Esther 5:9-14 - Haman Seeks To Kill Mordecai
Many years ago I went to see a friend that I had not seen in awhile. We sat in his home talking with each other. The conversation was going really well when a car pulled up with two men in the car.
My friend immediately recognized the two men and mentioned that these were two of his closest friends. We all took our seats around the kitchen table and began to talk. The conversation soon took a turn for the worse. It was one of the most uncomfortable conversations that I have ever been a part of. These men began to talk so badly about other people and they justified it by professing to be Christians and speaking about God. As this conversation progressed I looked for the first opportunity to excuse myself and leave.
As I left I concluded two things.
First, this conversation was demonic in origins.
Secondly, this conversation flowed from prideful and arrogant hearts.
I mention this story because our text today will have a similar feel to us as we gather around this text and read about the details that are going on here. It would be appropriate for us to become uncomfortable with the way that this text unfolds. We should tremble at the end of this conversation when we read that this a conversation like this brings pleasure to Haman (14).
Around this table on this particular day no one felt uncomfortable about this discussion. None of Haman’s friends or Haman’s wife felt uneasy. There was no good counsel given. No one gave any wise words. Instead we will read, “Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.”
Who will protect Mordecai from this evil and twisted plot? The LORD will save righteous Mordecai. The LORD will act decisively to deliver His servant from this evil plan.
This should encourage us because there are many people who sit around kitchen tables, board room tables, break room tables, and political tables who devise wicked plans. Who can stop these people and thwart their sinful plans? The LORD!
Haman takes pleasure in this evil plan but he does not know Proverbs 16:5, ‘Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.’ Haman does not know that Proverbs 3:34 says, ‘Toward the scorners He [the LORD] is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.’ Haman does not know James 4:6, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’
Our text this morning is found in Esther 5:9-14. It says,
And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
As I looked at this text I noticed that it has the structure of a chiasm. “A chiasm is a literary device in which a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order. The result is a “mirror” effect as the ideas are “reflected” back in a passage.” A chiasm is used to emphasize certain points and is used to capture our attention. If I highlight this passage with corresponding colors you will be able to appreciate the chiasm in our text. This is what it would look like,
And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
Let me break down the main thoughts that are seen in this chiasm. These four observations will be the outline that we follow for this sermon.
Haman’s disposition.
The anger that Haman has against Mordecai.
The two invitations to gather with others.
In the center of the chiasm we see Haman reflect upon what he values. In this section we see that he has a prideful heart, a self-centered heart, an arrogant heart. Haman’s problem is not Mordecai; his problem is his heart. The cure for this is not all his treasure and accomplishments; the cure is repentance and humility.
Haman’s Disposition
Our text begins with the words, “And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart…”. Let me break this sentence down into two points. First, Haman went out... Secondly, Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart.
First, we are told, Haman went out that day. It is too bad that parties have to come to an end. While we are there we experience joy and happiness. Moments like these seem to end quickly. This happens so predictably that we hear people say things like: ‘I was snapped back to reality’ or ‘The battle was over before it had even begun’ or ‘The honeymoon period was over before we left the church’. A life without faith and the grace of God is devoid of lasting joy and gladness. Nothing can satisfy our hearts apart from God.
Haman seems shocked and surprised that his joy and gladness of heart is so quickly turned to anger and wrath upon leaving the party. Haman cannot keep his joy and gladness of heart even though he has been invited to another feast tomorrow. He says in our text, “All this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” Political power cannot satisfy. Celebrity status can not produce lasting joy. What is shocking is that this anger goes immediately to murderous anger. He will not consider firing Haman or transferring him so some isolated duty.
All to often Christians expect that our joy and gladness will be quickly extinguished when we go out into this world. We often think that grace works most effectively between these walls and around a certain group of believers. We must remember that we see Esther thriving in grace under very difficult circumstances. And in our text today we see that Mordecai is walking in great grace as he is at work at the King’s Gate even though the Jews have been embroiled in this evil plot to exterminate them all.
My friends, God sends us out into the world with great grace. Our joy and gladness does not have to end when we leave these comfortable surroundings. Christ goes with us into this world. He goes with us to our homes and our jobs. There are many things in this world that could quickly steal our joy and gladness but we need to keep our eyes upon Jesus. If our eyes are set upon Christ our hearts will experience His peace, His joy and His gladness.
Secondly, we read, “And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart…”. As you read those words you get the sense that Haman, like we have seen in King Ahasuerus, is prone to great highs and lows in his disposition: some days at peace; some days troubled, some days happy; some days angry, some days content; some days he is terribly discontented.
On this day, when he had feasted with the king and Esther, he was joyful and glad at heart. As we will see, it was not because of the food and the wine, but it was because this moment seemed to prove that he was a man of importance. Haman is prideful and arrogant.
Joy and gladness can quickly disappear when one thing interrupts our grand illusions with a dose of reality like Mordecai does here. No wonder Jesus is such an offense to the unbeliever. Jesus demands to sit on His throne and His Word obeyed. But the unbeliever prefers to sit upon the throne of their own hearts and to do as he or she pleases pleases. These people have hard hearts.
A believer is most happy, most joyful and most glad when their hearts are bowing humbly before Jesus Christ and when they are quick to obey His Word. As we do this we will find ourselves receivinggreat grace. And even if an army of ten thousand encamped against them they will not loose their joy, gladness and their peace in God. (Psalm 91)
Finally, the first chiasm ends with Mordecai being pleased when he devises harm against Mordecai. He believes that once this is done he will be able to experience joy and gladness again (14). Sin does not bring joy. Murder and the shedding of innocent blood does not bring profit. A quick divorce does not really lead to a happier life. Theft does not enrich a man. Idolatry will never bring happiness and joy.
Haman’s Anger Against Mordecai
There are so many points that could be made in this part of the chiasm. In this section we see that Haman is angry because Mordecai does not stand or tremble in his presence. Haman is a very egotistical and arrogant man. He draws his pleasure from seeing others fear and revere him. And if he had absolute power and authority he would immediately kill Mordecai right now. Haman believes that everyone should fear him and he cannot imagine a day when he would have to humble himself before Mordecai or Mordecai’s God. But that day will come.
Haman finds pleasure in seeing others tremble but he will soon be forced to fall to his knees and tremble before Esther as he pleads for his life (7:6-8). More than this, Haman will find himself bowing and trembling before the King and Creator of all things. [Isaiah 19:1 paints a powerful picture of trembling before the LORD, “Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.”]
As angry as Haman is in this moment we are told that he restrains himself. Here is an opportunity for Haman to have some time to ‘simmer down’ and ‘cool off’. Haman, however, does two things to provoke his anger even more against Mordecai. First, Haman calls people to come around him who will not give him good advice. Secondly, Haman will dwell upon things that will make his anger intensify. When these two things come together it will lead to disaster. We read, “Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.”
The Two Invitations In Our Text
This brings us to the third part of our chiasm, ‘The two invitations in our text.’ (10b, 12)
At the end of Esther 5:10 we see that Haman returns home and invites his wife and his friends to be with him. We read, “...and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh.” In Esther 5: 12 we are reminded that Haman had received two invitations to go and feast with Esther and the king. We read, “Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king.”
Haman restrained himself when he saw Mordecai at the King’s Gate; but he did not restrain his anger that was in his heart and he did not restrain his lips. When he gets home he calls his wife and friends to be with him. There are two problems with this first invitation. First, there is no one who comes to him who will keep him from bloodguilt. In fact, they encourage him to murder a righteous man. Secondly, the LORD does not provide anyone in this moment who can turn Haman’s heart from this evil.
Let me share a story from 1 Samuel 25 in which God did provide a person to keep David from doing evil. What a blessing and a mercy that God would do this for someone!
There was a day in David’s life when he and his men had been insulted by a man named Nabal. In his anger David swore to kill him and all of the men in his family by nightfall. David and his men rode out to avenge their honor when Nabal’s wife came and begged David for forgiveness for her husbands foolishness. Her act of humility and repentance turned away the wrath of David from Nabal. In that moment David blessed God saying in 1 Samuel 25:32, “And David said to Abigail, ‘Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed by your discretion, and blessed by you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and working salvation with my own hand!’”)
There is no Abigail type of person who has been sent by God to Haman on this day. Consider what is going on in the broader scheme of this context. God provided an Abigail type of person to King Ahasuerus to keep him from condoning evil. King Ahasuerus has not surrounded himself with people who had godly wisdom, but the LORD has provided Esther to keep him from the bloodguilt.
Haman’s has surrounded himself with his wife and his closest friends and they give him wicked counsel. And Haman was pleased with it.
What can be done when these things happen? Who can stop this sort of evil plan from being carried out against the righteous? What hope do the oppressed have in this evil world? (Romans 8:31-39)
The LORD will act to save Mordecai from harm in this moment. It is the LORD who will save the Jewish people from this evil plan that has already been decreed against the Jewish people.
This portion of the text should cause us to desire three things. First, that we would call people around us who will be like Mordecai, Esther or Abigail. Secondly, that God will surround us by people like them if need be. Thirdly, we should desire to be used to intervene in a godly way in moments like these for others.
The Real Problem: Haman’s Prideful And Arrogant Heart
This brings us to the center of the chiasm which is often the climax and the main point. Here we see, ‘Haman’s Prideful And Arrogant Heart’. In Esther 5:11 we read, “And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king.”
When Haman speaks he does not deal with his anger by evaluating the pride and sin in his heart. No, instead his mouth speaks and it is full of boasting, conceit, arrogance and pride. He boasts of four things in this verse and five in the immediate context.
First, Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches.
Secondly, Haman speaks of the number of sons that he has.
Third, Haman speaks of his promotions and the honor that he has received from the king.
Fourth, Haman speaks of how the king advanced him above all the officials and servants of the king.
Fifth, Haman boasts of the invitation that he alone received to feast with Esther and the King twice over the last two days.
Haman has enjoyed so many blessings, and wealth and honor but he admits that he cannot enjoy any of them as long as Mordecai is at the King’s Gate. Haman appears to be at the peak of his power, authority and influence; and yet, he cannot enjoy any of these things.
His wife Zeresh and his friends give him terrible advice. [Much like Ahab’s wife Jezebel who killed a righteous man so that the king would be happy when he gets his field for himself.] In this moment they tell Haman, “‘Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.’ This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.”
Haman shows us here how difficult it is to find joy and peace when we have a proud and unbelieving heart that refuses to turn to the LORD. If this is the case, our joy can quickly turn to anger. Our pleasure can quickly turn to despair. If we refuse to go to the throne of grace which was erected for us to come before at such times as this we will do the most foolish things like Haman does. Haman immediately begins to erect a platform 70’ tall on which he intends to kill Mordecai upon.
Among so many things, our text reminds us to guard against sinful thoughts in our heart. John Flavel writes, “Carnal and formal people take no heed of this; they cannot be brought to confer with their own hearts: there are some people who have lived forty or fifty years in the world, and have scarcely had one hour’s discourse with their own hearts. It is a hard thing to bring a man and himself together on such business; but saints know those soliloquies to be very salutary. The heathen could say, ‘The soul is made wise by sitting still in quietness.’ Though bankrupts care not to look into their accounts, yet upright hearts will know whether they go backward or forward. ‘I commune with mine own heart,’ says David. The heart can never be kept until its case be examined and understood.”
Flavel describes the difference between men like Haman and those who are like Mordecai. Haman will not consider his heart, but he believes his problems are external.
This is such an easy trap to fall into. We have already seen Esther almost fall into this trap. In Esther 4:4 we were told that when Esther heard that Mordecai was in the city square wearing sackcloth and ashes she immediately tried to deal with it by using external means - she sent him clothes. Mordecai, however, refused the external prescription that was offered.
At that time, Mordecai showed Esther that these things are heart issues that need to be addressed with a faith that will receive the grace of God. He says to her in Esther 4:13, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s house you will escape…”. In other words, he tells Esther to watch out in this moment what her heart is saying to her. Our heart can so easily deceive us.
Because Mordicai does this they both turn to the LORD and seek His grace. What they chose to do in that moment is far different than what we see in our text today between Haman, his wife, and his friends.
My friends, let’s make four applications from this text.
First, you have to keep watch over your heart. This is your primary responsibility. The struggles that we have are often because of sinful heart issues that do not get addressed.
Secondly, surround yourself with others who will help you keep watch over your heart. Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his eyes; but a wise man gets advice.”
Thirdly, be the type of person who will watch over the heart of others and give godly counsel in those moments. By doing this we can help to rescue others from great pain and sin.
Fourth, pray often that the LORD would intervene in such moments in some way and that you would have a heart to respond with the faith to receive grace.
Further Application: Taken from 'When Sinners Say 'I Do' by Dave Harvey. Read 1 Timothy 1:12-17.
Haman thought that his unhappiness was because of Mordecai. He did not address his own sinful heart. We all have a tendency to do this. We think that we are not happy because of what our spouse did, what our boss did, what that person said to me at church, or because of what our neighbor has done. We can be like the husband who thinks that he is not the problem but who has identified the problem and says to his new wife, "Kim, please stop talking, you are making me angry and making me sin."
Paul reminds us that our biggest problem is within us (13). And although the grace of God had saved him he never forgot the sin he once lived in. Paul said he was the foremost of sinners. How can a statement like that ever be a sign of spiritual health and maturity?
There are four things to consider to answer this question. First, there is only one heart that we can examine and that is our own. If we will do this it is a sign of spiritual health and will promote our spiritual growth as we examine our heart and apply the gospel there.
Secondly, It's healthy when the words, 'I am the worst of sinners', are not an ends but a means. This should lead us to apply the gospel and receive mercy by faith in the promises of God.
Thirdly, it is health when we use those words, 'I am the worst of sinners', as a description for ourselves and not others. We are to judge ourselves and not others. The believer who does this will make a grateful believer and not a judgmental person against others. Do others say we are more skillful at seeing sin or the grace of God in others?
Fourth, It is healthy when we counsel others with the whole gospel. How does the statement, 'Of whom I am the worst', interacts with us in daily life and our knowledge of this indwelling sin that we are still dealing with. To benefit from the gospel we must acknowledge that we are still sinners.
Haman tells us what gave him status. He boasted of four things: his money, his kids, his promotions, his position above others. His boast should have been in the grace and mercy of God that can forgive him of his great sin. A Christian's status is not determined by things like this; rather it is grounded in our relationship with God which is by free grace and mercy. If we receive this gift and understand it we will forgive others and extend forgiveness and mercy to them. However, if we do not humble ourselves and receive this grace we will unfortunately become like Haman and hate our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Further Application: In our text we see that Haman lacks understanding and common sense. When he is given wicked advice he is pleased. Proverbs 15:21 says, "Folly is a joy to the one who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead."
Haman illustrates the first half of this verse, "Folly is a joy to the one who lacks sense...". How can this be? How can there be any joy in folly? When you read these initial words a wise man would scratch their head and marvel. Folly deceives, hurts, endangers and kills so how can there be any joy or pleasure in it? We are told that it is the man who lacks sense who finds joy in folly. This person lacks sense, has a hard heart, has a hardened conscience, and lacks understanding. They need to sin to feel pleasure.
In contrast to the man of folly we see the man of understanding in the second half of the verse, "...but a man of understanding walks straight ahead." This man does not have a hard heart, a twisted conscience, or a twisted mind. This person keeps walking ahead when an sinful opportunity presents itself. A man of understanding finds joy in moving on in the right direction.
Read Isaiah 35 and discuss the joy that is experienced while on the Way of Holiness.