King Ahasuerus asked Haman,
“What shall be done unto the man whom the king delights to
honor?” as he was attempting
to honor and reward Mordecai for saving him from an assassination
attempt. As Haman was listening to the question he was contemplating
words to ask the king for permission to hang Mordecai upon a gallows
that he had built for him, but as we see more in chapter six and
verse six, Haman changed direction in his thoughts. We read:
So Haman came in. And
the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king
delights to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the
king delight to do honor more than to myself?
The
second section of this verse begins, “Now Haman thought in his
heart,...” When Haman heard the king's words, he immediately
altered his thoughts from Mordecai to himself. No one in the room
knew Haman's thoughts before the king asked what should be done to
honor the man in whom the king delights, no one that is except for
God Almighty.
Finally
we read in the verse, “To whom would the king delight to do
honor more than to myself?” Haman, and Haman's desires were on
his mind. When the king asked his question, Haman immediately assumed
that there was no one better than himself to honor. Since he had been
invited to Queen Esther's banquet, and now was re-invited to another
one, certainly the obvious choice would be Haman, right? Regardless
of our answer, Haman believed that no one in the kingdom was in a
position greater than he to receive the king's reward.
Isn't it
amazing how we can believe ourselves to be much greater than we are?
When we hear there is a reward or honor offered, more than likely we
have thoughts similar to Haman's. The wonderful part of our story is
that Haman was convinced in his own mind that no one in the entire
kingdom was more worthy of honor than he. To the elimination of
everyone else, Haman thought himself to be in the best position. We
should learn from Haman what not to do. Jesus said that the greatest
among us would be the servant, and when we put others before
ourselves not only in our actions but also in our thoughts, we align
with Him. God Almighty sees and knows every thought we have toward
ourselves and others. As we ponder this verse today, perhaps the Lord
will bring areas of self-absorption to our minds, and when we find
them let us turn our thoughts toward him to alter us in any way He
desires.
Next
time we will see more of the beginning of Haman's answer to the
king, 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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