The plot had thickened as
King Ahasuerus and Haman sat listening to Queen Esther's answer to
the request of the king for what she desired up to half the kingdom.
While she plead for her life and the life of her people we might
imagine the king moving to the front of his seat with heated interest
and wonder as to who was behind this extinction idea. In chapter
seven and verse five we see King Ahasuerus' response to Esther's
plea. We read:
Then the king Ahasuerus
answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he,
that presumes in his heart to do so?
The verse begins, “Then
the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen,...” At
this moment we might notice that the king directs all his attention
to Esther. It is as though no one else is at or around the table. It
is like Haman is not there, servants are not there, and no one is in
attendance except King Ahasuerus and his queen. We can almost
visualize his direct stare at Esther when he answered her.
The
verse goes on to say, “Who is he, and where is he, that
presumes in his heart to do so?”
When we consider this question, we should keep in mind who is asking
it. This is the man who is the ruler of the known world at that time.
Power to rule was his and was only limited by that which was already
written into Persian law. His question is pointed and direct, and
“who” and “where”
indicated that as soon as he knew the answer, that person better
watch out. Notice too that he uses the phrase “presumes
in his heart”. King Ahasuerus
knew from where evil intentions such as these begin. They begin in
the heart of a man. Presumptive as it may be, the one who contrived
such a genocide as this should only have one fate in his future, and
the king was ready to inflict him for it.
As
we consider this verse, let us put ourselves in the place of King
Ahasuerus for a moment. Can we imagine hearing about the demise of
those whom we love? Within all of us is a nature to protect someone
we love, and if we heard that someone was going to destroy them,
wouldn't we respond in the same manner? Interestingly enough,
sometimes we forget words like these from Paul the apostle in
Ephesians chapter six and verse twelve:
For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Our
enemy is often spiritual wickedness manifested through human beings
such as Haman. We should remember that God Almighty is behind the
scenes of all the activities within the book of Esther, and one of
the lessons we should learn from this book is that although Haman was
being used to attempt to destroy Israel, God Almighty was going to
protect them. As we ponder these things, perhaps we have those in our
lives whom the enemy would destroy as well, and if so, we must call
upon God and remember to ask the question, “Who is he, and where is
he?”, and then turn whoever it is over to the Almighty.
Next
time we see Esther name her adversary, 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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