The People Who Can't Be Beat

Esther 6:1–4 (ESV) On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

The details of God's deliverance begin to come together in Esther 6. All of it begins with insomnia. This is interesting since this King seemed to like to party in Esther 1. But insomnia was the perfect prescription here as the remedy is perhaps the most boring of activities - the reading of his own history! A king with every vice available to him now needs something so anti-stimulating it's ironic.

Esther 6:5–6 (ESV) And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”

In a case of perfect timing, the man thinking he's in good with the king enters only to find that he is soon to be the servant of Mordecai's reward. Notice Haman's assumption. No one is more worthy than me to honor. Haman offers the king advice on the treatment he wished upon himself:

Esther 6:7–9 (ESV) And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. 9 And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’ ”

Then the turn of events Haman does not expect:

Esther 6:10 (ESV) 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.”

Now, this is not exactly the deliverance the Jews were hoping for. Mordecai's honored and Haman is humbled but the edict of their death is still in effect. We are in a countdown and the story unfolds as a good suspenseful movie. But the turn of events signals that there is ONE behind the scenes programming this in a way that spells certain doom for Haman and rescue and honor for Mordecai and the Jews. 

The first person to see the light is Haman's wife.

Esther 6:13 (ESV) And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

It is ironic how the very person who instructed Haman to kill Mordecai is convinced that Mordecai is unbeatable because he is a Jew. Did she just find this out? Perhaps. But the subtle reminder here is that God has a chosen people reserved for Himself and nothing the powers of this world do can stop Him from accomplishing His plan for them. And if you are in Christ, that includes you!

The whole chapter reminds me of Psalm 2. 

Psalm 2:1–6 (ESV) Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

God is not mentioned in this entire book. That's important. Why? Because even when you can't see Him clearly, it doesn't mean He's not working intentionally to deliver and save His people. That is our confidence in every age.