After Haman returned home
from being a specially invited guest to a banquet held by Queen
Esther, Haman boasted of his greatness to his wife and friends and
told of his bereavement because of Mordecai. After listening to
Haman's complaint, in chapter five and verse fourteen both Haman's
wife and his friends have some interesting advice concerning
Mordecai. We read:
Then
said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be
made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak unto the king that
Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go in merrily with the king unto
the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows
to be made.
Misery loves company, and
retaliation for misery is loved as well. By the beginning of this
verse we see that Haman found his wife and guests to be on his side.
This verse begins, “Then said Zeresh his wife and all his
friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to
morrow speak unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon:”
Haman's words obviously affected those with whom he told because
of their extreme suggestion. Their desire was that Mordecai's
rebellious attitude be overcome by a large public display of the
reaction to his insubordination. As far as Haman's wife and friends
were concerned, a fifty cubit high gallows, which is about
seventy-five feet high, would be a sufficient retribution for
Mordecai rebelling against him, and their suggestion that Haman speak
to the king about the implementation of Mordecai's hanging only
further showed their aligning with him.
The verse goes on to say,
“then go in merrily with the king unto the banquet.” Zeresh
and Haman's friends thought that he should remove the object of his
displeasure, Mordecai, and then “go in merrily” to eat with the
king. As long as the haunting thoughts of rebellious Mordecai were
infiltrating Haman's mind, he could not “go in merrily” to
eat, so to Zeresh and his guests, removal of Mordecai was his only
choice. In other words, if Haman would just remove Mordecai, he would
be happy.
Finally we read, “And
the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.” We
can almost imagine Haman's reaction to his wife and friend's idea.
More than likely a smile came on his face and a sheepish and devilish
looked appeared on Haman's countenance as he thought this would be
great way to display revenge upon his most hated foe. He would
certainly teach Mordecai and anyone like him a lesson should they
ever decide to rebel against him. “He caused the gallows to be
made”, and little did he know the real use of that gallows that
was in his future.
As we consider today's
verse, we might chuckle a little if we know the end of this “gallows”
idea. As though God was using his sense of humor, He allowed Zeresh
and Haman's friends to convince him of something that would be used
in God's future plans. Although at the time Haman's wife and guests
thought they were doing Haman a favor, they were actually just pawns
in the hands of an Almighty God. Perhaps our pondering today should
be about the immediate plans we have for our own lives. Do they
somehow fit into God's plans for the future? Are we being align
presently for what the Almighty has in store for us in days ahead? Do
those things that seem favorable or unfavorable somehow align with
the Lord Jesus' purpose for our lives? The gallows built for Mordecai
certainly affected Haman's life, and perhaps the events in our lives
will affect us as well.
Next
time we will start a new chapter and see the king with insomnia, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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