Haman suffered the
embarrassment of clothing Mordecai, putting him on the king's horse,
and leading him through the city crying, “Thus shall be done to
the man in whom the king delights”. Haman thought that he would
be the one in whom the king delighted, so he suggested the honoring
method that he was forced by the king to implement upon Mordecai who
was his enemy. In chapter six and verse twelve, we look at the
activity of both Mordecai and Haman after the parading was over. We
read:
And Mordecai came again
to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and
having his head covered.
The
verse begins, “And Mordecai came again to the king's gate.”
Rather than exalt himself more, or brag about the town concerning the
honor he just received, Mordecai simply went back to the place from
which he was taken. Most people who would be honored in such a way as
Mordecai would desire that people know what they did to receive the
honor, talk about how wonderful the reward was, and so on. Yet,
Mordecai just went back to the gate. Haman however did something
quite different.
The
verse goes on to say, “But Haman hasted to his house mourning,
and having his head covered.” Can we imagine how this looked?
There was poor self-exalted, high official Haman running through the
street with something covering his head. He was mourning as he ran
home like a little spoiled child. His embarrassment was more than he
could bear, so he returned to his only place of security for the
moment – his home. What a pitiful site it must have been as he
shamefully ran to hide inside his house.
When we
look at the two reactions of these men and consider them more
closely, Mordecai's reaction was one of true humility. He could have
continued his exaltation, but he simply went back to his normal
place. Haman, however, was so embarrassed and prideful that he had to
cover his head as he walked through the same street through which he
led Mordecai. To which of these behaviors do we relate? Are we
embarrassed by some of our actions and wish to hide and mourn, or
when we are exalted by men does it have little affect upon us? As we
ponder these two responses, perhaps we will put ourselves in the
place of each of these men, and when the Lord Jesus has directed us
in these areas, our hope should be that we will align ourselves with
behavior that is pleasing to God.
Next
time we will see Haman whining to his wife and friends, 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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