Things Written Aforetime For Our Learning - The Story Of Esther. Chapters 6-10

by N. D. W. MILLER | Category: For Young Believers | Dec 1933

The thing pleased Haman; and Inc caused the gallows t be made. "On that night could not the King sleep." Tine two things are interwoven. The king's in ability to sleep was not caused by any indisposition. This was no usual form of insomnia that the physicians might have tried to relieve. He Who never slumbers, and Who never sleeps, was keeping watch.

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and the violent taking away of judgement and justice in a province (or the state, R.V.M.). marvel not at the matter : for One higher than the high regardeth ; and there be higher than they " (Ecclesiastes 5. 8).

While the workmen were busy erecting the gallows, there was no sleep for king Ahasuerus. So "he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of ... two of the king's chamberlains ... who had sought to hay hands on the king Ahasuerus." It was found written. I said before that God had a purpose in that entry. Now it is brought to light just at time right moment.

Let us remind ourselves in passing, that God too, has a book of remembrance written before Him, wherein deeds are recorded (Malachi 3. 16). It is well for us to remember that.

"And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants

There is nothing done for him."

We are expressly told that time king could not sleep ; but we are not told how Haman spent the night. Very likely he lay listening to the noise of the workmen as they erected the gallows; and planning how he would approach the

king with his murderous request. In any case Haman was early astir, and-how wonderful! that he should reach the outward court of the king's house, filled with pride, and gloating over his fast approaching revenge, just as Mordecai's name was upon the king's lips. "Who is in the court"? demanded time king.

"Behold," said the servants, "Haman standeth in time court."

"Now Haman was come ... to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him." "And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in." Thinking himself so far successful, and engrossed with his fiendish purpose, he was ushered into the presence of his royal master to be greeted with just such words as his vain and selfish heart could feast upon- -" What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?" In an instant, Haman concluded, that means me. Now Haman said in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? " Self is a wonderful entity. Myself! I am tempted to ask--Are you troubled much with his intrusions? "MR. MYSELF "- -alias. "the old man," is a constant menace; let us take heed, and remember the important words of Ephesians 4. 22-24.

"And Haman said ... For time man whom time king delighteth to honour, let royal apparel ... which the king useth to wear, and time horse that the king rideth upon, on time head of which a crown royal is set : and let time apparel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array time man withal ... and cause him to ride on horseback through ... the city, and proclaim before him, thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour."

Here was Haman's ambition; and here we view the satisfying vista that opened out before him. He not only saw his hated enemy Mordecai dangling upon the gallows, but he saw himself being proclaimed in Shushan as the man whom the king delighted to honour.

But instead of that, to his utter horror amid dismay, "the king said to Haman, make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate : let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken."

This was the beginning of the end as far as Haman was concerned. He was confronted by GOD-the God whose hand is clearly seen where His Name is never found. The ascendency of the Jew is, I repeat, a wonderful truth. Though at that moment he was ignorant of the fact, Mordecai the Jew, whose name means "little man," was beginning to move upward.

"Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through ... the city, and proclaimed before him, Thins shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour." How surprised must Mordecai have been when Haman, of all men, approached him, and was compelled to do the king's bidding.

With things as they were, and time death sentence still hanging overhead, the honour had small effect probably upon Mordecai, and we read that lie "came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered." his humiliation was complete. And, when he had recounted all that had befallen him, his wise men, and Zeresh his wife, said a most striking thing -" If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him." That is one of the keys to the story of the book of Esther.

It was now time for the second banquet, and while they were talking, the king's chamberlains came "and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared."

To Esther, the honour and dignity done to Mordecai- brief and passing though it was-must have been a very great comfort and pleasure, as well as an encouragement in the noble and self-sacrificing task she had set herself to perform, and which now lay immediately before her.

"So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the second day ... What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request ? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed."

For Esther time supreme moment in her life had come. Not only must she disclose her own identity; but she must identify herself with the very people whom Haman had accused as lawbreakers, and unprofitable to the king. How much she was helped by "The Arm Unseen " must be left to time reader to conclude. How brave she was! How wisely did she plead ! What courage she displayed as she openly denounced the cruel traducer of her people!

"Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, 0 king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for time king's damage."

To the unsuspecting monarch, this was more than startling. What a shock! What a revelation!

If her expression at the moment when she stood in the court with her life in her hands had touched the king's heart, what of Esther's expression now? That fair and beautiful face wore a look of agony and yearning such as Ahasuerus had never witnessed before. He was perplexed. That there was treachery was evident from Esther's passionate appeal. But who, or where, was the traitor? It seemed incredible. Slowly, though full of indignation, the king Ahasuerus "said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman."

This was no case for "inquisition to be made "-the real enemy was discovered and exposed-his very look betrayed and condemned him. "Haman was afraid before the king and the queen." To cool his wrath the king left the banquet for the palace garden, and in his absence, Haman tried to plead for his life. But again, it was no mere chance that the king's return to the palace coincided with Haman's compromising attitude. It was such that as soon as the king spoke-" they covered Haman's face." His righteous doom was sealed. "Then said Harbonaim ... Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman." The very man whom the king commanded Haman to honour, was the man for whom Haman had actually prepared the gallows. It was altogether too much for time king. "hang him thereon," demanded the sovereign. "So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was time king's wrath pacified."

Thus ended tine career of Haman the son of Hamumedatha the Agagite, time Jews' enemy. Retribution, swift and sure, overtook him.

Haman's overthrow, and tragic end, points us on to a day -now fast approaching-when the Lord shall suddenly bring to an end a greater enemy than Haman, even Antichrist, and then, in very deed, shall the ascendency of the Jew become an accomplished fact. " He break them in pieces mighty men in ways past finding out, and setteth others in their stead (Job 34. 24).

From the overthrow of Hamam onward, Esther's worth becomes more and more apparent. Her request, as to the preservation of her own life, had been swiftly granted by the king, and now, her further pleading--as she fell down at time king's feet and " besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman," and his device against the Jews- met with a like ready response. "On that day did the king Ahasuerus give time house of Haman the Jew's enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her." That is very beautiful. With legitimate pride, how proud was Mordecai of his Hadassah-his Esther! And how grateful must Esther have felt as she thought of time way in which Mordecai had brought her up in the days gone by. His training had worthily stood the trial, and was still leading onward to complete an absolute triumph. "Esther had told what he was to her." And what she told the king means much more than the mere fact of the relationship in which they stood to one another. How much was Mordecai to Esther!

"And the king took off his ring, which he hind taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman." The king gave the house of Haman to Esther--Esther gave it to Mordecai. And once again the golden sceptre was held out to Esther. " So Esther arose, and stood before the king." Her own life was made secure. And now Mordecai is safe. But there was yet her condemned race. How nobly and how wisely did she plead for time life of her kindred.

"Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. Write ye also to the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse."

With what speed-with what joy--were the posts dispatched to the utmost bounds of the Provinces with the new decree, blotting out the handwriting that was against them, and which was so contrary to them. What a reversal under the providential hand of God the Almighty! Instead of annihilation-VICTORY. "And Mordecai (the little man) went forth from the presence of time king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan shouted and was glad. The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honour ... and many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon them." (Compare Esther 8. 7, with Zechariah 8. 23.)

And in the very day--the once dark thirteenth day of the

twelfth month-" that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them ; whereas it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them" (compare Isaiah 14. 2).

In their revenge upon their enemies, it is worthy of note,.

that the king granted the Jews "to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy ... all ... that would assault them ... and to lay hand on such as sought their hurt." And three times it is repeated-" but on the spoil they laid not their hand." This was greatly to their credit.

"The princes ... and the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king's business, helped the Jews ... for Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went forth throughout ail the provinces : for the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater ... and sent letters unto all the Jews . . . with words of peace and truth ... and all tine acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren; seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed."

Thus closes the record of one of the greatest Prime Ministers --the record of Mordecai the Jew, the little man.

In his case we may "Mark the perfect man, and behold time upright : for the latter end of that man is peace "(Psalm 37.37).

As we read the story of Esther we might well say-" 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and his ways past tracing out " (Romans 11. 33).

Had Ahasuerus been left to himself, and to time tender mercies of the wicked Haman, the tranquillity of his kingdom would have been imperilled ; but through Esther's gentle presence, and gracious influence ; followed by Mordecai's wise statemanship, he was led back into paths of probity and peace.

The Devil may plot, and a Haman may plain, "Yet shall the righteous hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger" (Job 17. 9). Thins it was with Mordecai.

In conclusion I would just remind you that Mordecai was of the tribe of Benjamin.

Many centuries had rolled past, since, between Bethel and Ephrath, Rachel in departing this life, gave birth to her second son. In her grief and travail she named him Benoni -(son of my sorrow); but Israel his father called him Benjamin (son of the right hand).

Little did Rachel think in that sad hour, of the fruit and the blessing that would accrue iii ages to come from her anguish and travail by the wayside. She will have the joy of seeing it all by and by in that land where pain and sorrow and death are unknown. Not only was the son who was born amid the sad circumstances of that day the illustrious ancestor of the great Mordecai; but long afterwards, a much greater even than Mordecai said :-" Did God cast off His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite. of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin" (Romans 11. 1). Time words, as you know, are those of Paul, the beloved and honoured apostle of the Gentiles, whose name- -like Mordecai's--also means little."

This briefly told, is the story of Esther, or, the Ascendency of the Jew.

It should be of peculiar interest to us because of the wondrous fact that in this our day the "exiles" have been returning, and are being more and more firmly established in their own land-the land of their fathers-and it is not difficult to predict that very soon" The Jew" will become the great political world question.

Meantime it is what they, and the Gentile powers are doing under God's sovereign hand, but the day is fast approaching when their Great Deliverer shall appear on their behalf out of Zion, and the scripture shall have fulfilment-" Rejoice, 0 ye nations, with His people: for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and will render vengeance to His adversaries, and will make expiation for His land, for His people" (Deuteronomy 32. 43).

May God thus hasten the day of Great Israel's final Redemption-" Of whom is CHRIST as concerning the flesh, Who is over all, GOD blessed for ever. Amen."

N. D. W. MILLER | Dec 1933
For Young Believers