Haman, Who Sent You?

My people, I have come again o. Come and hear how somebody went to the palace to arrange another man's downfall and ended up as the event planner for his own end. Haman thought he was organising Mordecai's burial, but uncle did not know he was making arrangements for himself. Before we reach the horse, the banquet and the gallows, let us find out how this matter started, because this particular disaster did not begin with a sword. It began with an offence.

King Ahasuerus had promoted Haman above the other officials. Big position, royal access, serious influence. The king even instructed the servants at the palace gate to bow and honour him, and when Haman appeared, people bowed. But there was a Jewish man called Mordecai who did not bow. The other servants questioned him repeatedly: bros, you know this instruction came from the king, everybody is following the arrangement, why is your own different? Mordecai would not change his position, and eventually they reported him to Haman and mentioned that he was Jewish.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow, he became furious. Oga, collect the greetings available and be going, must everybody participate? But Haman could not leave it alone, and dealing with Mordecai alone was no longer enough. He decided to destroy all the Jews throughout the kingdom.

Wait first.

Somebody did not bow to you, and now children, women and entire families must die? Haman, this anger has left the junction.

He went to the king, but he did not present the matter as, Your Majesty, somebody has wounded my pride. He described the Jews as a scattered people whose laws were different and who did not obey the king's laws. He argued that allowing them to remain was against the king's interests, proposed their destruction and offered silver towards carrying it out. Personal bitterness had put on official uniform. The king gave him his signet ring and authority to proceed, and letters went out in the king's name, sealed with the royal ring, ordering the destruction of the Jews on an appointed day. Young and old, women and children were included. Haman had cast lots to determine the timing, so his hatred now had royal backing, official documents and a date. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink while the city was bewildered. That detail should make us pause, because they could sit comfortably with the decision only because other people would bear its consequences.

Let's say this prayer together: Lord, keep our lives from becoming casualties of another person's bitterness, and keep bitterness from making us dangerous to others.

When Mordecai heard what had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes and cried bitterly, and across the provinces the Jews mourned and fasted. Queen Esther was also Jewish, so Mordecai sent her a copy of the decree and urged her to appeal to the king for her people. But there was a serious obstacle, because entering the king's inner court without being summoned could mean death unless the king extended his golden sceptre. Yes, even for the queen. My sister, this was not darling, are you busy? You could not just carry slippers and stroll into the throne room, because palace marriage had protocols.

Esther explained the danger, and Mordecai warned her that remaining inside the palace would not necessarily protect her from what threatened the other Jews. Then he raised the question that reached beyond her comfort: could she have come to her royal position for such a time as this? Imagine receiving that message. You have a crown but your people are crying, you have access but using it could cost your life. Esther asked the Jews in Shushan to fast for her, and she and her attendants would fast too, then she would approach the king despite the danger. If I perish, I perish. She understood the possible cost and chose to act.

Lord, give us courage to use the access we have for those who need help.

Esther put on her royal clothing and stood in the inner court, the king saw her, extended the golden sceptre and received her. When he asked what she wanted, she invited him and Haman to a banquet, and at that banquet she invited them again for the following day.

Haman left delighted. Special invitation from the queen, the king was going and Haman was going, so this was fresh material for the next family announcement. But as he came out he saw Mordecai at the gate, and Mordecai did not rise or tremble before him, and Haman's happiness scattered. You have just eaten with royalty, must Mordecai stand before the food can digest? He went home, gathered his wife Zeresh and his friends, and talked about his wealth, his children, his promotion and the queen's invitation, then said none of it satisfied him while Mordecai remained at the gate. Read that slowly. He could name his blessings but he could not enjoy them, because Mordecai was sitting at the gate and he was carrying him into the house, into the conversation and into every good thing he possessed.

Now surely somebody in that gathering would say, Haman, abeg, calm down, this thing has gone too far. For where? His wife and friends suggested building gallows and asking the king to hang Mordecai there, after which he could attend the banquet happily. Their friend was carrying petrol and they supplied matches. Haman liked the suggestion and had the gallows built, and the plan was ready, so in the morning he would speak to the king.

But that night the king could not sleep. He ordered the royal records to be brought and read, and they reached the account of how Mordecai had exposed a plot against his life. The king asked what honour Mordecai had received, and nothing had been done. His service had been recorded but his reward had not followed. Meanwhile Haman arrived in the outer court to request Mordecai's execution, so inside the king was considering Mordecai's honour while outside Haman was preparing to discuss his death. As a Christian reader, this is where I see providence in the timing, because Mordecai did not arrange that sleepless night and did not select the record that would be read. He could not have managed every conversation taking place about his life.

Lord, send timely help into the situations we cannot reach.

The king called Haman in and asked what should be done for a man he wished to honour, and Haman immediately assumed the king meant him. Oga, nobody has mentioned your name, but in his mind who else could it possibly be? Uncle had nominated himself, shortlisted himself and announced himself as the winner. So he proposed royal clothing, the king's horse and a noble official leading the honoured man through the city, publicly announcing his honour. Full package, no detail was too much when he thought he would be the beneficiary. Then the king told him to hurry and do exactly that for Mordecai the Jew at the gate. Mordecai? The one at the gate? Yes, that Mordecai. E shock you? Mordecai would wear the clothing, Mordecai would ride the horse, and Haman would carry out the arrangements. Oga came with an execution request and collected an event brief. The king even instructed him to leave nothing out, so all those lovely ideas he had suggested had to be implemented completely, with no reducing the package now that he had heard the beneficiary's name.

Haman dressed Mordecai and led him through the city, proclaiming his honour. The man he could not bear to acknowledge was on the horse, and he was the one announcing him. You wanted him removed from public view, now you are handling publicity. Afterwards Mordecai returned to the gate while Haman hurried home mourning with his head covered. Yesterday's family meeting was about his importance, but today's meeting required an entirely different agenda. When he explained what had happened, his wife and advisers warned that his fall before Mordecai would continue. Excuse me, were you not the same people who recommended the gallows? Where was this wisdom when construction started, and before they finished talking, the king's attendants arrived to take Haman to Esther's banquet. Oga, your invitation is still valid, let us be going.

At the banquet the king asked Esther what she wanted, and this time she pleaded for her life and the lives of her people, because they had been marked for destruction. The king asked who had dared to do such a thing, and Esther identified Haman. The Haman sitting there. The Haman with royal access. The Haman who had been boasting about this very invitation. He counted the banquet among his achievements, and it became the place where his actions were exposed. Haman became afraid before the king and queen, the king rose in anger and went into the garden, and Haman remained behind to beg Esther for his life. The man who wanted her people destroyed was now pleading with her to save him. When the king returned, Haman had fallen onto the couch where Esther was reclining, and the king interpreted the scene as an attempt to assault the queen, so the matter became worse. Then Harbonah, a royal attendant, mentioned the gallows Haman had prepared for Mordecai, the man who had helped save the king, and the king ordered Haman to be hanged there. Remember the construction project, the one his wife and friends suggested, the one Haman approved so that he could supposedly enjoy his dinner? That was where his own life ended. He thought he was planning Mordecai's end, but he had become the event planner for his own.

Lord, search our hearts before an unchecked offence grows into something destructive.

But hold on, we are not closing the gist there. Haman was dead, yet the decree threatening the Jews was still in circulation, because his death did not automatically cancel the documents he had sent. Esther could not relax while her people remained in danger. The king gave Haman's estate to her, she explained her relationship with Mordecai, and Mordecai came before the king. Then the king gave Mordecai the signet ring he had taken from Haman, and Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman's estate too. The man Haman wanted removed was now holding the ring. But Esther returned to the king in tears, pleading for her people, because receiving property had not made her forget the families still facing destruction. The king explained that a decree issued in his name and sealed with his ring could not be revoked, so he authorised Esther and Mordecai to issue another. The new decree allowed the Jews to gather and defend their lives against those who attacked them, and letters went out urgently across the kingdom. Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal clothing and the city rejoiced, for the Jews now had gladness, joy and honour. The work had moved beyond exposing Haman, because people needed protection and Esther and Mordecai kept working towards it.

Then the appointed day arrived. The Jews' enemies had expected to overpower them, but instead the situation was reversed. The Jews gathered to defend themselves, and provincial officials helped them because Mordecai's influence had grown throughout the kingdom. There was serious fighting and loss of life, Haman's sons were among those killed in Shushan, and afterwards at Esther's request their bodies were hung on the gallows while the king granted another day of action in Shushan. The account repeatedly notes that the Jews did not take the plunder. When the fighting ended they rested from their enemies and celebrated their survival, and Mordecai sent letters establishing an annual remembrance which Esther confirmed. The celebration was called Purim, from Pur, the lot Haman had cast when planning their destruction, and it included feasting, sharing food and giving gifts to the poor. I love that detail. As you are celebrating, let somebody else eat too, carry your neighbour along, and let someone who cannot repay you have a reason to rejoice.

And Mordecai? The man at the gate became second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and the book ends by describing him as someone who sought his people's welfare and spoke for their peace. His story ends with what he did for others through the position he received.

Now, my people, let us bring the story home. What do you do when somebody does not give you the recognition you think you deserve? That question exposed Haman. He had wealth, position and influence, yet Mordecai's refusal became more important to him than everything he possessed, and he allowed an offence to grow until innocent people were in danger. Before you call somebody your enemy, examine what actually happened. Did they harm you, or did they fail to make you feel important? Those are different matters. You cannot force everyone to applaud you, but you can take responsibility for what their silence brings out of you.

Who is allowed to correct you? Haman had people around him, but their advice helped his anger grow. A room full of agreement can still be a dangerous room, so keep someone who can look you in the eye and say, I love you, but you are wrong. And when correction comes, listen before defending yourself, because sometimes the person interrupting your plan is trying to save you from its consequences.

What are you doing with your access? Esther could have focused on the comfort of her position, but instead she faced the danger of speaking, and she continued after Haman's death because her people still needed protection. There are times when compassion requires an uncomfortable conversation, and times when influence must become action. Who becomes safer because you are in the room? Who receives a fair hearing because you spoke? Who benefits from the doors open to you?

Have you confused exposure with resolution? Haman was exposed and removed, but his decree remained. Esther followed through, Mordecai helped put protective measures in place, letters had to be written and delivered, and people had to prepare. That is a lesson for anyone rebuilding after harm, because acknowledging what happened matters, and so does repairing what it damaged. Ask what still needs to change, ask who still needs support, and keep working until the people affected can feel the difference.

And who have you forgotten to thank? Mordecai's service was in the record, but no reward had followed. Before we only identify with the overlooked person, let us examine whether we have overlooked someone else. Who helped you when you had little to offer? Who made a sacrifice you have never properly acknowledged? Make the call, say the thank you, and give the credit.

This story encourages me to trust God with what I cannot control while remaining responsible for what I can do. Esther acted, Mordecai served, and their people gathered, fasted, prepared and stood for their lives, so faith can steady us while we do the difficult work in front of us. Haman wanted people beneath him, but Mordecai used his position for his people's welfare. That is the question to carry away: when you receive influence, what will it make possible for others?

Lord, give us hearts that can carry honour without becoming proud. Give us courage to speak, humility to receive correction and wisdom to follow through. Heal the resentment we have excused, teach us to remember kindness and use our influence for good. In Jesus' name, amen.

My people, as you pray for the seat, pray for the heart to sit there well. Clock it.