Today's Scripture
In God’s time and God’s way: Esther 6:1-12
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: Esther 6-10 (CEB)
That same night, the king simply couldn’t sleep. He had the official royal records brought in, and his young male servants began reading them to the king. 2 They came to the report about Mordecai informing on Bigthan and Teresh. (They were the two royal eunuchs among the guards protecting the king’s doorway, who secretly planned to kill King Ahasuerus.) 3 “What was done to honor and reward Mordecai for this?” the king asked.
His young male servants replied, “Nothing was done for him, sir.”
4 “Who is that out in the courtyard?” the king asked. (Haman had just entered the outer courtyard of the palace. He had come to tell the king to impale Mordecai on the pole that he had set up for him.)
5 The king’s servants answered, “That’s Haman standing out in the courtyard, sir.” So the king said, “Have him come in.”
6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king really wants to honor?”
Haman thought to himself, Whom would the king really want to honor more than me? 7 So Haman said to the king, “Here’s what should be done for the man the king really wants to honor. 8 Have servants bring out a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden. It should have a royal crest on its head. 9 Then hand over the robe and the horse to another man, one of the king’s officials. Have him personally robe[a] the man whom the king really wants to honor and lead him on the horse through the city square. As he goes, have him shout, ‘This is what the king does for the man he really wants to honor!’”
10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse just as you’ve said and do exactly that for Mordecai the Jew, who works at the King’s Gate. Don’t leave out a single thing you’ve said!”
11 So Haman took the robe and the horse and put the robe on Mordecai. He led him on horseback through the city square, shouting as he went, “This is what the king does for the man he really wants to honor!”12 Afterward, Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, while Haman hurried home feeling great shame, his head covered.
What does this passage mean to me/us
When it seems like Haman’s plot to kill the Jews were successful, God intervenes in the scene.
Why did the King couldn’t sleep to a point of calling the servant to read? What is the coincidence that the King heard about what Mordecai has done, and how could Haman be wandering in the courtyard for the king to summon Haman?
With all that Haman had said, not only that God rewarded Mordecai, but deeply humiliated Haman.
It also became a platform for Haman being hung on the pole he set up to kill Mordecai.
If it was one incident, we could say it was a coincidence. However, when we see the thread of events happening, we can see how the evidence of God’s hands in this time collaborates.
We can also see things from Mordecai’s perspective. When he first saved the king’s life and did not get recognized, he might have wondered why. When he saw how Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews, he might have thought that God’s hand has completely departed from the nation. The amazement he experienced by realizing God’s timing but have been overwhelming for Mordecai.
There will be times when God’s time is different from our timeline. However, when God’s will is revealed we will be blown away by the perfect ways God present to us. Instead of asking God to meet our timeline, what if we ask for patience and obedience to wait for God’s timing?
Prayer
Lord, help us to be patient to wait for your time and will to be done in our lives. We pray in Christ name, AMEN.
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