Haman was embarrassed
because he fulfilled his own plan to honor the man in whom the king
delights. He thought this man would be himself, but it was actually
Mordecai, Haman's enemy, whom the king desired to reward. After
parading Mordecai through the city street saying, “thus shall it
be done to the man in whom the king honors”, Haman covered his
head, went to his home and complained to his wife and friends about
his shameful act. He was listening to them as they warned him, “if
Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before
whom you hast begun to fall, you shall not prevail against him, but
shall surely fall before him”. In
chapter six and verse fourteen we see their advice interrupted by the
king's chamberlains. We read:
And while they were
yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to
bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Our
verse begins, “And while they were yet talking
with him, came the king's chamberlains,...” If we use our
imaginations, we can almost see the intensity upon Haman's face as he
listens to his wife and wise guests share. All of the sudden, the
king's chamberlains interrupt Haman's them, and they have come to
retrieve Haman. These men were not coming to Haman's house for a
visit, but were urgent about their mission. Though Haman had his
little pity party going on, this in no wise would stop the king's
chamberlains from their duties.
The
verse goes on to tell us the purpose of the chamberlains
interruption, “and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that
Esther had prepared”. With all the commotion from the parading
of Mordecai, it would have been easy to forget that there was still
another banquet prepared by Queen Esther to which Haman was invited.
The king's chamberlains were sent to be sure that Haman attended.
Haman's shame and emotional downturn only enhanced his ability to
forget the benefit he assumed that he had because he was invited to
the Queen's banquet a second time. Nonetheless, the king's
chamberlains were there to assist him in remembering, and they hasted
to be sure he was present for the feast.
Isn't
it amazing how a “pity party” can distract us from a benefit of
life that is afforded to us? Haman could not even think about the
banquet invitation as long as he was nursing his emotional hurt over
the embarrassment of parading Mordecai. Misery indeed loves company,
and it often so distracts us that benefits in life are forgotten as
well. Rather than think upon the good things we have, self-absorption
and depression may have us looking so inward that we forget the
outward things. Certainly Haman experienced this, and if the king's
chamberlains would not have come to retrieve him he would have
continued wallering in his misery. Perhaps as we ponder this verse
today we are self-absorbed and cannot see the outward benefits of
life. If so, let the reminder of Haman give us all a sense of the
overseeing hand of God who is involved in our outward life as much as
He is the inward, and may we turn from wallering to see the plan of
the Almighty God for us.
Next
time we will begin a new chapter and discover what happens at the
second banquet, 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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