Esther 3:1

After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that [were] with him.

Ver. 1. After these things did Ahasuerus promote Haman] Four years after his marriage with Esther, or near upon, did Ahasuerus magnify and exalt Haman, Hominem profanum et sceleratum, as one saith, a profane wicked person; merely for his mind sake, to show his sovereignty, and that he would, like some petty god upon earth, set up whom he would, and whom he would, put down, Daniel 4:19. Alexander the Great made Abdolominus, a poor gardener, king of Sidon. Whether it were also by flattery or sycophancy, or some new projects for establishing his tyranny, and increasing his tributes, that Haman had insinuated himself into this king's favour, it is uncertain. Sure it is that Mordecai, a better man, lay yet unlooked upon; like good corn he lay in the bottom of the heap, when this vilest of men was exalted, Psalms 12:8. Thus oft empty vessels swim aloft, rotten posts are gilt with adulterate gold, the worst weeds spring up bravest; and when the twins strove in Rebekah's womb, profane Esau comes forth first, and is the firstborn, Genesis 25:25. But while they seek the greatest dignities, they mostly meet with the greatest shame; like apes, while they be climbing, they the more show their deformities. They are lifted up also, ut lapsu graviore ruant, that they may come down again with the greater poise. It was, therefore, well and wisely spoken by Alvarez de Luna, when he told them who admired his fortune and favour with the king of Castile, You do wrong to commend the building before it be finished, and until you see how it will stand.

The son of Hammedatha the Ayagite] i.e. The Amalekite, of the stock royal; so that Haman was the natural enemy of the Jews, like as Hannibal was of the Romans. An old grudge there was, an inveterate hatred; Amalek was Esau's grandchild, and the enmity between these two peoples was, as we say of runnet, the older the stronger.

And advanced him] Set him aloft upon the pinnacle of highest preferment; as Tiberius did Sejanus; as Louis XI of France did his barber; as our Henry VIII did Wolsey; and our recent kings, Buckingham. But princes' favourites should consider with themselves that honour is but a blast, a magnum nihil, a glorious fancy, a rattle to still men's ambition; and that as the passenger looketh no longer upon the dial than the sun shineth upon it, so it is here.

And set his seat above all the princes] This cup of honour his weak head could not bear; this blast so blew up the bubble that it burst again. Sejanus-like, he now began to sacrifice to himself, little thinking of that utter ruin to which he was hasting. Physicians used to say, that ultimus sanitatis gradus est morbo vicinus. Sure it is, that when the wicked are near unto misery, they have greatest preferment and prosperity. When Tiberius was desirous to rid his hands of Sejanus, he made him his colleague in the consulship, and set him above all his courtiers. Ahasuerus intended not any harm to Haman when he raised him to this pitch of preferment; but it puffed him up, and proved his bane. None are in so great danger as those that walk upon pinnacles; even height itself makes men's brains to swim. Every man is not a Joseph, or a Daniel. They were set above all the princes, and could not only bear it, but improve it for the glory of God, and the good of his people. Sed o quam hoc non est omnium! High seats are not only uneasy, but dangerous, and how few are there that do not (as Isis' ass) think themselves worshipful for the burden they bear! (Hones onus) .