Well, I am preparing for the trip. Paul mentioned that some of you keep asking, and I'll be leaving two weeks from Thursday for Serbia and I'll be there two weeks. And then the first week is the teaching of the whole course in five days. So it's four hours of teaching for five days straight. So I'm hoping I have a voice by the end of that week. We'll see because I'm supposed to meet with other pastors the second week. So be praying for that, please. And I'll look forward to giving you an update on Serbia. and what's going on there in the churches. So I'm supposed to preach at what's called the International Church in Belgrade the first Sunday that I'm there and just tell some of you there that the pastor still won't really tell me what he wants me to preach on or what to do. He just keeps kind of postponing that. So sometimes it works that way in other places. So I'm going to bring several sermons and have them ready. So if he wants a topical or if he wants a textual or if he wants a gospel or an epistle or Old Testament and just have a handful ready. So we'll see what that's about. Some pastors, they want you to jump in where they are. So he's in Mark right now, Pastor Samuel there. So he might want me to do the next passage of Mark, or some of them don't want you to do that because they don't want you to mess up their system. So sometimes you need to do a different sermon. So I like to find out what the church is dealing with. Are there issues there? For example, worry and anxiety, is that an issue? Probably an issue everywhere, right? Universal problem. So I'll keep you updated on that and appreciate you praying. Maybe pray more for the students than me for that class. Hoping it all makes sense with translation and all that. But I'm really excited. Well, please open the book of Esther. We just have a couple Sundays left in Esther. Again, I hope you've been able to read the story for yourself. You know, the story of Esther really can't be communicated any better. So I feel kind of strange telling you the story of Esther. It would be better just to read it than me trying to tell you it. But it is a riveting story of God working to protect and preserve his people. And I titled this In God's Hands. So we're going to look at Esther, chapter four, verse 15, and we're going to go through chapter seven. I won't read all of it to you, but We will read some of it. We'll look at it together. Let me begin, though, again with Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 16, verse 18. Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. King Solomon's words there serve as timeless wisdom for God's people and really a commentary, I believe, on the Old Testament, that pride goes before destruction. I think it's really a commentary on many stories you find in the Old Testament, especially kings that you find in the old, but including and especially the story of Esther, as we're going to see this morning. Now, do you remember where we left Esther? We left her about to go to the king, right? We left her standing there preparing herself and her people to stand before the king. So, God has placed young Esther there, who was an unknown orphan, who now is the queen of the most powerful empire in the world. Now, she has access to the most powerful man in the world, King Ahasuerus. And all of it seems, in the narration, just to happen by chance. That's at least the initial feel, right? This is all just falling into place beautifully. It seems all a coincidence. that she happened to be chosen for the king and she happened to be the queen. Now she's placed there. But we know this isn't anything to do with chance, right? This is all purely the providence of God, that God maintains control. It's all the good of providence of God. For even before Haman, who we met last time, thought and designed a plan by which he would kill Mordecai and all the Jews in the empire, He had already placed Esther in that position as the queen. You know, these are gentle, subtle reminders in the story that God is all knowing, that God is sovereign, that God is orchestrating all events according to his wise plan. Even though on earth rather than heaven, it seems maybe that's not the case. Things are just happening. And though the king's decree has already been sent out to extinguish the Jews, I think we could safely say that God is still in control, right? Even in the worst of situation, how can anything like this happen? Yet God's still in control. And so we can find great assurance, friends, knowing that though things in life, things in this world seem contrary to what is good, to what God might do if it was his will. Friends, God is still doing his will. He's still carrying out his plan. The Puritan Thomas Watson said, you that are Christians believe that all God's providence shall conspire for your good at last. The providences of God are sometimes dark and our eyes dim and we can hardly tell what to make of them. But when we cannot unriddle providence, let us believe that it will work together for the good of the elect. The wheels and a clock seem to move contrary one to the other. But they help forward the motion of the clock and make the alarm strike so the providences of God seem to be cross wheels. But for all that they shall carry on the good of the elect. He says the pricking of a vein is in itself evil and hurtful but as it prevents a fever and tends to the health of the patient it is good. So affliction in itself is not joyous but grievous but the Lord turns it to the good of his saints. He says poverty shall starve their sins and affliction shall prepare them for a kingdom. Therefore, Christians believe that God loves you and that he will make the most cross provinces to promote his glory and your good end quote. When things seem contrary, not the way you think they should go. God is at work behind the scenes. So the story of Esther. So Esther now has been a queen for some time. It's been a number of years now, actually. And it seems earlier, according to chapter four, verse 11, that she has probably fallen out of favor with the king. Remember, the king has many women, possibly hundreds of women. And it's essentially whenever Queen Esther is called to be before the king is her opportunity to be with the king. Beyond that, she's not in the presence of the king and it's been at least 30 days it says in chapter 4 verse 11 so doesn't seem he's thinking much about Esther. All the meanwhile the plot has been given there Mordecai is trying to then extinguish the Jews the edict has been sent out. Haman seeing Mordecai not bow to him and give him honor that he thought was due to him and discovering him to be a Jew sent Haman on a rampage. Haman, you remember, manipulated the king. He was able to lie and manipulate the king so that this decree was sent out to kill this people group the king was unaware of, but it was none less than the Jewish people. And that means that Mordecai will eventually be killed, the man who rescued the king. That also means eventually the queen Esther will be killed because she, too, is a Jew. None of this the king is aware of. So it sets up a very interesting story, doesn't it? And tension all under the king's nose. Mordecai mourns, sends word to Esther. Now is the time to act. Esther finds herself in a tight spot, doesn't she? But she finds herself in the right spot because it's God's spot. Right? Even when you're in a tight spot, God has you there and it's the right spot because it's his spot. So we looked at earlier, Mordecai has said, maybe this is why God has placed you where you are for such a time as what? As this. Yes. And this means one thing, she must risk her life to save her people. So the story reaches a climax here. The reader now is holding his or her breath. Wondering what's going to happen? Is Esther going to follow through and stand before the king? What will the king say? Will he favor her? Will he be angry like Queen Vashti and remove her? Will the Jews be annihilated? And on the story goes. But I want to focus on not just what happens. I want to focus on the subjects of pride and humility. Because there's an emphasis here on pride. And there's an emphasis, I believe, on the humility of Esther. And so King Solomon has told us pride goes before destruction. A King Jesus, a different king, the greatest king, the king of kings, says in Matthew 23, 12, whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be what? Exalted. There's a great principle of scripture again. And so our Lord gives us this great principle, another commentary on the Old Testament, and I believe a commentary on the story we have this morning. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted, but whoever exalts themselves will be humbled. Let's first look at Esther's humility and then Haman's pride. First, Esther's humility. The writer tells us earlier, though, in chapter two, that she had not only won the king's favor, but the favor of all the women in the royal court. I mean, Esther was winning the favor of everyone. This reminds us of Joseph, right? The story of Joseph, wherever he went, things turned out well. He won the favor of those around him. This is true of Esther. Esther is not just beautiful. That seemed to be the only thing the king was interested in, but she had a beautiful heart. She was a woman of character, a woman of dignity and honor, one who glorified the Lord in the midst of a royal palace. Here we're going to see her character, her faith in God, her humility, her wisdom as she moves forward to save her people. So let's look at her humility. I want to dissect it as we look through the story. The first thing we notice of her humility is this. She gave herself to prayer. She gave herself to prayer. It says there earlier in chapter 4, verse 15, that Esther told him to reply to Mordecai, that is, say, tell Mordecai, go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish. I think we have a profound moment here in the life of Esther. In her humility, she prays. I know prayer is not mentioned in the text. I think it can be safely implied or inferred from the text because they fast. Fasting and prayer go together there in the scripture. And so she fasts and she has those around her fast. Now is the time to get on your knees and pray, right? because your people are about to be extinguished from the earth. Now is the time to humble yourself, to cast your cares on God. And that's what humility does, friends. Peter tells us this in 1 Peter 5, verse 6, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you. This kind of connects with our men's study. A very interesting kind of window into humility. Humility means you pray. Humility means you depend upon God. Humility means you're casting your anxieties, your concerns, your cares, your fears on the Lord. That's Peter's idea of humility. Maybe that's different than what you might think humility is. What does humility do? Well, true humility isn't just being down on yourself all the time and wearing a frown and looking frumpy or constantly telling others how bad of a sinner you are. Sometimes I've heard Christians do that. I'm not convinced that's true humility. Humility is depending upon God. Humility is trusting him, allowing him to take control. Humility, as Peter says, is praying. And I think that's why prayer is hard. Because you have to lay aside your pride, right? You don't have everything under control in your life. You can't carry everything yourself anymore. You need the wisdom of God. You need the help of God. And humility says, Lord, I can't do this. I need your help. So that's why it can be hard to pray, because we have pride in our hearts. But Peter says, it's what humility does. It depends upon God. It recognizes self is not self-sufficient. But I need God. And here we have a humble woman who is a woman who gives herself to prayer. It reminds us maybe of Daniel again. Daniel, as he prayed three times a day and he even kept praying, even though his life was on the line, he continued to pray to his God. And she gives herself to God. She casts her cares on him. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God by doing what? Casting your anxieties on him. That doesn't seem like a hard thing, does it? That's not a hard thing, right? To go tell God your problems. That's a great thing, isn't it? This humility thing doesn't seem so bad after all, right? Esther is doing this. But if we don't carry our anxieties to God, then we're proud, right? And we don't really need God. It's like saying, no, God, I can carry the weight of my problems. I don't need your help. I mean, think about an Esther's position. Can Esther even emotionally carry this herself? To think now, it seems from a human perspective, everything is dependent upon me when I go before the king. I better not mess this up because my people's lives depends upon it. Imagine that for your country or that your entire country is dependent upon Your moment in your decision, that's a lot of pressure. So she prays first thing she does, she cast her anxieties on God, no doubt she prayed for God to save her people. No doubt she prayed that God prepare the heart of the king. No doubt she prayed for wisdom and how to approach the king and present the request. Not only do we find a solace when we pray, We also find the wisdom of God, right? What does James tell us in the first chapter of James? Right, James 1.5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. There's a great promise there, right? If any of you lacks wisdom, does anyone lack wisdom? Let's do a show of hands. No, you don't have to raise your hand. All of us, I'm sure, lack wisdom. Certainly in some area of life, we're lacking wisdom right now. Probably should go to the Lord in prayer. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. Let him ask God and not Google, I like to say, right? I know Google gives generously, but God gives more generously than Google does. Some of our young parents are trying to calm their baby down and they're Googling and it's worst case. You know, it's the worst case situation for your child. We've been there before. Pray, go to the Lord and trust him. No doubt Esther prayed. hard and prayed for wisdom. Second of all, she humbly recruited others to pray. Notice that she involves others. We need as many people to pray for this as we can. She not only prayed humbly herself, she had others pray. And though, interestingly, maybe ironically, that's like the word of Esther's ironic. She's always submitted to Mordecai, right? She's always done what Mordecai says, but she sent a word to him and said, I want you to gather the Jews for them to pray. She uses her authority as the queen to tell Mordecai what to do. Now is a time we must pray. Again, let's pause. Someone might think, well, you're not really accomplishing much, are you, to pray? I mean, we need to figure out a good plan here. Maybe we get a group of guys, a special forces team can go in and, you know. Esther is convinced prayer is the way to go. And she recruits others to pray. An intense, ongoing prayer. Three days of fasting. Have you ever fasted for 24 hours? You know, I really, I feel weak, not just physically, but spiritually to think after 24 hours, it's tough. 24 hours. Try three days. Three days of complete fasting day and night. And they pray. I think Esther knew her Old Testament. I think she knew the history of Israel up to that point. She knew when God's people pray, God answers prayer. Friends, not to get off here, but yes, God is sovereign and in control of all details, as we're going to see even a sleepless night of a king. And yet he tells us to pray and he answers our prayers. Esther knows that. And so she has everyone get on their knees and pray. It wasn't her access to the king that was the key to her success, though. I think we need to keep that in mind. It was her access to whom? To God that was the key to this, right? Because someone could certainly say, well, you have access to the king. I mean, you have the advantage from a human perspective, sure. But friends, she has access to the God, the creator of all things. And so do you. So you always have the advantage. And she didn't pray alone, she recruited others to entreat their merciful God, remembering the promises of God, I'm sure. God had promised that he would make his people like the sand on the seashore, right? Too many to count. He had made promises to Abraham. He made promises to his people. God wasn't going to give up on them. He certainly had not. They were still there within the kingdom of Persia. Esther knew God, she knew the scripture, she knew the power of prayer. Speaking of prayer, D. Edmund Hebert wrote, it is the most dynamic work which God has entrusted to his saints, but it is also the most neglected ministry open to the believer. I mean, those are sobering words, right? It is the most dynamic work. And I don't know if you're like me, I like having a to do list and checking things off because I feel like I'm doing something. I'm accomplishing something. But sometimes it doesn't feel that way when you pray, right? You just talk to the Lord and you're waiting on him. It doesn't feel as productive. And yet it's the most dynamic work, but he's right. It's the most neglected ministry. He says it is the essential element for Christian victory. Without it, all other means are powerless and ineffectual. Esther could have developed a wise, sophisticated plan by the way she does. We're going to see what that is. But what's more important than doing that? It's praying, right? Again, Hebert says, without prayer toil we ever so hard. Our labors for God are vain. It's a good reminder. We're going to see there's a place for wisdom, thinking, planning, doing. But friends, we cannot put off prayer. Esther knew this, so she humbled herself in prayer, recruited others to do the same and treated and treating God's wisdom and protection. Here's another element of her humility. She acted with humble wisdom. She acted with humble wisdom, a result of her prayer, right? Esther doesn't just stay on her knees. I like this. She gets up. As we're going to see, and she goes to the king with the plan, she uses the wisdom God gave her in her praying. Notice chapter five, verse one. On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace in front of the king's quarters. While the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace, there's lots of details here, isn't there? You can begin to kind of envision this situation and the setup. She puts on her royal robes. She gets serious, like right with her sleeve. She's getting ready to do the work. This would actually communicate seriousness to the king. She acts like whom? The Queen, right? She acts like the Queen because she is the Queen. In her royal dignity, she approaches the King for such a time as this. She stands in the inner court of the King's palace, kind of like on the edge, on the corner, risking her life to do so, because again, you do not just go to the King yourself. You just can't do that. The King has to order you to come into his presence, into his throne room. So she's already risking her life in doing so. She should wait, at least that's what they would tell her, until the king calls her. Who knows when that will be? It's been a month. Could be another month. And time is of the essence, right? So she stands there ready. This was, again, against royal protocol. I'm sure Vashti is in her mind, who was immediately dismissed and disappeared from the story. for going to her husband and saying she refuses to go before him and his friends. But she boldly goes to the king and then she stands there and she waits for him to call her forward. Knowing he may be enraged at her boldness. Again, maybe he still has Vashti in his mind. And what is she doing now to do this? Is she going to be like Vashti was? I mean, what was going through her mind? I don't know. But she comes equipped with her robe and a plan. And you'll see the plan as it unfolds. Very interestingly, now notice what the narrator says. Verse two. Did you catch a key word in verse two? It's the word queen. It's the first time in the story she's been called what? Queen. She is Queen Esther. I believe you see the authority here that she has. She's using her position to her advantage. Reminds me of the Apostle Paul who had a Roman citizenship and he used it to his advantage. Right here she's using that. Maybe even I think we can see in the story a shift of power because from this point on Esther will receive more power and Mordecai will receive more power. And the shift of power will begin to move the other direction. And so now we see Queen Esther at work and by the good providence of God, what happens? The king had a good day. He woke up feeling OK. It was a good morning. He had had his coffee, whatever it was, things were OK. He grants her permission. He extends his royal scepter out for her to touch, meaning she can come forward. and talk to the king. She has his attention by the grace of God. And we all kind of go whoo. The king's response is telling. What is it Queen Esther. Kind of an interesting question. What is it. And really what's implied in this language is that he can tell there's something wrong. You do that with your family and friends. You can read them a little bit. Are you OK. Something's off. You don't look quite yourself. What is it. The king notices that he can tell something is wrong. Maybe a frown, obviously concerned look on her face. I think more than that, it's been three days of fasting. I mean, I don't know about you. Probably wouldn't look your best after three days of fasting completely. And so he notices something is off. By the way, that's a risk fasting. If you were the queen, you are one of the women of the king, you're not going to be fasting, are you? You don't want to look lesser than you can. Because the king is all concerned about the external appearance. She's already risking now coming before the king, not looking perfect like the king likes. And the king asked, what is your request? It shall be given you even to half the kingdom. Wow. Seems this moment that God is beginning to open the door for a lot of possibility. Remember, Proverbs says the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he will. Just this is the kind of commentary of Proverbs. Brian Gregory says this regarding the king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord, he says, Persian kings are no exception. I like that. Right. Persian kings are no exception when it comes to God, who has the ability to change the heart of a leader, to change the heart of a king, of a prime minister, of a president. He can do that if he so wishes to do that. So the case for King Ahasuerus, her chance to request, and yet, as you read the story, she doesn't actually request protection of the Jews. If it please the king, let, she says there, verse four, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king. It says there, verse five, the king and Haman came to the feast Esther had prepared. And what is your wish? This will be granted to you. What is your request? Even to half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled. Then Esther answered, my wish and my request is if I have found favor in the sight of the king and if it pleased the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them tomorrow. Let's do this whole thing again. What in the world is Esther doing? Some commentators say she was getting fearful. I don't think she's afraid at this point, especially when, you know, advantage is in her court. This is the moment for her. Why would she now become more afraid and timid and back out of the request? Certainly an interesting story. You have to remember the king, he's moody, isn't he? He's fickle, uncertain. You know, what is he going to be like? He might be different on Tuesday than Monday. Thankfully, he's granting her permission to come into his presence. Why in the world are you going to wait till tomorrow? He may be a completely different man tomorrow. He may be full of anger and impatience and he won't listen at all. Does she have wisdom in what she's doing? But in doing so, and we'll grant her request a second time, as we read a little bit later in this feast, he has the same language What is your request? Even to half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled when they come together again for the second feast. He's granting her this again. It's like a blank check. Just whatever you want. You know, that's pretty amazing, isn't it? Things are going well. The reason Esther is waiting, I think, and for another feast and for him to grant this request again is to lock him into his promise. He has already said, I will grant you half of the kingdom. He's going to say it again on the second day in front of Haman. And when you're the king and you say that, you can't really go back on what you said. Right. Because it's kind of embarrassing for the king to say, I'll give you everything. Just kidding. Probably can't do that. You know, he's already been embarrassed by Vashti, his wife throughout the entire empire. They know even his own wife doesn't submit to this guy. Right. He can't embarrass himself anymore. I think she's locking the king in. with his promise to grant her what she desires. Esther, I believe, is really trying to craft the perfect moment and context. Notice who else she invited to the feast. Haman. That's right. She knows exactly what she's doing. She developed a plan. She will reveal Haman's plot to the king as well. You know, and I think also in here you have her. She knows the king. She understands when it's good timing. Again, maybe you know that with a friend. Maybe this isn't a good time to talk about this. Maybe this is a good time. And you might have a feel of that. Esther is is using her wisdom to orchestrate this in the best way. And friends, it's wisdom from God, isn't it? And if you lack wisdom, let him ask who? Let him ask of God. I think we see in the narration her wisdom is a answer to her prayer and wisdom comes from humility. I'm still talking about her humility. Humility means to fear God, to see God for who he is, to have an accurate view of yourself before God. The beginning of knowledge, the beginning of wisdom is what? According to Proverbs, it's the fear of God, isn't it? It's understanding who God is. It's acknowledging him, worshiping him, living in light of who he is. That's what it means to fear God, and that's really what humility is. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. So she's prayed. She's recruited others to pray. She now begins to act in humble wisdom. Last of all, looking at her humility, she humbly places her life in God's hands. She's placed her life in God's hands. So humility does. Humility lets go. and trust the Lord to take control of things. Humility depends upon God. Humility is evident in the life of the believer when the believer doesn't rely on self, but on God, when the believer stops relying on one's own wisdom and trust the wisdom of God, when the believer gives himself or herself to prayer, when the believer is focused on God rather than themselves. And she places her life in the hands of God. She's trusting God, isn't she? Every moment as she walks into the courtroom, as she begins to give this plan of come back the next day for another feast, she's all trusting God. It reminds me of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion, facing the terror of having sin placed upon himself. And the wrath of God poured out on him. Him being man, very man, he was terrified of the idea. And he prayed, if there be any other way. Right? That's just humanity, isn't it? If there be any other way. You're the God of infinite possibilities. If there's another way in this world. Nevertheless, your will be done. Right? Jesus says. And he rested in the hands of the Father in the garden. Let your will be done, God. And from that point on, our Lord moved to the cross and he gave his life on our behalf. Even in the last moment before he breathed his last breath, he said, in your hands, I commit my spirit. He was trusting the father to the very last moment. In fact, he was trusting the father to raise him from the dead. That's what our Lord. I think we see that in Esther. It's the same thing. We see that someone who is committing their self, their life into the hands of their God, their father. So Esther serves as a wonderful example of humility, of dependence, of trust and faith. That's Esther's humility. What about Haman? Let's look at Haman's pride. The camera of the story now shifts to Haman and Mordecai. We've seen them already. Now we see them again. Heyman comes out there in verse nine. This is after the first day she's approached the king. She said, come back for a second day. Heyman leaves and he is so thrilled. Wow, the queen invited me along with the king to a feast. Things are going well for me. I'm doing pretty good. He comes out with a joyful heart, thrilled at his position and honor. And and what happens again? Oh, there's Mordecai. And everybody stands up, maybe bows to Haman. They recognize him. And what does Mordecai do? He doesn't shift at all. He doesn't do anything. He doesn't pay any recognition and honor to Haman. And that makes Haman good and angry. But Haman restrains himself. He has some self-control. But he'll get back at Haman, right? So he goes home and he complains to his wife and his friends. And then he just talks about how good of a guy he is. You know, man, the king honors me. I've been promoted. Look at the riches. Look, I've got 10 sons. By the way, to have a lot of sons was an amazing thing then. You know, like God has blessed me. I'm a blessed man. He probably would have mentioned God, but the king has blessed me. I'm honored. I'm a good guy. I'm a great guy. Now Queen Esther has invited me. I'm going to go back again for another feast with her and the king. I am special. Haman says. Probably, you know, shining his fingernails and putting his chin up a little bit. But Haman was full of one thing, wasn't he? Himself. That's what he was full of. Here's a great example of pride. A man who exalts himself. Esther was someone who humbled herself and gave it all to the Lord. Haman is the opposite. Contrasted, he begins to exalt himself. There's so much Haman and Haman, there's no room for anything else. And he complains to his wife, you know, Mordecai wouldn't bow to me. Oh, that's horrible, isn't it? One bad thing today. I remember years ago, I worked in Burbank, California for a while. Thankfully, it's not burned down. But but when I worked there, I worked for a telemarketing company. And we were on the phone all day. I don't know why I got this job. We were selling products to people all over the country calling them at their house like the worst. and hours of calling people. And I would call mechanics and dairy farmers and dentists and all this stuff. And you could get a whole day of people accepting orders and ordering from you. And then you get that one phone call, where someone's like, how dare you call me? I hate telemarketers. What are you doing calling me and it would just ruin the rest of your day. I remember our boss saying guys, you could have you know, 15 orders successfully and you get one bad phone call and you ruin the rest of the day. He had a good point. OK, let's look at the good, not the bad. But Haman's kind of like that, like had one guy, one guy not bow to me, one guy not honoring honoring me in my old days ruined. Right. Things aren't going so well as I thought. So he complains to his wife. And what is his wife and his friends advice? You know, you should build a gallow there, build a big one that you can execute Mordecai and get back at him. and build one so big, it's 50 cubits high. You know how tall that is? It's a little bit comical. It's 75 feet tall. It's like several stories. I'm not sure how you'd even get Mordecai up there, you know, or you might risk falling down if you're trying to carry him up there. So, interesting though, if you think about it, even Haman here isn't following the king's edict originally. Remember the edict that was sent throughout the empire? He told the men in the kingdom, make sure you're a master of your own household. Make sure your wife submits to you. Remember that? And here, Zeresh is the one kind of running the operation at home, right? Right? This is what you need to do. You need to build a gallow and execute Mordecai for not honoring you. Will it please Haman? So he had it made. But first, what does he need to do before he kills Mordecai? He needs to go back to the banquet with Esther and the king. And then justice can be done. So Haman thinks. But notice chapter six, verse one. On that night, the king could not sleep. Very interesting turn of events. Why do we have this part of the story? There's a sleepless king now. What was the antidote to the sleeplessness the king experience? Notice he gave orders to bring The Book of Memorable Deeds, the Chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was written how Mordecai had told about Bithana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. That is when Mordecai rescued the king, right? This was written down. Remember, the king wrote all the heroic acts of people down. And what does he do on a sleepless night? He has a servant read to him his life story. Doesn't that sound exciting? Wouldn't you like someone to read your life story at night? And so, no wonder, you know, this is a way to, this is better than counting Persian sheep, is to have this read. And I kind of feel for the servant having to read it all night, because you certainly can't stop and fall asleep yourself. But reading his own biography would be better than counting sheep. And in the providence of God, he cannot sleep at all. And this is the very center of the book of Esther, The Sleepless Night. John Whitcomb writes, God accomplishes some of his deepest work in the hearts of men as they lay awake upon their beds at night. Obviously, God's doing something, isn't he? Brian Gregory says it well. In short, the turning point of the book seems like it should come from either some great intervention by God or some action of the part of a character. Instead, It comes from something as mundane and trivial as a night in insomnia. But in the hands of God, even one night of insomnia can become a redemptive pivot point that will dramatically change the course of events. It's right. He cannot sleep. And what happens to be read? Mordecai's heroic act. Oh, what a coincidence. As kids, we always said, what a coink-a-dink, right? What a coincidence. It just so happens. He reads the right story about the Jew Mordecai who saved his life. So the king, with all his, you know, debauchery and self-indulgence and all of this, had some good in him, didn't he? And what does he say? Well, we need to honor Mordecai. Was he honored? No, he wasn't. We need to do something. We didn't honor him at all for saving my life from this assassination plot. But before he gives the order to honor Mordecai, who happens to walk in? What another coincidence, right? Haman walks in. This is getting interesting. It says there, as Haman comes into the court, seems like an odd timing as well. Maybe the middle of the night, early in the morning, the king's young men, verse five, say Haman is there standing in the court. The king says, let him come in. So Haman came in and the king said to him, what should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? What great timing. He just read the story. He's thinking we got to honor him. Haman happens to be here. What do you think, Haman? How should we honor someone like this? And what does Haman think? Classic Haman. He must be thinking of me. I mean, I'm such a good guy. The king must be thinking he's going to honor me. Well, I'll tell you what I think should happen. Right. Verse. What verse are we in? I'm losing track. Verse seven, Haman said of the king, thank you for the man whom the king delights to honor. Let royal robes be brought, which the king is worn and the horse the king has ridden. I mean, this is as close to the king as you can get notice. And I wish the head of a royal crown is set. Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor and let them lead them on the horse to the square of the city proclaiming before him. Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. You're kind of out of breath after you read it, which tells me one thing, Haman had thought about this for a long time, right? He was ready for this answer. So the king responds, verse 10, this is just great, isn't it? And the king said to Haman, hurry, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai, the what? The Jew who sits at the king's gate, leave out nothing. that you have mentioned, you've got to be smiling. And again, I don't know if Mordecai wrote the whole story of Esther and he's smiling when he writes this or someone else, maybe one of the eunuchs wrote it, who knows? But what a smile here, right? The self-exalting Haman now has had the table turned on him. This is an ouch moment for Haman. The man who once wore sackcloth is now going to be clothed with what? The king's robes aren't the humble exalted right. The man he just made a gallop for to execute the man that would not bow to him. Haman must now put a royal robe on him and parade him through the city and honor him now. The self-exalting Haman now in humility exalts Mordecai all because of a sleepless king who just happened to read the right account at the right moment before Haman showed up. God is in control, isn't he? There's no such thing as luck and chance and coincidence. With a dose of irony and humor, Haman exalts Mordecai just like that. All in a moment, everything has changed for Haman. What does Haman do? Haman runs home and complains, right? He's depressed. He goes home, it says here, towards the end of chapter six, and he tells his wife and friends. And what is their response? They tell him, they tell him, basically, you will not overcome him, but you will surely fall before him. Your end is near, Haman. It's up, buddy. Esther's humility shines forth and Haman's pride takes a fall. Remember, our Lord, whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be what? Exalted. That's how the kingdom of God works. I'll never forget Charles Spurgeon said this. He said, asking is the rule of the kingdom. Asking is the rule of the kingdom. In other words, God designs for you to pray. You have to pray for things. That's just his rule in the kingdom. I think you have the same kind of rule here. Pride takes a fall, but humility is exalted by God. God loves humility. God is not looking on the outside. We see this later in the earlier, rather, in the story of David, right? David, where God's looking at David's heart, he's not looking at the external like the people looked on the external of King Saul. God loves a humble heart. But he hates pride, Proverbs 26, 27, whoever digs a pit will fall into it and a stone will come back to him who starts it rolling. That's the story of Haman, isn't it? He has built the gallow. He has dug a hole for himself. You know, he's he has this stone that's rolling back on him. This is a very sanctified illustration, but as a kid, I watched the Looney Tunes. You remember the coyote, right? The coyote would set up the stone and he'd prop it up with the stick and you know it's going to happen. It's going to roll back on him. And that's what happened to Haman. And Haman has to go where now as we get closer to the end of this part of the story? He goes back to the feast, doesn't he? To meet with Esther and the king. The king, again, is generous. has risked losing a chance, but she's waited for the second day by the providence of God. He's in a good mood. And what is your request? Up to half the kingdom. Here's her chance again. And what does she say there? She begins to unburden her heart. She says, if I have found favor in your sight, chapter seven, verse three, O king, if it please the king, let my life be granted for me, for my wish and my people, for my request, for we have been sold. I and my people to be destroyed, to be killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would not, I would have been silent for our affliction is not to be compared with a loss to the king. Then the king Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, who is he and where is he who has dared to do this? And Esther said, a foe and an enemy, this wicked Haman. Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. She unburdens her heart. Here's her chance. She tells the king, this is what happened. And she said, you know, if we were just sold the slaves, I wouldn't be bothering you, King. That's what she says. She says, there's a greater thing going on here. Somebody has plotted to kill all of my people. And the king is surprised. Well, who is this? What happened? I didn't know about this. And right then is Haman is putting sausage in his mouth. Tim. It's great, isn't it? I can imagine him with open mouth and Fork in hand. He's been caught. Esther used her wisdom, didn't she? And she got him. This is great. She prayed, but she used the wisdom God had given her. And the king arises in his wrath. He goes out to the garden there in the palace area, probably considering what is he going to do when he comes back. He finds Haman has fallen on Esther and is begging for his life. But friends, you don't do that when it comes to the king's protocol. I believe if I'm right, you have to keep you have to keep seven feet from any women of the king. OK, like driving near these trucks, keep certain, you know, certain feedback. OK, I don't think anyone does that. But Haman doesn't do that. He falls on Esther. The king returns into the room. He sees him on his wife. And that only adds fuel to the fire. And immediately they put a bag over his head. which is what you would do for a criminal, and they remove Haman from the palace and they take him away. What an ironic twist, right? What an ironic twist that all along Haman did not know Esther was a what? A Jew. He had no idea. He fell into his own trap. The king orders his removal. Now knowing that Haman not only deceived the king about the Jews but had planned to kill the man who had rescued him and honored him, Mordecai, and had even planned to kill his queen. No wonder he was so angry. And Haman is taken where? To the gallow he made. What a classic narration, right? What a great story. And he's executed on the very gallow he created for Mordecai. It says there at the end of chapter seven hang him on that the king said and they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated and Haman disappears forever just like that. The exalted will be humbled. Jesus words ring loudly whoever exalts himself will be humbled whoever humbles himself will be exalted and something else rings true again. God is always working good for his people. God was with Esther. God was with Mordecai. God was with his people all along, working a plan to protect his people. Esther happened to win the king's favor. The king happened to have a sleepless night. The king happened to find Mordecai's heroic act. Haman happened to walk in at the right moment. And on the story goes, all working according to God's plan. Let me give you some closing thoughts. God's mysterious and invisible providence is that he's orchestrating all events for his glory and for the good of his people. Again, Thomas Watson says divine providence is irresistible. There is no standing in the way of God's providence to hinder it. When God's time was come for Joseph's release, the prison could hold him no longer. The king sent and loosed him. When God would indulge the Jews with liberty in their religion, Cyrus, by a providence, puts forth a proclamation to encourage the Jews to go and build their temple at Jerusalem and worship God. Well, I would add, here we see the providence of God in the life of Esther and her people, right? Divine providence is irresistible. God will have his way against all obstacles. In fact, God uses all obstacles to accomplish his will. And God is to be trusted, friends, when providence seems contrary to what you think is best, right? Esther trusted God and so should we. Well, we discover that Esther and her people were always safe in God's hands. Esther had a plan, but God already had a plan. And we discover that the exalted are humbled and the humble are exalted. And I love that Mordecai had worn sackcloth and mourned, but God exalted him and put on him the robe of a king. Praise God that he's in control. Let's pray. Maybe we can say, Father, thank you for some sleepless nights. Even in a sleepless night, we can be reminded that you have reasons that are beyond our understanding. Father, we thank you that you protect and preserve your people, that your divine sovereignty and providence is irresistible. There's no obstacle too big for you, Lord. You always accomplish your will. And we thank you that you cause all things to work together. for good to those who love you and to those who are called according to your purpose. We pray in your name. Amen.