Esther 6:1-5

VII. Panic of Haman, Esther 6:1-14

A. Appreciation

TEXT: Esther 6:1-5

1

On that night could not the king sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king.

2

And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of those that kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasurerus.

3

And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.

4

And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

5

And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.

Today's English Version, Esther 6:1-5

That same night the king could not get to sleep, so he had the official records of the empire brought and read to him. The part they read included the account of how Mordecai had uncovered a plot to assassinate the kingthe plot made by Bigthana and Teresh, the two palace eunuchs who had guarded the king's rooms. The king asked, How much have we honored and rewarded Mordecai for this?
His servants answered, Nothing has been done for him.
Are any of my officials in the palace? the king asked.
Now Haman had just entered the courtyard; he had come to ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows that was now ready. So the servants answered, Haman is here, waiting to see you.
Show him in, said the king.

COMMENTS

Esther 6:1-3 Insomnia: That particular night (the same night Haman's friends advised him to petition the king) is indicated by the demonstrative pronoun hahu-' in the Hebrew. The demonstrative pronoun also seems to emphasize that this was not mere chance, but the active providence of God. It is among the objects of the writer of Esther to show how the smallest circumstances of life, those most generally regarded as left to chance, work together for good to such as deserve well, and for evil to such as deserve evil. (Pulpit Commentary). The authors of the Septuagint apparently were persuaded of Divine providence here for they translated, But the Lord removed sleep from the king that night. A turning-point in the destinies of both Haman and Mordecai pivoted on what might appear to some as a chance circumstance of a king's insomnia. The Hebrew text reads literally.. the king's sleep fled away. The Hebrew verb nigera-'im is an imperfect participle and should be translated, ... they kept on reading them before the king. He probably expected the monotonous intonation of the reader's voices to lull him to sleep. But his insomnia was providential.

And suddenly they read the official notation that Mordecai had been the informer of a plot to assassinate the king. That startled the king and for the moment he forgot his insomnia. Immediately the king asked what was not only a natural question, inasmuch as it had been his life which had been saved, but one that was also predicated upon Persian law. According to Herodotus (8:85) those who had done great deeds of honor and benefit to the king of Persia had their names written on a special roll of honor and they were esteemed as a special class of people. It would be a serious violation of Persian protocol and law and a great dishonor to the emperor should he not honor someone who had saved his life. So the emperor asks what the record shows about the honor done to Mordecai. The readers reply with a surprising, Nothing! It is difficult to guess why such a gross error was ever allowed to happen. Perhaps the emperor had given the order for Mordecai's reward when the event took place and fully expected one of his subordinates to take care of it, but due to some administrative mistake (or perhaps some prejudice against Mordecai) it had never been done.

Esther 6:4-5 Indecision: Xerxes, unable to decide for himself, seeks counsel from any official who might be standing in the court of the palace. Xerxes certainly knew how to reward faithful service and give gifts (cf. Esther 3:1; Esther 3:11; Esther 5:3; Esther 5:6). Why does he now seek counsel on how to reward Mordecai? The only suitable answer is that the circumstances of the night are somehow under the providential guidance of Jehovah. For, who should be standing waiting in the court of the palace but Haman, archenemy of Mordecai. In fact, the very reason for Haman's presence in the court in the wee hours of the morning, before dawn, was to get the emperor's permission to impale Mordecai on the tree that he had prepared for the insubordinate Jew. Haman was obsessed with his rage against Mordecai. It drove him to stay awake all night pacing the floor in the court of the palace, hoping he would have the first audience with the king upon his arising. Haman's obsession to destroy Mordecai trapped him in circumstances which led to his own destruction. This is the way God has ordered the moral structure of His creation. Man has the freedom to choose personal salvation or personal damnation (cf. Romans 1:18-32). Man can give himself to evil, be obsessed with it, and choose to have it eternally; or he may give himself to righteousness and have it eternally (cf. Romans 6:12-23). Mordecai chose a righteous life and did good in saving the emperor's life; Haman chose evil and attempted to destroy Mordecai's life. Mordecai was protected and exalted by the hand of Providence; Haman was thwarted and destroyed by the same Hand.