Our sermon text for today is found in Esther, chapter 6. The book of Esther, chapter 6. In this account so far, we have Esther, the queen of Persia, and yet also a Jew, a member of the people of the Lord, and Her cousin Mordecai had brought her the news that Haman, the enemy of the Jews, was plotting to kill the Jews, and in fact had obtained a decree from the king to that effect. The Jews had fasted for three days, seeking God's mercy and help, especially that God might give success to Esther's plea to the king, because Esther determined to go to the king despite the risk. On that third day, Esther had gone to the king. That day went well. The king received Esther and then came with Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared and had invited them to. And so on that same day, Esther invited them to a feast the following day, if the king was willing to grant her request. And then she would present her request on that second feast. And so then they went home. But we saw that when they went home, Haman went by Mordecai, who didn't even stand for him or bow to him, wasn't trembling at him at all. And that made Mordecai even more upset. And he went home and he talked with his wife and his friends and took their advice to have Mordecai killed without delay. He wouldn't wait till all the Jews were going to be killed. He would do it as soon as he could. In fact, he built the gallows on which to hang Mordecai that very night, because it was going to be the first thing the next morning he was going to ask the king, or tell the king, to have Mordecai killed. And so that gallows, we're going to find out, was already prepared the next day. He got to work on it, 75 feet tall, so that they would publicly display this execution of Mordecai. So would Haman succeed? would Mordecai be killed before Esther had a chance to talk to the king? If Haman succeeded in persuading the king to execute Mordecai, how would that impact Esther's chance of success? Not only would it be a distress to Esther to have her dear cousin father figure to her killed right before she feasts with the king, but She would also not look as in a favorable light. The king might be less likely to view her request favorably if he was turned against Mordecai and had publicly committed himself to Mordecai's execution in the face of all the people. She would have been seen as the cousin of a criminal, a criminal in the eyes of all. You know how with Vashti, the king was attentive to the way he looked in the eyes of all the people. What would the people think if he had executed Mordecai, only then to favor him the next day? More importantly, the question was, would God give them into the hands of Haman? Where was he? What would he do? Would God deliver his people like in the days of old? He hadn't sent Moses to lead them through the Red Sea. How would God bring his people out of this threat? This chapter tells of how God began to turn the tables on Haman. Through an amazing twist of divine providence, Haman's own schemes and plans would turn against him. Far from killing Mordecai, he would end up promoting him above all the people. So let's hear how that happened. Esther, chapter six. On that night, All right, the night between the feasts. On that night, on that night, the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles. And they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bithana and Tiresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the threshold and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And the king said, what honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this? The king's young men who attended him said, nothing has been done for him. And the king said, who is in the court? Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king's young men told him, Haman is there standing in the court. And the king said, 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? And Haman said to himself, who could the king delight to honor more than me? And Haman said to the king, For the man whom the king delights to honor, let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head 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 him on the horse through the square of the city proclaiming before him thus shall it be done to that man whom the king delights to honor. Then the king said to Haman hurry take the robes and the horse as you have said and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate leave out nothing you have mentioned So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai, and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning, with his head covered. And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him. While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast. that Esther had prepared. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Let's pray for God's blessing upon his word. Oh Lord God, we give thanks to you for your word and for the demonstration of your power that we find within it. We ask that you would teach us out of your word that we might trust you and hold fast to you, to wait upon you throughout this week, throughout our days. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. And so this chapter that we've just read tells of how Haman began to fall, how he began to fall before Mordecai. And there are many twists of providence that are beyond the intention of any of the individuals here. Or there are intentions, certainly, but not the ones that are getting worked out, not the purposes that they are aiming at. The king doesn't realize he's foiling a plot. Haman didn't realize he was about to exalt Mordecai. Mordecai didn't know the imminent threat he was in, and ends up getting promoted. Esther's not even in this chapter, except for the feast that she prepared, and yet all of these little details work together to save Mordecai, to bring Haman down, the beginning of that, to set things up for the next chapter where there'll be an even greater deliverance. Clearly, God is at work. Certainly, He's at work in all things, but certainly we can see His work for His people in this chapter, in these details. And this is significant because the Bible is recording history here. Anyone can write an interesting story, but we have written here in God's Word, the Word of Truth, the demonstration of what God does in the history in which you and I live today as well. You and I live in a day where we don't have great miracles like Moses performed or Elisha performed. We see that before us. The Word of God is given to you and it's supernatural, it's divine. It's written there in the Bible. We study it. But don't think that that means God is absent from your world. God continues to be active even in places like Persia, even in places like the United States of America, and that God is working all the details high and low in the courts. We don't have courts, I guess. Well, we have courts of a different kind in the legislatures and in your home throughout Let's take this piece by piece then. First three verses tell of the king's restless night. Could the king sleep? No, the king could not sleep. Have you ever had a time where you couldn't sleep? The king had this time. And you would expect he was having a good time, right? He had just enjoyed this feast. He had another feast to look forward to. I don't know if he was just tossing over what is Esther about to ask him. It doesn't really say what it was that kept him up. wasn't really explainable, or at least the text doesn't give us an explanation from the natural details here. It leaves that room, that silence, throughout this book, which is pointing to God's intervention, even though it's not mentioned. On that night, the king could not sleep. And that's going to change everything. Because he couldn't sleep, he asks for the Chronicles to be read to him. where they would write the minutes. See, a clerk's work's important. Keep the record of all the important things so they can remember what happened. And I guess it's good reading if you want to go to sleep, too. So if you want our Presbyterian minutes for sleeping purposes, I can provide those for you. But In this case, it probably served double duty. On the one hand, he remembered the affairs of his kingdom, but on the other hand, he might perhaps go back to sleep. But he doesn't go back to sleep. He instead hears of what had taken place earlier when Mordecai had saved the king's life. And the king asked about it. That's another little detail. Maybe he could have just let it slide, but instead he asks, what did we do for that man? And they said nothing. Now, normally, a king of Persia would be very generous to promote someone or to favor someone who had just saved his life against scheming men in his palace. But in this case, nothing had been done. At first, that might have seemed like a tragedy that nothing had been done. It turns out, in God's plan, it was just right that nothing had been done until this point. Because then it comes out and the king wants to do something for Mordecai. This is not mere chance. This is God working all things according to the counsel of his will. God kept the king up. God directed that reader to that particular page. He works through these human characters that are making their choices. And yet God is sovereign in the midst of it as well. These little details, quite unintentional from any human perspective, dramatically changed the situation. Now we might also note simply something about the civil magistrate, the civil government. One of their jobs is to praise those who do good. The king should have praised Mordecai for his loyalty, for his work to save the king. We learn in 1 Peter 2, verse 14, that the civil magistrate is to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. So often we think about his punishing, right, that he is to be a terror to evildoers, to bring justice where justice has been broken, where it needs to be rectified. But you should also praise those who do good and to promote that. And so it's good that the king realized he should do something well for this good man, this Mordecai, who had saved his life, the life of the king. Well, in verses four through five then, we find Haman's plot. We find Haman. at work. This is the middle of the night. That's what you initially think, because it's in the night and he's reading, but I guess it's on the night that's closer to the morning, because Haman has arrived at the court. Perhaps while it's still even dark, in the wee hours of the morning, he can't wait to get to the king. So he's out in those outer courts. The king wonders, who's in court? Who could I ask about this problem? Well, Haman's out there. I'll bring him in. But why was Haman at there at such an early hour? He wouldn't normally be there then. Why was it this morning that he was there at such an early hour? Do you remember any of the children here? Why was he there? Was it to ask a question? To ask a question about a certain person he didn't like? It was to tell the king to kill Mordecai. He had come there to talk to the king about having Mordecai killed. He had prepared the gallows. He couldn't wait any longer, but he went to the court to talk to the king. And that's why he was there in the right place at the right time, not for Haman, but for the Lord's purposes. Haman would end up exalting Mordecai only because he had sought to kill Mordecai. Haman had his plan, but God had his plan. And Haman's very efforts to fulfill his wicked plans would further God's good and wise plan. The wicked in all their attempts to destroy God's people or to fight against the Lord can only advance God's ultimate purposes. And he will turn them to good. Doesn't make the actions good. But you can see an example of this here, where his own efforts get foiled and get turned back upon him. That was Haman's plot, his wicked plot. Now we find in verses six through nine, not only did his plot turn against him, but his pride turned against him. His pride led him into a snare. Because when Haman was brought to the king, he did not yet know who it was the king had been reading about. He didn't know the king perhaps had been reading. All he knew was the king's question. What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor? Now, Haman was a proud man. Anne, is it good to be a proud man? To be a proud woman? No, it's not good to be proud. But Haman was proud. He was probably not normally generous with how other people should be exalted. If he had thought Mordecai was the man in question, he might have argued against any honor. Oh, it's not that important. It's been a long time. I don't know exactly what he would have said, but he probably wouldn't have said what he ended up saying. But that same pride that would have made him stingy toward others led him to seek great praise and honor for himself. And in his pride, he thought he must be the man in question. Whom would the king delight to honor more than me? He had a high opinion of himself. He did not think of himself humbly. He thought, I'm the greatest. I'm the king that would like to honor. No one would delight the king more than me. So this combination of his high opinion and his desire for his own praise led him to answer the king the way he did, advising that many public honors be heaped upon this man. I mean, Haman could not get much higher. He was wealthy. He was second in command. He had the king's ring. And so he's chiefly after public praise and recognition and to really be treated as a king. Now later this might come back to bite him because the king will remember, wait a minute, Haman was the one who wanted to be like the king. That doesn't always look good in a subordinate. Sometimes people want to be the king a little bit too much. Anyway, what he wants, what he suggests, is that this man be given the king's robes, the king's horse, a royal crown, and that he be led by one of the king's most noble officials through the square, where they would proclaim, thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. Now it's good and right for the righteous to be praised. Like we said, the civil government should praise those who do good. Honor is an honor. Proverbs talks about honor being a good thing, right? It uses it as an incentive. But it's not good to love man's praise. It's not good to seek it directly for itself. to love man's praise. Do you remember some people in the New Testament who loved the praise of man and let it corrupt their religion? They were known as the Pharisees. Proverbs 25 27 says, it is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory. If you eat too much honey, it doesn't start to feel so good. Honey's good a little bit here and there, right? But Just as it's not good to eat too much honey, it's not glorious to seek one's own glory. It's not an honorable thing to be after honor. It is good to seek to do what is honorable in the sight of all. Do those types of things that, for good reason, people would honor because they're good things. Seek to do what is honorable in the sight of all, but do not seek their praises. Don't let that be your love and your desire like it was for Haman. Consider also the parable Jesus told in Luke 14, seven through 13, about seeking places of honor. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Remember he said, if you're going to a dinner and you're gonna take a seat, should you go to the high seat? No, what if the guy says, no, you need to move lower? That would be embarrassing. But what if you're at the low seat and he says, come on up here, you need to be at this high seat. Well, that would be an honor, right? Now notice in the parable being honored is a good thing. It's actually part of the incentive for humbling yourself so that you be exalted. But it's not something you want to seek directly and just love the praise of man for its own sake. It's good to have a good name. A good name is a treasure, but you don't want to be a Haman who is just out there for the praise of man and full of yourself. Be also careful with self-praise. praising yourself, thinking so highly of yourself. You should have a sober and humble opinion of yourself rather than exalting yourself above all in your own estimation. Don't take that high seat on your own. Don't exalt yourself and don't even do it in your own eyes. Think of yourself soberly, rightly. So Haman's pride, it's not a good thing, but it catches him up. It ensnares him. He ends up falling into what's not meant as a trap, but what turns out to be a trap because he ends up coming up with the idea on how to honor his mortal enemy, Mordecai. So in verses 10 through 11, we find Haman begins to fall and Mordecai begins to rise. Mordecai rises from the ash heap, from lamentation and mourning, and so he is now led on the horse throughout the town. The king loves this guy, and Haman, who had been the king's guy, now is leading this man, and then he falls into sorrow and lamentation, just where Mordecai had been. Haman must exalt Mordecai rather than execute him. He had been trying to kill him, now he has to exalt him. Mordecai was the man the king wanted to honor. Haman was that man assigned to actually proclaim him in front of everyone. He had wanted to kill him in the sight of everyone, now he has to honor him in the sight of everyone. Mordecai's exaltation is somewhat similar to Joseph. Do you remember how Joseph was in Egypt? And like Mordecai, he was forgotten for a few years, right? He didn't get the honor that was deserved. But it turned out that it was a good timing in both cases that he would be exalted at the proper time for the good of many people. And like Mordecai, Joseph was dressed with royal attire and proclamation throughout the streets. God brings his people through trials. Joseph endured trials, Mordecai endured trials, but he shall exalt his people in time, whether in history and certainly ultimately on the last day. God will not forget you, even if he brings you through hardship. He exalted his servant Jesus, who for our salvation humbled himself, but then was exalted in triumph over all his enemies. Even in the very cross that was his instrument of death, he triumphed over them, and then was raised from death unto glory. And we are raised up with Christ, and God is favorable towards us in Christ. So that's one way or the other. and he will raise us up too. Proverbs 14, 19 puts this in the form of a proverb. The evil bowed down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous. Now you can think of exceptions to that. It doesn't always happen right away, for example, but that's a proverb. And the evil bow down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous. It's food for meditation to think about that. How does that work out? Or think of the Psalms, 27. When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and my foes, it is they who stumble and fall. As the psalmist rests upon the Lord, commits himself and his cause to God, that God will watch over his people. It is those enemies against God and His people that will, in time, stumble and fall. So let us entrust ourselves, right, yourself, body and soul, now and forever, into the hands of God who controls all things, who controls your life, who controls your destiny, that He is wise and good, and he watches over us. So the end of this chapter, we find Haman, on the other hand, his state of mind after this ordeal for him, that he was in sorrow. He was now in lamentation. His gathering, though, was not a fast for God's favor. They gathered and basically said, you're done for. If this man is part of the Jews, this is not looking good. You're not going to succeed. And then he gets whisked away to the Feast of Esther. It's just one thing after another. All of a sudden, things are going wrong for Haman. God has been a champion of his people, and now Haman is back where Mordecai was, and it's only going to get worse for him. This is the way of the wicked who sets himself against God. It might seem good for a time, it might seem sweet for a time, but it ends in frustration, and sorrow, and despair, and eventually in the weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is a way of destruction and death, and from which everyone should repent and turn back. Don't go the way of Haman, the way of pride, the way of anger, the way of enmity toward God. but rather choose the way of Mordecai, to entrust yourself to the Lord, to fast and pray if need be, to call upon him, trusting that God will raise up deliverance for his people one way or another. God's people may sorrow first, but they will not sorrow last. God is sovereign over all things, all events. And he keeps a special eye upon his covenant people. We call that his special providence, as he cares for his church, as he watches them, not simply the church of the Old Testament, but also with the church today as well. And so we can take confidence. You should take confidence. God's providence works in ways that you don't always know what he's doing at the moment. Did the king know why he was having a restless night? Would he be able to discern God's will from the fact that he couldn't sleep? No, providence is not always so easily interpreted in the midst of it. You should look to God's word to direct you what you ought to do, what is your duty, but then after the fact you can see God was working these details together and he answered our prayers. He fulfilled what he said he would. We see this at work, and we should give thanks and glory to God. So let's do so today. Join with me in prayer. Dear God, we give thanks to you for your sovereign hand and your mercy, your mercy toward us in Jesus Christ, who indeed humbled himself for us and was raised to glory at your right hand that we already being lifted up with him can rejoice in your salvation and have the expectations of the glories of your mercies that are stored up for us in time to come. We ask that you would advance your cause, that you would protect your people, that you would watch over them against our enemies, not only those who would seek to persecute your church, but also those who would seek to lead it astray. For the sins within us that seek to destroy our souls, we ask that you would protect us against all enemies, that you would indeed bring people to salvation, even those who hate us. We ask that you would foil their plots and plans, that you would indeed exalt and glorify your church and to make it a praise in all the earth. We pray this for the glory of your own name and of your grace and mercy. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.