Comeuppance

Introduction

What do you think about when I say: comeuppance?

How many of us like it when someone we don’t care for gets their comeuppance?

How many of us like it when we get our comeuppance?

Most of us want mercy for ourselves and justice for everyone else, don’t we?

In this morning’s passage, Haman will get his comeuppance. But, we will see, that there is much more to this passage than a wicked man getting his comeuppance.

Body: Esther 6:14-7:10

Verse 14

Esther 6:14 ESV

While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.

This verse moves the narrative right along from the last scene.

It was not uncommon for a honored guest at a banquet to be retrieved when it was time for the banquet to start.

Haman’s bad day is about to get much, much worse…but at this point he doesn’t realize how bad it would get.

Verses 1-2

Esther 7:1–2 ESV

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 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.”

This is the third time that Xerxes asks Esther what she desires and promises her up to half his kingdom.

As mentioned before, it is very unlikely that Xerxes would after give her half the kingdom…this is just his way of showing his affection for her.

Verses 3-4

Esther 7:3–4 ESV

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. 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.”

Esther’s superior intelligence is on display here as she words this perfectly, showing the king the proper respect, using the words of Haman from the edict, and never blaming the king himself (though he clearly was at least partially at fault for the edict).

Sold = because Haman offered the king money for the right to kill the “certain people”, who he never reveals to actually be the Jews.

My people = to this point, Xerxes probably had no idea that Esther was Jewish.

I also believe that he didn’t even realize that it was the Jews who Haman had manipulated him into signing off on their extermination.

Destroyed, killed and annihilated = The exact words of the edict.

Esther’s statement about slaves is an interesting one, and is widely interpreted.

I believe the point Esther is making here is that if the Jewish people would have simply been sold into slavery, she wouldn’t have bothered him with it. But, since the plan was to destroy all the Jews, she had to risk bothering the king with this.

Verse 5

Esther 7:5 (ESV)

Then King A-hass-u-air-us said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?”

To this point, Xerxes has no idea who did this.

Again, he still doesn’t realize that she’s a Jew, or that the Jews are the one who are to be killed.

Verse 6

Esther 7:6 ESV

And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

This is the most courageous statement of Esther in the book. In doing this, she could have been immediately killed if Xerxes didn’t believe her or rejected her complaint.

However, Haman immediately realizes that he is in big trouble.

He had no idea that Queen Esther was a Jew.

Verse 7

Esther 7:7 ESV

And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.

Regardless of your feelings about Xerxes, it’s hard to not feel for the guy:

He just found out his wife is Jewish; the Jewish people were targets of a coming genocide which he was deceived into signing off on; his queen was now a target of said genocide; these types of edicts were irrevocable within Persian culture; his most trusted advisor deceived him; he couldn’t have Haman killed for this crime, because to do so would to admit that he was wrong, which Persian kings never did.

It’s not surprising that he needed to take a walk to get his thoughts together.

Haman, on the other hand, decides his last hope is to stay a beg mercy from Esther.

Verse 8

Esther 7:8 ESV

And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.

However, that doesn’t work out for Haman either, because as he’s begging for mercy he stupidly gets on the couch where Esther is sitting.

When Xerxes comes back it, he thinks Haman is trying to seduce Esther (or even force himself on her).

Haman was not doing this, but he is arrested immediately, as coming within arm’s reach of the queen was punishable by death in Persia.

Haman is immediately arrested.

Covering his face is done because he was no longer considered to be worthy to look upon the king.

Verses 9-10

Esther 7:9–10 (ESV)

Then Har-bone-a, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

One of the eunuchs who attended to Esther plants the idea in Xerxes’ head to use the gallows that Haman build for Mordecai to deal with Haman.

Xerxes likes this idea, and Haman is killed on the very instrument of death he built for Mordecai.

It seems like all is well now that wicked Haman is dead.

However, as we will see, the edict against the Jews is still in force. That will be the focus of the upcoming chapters.

So What?

I really struggled when I was putting this “So What?” section together, because the three takeaways that stood out to me are not really closely connected.

That being said, I believe there are three vital takeaways for believers as we read this passage.

We must do the right thing, even when it is extremely hard.

In this passage, Esther courageously fulfills the call to speak up for her people.

Think about how this could have gone wrong for her...

But, this situation was too dire for her and for her people. So she had to speak up.

I hate disappointing people. I hate conflict. I also hate confronting people. I particularly hate confrontations when I think that said confrontation is going to cause me long-term frustration and/or hurt. Anyone else with me?

The problem is, those of us who feel this way often fail to confront when we need to and it always hurts worse in the long-run; if not for us, certainly for someone else.

But Esther can teach us much here:

When we confront, how we confront someone matters as much as why we are confronting them…show personal respect...have a growth mindset...

Things are rarely as bad as we imagined they would be...

More often than not, it works out much better than we could have imagined.

This is also true of doing any number of hard things God calls us to do.

Trust him…use the gifts that God has given you…move forward...

Christians must become more passionate about Godly justice than we are about worldly justice.

Here’s a hard question: Should Christians celebrate when the wicked get their due punishment?

The issue behind that question is this: we have a hard time distinguishing between God’s justice and man’s justice.

More often than not, we answer this question from the point-of-view of man’s justice, not necessarily God’s justice.

Meaning, we have judge the person as deserving punishment and therefore they deserve punishment.

We might be right. But, we have to be careful here.

In truth, this isn’t an easy question to answer and not one we will solve this morning.

But here’s what we can know for sure:

Jesus told us we are not to pass judgment on others from our human standards.

At the same time, God is very clear throughout Scripture that we must discern between good and evil...

Everyone of us is a sinner who deserves God’s judgment…and, if not for the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we would all deserve Godly justice.

Romans 3:23–26 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Consider this passage before you pass judgment on another person.

Be assured, your sins will find you out.

While it is true that we must be very careful about celebrating God’s judgment on another person, we must remember that Scripture teaches us about how we are to live. Two verses in particular as we consider Haman’s life:

Galatians 6:7–10 ESV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Haman eventually reaps what he sows.

It is true for us as well.

The blessing for us is that Paul tells us not only what not to do, but, more importantly, what we should do instead:

Don’t grow weary of doing good;

Do good to everyone, especially other believers.

Hebrews 4:12–13 ESV

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

We tend to be people who hide our sins from those around us.

Can you imagine if everyone around you could see what was really in your mind and heart at all times? Anyone here up for that?

How about this: how many of us would like to have to wear a t-shirt everyday that said: “Yesterday, my sins were...”

We can hide our sins from people for a time (sometimes a long time). But, we never hide our sins from God.

Additionally, our sins have a way of coming to light as well.

What can we do?

Really make an effort to flee from sin;

Confess your sins to God;

Confess your sins to someone else;

Do something better...