to build a gallows on which to hang Mordecai. Haman did his own will and was fully responsible for every detail that he chose, yet God was wisely governing it all for his own glory and the good of his kingdom even in what seemed a very dark situation.
Another detail that is obvious in the case of Haman is that he was the centre of his universe. When he heard the king’s question, Haman assumed that the king was speaking about him. He was full of pride, and pride comes before a fall. A self-centred person may try to climb the ladder, but one of the rungs is already marked as the place where he will fall.
Disastrous assessment
Whenever we are in trouble, we expect our family and friends to offer support. Haman made his way in great distress to his home. The writer mentions that all of Haman’s friends were there, no doubt assuming to hear words of progress from him. Probably, they anticipated sharing some benefits because of their connection to him. Some of them, if not all of them, were regarded as wise. So what would they have to say?
Rather surprisingly, they state that the Jews are not going to be defeated despite the existing decree of the emperor. Moreover, they say that if Mordecai is a Jew (remember he had kept silent about his identity), he will have the victory over Haman. The family and friends of Haman are able to tell him the truth, but it is not comforting truth. Instead, their words indicate his imminent fall from power.
Applications
The first application we can think about is how do we respond when we don’t get what we are due. Mordecai was due a reward, but he did not get one initially. I think the account of his response highlights two notable features. First, he continued to serve in a humble way the person who had made the mistake. Second, he discovered that God was able to arrange events and rectify the situation.
A second application is to ask ourselves what to do when we cannot sleep. Some may regard that as a trivial question, but perhaps they should consider the possibility that God wants them to think about something important. After all, who can tell the outcome if we do. The king chose to consider his book, and of course we could choose to consider God’s book. Thinking about Psalm 23 or John 3:16 may have wonderful outcomes, and such a response would have many more benefits that counting imaginary sheep.
Some people recall things at night that they don’t think about during the day. Actions and words, even thoughts, from long ago can rise in their memories. It is now too late to do anything about them from a human point of view, but it is not too late to ask for the Lord’s forgiveness.
A third application concerns the book of remembrance that was read to the king. As mentioned earlier, there is an allusion to this practice in Malachi 3:16: ‘Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.’ In that verse, the Lord regarded as important the meetings for fellowship that his people engaged in. And he had an intention to reward them: ‘They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him’ (Mal. 3:17).
Are there other examples in the Bible of this divine record and donation of a reward? Think of what is said in Matthew 25:34-40: ‘Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”’ In that passage, it is obvious that the real King kept a record of what his followers did and gave to them the reward of life in the eternal kingdom.
In John 12:26, Jesus teaches about service: ‘If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.’ That verse is a wonderful reminder of the way in which the divine Persons work together in grace. It is a privilege to serve Jesus, and to those who do he gives great promises. For all of them, the time is coming when the Father will reveal his pleasure at their service.
Fourth, we see the sublime symmetry of divine providence at work in the lives of Mordecai and Haman. And we should aim to see it in our own lives. It is good to take an important event and think about all the little things that contributed to it. Such events include your conversion, your career, your family life. Sometimes there were hard aspects, but God wove them in. And what we see in our personal lives, we can see also in the public domain. Sadly, in our unbalanced times, no one asks the obvious question, ‘Why is God doing what he is doing in the public field?’ We reap what we sow, and we can reap it long before the Day of Judgement.
Fifthly, we have seen several times in our studies in Esther a contrast between the pagan ruler Ahasuerus and the One who is the supreme God. In this chapter, Ahasuerus wanted to honour a man who had served him, and the honour seems to be limited to that man being led on horseback round the public square by an important official for a few hours. When it comes to the occasion for the God of heaven to reward the man he wants to honour, we discover that the man is his Son, the Lord Jesus. The occasion of this taking place was when Jesus ascended to heaven and was invited by the Father to take his place on the divine throne. And unlike the people who may have happened to see Mordecai led around by Haman, and saw it only for a short time, we are going to have the privilege of beholding for ever the glory that the Father has given to the one he delighted to honour.