Mordecai Honored; Haman Humiliated (6:6–14)

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It’s one thing to enter the king’s throne room, but now Haman was invited into the king’s bedchamber. This new honor only increased Haman’s pride and false confidence; he thought that he was in control of events and that Mordecai’s doom was sealed. And when the king asked for Haman’s advice on a personal matter, it inflated Haman’s ego even more. When Haman was ushered into the king’s presence, he must have felt honored. And when the king asked … What should be done for the man the king delights to honor? the egotistical Haman was beside himself with joy and enthusiasm. He thought that the king was speaking about him.
I. A morning of decision (Es. 6:6–10)
6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”
A. The king’s question
In his pride, Haman concluded that the king was speaking about him. After all, what other man in the empire deserved such honor from the king? After the way Mordecai had insulted him, Haman would now get double revenge: First Mordecai would see Haman honored by the king, and then Mordecai would be hanged on the gallows.
Little did proud Haman realize that, before the day would end, the situation would be completely reversed: Haman would be forced to honor Mordecai before all the people of the city; Esther’s feast would turn out to be an exposé of the traitor; and Haman, not Mordecai, would end up on the gallows.
B. Haman did not realize what was about to happen.
Thinking that the king was describing the honors he himself would receive, Haman asked for the very best: The man to be honored should be dressed in the king’s own apparel; he should ride on the king’s horse with the royal crest on its head; and one of the noble princes should lead the horse through the city and command the people to honor him. To wear a robe that the king had worn and ride a horse that the king had ridden was the highest mark of honor that could be shown to a subject.
“Hurry...as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew” What a blow for Haman, who had to obey! He had prepared his own doom. Now he had to lead the horse on which Mordecai rode, and he had to proclaim to all, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” Apparently the king was not aware of the deep animosity between Haman and Mordecai, but the people knew. It must have been an enigma to them and an extremely humiliating experience for Haman.
II. A day of disgrace (Es. 6:11–14)
11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” 12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
A. Haman bowed to the king’s commandment and obeyed.
Don’t you wonder what Haman’s response was when the king told him to do all those things for Mordecai. First, he had to go out to the king’s gate, get Mordecai, and bring him into the palace. Then he had to dress Mordecai in the king’s robes. After putting Mordecai on the king’s horse, Haman had to lead the horse throughout the city and proclaim, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”
After he had visited all the city streets, Haman had to lead the horse back to the palace, remove the royal garments from Mordecai, and send him back to his place at the city gate. What irony! For almost a whole day Haman was the servant of Mordecai, commanding the people to bow down and honor him! The thing Mordecai wouldn’t do for Haman—bow down—Haman had to tell others to do for Mordecai!
B. How did this pageantry and prominence affect Mordecai?
When it was over, he simply returned to his place at the gate and continued to serve the king. Applause doesn’t change truly humble people, for their values are far deeper. God can trust His blessings with the humble because they seek to honor only the Lord. Haman’s reaction was quite different, for he was humiliated. He went home as soon as possible, his head covered as though he were grieving for the dead. This had been the way Mordecai had responded to the king’s edict concerning the Jews (4:1–2). Again, the tables were turned.
Even if they did bow down to him, Haman had no desire to see the public, because he had been humiliated before them and he knew that they were laughing at him behind his back. Such is the difference between reputation and character. Haman was a famous man, a man of reputation, only because the king had made him so; but he was not a man of character. His reputation depended on his office, his wealth, and his authority, all of which could easily be taken from him.
C. God was warning Haman.
Look at what his wife and counselors said in this interesting statement: “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him” (6:13, NKJV). His humiliation in the streets and these words in his house should have alarmed Haman and moved him to change his course of action. But the proud prime minister wouldn’t heed the warning.
The Persians were a very superstitious people, and the advisers saw in the events of the day a “bad omen” for Haman’s future. Perhaps they were also familiar with God’s covenant with Abraham, or maybe they just knew Jewish history. They saw Haman falling from his place of prominence; and this dire prediction should have brought him to the place of humility and repentance. Had he sincerely repented and asked for mercy, it’s likely that he could have saved his own life and the lives of his ten sons.
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