Esther 5:14

B. Depravity

TEXT: Esther 5:14

14

Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Today's English Version, Esther 5:14

So his wife and all his friends suggested, Why don-'t you have a gallows built, seventy-five feet tall? Tomorrow morning you can ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it, and then you can go to the banquet happy.
Haman thought this was a good idea, so he had the gallows built.

COMMENTS

Esther 5:14 The name Zeresh (Haman's wife) according to BDB Lexicon is comparable to the name for an Elamite goddess Kirisa. One commentator says the name Zeresh is probably connected with the Zend word zara which means gold. Another Hebrew lexicon indicates poor as the meaning of Zeresh. The Hebrew phrase Ya-'asu-etz means literally, make a wooden tree, and is translated, let a gallows be made. But the suggestion is not for a gallows upon which a person is hanged by a rope because hanging was not a Persian form of execution. What is meant is either crucifixion or impalement. Fifty cubits high for the impaling stake or cross seems excessive to us. If the cubit is 18 inches, it would make the tree 75 feet high; if the cubit is 21 inches it would be 88 feet high. These were not real friends to Hamanthey were mere Yes people indulging him because of his position. How depraved the heart of those who would suggest taking a life to satisfy the lust for pride and recognition. It is serious enough to consider the taking of human life when a capital crime has been committed, but what reasoning is able to justify Haman's counselors! Lest we think such depravity applies only to those without access to the word of God, let us remember Joseph's brethren, Ahab who allowed Naboth to be slain for a vineyard, David who allowed Uriah to be slain for a woman, and many others who, even in the name of Christ and His Church, have murdered thousands for pride and pleasure.

There seems to be no doubt in the minds of Haman's friends and wife that Xerxes will grant the petition for the execution of Mordecai. They may have expected Haman to present the petition on the pretense of some accusation of sedition or political rebellion by Mordecai. He might plead with the emperor that such open contempt for his prime minister could only lead to contempt for the emperor himself.

Except for the providential insomnia of Xerxes that night and his attempt to put himself to sleep by reading the dry and dusty official state records (Esther 6:1) Mordecai would probably have been executed the next day.

We may learn the following lessons from this chapter:

1.

We should not be impressed when others do us some honor lest we are tempted to believe everyone should do us the same honor.

2.

Respect from one's peers is a result of character, not title or position.

3.

Human glory is a hunger that can never be satisfied.

4.

Real friends will not suggest actions that are injust or immoral.