Haman's Refrain Esther 5:10 - Equipped for Battle

As Haman left the banquet prepared by Esther the queen for he and the king, he left with a happy countenance until he saw rebellious Mordecai at the king's gate. One moment he was happy, and the next moment he was exceedingly angry. In chapter five and verse ten we see the beginning of the reaction to Mordecai's rebellion as Haman returns to his home. We read:

Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.

The beginning of this verse is interesting in that we read, “Nevertheless Haman refrained himself:” Haman was angry after seeing Mordecai who would not bow or make obeisance to him, and yet, he “refrained” himself which means force, constrain, or compel oneself not to react. Haman had a plan underway to rid himself of this nuisance Mordecai, and the time for his revenge had not yet come even though his indignation for Mordecai rose again as he left the palace area.

The verse goes on to say, “ and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.” After pushing past his desire to have revenge immediately upon Mordecai, Haman went to his home and called for both his friends and “Zeresh” his wife whose name means “gold”. The old saying goes, “Misery loves company”, and even those as miserable as Haman have people who surround them if they desire. Haman retreats to his place of refuge, gathers his people to himself, and prepares to tell them of his greatness which we shall see in the next few verses.

Refrain and restraint are great qualities to have in our lives. Sometimes it is better to hold back or force ourselves not to react right away in adverse circumstances. Haman knew that doing so with Mordecai could jeopardize his plan for the elimination of all the Jews, so he held back. We, however, may not have as troublesome a situation as Haman, yet we would be wise to refrain from retaliation as well. Although Haman's refrain was leaning toward a greater injustice, our situation should encourage us to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ for His help in the situation. Time to restrain ourselves may be required until we receive more facts, cool down, and discover the will of the Lord in our situation. Haman had no time for the Lord so his plan was to watch out for only himself. As we proceed with the next few verses we will see that Haman was concerned only about Haman, and this will be his demise.

Next time we will see Haman tell his family of his greatness, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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