Courage for Life for Women - Flipbook - Page 17
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all! Queen Esther invited only me and the
king himself to the banquet she prepared
for us. And she has invited me to dine
with her and the king again tomorrow!”
13
Then he added, “But this is all worth
nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew
just sitting there at the palace gate.”
14
So Haman’s wife, Zeresh, and all his
friends suggested, “Set up a sharpened
pole that stands seventy-five feet* tall,
and in the morning ask the king to impale
Mordecai on it. When this is done, you
can go on your merry way to the banquet
with the king.” This pleased Haman, and
he ordered the pole set up.
The King Honors Mordecai
That night the king had trouble
sleeping, so he ordered an attendant
to bring the book of the history of his
reign so it could be read to him. 2In those
records he discovered an account of how
Mordecai had exposed the plot of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who
guarded the door to the king’s private
quarters. They had plotted to assassinate
King Xerxes.
3
“What reward or recognition did we
ever give Mordecai for this?” the king
asked.
His attendants replied, “Nothing has
been done for him.”
4
“Who is that in the outer court?” the
king inquired. As it happened, Haman
had just arrived in the outer court of the
palace to ask the king to impale Mordecai
on the pole he had prepared.
5
So the attendants replied to the king,
“Haman is out in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered. 6So
Haman came in, and the king said, “What
should I do to honor a man who truly
pleases me?”
Haman thought to himself, “Whom
6
EsthEr 7
listen to the ord
would the king wish to honor more than
me?” 7So he replied, “If the king wishes to
honor someone, 8 he should bring out one
of the king’s own royal robes, as well as a
horse that the king himself has ridden—
one with a royal emblem on its head. 9Let
the robes and the horse be handed over to
one of the king’s most noble officials. And
let him see that the man whom the king
wishes to honor is dressed in the king’s
robes and led through the city square on
the king’s horse. Have the official shout as
they go, ‘This is what the king does for
someone he wishes to honor!’”
10
“Excellent!” the king said to Haman.
“Quick! Take the robes and my horse, and
do just as you have said for Mordecai the
Jew, who sits at the gate of the palace.
Leave out nothing you have suggested!”
11
So Haman took the robes and put
them on Mordecai, placed him on the
king’s own horse, and led him through
the city square, shouting, “This is what the
king does for someone he wishes to
honor!” 12Afterward Mordecai returned to
the palace gate, but Haman hurried home
dejected and completely humiliated.
13
When Haman told his wife, Zeresh,
and all his friends what had happened,
his wise advisers and his wife said, “Since
Mordecai—this man who has humiliated
you—is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be
fatal to continue opposing him.”
14
While they were still talking, the
king’s eunuchs arrived and quickly took
Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.
The King Executes Haman
So the king and Haman went to
Queen Esther’s banquet. 2On this
second occasion, while they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther,
Listen to Esther 5, and reject the
worldly lie that it is acceptable
to harbor bitterness or react
with anger toward difficult
people. Replace it with the
truth that when you deal with
difficult people, you should ask
God to open their hearts to him
and to you (see also Prov 16:7;
21:1; Heb 12:15).
7
5:14 Hebrew 50 cubits [23 meters].
the ruler of history
6:1-14
P R A Y • Abba Father, you rule and reign over the earth. I surrender my life to you, trusting that
you are in control.
O B S E R V E • While Haman was plotting Mordecai’s execution, King Xerxes was having trouble
sleeping and asked for the history of his reign to be read to him. As his attendant read the records,
Xerxes discovered that Mordecai had exposed an assassination plot but had not been honored or
rewarded. In an epic plot twist, Xerxes ordered Haman to put royal robes on Mordecai and lead
him through the city square.
I N T E R P R E T • In the ordinary events of life—even a king’s sleepless night—God accomplishes
his purposes. Regardless of how difficult our circumstances appear or how out of control the
actions of our government may seem, our God rules and reigns over the large and small affairs of
earth. When we are tempted to worry, let’s instead worship and trust our divine King, knowing
that he is in control.
A P P LY • Uncover your true
self: Do you worry about your
circumstances or distrust
God’s sovereignty over your
life (6:1)? Journal a prayer surrendering your situation to the
Lord. • Overcome obstacles:
Read Psalm 23. In the margin,
list the fears that keep you from
trusting God, and describe how
you will overcome them.
Name additional COURAGE steps
you will take as you seek to trust
the Lord.
