King Ahasuerus angrily
exited to his palace garden as soon as heard that his number one
chamberlain Haman had devised a plan to exterminate his wife Queen
Esther and her people simply because they were Jews. Haman,
meanwhile, begged for his life before Esther, and in chapter seven
and verse eight we see another act by Haman that infuriated the king
even more. We read:
Then
the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the
banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther
was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before
me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they
covered Haman's face.
The verse begins, “Then the king returned out of the palace
garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen
upon the bed whereon Esther was” More
than likely King Ahasuerus left the banqueting table because he was
overwhelmed with wrath and did not want to react too rashly to the
news of Haman's desire, however, can we imagine how he felt when he
returned after cooling down just a bit and found Haman
“fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was”?
No doubt Haman followed Queen Esther to this bed pleading for his
life, and without thoughts as to how it might look should he be
caught there, when she went to her “bed” which means “couch,
bed or bier”, he continued after her. At that precise moment, King
Ahasuerus walked in.
The
verse goes on to say, “Then said the king, Will
he force the queen also before me in the house?” The
immediate conclusion drawn by the king was that Haman was attempting
to force the queen, his own wife, in his own house! At this point the
king was totally done with Haman. First the king hears about Haman
desiring to kill his wife and her people, and now Haman is trying to
sleep with her as well? Let's just say that Haman did everything he
could to save himself and destroy the Jews, but his actions only led
to his own demise.
Our
verse ends, “As the word went out of the king's
mouth, they covered Haman's face.” As
soon as the words and accusation of king Ahasuerus was spoken,
chamberlains throughout the king's palace covered the face of Haman
to prepare him for hanging. There would be no trial. There would be
no further appeal. Haman was going to die, and the preparation for
his death began with the covering of his head.
Oh
how the tables have turned. Wicked and evil Haman once thought
himself to be in a place of special prominence before the king and
queen, and now his face was covered and he was destined to death.
This part of the story is both sad and delightful. It is sad for
Haman, but delightful for Esther and Mordecai. At this point,
however, Mordecai knew nothing of Haman's fate. He only relied upon
the Lord God Almighty for the salvation of both he and his family.
Let us not forget that Mordecai sat in the king's gate fasting and
sitting in sackcloth as he appealed to God on behalf of his people.
Little did he know that God was mightily at work, and that which was
planned by Mordecai's enemy would soon be turned upon his enemy's
head. As we ponder this, could it be that God is at work in
situations that seem impossible in our lives as well? Are we sitting
in a humbled position like Mordecai as we bring our “big” problem
before the Lord Almighty? If we are, then we can be assured that He
is at work, and if we are not, perhaps we should learn a lesson from
Mordecai as we consider the result in Haman's life.
Next
time we will see one of the king's chamberlains give him some
important information, 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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