From Sleeplessness to Sovereignty: Seeing the Invisible Hand of God
Notes
Transcript
On December 18, 1867, John D. Rockefeller was running late for the 6:40 a.m. Lake Shore Express from Cleveland to Buffalo
His bags made it onto the train, but he did not.
in fact, he had arrived just minutes too late and was forced to wait for the next train.
At the time, it was nothing more than an inconvenient irritation.
But later that afternoon, the train he missed derailed near Angola, New York.
with its cars plunging from a bridge into a ravine where they burst into flames.
Nearly fifty people were killed.
Rockefeller reached his destination safely,
unaware of what had happened until later.
Only then did he realize how close he had come to disaster,
and how much had turned on a delay measured in minutes.
Years afterward, reflecting on that day, he wrote to his wife saying:
Clearly, “This was the providence of God.”
But in the moment, it didn’t feel that way.
In the moment, it just felt like a quiet annoyance.
There was no voice from heaven saying, “John, don’t take the train.”
Just God's simple mercy and guidance in normal, ordinary life.
And it wasn’t until hindsight that the significance of that small interruption revealed God’s invisible hand at work.
That is what Esther 6 is about.
A sleepless king.
A forgotten name.
And a great reversal that saves God's people.
And like Rockefeller standing on that platform with ticket in hand,
we often don’t see God’s hand in the moment.
We only recognize it when we look back.
So how do we see that invisible hand at work?
To see the invisible hand of God we must trust:
His Timing
His Turning
His Triumph
Up to this point in the story, everything is looking quite bad for the Jewish people.
Haman has secured the king’s decree.
The date of their destruction is fixed.
The gallows are built and ready.
As we saw last week,
Chapter 5 ends with a confident Haman who is plotting Mordecai’s destruction in the morning.
But then something unexpected happens Haman couldn’t plan for.
Verse 1 of Chapter says:
1 On that night the king could not sleep.
Just five little words, and everything changes.
This is the turning point of the book,
and it doesn’t begin with miracles or a voice from heaven,
it begins with insomnia.
No bad dreams.
No indigestion.
No anxiety.
Just insomnia.
Ordinary.
Unexplainable.
Random.
Or so it seems…
But notice God’s providence doesn’t end with the King being sleepless.
It keeps going.
King Xerxes orders the book of the chronicles,
the record of his reign,
to be brought in and read.
But notice what he didn’t do.
he didn’t bring in the food and drink,
the dancing girls,
or conclude, “I’m awake, I might as well as enjoy it.”
And call for one of the women from his harem.
He chose instead to listen to a reading from the government records.
This is sort of like having the minutes from Congress read to you…
which should put any man to sleep.
But not Xerxes…
What a strange set of coincidences, right?
Wrong!
Because the strange coincidences keep piling up.
The next strange coincidence, is that from all of the records, one book is read specifically…
Which is the one that included the record of Mordecai saving the King’s life,
that we read of back in chapter 2.
And you remember that.
Two of the kings men who guarded the throne room decided they wanted to assassinate the king.
And Mordecai just happened to overhear this by coincidence…
and reported Bigthan and Teresh to the king, who then had them executed.
And for those counting, this puts us at three strange coincidences so far.
But we aren’t done yet.
because the next one is that King Xerxes just happens to take notice to what the scribe is reading…
He hasn’t zoned out.
And then in verse 3, the king asks:
“What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”
And the answer he heard back was: “Nothing.”
Now this was quite unusual,
Because Persian kings took great pride in rewarding those who were loyal to them.
Because not only did they want to flex their power and wealth by rewarding those loyal to them,
but they wanted to keep up the trend and encourage people to be loyal to them in the future.
But by some strange coincidence, Mordecai was overlooked.
After hearing this, the king was mortified to find out that something so heroic hadn’t been rewarded for over 5 years!
And so he sets out straight away to get matter resolved.
So that’s 6 strange coincidences, but we aren’t done yet.
Because the King wants to know what to do,
so he asks which of his counselors is in the king’s court.
Which JUST happens to be Haman…
Verse 4 reads:
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.
From the king’s insomnia,
to his choice of entertainment,
to the choice of what book was read,
to him actually paying attention as they key moment it was read,
to the king’s delay in rewarding Mordecai,
To the timely arrival of Haman.
that’s 6 strange coincidences…
But by now you surely know that that these aren’t coincidences at all,
they are God’s fingerprints all over this story.
because:
“Coincidence is God’s way from remaining anonymous.”
If any one of these 6 coincidences don’t occur, Mordecai is a goner.
And yet, when it comes to the not being rewarded one…
do you think Mordecai noticed?
Of course he did!
For five years he had to watch Haman rise while he sat in the shadows.
For five years he had to wonder if God saw what he had done,
and whether he would ever receive reward, recognition, and honor.
And if he had gotten impatient,
he might have been rewarded then
only to be hung on the gallows here.
Have you ever experienced a situation like Mordecai’s?
You’ve been faithful,
you did what’s right,
and yet no one seems to notice or care?
You see others who do the wrong thing get promoted in life,
while you sit in the shadows.
What does this teach us?
It teaches us to trust in God’s perfect timing.
Because the delay might be the very thing that setting up the great reward.
And its only later, that you can see that the best thing that happened was the delay and having to catch the next train.
So don’t grow impatient!
So don't grow impatient. Don't grow weary in doing good.
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Rockefeller missed his train by minutes and lived.
Mordecai waited five years unrewarded and was saved.
Sometimes the delay is the deliverance.
Sometimes missing what you wanted is exactly what God intended.
So trust God's timing.
Because His delays set up the great reward.
To see the invisible hand of God we must trust:
His Timing
His Turning
His Triumph
In verse 6, Haman enters and the King asks him:
“What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?”
The king does not say who.
He does not give a name.
He just asks the question without a name filled in.
But Haman's pride fills in the blank.
He thinks: “Who would the king delight to honor more than me?”
See, he cannot imagine the king honoring anyone else.
He has risen to the second highest position in the empire.
He has the king's signet ring.
He has wealth, power, influence.
Of course the king is talking about him.
Who else could it be?
In verses 7-9, Haman designs his own humiliation.
Thinking the king wants to honor him,
Haman answers the question in the way that best serves him.
See, Haman can’t be promoted any higher.
He’s already super rich and powerful,
And yet, his pride is satiated…
it must be fed.
And at that point, the only way he can think of feeding that idol is public recognition.
It’s not just for him to be important, he must be SEEN as important.
In verses 7-9, Haman says,
“Honor that man by putting him in the king’s robe.
“Let him ride the king’s horse with he king’s crown.”
“And let a noble official walk him through he city announcing his greatness.”
Do you understand what this is?
This is the blinding power of pride.
Pride does not just distort how we see ourselves.
It blinds us to Who God is and what He is doing.
Haman thinks he is about to be exalted.
He has no idea he is about to be destroyed for opposing God.
This is what pride always does.
It sets itself against God.
It says, “I will be great. I will be seen. I will be king.”
And God responds the same way He always does.
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
God laughs because their schemes are futile.
Haman thought he was in control.
He thought his plan would work.
But God was already writing the reversal.
And Haman had no idea.
Haman thought he was boarding the train to glory.
He had no idea God had already switched the tracks.
That's the pattern of God's turning.
He lets the proud build their tower.
Then He topples it.
He lets them design their parade.
Then He makes them lead it for their enemy.
So when you see the proud prosper,
when you see the wicked exalted,
when you see God's people attacked,
Do not panic or lose heart.
Because the invisible hand of God is still at work.
And the turning is coming!
But remember, our job is not to execute the turning.
Our job is to trust the God who does.
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Can you do that?
Are you doing that?
When someone slights you, does a little Haman rise up in your heart seeking vengeance?
or do you turn the other cheek and wait on God’s timing and God’s turning?
Because if you can’t,
make no mistake,
you don’t just have an anger problem.
You have a rebellion problem against THE KING.
And the king we serve will crush all those who oppose His rule.
After hearing Haman’s suggestion, in verse 10 the King says: “Yes, do exactly that!”
And as Haman is nodding with delight the king says:
Hurry, take the robes,
the horse,
everything you said,
And go and do so for Mordecai the Jew…
“Wait what…”
“But… but…”
And moments later, Haman is parading his enemy Mordecai through the streets proclaiming:
“Thus shall it be done to the man… gulp… whom the king delight to honor.”
Can you imagine this scene?
“You’re going to what Mordecai?”
“See… you’re going to the wear the kings robe, and king’s horse with the crown, and I’m gonna lead you through the city, and I’ve got lines for this.”
“Oh… what are those lines…”
“Well, you’ll see, let’s just get going here, it’s getting late and we’ve got a full day ahead of us.”
And then moments later, there’s Mordecai, sitting on the horse while Haman has to publically praise him through the streets.
“Here is the man whom the king delights to honor.”
“What’s that Mordecai, I couldn’t hear you - a little louder maybe.”
Now I don’t know if Mordecai said that,
But I’m absolutely sure that was the most awkward moment in all of human history.
At the end of the day, the two men go their separate ways.
Mordecai returns to the gate - because he had to work to get done still,
while Haman hurries to his house in mourning and shame with his head covered.
The tables had turned
and he had been UTTERLY humiliated in front of everyone.
And why?
Because, as Proverbs says:
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In his pride, Haman the Agagite went to war against God’s people.
And when you go to war against God’s people,
you also go to into a losing war against the the all-powerful God of those people.
And here, Haman is just beginning to find out how bad of an idea that is.
To see the invisible hand of God we must trust:
His Timing
His Turning
His Triumph
In verse 12, Haman hurries to his house in morning with his head covered in shame,
He's just led his enemy through the streets in a royal parade.
The man he built gallows for is now the man the king delights to honor.
And Haman does what proud people always do when their schemes collapse:
he runs home to tell his sad story.
13 And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him.
Notice that language:
"everything that happened to him."
That’s victim language.
In his pride, Haman sees himself as the one wronged.
As the one treated unjustly.
And the one who suffered.
But he’s not the victim; he’s the villain!
And yet he can’t see it.
This is what pride does.
It blinds us to the truth of our own sin.
It makes us see ourselves as the victim when we are actually the villain.
It convinces us that our suffering is unjust when it's actually self-inflicted.
Haman literally is trying to get Mordecai and all of his people exterminated because he felt disrespected…
And he convinces himself, he’s the victim!
Do we ever do this?
Yes we do!
When someone points our selfishness, instead of saying:
“Oh wow, I didn’t see it, thank you!”
We say… “WHAT A JERK!”
“HOW DARE THEY!”
We make ourselves the victim and them the villain,
when it’s our selfishness that is thing that is actually causing other people pain.
But don’t you see that’s a Haman response?
This is called blame shifting,
and it started in the Garden of Eden.
Adam did this when he said: “It’s not my fault God - it’s this woman YOU gave me.”
Eve did this when she said: “It’s the serpent’s fault.”
But neither of them said: “Yes, this is my fault Lord. I failed you.”
And we often do the very same.
Haman built gallows for an innocent man.
He plotted genocide.
He went to war against God's people.
And now he runs home mourning as if he's the one who's been wronged.
Pride does that.
It rewrites reality.
It turns villains into victims and truth into self-pity.
So when you find yourself constantly feeling wronged,
constantly feeling overlooked,
constantly feeling like the victim,
stop and ask:
Is this actually true?
Or has pride blinded me to my own sin?
In verse 13, Haman's wife and friends see what Haman cannot.
13 Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “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.”
This is a remarkable statement.
Haman's own wife and friends tell him:
"You're done. If Mordecai is Jewish, you will not win. You will fall."
But why would they say that?
Because they understood something Haman refused to see.
This is not just a personal conflict between two men.
This is a cosmic war between God and His enemies.
Remember, Haman is an Agagite.
That means he's a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites.
And the Amalekites were the ancient enemies of Israel who attacked God's people in the wilderness.
In response, God swore in Exodus 17 that He would be at war with Amalek from generation to generation until their memory was blotted out.
And here, centuries later, the war continues.
Haman the Agagite vs. Mordecai the Jew.
The seed of the serpent vs. the seed of the woman.
The enemy of God vs. the people of God.
And Haman's wife and friends know how this story ends.
You cannot win a war against the God of Israel.
You cannot overcome His people.
You will fall.
Haman thought he was fighting Mordecai.
But he was fighting Yahweh God.
And Yahweh does not lose.
because he’s a God Who is so powerful,
He can bring about His sovereign will through even a sleepless night.
Does that encourage you?
It should.
Because we serve an incredibly GREAT God,
Who shows His greatness in even the smallest of ways.
And church, this cosmic war didn't end in Persia.
It continued all the way to Calvary where the seed of the serpent attacked the Seed of the woman,
as the enemies of God crucified the Son of God.
And for a moment, it looked like they won.
But God was orchestrating the greatest reversal of all time.
The truth is, because of sin, all of us lived under a sentence of death.
And yet, how did God accomplish His saving work for us?
Not through displays of mighty power,
but through something as small and ordinary as a manger.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing impressive.
Just a manger and a cross.
And yet through these,
God worked to bring about the greatest reversal of them all.
Mordecai was dressed in royal robes.
Jesus walked the road to the cross undressed, exposed to public shame.
Mordecai was mounted on a royal horse.
Jesus walked, bowed beneath the weight of a cross meant for criminals.
Mordecai's horse wore a crown.
Jesus wore a crown of thorns, pressed into His head in mockery.
Mordecai was proclaimed publicly as "the man whom the king delights to honor."
Jesus was mocked as they shouted: “Hail, King of the Jews!" as they then crucified Him.
At the cross, Jesus stepped forward on our behalf.
He knew where that ticket would take Him - straight to judgment, straight to God’s wrath.
and yet, He went willing anyway.
He took His robe,
His crown,
and His honor,
And He placed it on us as He was heralded through the streets in shame,
to be nailed to a cross.
And He did this so you and I could be parading before His heavenly Father saying:
“This is the man in whom the king delights to honor.”
Don’t you see,
Jesus took our place.
He took our sin and judgment so we could take His righteousness and reward!
And because He did, we now know exactly who it is that the king delights to honor.
It’s the one trust Him.
The one who trusts His perfect timing,
His perfect turning
and His perfect Triumph.
And when we trust Him by grace through faith,
His triumph becomes ours.
His resurrection is our resurrection.
His victory is our victory.
His honor is our honor.
When Rockefeller stood on that platform frustrated, staring at the train pulling away.
He had no idea that missing it would save his life.
And you may be standing on a platform right now.
Frustrated.
Confused.
Wondering why God's timing feels so slow,
why the turning hasn't come,
why the triumph seems delayed.
If so, remember this:
The invisible hand of God is still at work.
His timing is perfect.
His turning is certain.
And His triumph is guaranteed.
Trust Him.
Wait for Him.
Because the King who delights to honor His people never fails.
