The Tables Turn
Notes
Transcript
Throughout my life I have heard tidbits of advice such as: Do what’s right and it will go well for you. Cheaters never prosper. What goes around comes around. And the universe will make all things level out.
Is that true?
I don’t know about you, but I know people in positions of power who have been dishonest in the way they have gotten there. I know of people who are seen as very successful in the world’s eyes that are not at all pillars of virtue. And I’m sure that you can think of some as well.
For our children we teach them right from wrong using Aesop’s fables, and stories where the person that does the “right” thing is rewarded and the person who is deceptive or does the “wrong” thing is punished. Yet we all know that is not always how the world seems to work out.
Our culture doesn’t seem sold on the idea that the good guy is the “good” guy. Many of our stories and movies have the villain portrayed as the protagonist. Or, they portray the villain in such a way that we understand their villainy based upon empathy for their life circumstance.
Yet in the book of Esther we’ve already established who the heroes and villains are within our story. The hero is of course Esther and one could also say Mordecai, her uncle. The villain is Haman.
And just as there is in almost any good hero story, there is a point at which the tables turn, and the heroes get honored and the villains get their due. In this case we begin with the king not being able to sleep. And so he gives orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
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 so we see the table about to turn. Because it is at that moment the king asks who is out in the court, and Haman had just entered the outer court. But Haman’s reasons were not good as he intended to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he’d had built for him. Esther 6:4
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.
Remember, unless you were called you could not simply come to the king and speak to him - we remember Esther went and stood in the INNER court at great personal risk. When the king saw her he held out the golden scepter to her. Here we have Haman waiting in the OUTER court waiting for the chance the king might summon him.
Invisibly, and without explicit comment, we see God is at work to protect his people.
The kings asks Haman, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” In case we might miss it the text makes it clear that Haman is vain almost beyond belief.
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, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”
Haman’s response unveils his complete arrogance and his unawareness of the trap he is walking into. Think about what he says:
Esther 6:7–9 (ESV)
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 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 the man whom the king delights to honor.’ ”
And the king says to Haman
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 that you have mentioned.”
Can you imagine having to do all this? And even proclaiming before the one you see as your enemy, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”
What we’re seeing is how God is working behind the scene.
Proverbs tells us: Proverbs 18:12
Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
At no time in the story do we see Haman anything but “haughty,” proud, and arrogant. He loves to be honored by the people to the point of basically requiring it. He is so distraught over what has happened that he is now the one who goes into mourning. (Remember it was Mordecai that was mourning when he discovered Haman’s plot). So, he hurries home and tells his wife and friends, “everything that had happened to him.”
As we close out chapter 6, Haman’s wife and wise men say to him,
Esther 6:13 (ESV)
“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.”
Where we left our story two weeks ago, Haman had been invited to a feast prepared by Queen Esther - which he bragged about being invited to. So this whole plot now pulls us back to the track we’d been on before.
After the feast they are all drinking wine and in “good spirits” and the king asks of Esther 7:2
And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
Now is the time for the queen Esther to begin the reveal of Haman’s evil plot. Esther 7:3
Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.
and she goes on
For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”
The king is furious and asks, “Who dared to do this?” We all know, it is Haman, and she reveals Haman to be a foe and enemy, Esther 7:6
And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
The king is losing it so he goes to the garden to compose himself. Meanwhile, Haman throws himself on the queens mercy. The king returns to see Haman falling on the couch where Esther was an believes that Haman is assaulting the queen. Haman is taken out and hanged on the very gallows that he prepared for Mordecai.
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.
So, what is for us here? It is true that in the end, Haman got what he deserved (especially since we can see the back story).
The Tables Turn
The Tables Turn
As we have journeyed through Esther up to this point what we’ve seen is that life has its ups and downs. Being on top and staying on top of one’s profession is difficult. No matter what someone eventually comes seeking that position - sometimes with the right motives, and other times with the wrong one’s. No matter what, maintaining one’s success is difficult, and it is especially true if you have made enemies along the way.
In the book of Esther we have watched Haman enjoy the trapping of his success without much care for anyone other than himself. Everything happens to him. He doesn’t tell people what happened, it’s what happened “to” him. So on the one hand he is deserving of accolades in his own eyes and at the same time he is the passive victim of his circumstances.
Nowhere in Esther does it tell us of how much Haman did for the king, or how deserving he was of the position he held. He doesn’t even say how hard he works. He simply tells us of how “amazing he is as evidenced by the honors he receives” such as people bowing to him, and being invited to the banquet of the queen. He follows it up that the only other one invited was the king himself!
This for Haman is a source of great pride. Yet at no time do we hear of why he should be so honored. Or what he has done to deserve such honor, we only know that the king had promoted him.
There is a difference between positional authority and respect vs. earned authority and respect.
Positional vs. Earned
Positional vs. Earned
I’m sure at some time in your life you have come across an individual who felt they were worthy of a certain level of respect and authority simply because of their position. This is the new boss, manager, etc. At first you don’t respect them or their authority based on their performance because you haven’t seen how they will perform, they haven’t earned your trust yet.
On the other hand, you may have another individual that is not in a position of power, they’re not a manager or the boss, but they are the expert that everyone seeks out.
Our society makes this mistake too. How often do we see celebrities weighing in on an issue assuming authority and respect is given to them because of their popularity. They may not have any real expertise about investments, or the issues they are speaking about, but they have an opinion and they share it as one with authority.
On the other hand you may have a researcher out there, who has done the research, and knows the details but has no public persona. I think of the movie Moneyball, which is a fictional re-telling of the story of the 2002 Oakland A’s.
In the movie the manager comes across a geeky statistics guy that says to him they shouldn’t go after the baseball prototype, but the guy that gets on base. The other scouts are all into the look, the swing, and “Baseball” things. The computer geek and thus the manager, is all about each player’s statistics and whether they get on base. In this movie, the hero is the anti-hero. At first he has no authority - except positional authority. Yet as you move through the movie you see that this new way of thinking is actually good.
The Tables Turn
The Tables Turn
In the Book of Esther, Mordecai consistently is looking out for the good of others, the king, Esther, the people of Israel; while Haman is only looking out for Haman.
Esther, and Mordecai consider the impact the kings decision will have on others (not just themselves). Haman simply wants everyone to know his position is worthy of honor, and wants to get retribution for anyone who denies him the honor he feels he is due.
Haman’s office does command respect, but as we see clearly through the motives displayed throughout Esther, Haman, the person, does not command such respect.
But rather than making this about others, let’s turn inward. What about ourselves? Do we think we deserve honor simply because of our position? Or, are constantly striving to be the best we can be, and to bring honor to those who deserve it - even when that is NOT ourselves. This is the challenge of Esther.
Again from the Proverbs:
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with the humble is wisdom.
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
One’s pride will bring him low,
but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
There is much more we could say on this topic. Let us seek to be humble and follow Jesus’ example.
Let’s pray.