Esther 6:1-14
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 Bigthanaa and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
3 And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to 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.
6 So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the kingb delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?
7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the kingc delighteth to honour,
8 Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:
9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bringd him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
10 Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.
11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
12 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.
13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.
14 And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.
The same night that Haman had had a gallows made on which to hang Mordecai, the Lord intervened in a most amazing way, causing the king to be unable to sleep and moving him to have the book of records of the kingdom brought to him (v.1).When some of the records were read to him, one of these awakened his attention, for it told that Mordecai had virtually saved the king's life when he informed him of the plot against him by two of his doorkeepers. In asking about this he found that Mordecai had been given no recognition at all for this very real kindness.
God's working behind the scenes is further evident when the king asked who happened to be in the court.Haman had just entered with the intention of asking permission to hang Mordecai (v. 4), so the king had him brought in, asking him what he thought should be done to the man whom the king delighted to honor (v. 6).Haman's pride was such that he considered himself the man the king referred to. What a blunder! But he wanted the popular acclaim of all the people, so suggested that the man to be honored should be clothed in a royal robe which the king himself had worn, and placed on a horse that the king had ridden, which had a royal crest on its forehead, then led by one of the king's most noble princes through the city square with a proclamation to the effect that this was done to the man whom the king delighted to honor (vv. 7-9).
What a shock it must have been to Haman to have the king tell him to take the robe and horse and do all that he had suggested to Mordecai the Jew! (v. 10). It seems that up to this time the king did not realize that the people whose destruction he had approved were Jews. Haman had not told him this, though the letters sent by the couriers throughout all the land had stated it in no uncertain terms (ch. 3:13), for the king had told Haman to do as he pleased about that matter, so there was no need for the king to ever read the proclamation.
What could Haman do?His hands were tied. He could only obey the word of the king in spite of his bitter hatred against Mordecai.In parading Mordecai through the city square, it must have been extremely gallingto Haman to have to proclaim before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor" (v. 11).
After this Haman could hardly ask the king's permission to hang Mordecai!He returned to his house in grief, utterly humiliated.But he found no consolation from his friends or his wife.They knew that since Mordecai was a Jew and exalted by the king to great honor, this presaged worse trouble yet for Haman, who had plotted the destruction of all Jews.
But this day was that on which Esther had planned a banquet for the king and Haman.He must go immediately to the banquet.Likely he would go with some ray of hope that Esther's invitation would prove helpful in resolving the matter of his serious problem as regards Mordecai, for he did not know that Esther was a Jewess and also related to Mordecai.