Esther 6
I. \\#Esther 1:1-22\\ The Wife Who Refused to Obey
II. \\#Esther 2:1-23\\ Choosing a New Queen
III. \\#Esther 3:1-15\\ Haman Forms A Plot
IV. \\#Esther 4:1-17\\ For Such A Time As This
V. \\#Esther 5:1-14\\ The Courage and Wisdom of Esther
VI. \\#Esther 6:1-14\\ A Sleepless Night In Persia
VI. \\#Esther 6:1-14\\ A Sleepless Night In Persia
A. \\#Esther 6:1-3\\ A Found Deed
1. \\#1\\ Three things demonstrate the unseen hand of God in this verse.
a. "On that night" - On the same night that Haman decided to have
Mordecai hanged \\#Esther 5:13-14\\.
b. "could not the king sleep" - God would not let the king sleep.
c. "and he commanded to bring the book… of the chronicles" - God
not only directed the king to read the dry business records of
the kingdom, but He had the book brought which had the record
of what Mordecai had done to save the king’s life, some four
years and three months ago \\#Esther 2:16, 3:7\\.
2. When we speak of God being involved in a situation, people some times
wonder what constitutes a miracle and what is just a coincidence?
a. There is no hard and fast rule; however, even a happening that
is natural, when done in God’s timing, becomes a miracle.
b. \\#Num 16:23-34\\ God opens the earth and swallows the rebels,
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
(1) A scientist might examine the spot on which this happened
and declare that the event was nothing more supernatural
than an earthquake. Thus declaring our miracle to be a
coincidence.
(2) After all, earthquakes do happen and often during an
earthquake, the ground shifts.
(3) In reality, even if the event itself was an earthquake, the
fact that God announced the event’s location, its time,
and its results before it happened, makes the natural
phenomenon a miracle.
(4) As a young preacher boy in college, I had a very difficult
time going to school and paying my bills. At one point,
I was so discouraged that I was ready to quit. One night
I went into our living room and knelt beside our ottoman.
I told the Lord I could not go on. He would either have
to supply the needed funds or I would lay my Bible aside
and preach no more. After I prayed, I laid by Bible down,
resolved not to pick it up if God did not move. Within
24 hours (perhaps sooner), I received a phone call from
my mother. She and my father had reached an agreement on
her part of a common property they had sold. What she
received, she decided to divide between the three sons.
She called to tell me the check for such-and-such amount
was in the mail. Some would call that a coincidence. I
went and picked up my Bible and have never threatened God
so foolishly again.
(5) I suppose the definition of a miracle is largely subjective;
however, at some point, the odds against an event would
demand that even the greatest skeptic accept God’s hand.
3. \\#2\\ "Bigthana and Teresh… who sought to lay hand on the king"
As recorded in \\#Esther 2:21-23\\.
4. \\#3\\ "What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this?"
It is possible that the king had never heard what Mordecai had done
for him. Upon hearing of it, he desires to reward him.
B. \\#Esther 6:4-11\\ An Arrogant Answer
1. \\#4-5\\ "Now Haman was come" - God’s unseen hand continues to be
seen as at the very time Haman comes to seek permission to execute
Mordecai, the king desires council on how to reward him. Obviously,
the restless king has waited until the new day dawned to seek such
advice, but rewarding Mordecai was still on his mind.
2. \\#6\\ "Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king
delight to do honour more than to myself?" - When the king asked
Haman for suggestions, Haman’s arrogance rose to the surface. His
answer reflected what he would like to have done for himself.
3. \\#8-9\\ Let the man be dressed in the king’s clothing, wear the
king’s crown, ride the king’s horse, and have one of the most
prominent of the king’s servants walk him through the streets
shouting to all around them that this man was being honored by the
king. Haman’s arrogance was extreme as it was obvious that Haman
desired to be the king!
4. \\#10-11\\ "do even so to Mordecai the Jew" - Little did Haman know
that he was determining the honor to be paid to Mordecai. Since
Haman was the most prominent servant of the king present, the task
of fulfilling what he had spoken fell to him. One cannot but wonder
how visibly shaken Haman must have been when the king spoke these
words to him!
C. \\#Esther 6:12-14\\ A Mortified Haman
1. \\#12\\ "Haman hasted to his house mourning" - Accomplishing this
command might have been difficult for any prominent official, but
it was especially difficult for proud Haman.
2. \\#13\\ "thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall"
Haman again gathers his friends and family. This inner group of
individuals served as a court of advisors to Haman. Although they
have no prophetic abilities, they rightly discern that the tide of
victory has turned against Haman.
3. \\#14\\ "while they were yet talking" - Even while Haman digested
the council given to him, the king’s servants come to take him to
Esther’s banquet.
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