(Esther: Part 7 of 10)
“Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4
God gives Esther another piece of His “Divine strategy” for the saving of His people. When Hamen’s wicked plot is discovered by King Ahasuerus, the king is so filled with wrath that he must leave the room. Obviously, Hamen realizes that the “game is up” and seeks to throw himself on the mercy of the Queen. I do not imagine that Esther’s heart was filled with any sense of triumph over the downfall of Hamen. Her ultimate pupose was not revenge, but the saving of her people. Hamen certainly had numerous opportunities to make different choices during the unfolding of these events. Yet, he allowed himself to be driven by ambition, pride, rage, and revenge. There can be no good end to decisions that are made with these as the foundation. Hamen found himself on the receiving end of his own evil schemes.
Book Of Esther-Chapter 7 (NKJV)
So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”
So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”
And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?”
As the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”
Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.
Original Content: Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
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