Haman's Grudge Esther 5:13 - Equipped for Battle

After all the pontification about how great he was, Haman turns his attention toward what is really bothering him. In chapter five and verse thirteen Haman reveals to his wife and friends how much Mordecai has affected him. We read:

Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

Our verse begins, “Yet all this avails me nothing,...” Even though Haman was rich, even though Haman was prolific, and even though Haman was advanced above all servants and princes and enjoyed a special invitation to the queen's banquet, these were all as “nothing” compared to what he is about to say. The idea behind the word “avails” is “to agree with, be or become like, or resemble”. It further means to make one equivalent, level, smooth or still. In other words, when Haman puts what he has in a balance and weighs it against what he is about to say, all the wonderful things in his life come up short.

The verse goes on to tell us what Haman said, “so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” This is the more weighty substance. The fact that Haman has to walk by an un-bowing Mordecai rules over all the blessings that Haman has in his life. As long as Haman has to see Mordecai sitting in his rebellious state at the king's gate there is no way for Haman to truly enjoy all his blessings. Mordecai's dissent rules over all the other wonderful factors going on in Haman's life.

Grudges are difficult to put our of our minds. When we feel that we have been wronged by another person we may feel somewhat like Haman did. It is easy to forget all the wonderful things going on in our lives whenever another person has injured us, especially when we are constantly reminded by seeing them. “Out of site, out of mind” only works when someone is never seen, but if they are seen constantly like Haman saw Mordecai, a grudge can continue to fester for years. It's too bad that Haman was not relying upon the Lord for his ability to forgive. If Haman knew the Lord, assistance would have been his, and the grudge could have been gone. However, let us not forget that God Almighty knows how to use even the natural bent of a grudge for His purposes, and the fact that Haman holds on to his hatred for Mordecai is the very tool that God used against him. Let us, however, be sure in our lives that we allow the Lord Jesus to heal any area of wrong we have received from another person, so that any grudge we hold is forgotten and not a tool that affects our future in God's plans.

Next time we will see Haman's wife and friends answer to Haman's problem with Mordecai, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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