God Intercedes

God Intercedes. We left Mordecai in a rather hopeless state in our last devotion, Pride of Haman. Haman, the man second only to the king himself, had built a gallows for Mordecai. He only needed the king's permission to proceed with the hanging.

1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the 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 eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

4 So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

5 The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.”

And the king said, “Let him come in.”6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”

(Esther 6:1-6, New King James Version)

God Intercedes

We left Mordecai in a rather hopeless state in our last devotion: Pride of Haman Haman, the man second only to the king himself, had built a gallows for Mordecai. He only needed the king's permission to proceed with the hanging.

That night, the king had trouble sleeping. He finally quit trying to sleep and decided to read from records of the chronicles of his reign. Perhaps some nice boring reading would help him to sleep. However, that is not what happened. As he was reading he found the entry recording the help of Mordecai in the arrest of two men who were plotting to kill the king.

King Ahasuerus asked his servants, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

The servants replied, "Nothing has been done for him."

God Intercedes

Wouldn't you know that this is exactly the time that Haman entered the outer court of the king? He could hardly wait to get permission from the king to hang Mordecai. Hearing the king's question, he became even more excited.

“What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”

“Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” Haman thought.

How much better could things get? First he is named 2nd in the kingdom, then Queen Esther invites him to a banquet along with King Ahasuerus, and now the king is intending to honor him. On top of that, he gets to choose the way in which he would like to be honored. I am sure that Haman felt pretty invincible by that time.

So, what do you think is going to happen next? Things have gone from bad to worse for Mordecai--at least in the eyes of Haman. But, God is greater than Haman, and a great surprise is awaiting him.

God Intercedes

Oh, the deceptiveness of pride. Perhaps one of our greatest enemies is pride, and yet, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Where do you stand on God's "pride ruler?" Are you closer to the humble end, or are you way off the charts on the pride end?

I will leave you to ponder that today. I hope you will think very seriously about that as this story continues to unfold in our next devotion in this series.