The Honor Of The King

All right, if you could turn in your Bibles, please, to the book of Esther in chapter 6. Esther chapter 6. I'm going to read the entire chapter, again, another short chapter, 14 verses. Begins this way. 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. And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bithana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, what honor 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. 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. And the king's servants said unto him, behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, let him come in. So Haman came in, and the king said unto him, what shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, to whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? And Haman answered the king, for the man whom the king delighteth to honor, 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. 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 delights to honor, and bring 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 honor. 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. 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 honor. And Mordecai came again to the king's gate, but Haman hasted to his house, mourning, and having his head covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife, and all his friends, everything 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. 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. And God indeed will bless that reading from his precious word to us. And if the last study we did in chapter 5 was Haman's day, and it was the greatest day of his life, invited to a banquet with the king and the queen, and how much elevation can you get? The only kind of negative thing was this guy, Mordecai, who refused to bow. Well, this chapter is not Haman's day, but it's Mordecai's day. This is the day that Mordecai is honored. And I want to give you a quick outline, because I'll probably forget it as we get going, so it's good to just get it out there. Verses 1 through 3, we want to think about the man who had not been honored. Of course, the king realizes this man that had saved his life has not been honored, so the man who had not been honored. And then in verses 4 through 9, we want to think about the man who wanted to be honored. Who else could he be talking about but me, Haman says, the man who wanted to be honored. And then verses 10 and 11, we want to look at the man who was publicly honored, and it was a different man than the one that Haman thought about. And then verse 12 through 14 shows us a man who would never be honored. So it's really all about honor. So it begins with a sleepless night for a king. Ahasuerus is master of 127 provinces, but he's not master of 10 minutes of sleep. He can't sleep. That was a quote from Mr. Spurgeon, who's always very astute. He couldn't sleep. Literally, the meaning is that sleep fled from him. He was trying to pursue it, but it ran away from him. He couldn't get sleep. And some of us have had nights like that where we're desperate to sleep. And no matter what we try, or whatever position we get, we just cannot get to sleep. And the night is long when we can't sleep. The entire chapter shows how a series of seemingly trivial circumstances fit together to overrule the evil intentions of Haman. So let's go through these trivial, seemingly trivial circumstances. The king happened to be unable to sleep. He happened to ask that the royal annals be read to him. And Haman happened to be in the palace at the right moment. A series of happenings. And they were all perfectly timed. And again, we see this, the timing of God throughout this whole book. One of the most common... We've got some echo here. There we go. One of the most common ways God uses to intervene in the lives of kings is to disturb their sleep. And we have several examples in the Bible. We have Abimelech who couldn't sleep in Genesis chapter 20 and verse 3. Maybe we'll just take a moment to look at these examples of kings who couldn't sleep. Genesis 20 and verse 3. We read this. It says, But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man for the woman which thou hast taken, for she is a man's wife. And then, of course, you have Pharaoh who had the disturbed night in Genesis 41 verse 1. You have Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 1. All of them had very disturbed nights in which God was getting their attention. And so God can intervene in the lives of people in that way. In fact, it's interesting that a quote that's often given from Shakespeare is this, Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. I don't know if you've ever heard that quote from Shakespeare. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Lots of things to be concerned about, and certainly that is the case here. He can't sleep. And so what does he do when you can't sleep? Well, this man has lots of options. Remember, he's got a harem full of beautiful women. And he could have called for one of those women. Not only that, he has a minstrels that he could call, the court troubadours, and they could just kind of serenade him with quiet, relaxing music, something like that. No, but on this occasion, he decided to have somebody bring to him the court records. Some have suggested that government records are sufficiently boring material that would put anyone to sleep. I know they just came out with a bill in the United States, and somebody put it on a table, and it was, I don't know, probably over a foot high of papers. And so basically, having the state records read, that might put a man to sleep. But as he is doing this, having these records read to him, he learns of a man who has saved his life by discovering an assassination plot who has gone unrewarded. Now, it's interesting that this book of records, it says here again in verse 1, on the night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records, or the chronicles, that were read before the king. And actually, in Hebrew, it literally means the book of remembrances. The book of remembrances, the words matters of the days. That's kind of the literal Hebrew of it. The book of remembrances, words matters of the days. Basically, the Amals contained the written records of facts and events that were important to the kingdom. And I can't help but think that if the king wanted every kind of matter, or event, or detail that had some kind of relevance to the kingdom recorded, does it not remind you of a verse that we looked at when we were studying Malachi together? In Malachi 3, verse 16, it says, then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name. See, matters that are important pertaining to the kingdom were all recorded. Loyal acts towards the king, things that people have done because of their love for the king and their wanting to honor the king. Well, God says, well, just as the king of Persia did this, I'm doing it too. I keep a good record of all loyal acts that have been done to me. All of those acts. They're all kept in this book of remembrance. So, this chronicles that were records of the facts and feats relating to the king and the kingdom were prepared daily by chosen scribes, specially commissioned for the task. And so, they would record all of these events and keep them very carefully. And we've already had them mentioned in this book, and we'll have them mentioned again. For instance, chapter 2 and verse 23, we saw it mentioned. It says, when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out, and therefore they were both hanged on a tree, and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king. Chapter 10 of the book of Esther and verse 2, it says, and all the acts of his power and of his might and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. And also, we'll find back in the book of Ezra, another reference to these chronicles that are kept by the kings. And so, in Ezra chapter 4 and verse 15, and they play a significant role in these books connected with the exile and post-captivity period. And so, in chapter 4 verse 15, it says, that search may be made, this is Ezra chapter 4 verse 15, that search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers, so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time, for which cause was this city destroyed. So, the idea was, all of this was kept in good records. Now, I want you just to think about this. We've seen that he couldn't sleep. And so, he wanted these records read to him. Maybe the narrator wants us to conclude that part of the sleeplessness of the king was the result of a nagging feeling that some deed had been left undone. Indeed, Esther's impending request, remember, she'd asked for this banquet risking her life, and then she'd asked for a second banquet. She said, I'm going to tell you then why I've called this, why I've risked my life. And perhaps it fueled in his mind some thoughts of, has the queen observed that I've missed something, that something I should have done, I haven't done? Many rabbinic commentators suggest that. What could the queen want? Was there something he should have done that he had neglected? A modern man might suddenly realize in the middle of the night, oh, I forgot my wife's anniversary, or something like that, you know, something pretty important. Intrigued and puzzled, he might well have sought the royal archives for clues. Have I missed something? Or some suggest that he could have just overindulged in the banquet that day and couldn't sleep because he had too much food in his tummy. I don't know. But what we do know is there's no question in our minds that whatever kind of the root cause is, behind it all, the king's insomnia was divine intervention. God had clear purposes for all this. The author says that as he was told the events in verse 2, it was found written that Mordecai had told Dikthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamblains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. So this was brought to his attention. And the author told us, back in chapter 2, verse 23, that this was recorded in the very presence of the king. We've already looked at it, but look again, please. When inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out. Therefore, they were both hanged on a tree, and it was written in the book of the Chronicles, and notice this, before the king. So the king was there. It was in his presence that this record of Mordecai saving his life was actually recorded. And so it says in verse 3, the king said, what honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? He then said to the king's servants that ministered unto him, there's nothing done for him. So the answer was simple enough, nothing had been done for him. This is what the king had overlooked. Somebody had shown a loyalty to the king and saved the king's life by discovering this plot and telling the king his loyalty. And again, the delay. Why was he not rewarded at the time? How did the king not do it then? I mean, he would have felt it most keenly. He's just saved my life. But again, God's involved in this delay. Five years have gone by since that event. And isn't it interesting that sometimes God uses delay for his purposes? We're by nature impatient people. We want it yesterday. And sometimes things don't go quite according to plan, and there's delays. And yet, do we believe that delays can be from God, that he has purposes? Remember Joseph? He was forgotten by the chief butler for two years. That's a delay. But there's a reason behind it, right? The timing of the discovery was perfect. And so the king says, okay, what honor and dignity have been done to Mordecai? These two nouns, honor and dignity, they have the idea of great honor. What great honor has been done to this man? The oversight, no doubt, disturbed the king. It was a reflection on him for not rewarding somebody who had been so loyal to him. And so he wants to know what has been done to honor him? Nothing. Verse four, it says, the king said, who is in the court? Now Haman was coming to 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. Remember that Haman's wife had suggested that go first thing in the morning, remember verse 14 of chapter 5, then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends to him, let gallows be made of 50 cubits high and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged there. Then go thou merrily with the king to the banquet and the thing pleased Haman. And so during the night, the king couldn't sleep. But I wonder, did Haman sleep that night? Was his mind so excited he'd been invited to this banquet the first night? And now the very next morning he was going to go and this enemy that had just riled him and annoyed him so much was going to be hanged. And no doubt he was just laying awake at night thinking of what a great day is going to be tomorrow. I'm going to deal with Mordecai and then I'm going to go back for a second banquet with the king and the queen. What a wonderful day is ahead of me. And so the king stayed awake all night and it's now morning. And so he asked the question, who's in the court? Is there anybody in the court that can set into motion the need to honor this man? And just at that right moment, Haman shows up in the court. The very man the king wants to honor, Haman wants to hang. The timing is quite remarkable. And so it says, verse five, it says, the king's servant said to him, behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, let him come in. He's there to get this man hanged, impatient for revenge on Mordecai. And he'd come specifically to obtain the king's warrant for the execution of the man who he hated. It's likely that he too, as we've said, had a sleepless night with the anticipation, the excitement connected with this. The gallows were ready. As soon as he got the royal assent, Mordecai would be hanged. So we get to verse six. It says, so Haman came in and the king said unto him, what shall be done unto the man whom the king delighted to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, to whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? Notice the king doesn't give any opportunity for Haman to present his request. Before launching into this request, the king has his own problem that he wants dealt with. There's this overlooked business of a man that had not been honored. So Haman will be actually dismissed in verse 10 before he even has an opportunity to bring his request. The king said to Haman, make haste, take the apparel and the horse as thou has said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew. So he doesn't even get chance to ask his request. The business of remedying the king's dishonor, because he'd overlooked rewarding this man, takes precedence over any business of state that Haman might've wished to forward. So he calls in Haman and he asks, what should be done to the man who the king delights to honor? And Haman in his mind, there used to be an old song and it used to go like this, you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you. And this man is so full of pride. He's so vain. When the king says, what shall be done the man delights to honor, he's thinking, who else could he be thinking of? Couldn't be anybody else. It has to be me. I mean, I'm the king's favorite. And so Haman, he said, I've already been invited to tea with the king and queen twice. I mean, who else could it be that the king would delight to honor? So he asked to be treated like the king himself for a day. Put on the king's clothing, put on the king's horse and the crown as well. He said, make this person a king for the day. Don't you see something of satanic activity here? Do you remember Lucifer? Remember his saying, I will be like the most high. Here's this beautiful anointed cherub guardian of the very presence of God himself. And he's not content with this exalted position that he has. He says, I'll be like the most high. He wants God's spot. He wants to be king. And we see this satanic pride gripping the heart of Haman. And so it's one of the great ironies of the story that Haman was to decide how the man he desired to hang would be honored. It's amazing, isn't it? He gets to decide how is this man he hates going to be honored, but he's not thinking it was for him. He's thinking it's for himself. And so in his arrogance, Haman presumed the king desired to honor him. And he suggests a course of action that he would most enjoy. This is what I would like more than anything. And so it says, verse seven, Haman answers the king for the man whom the king delights to honor, let the royal apparel be brought, which the king used to wear and the horse that the king rides upon the crown royal, which is set upon his head. And so he basically, he says, organize a royal parade through the city plaza so that everybody could see and hear about the king's delight in him and make him like a king for the day. Now, it's interesting that the normal protocol when you're dealing with the king is you say, if it please the king, you'll notice this throughout the book that when Esther speaks, even when she's told, ask anything you want up to half the kingdom, she'll say, if it please the king, that's the normal royal protocol. But we notice Haman in this instance, he's so caught up with his daydream of being king for the day. It says when the king asks him for what shall happen to the man the king delights to honor, he says in verse seven, Haman answered the king for the man whom the king delights to honor, let the royal apparel be brought. No, no, if it please the king. You see, he's just so caught up with the daydreams of his anticipated exaltation that he launches into this description without remembering whom he's addressing. He's in the presence of the king. What about royal protocol? What about say, if it please the king, but no, none of that. See, Haman, he doesn't ask for money or power because he's already got all that he can have without being the king. He's a very wealthy man and he's got tremendous power. He can ask the king for anything and the king will stamp it. So he's got all that. We often ask the question, what do you give to the man who has everything? Well, he says, what I want more than anything else is I want to be king for a day. I want to wear the king's robe. That's kind of like identifying with the king himself. I want to wear his robe. I want to ride on his horse and be paraded through the city on his horse. Now riding one of the king's horses was universally a sign of royal favor. We have a couple of examples of it in the word of God. So for instance, in the book of first Kings, when David towards the end of his life wanted to signify his successor would be Solomon in first Kings chapter one and verse 33 to show that he was to be elevated as the next king. First Kings one verse 33, we read this. It says, the king also said unto them, take with you the servants of your Lord and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule and bring him down to Gihon. And so again, it's kind of signifying that this special honor, he's going to be the next king here. So he's going to succeed to David's throne. He should ride on the king's own mule. And then back in Genesis 41, marvelous, marvelous scripture of the exaltation of Joseph, remember second only to Pharaoh. And how is this going to be made known? His elevated place. Genesis 41 verse 43, it says, he made him to ride in the second chariot, which he had, and they cried before him, bow the knee. And he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And apparently this was common in the East so much so that for instance, one historian Plutarch, tells us that Cyrus, we know Cyrus from the famous decree to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, but Cyrus demonstrated his favor for an officer by giving him a horse that had been led in a royal procession, raising the man's status considerably among his colleagues. So this one's kind of a very typical thing to do. Now, it's interesting that there's some thought here, and some apparently the hardest verse to understand in the book of Esther, apparently from Hebrew is verse eight, where it says, let the royal apparel be brought, which the king uses to wear and the horse that the king rides upon in the crown royal, which is set upon his head. And the way it's written is the crown royal set upon his head is on the head of the horse, not on the head of the rider. And from ancient tablets, they've discovered that one of the things that royal processions did in Persia is that the royal horses had little crowns on their mane. And so the idea was it was indicating that it was the royal horse that he was riding on. He himself could not wear the royal crown, but the royal crown on the horse would be the next best thing. So Haman wished to be served by one of the most noble officials, demonstrating his superiority in the king's esteem to even his greatest officials. And so here we get kind of the punchline of this chapter in verse 10. It says, then the king said to Haman, make haste and take the apparel and the horse, as thou has said, was just exactly what you said, you're going to put it into practice and do even so to Mordecai, the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate, let nothing fail of all that thou has spoken. Again, the emphasis on what you said. Mentioned twice, as thou has said, let nothing fail of all that thou has spoken. So certainly the balloon of pride has been pricked with a pin. You can just imagine this. I mean, he's thinking, this is me. This is, and all of a sudden, what a turnaround, what a twist. Mordecai is declared to be the man who the king delights to honor. The exaltation of Mordecai, in one sense, declared the death knell for Haman. From now on, this man who's had a meteoric rise is going to have an equally meteoric decline. He's going to be from degradation to death from a place of great exaltation. Now, I don't know about you, but there are certain stories in the Bible that I would love to have been there and witnessed the event. And this is one of them. I would have just loved to see Haman's face when the king said, do even so to Mordecai, the Jew. I imagined that he was in a state of total shock. Just for one look on that face, it would be something. So, obviously, Mordecai, or the king, Ahasuerus, doesn't realize that the Jews were the very people that he had sentenced to extermination. Remember, he never bothered to ask the identity of the people that Haman wanted destroyed. He just signed the document. He didn't know who they were. So now, by the king's order, Haman cannot neglect any of the honors that he imagined himself enjoying. And so Haman doesn't say anything. There's silence here. It's kind of interesting. Some have suggested that Haman's silence is more articulate than any response he could ever have formulated. He just has to obey the king. And so he goes away in silence. In verse 11, it says, then took Haman the apparel and the horse and arrayed Mordecai. Can you imagine how difficult that would be? He dressed him. He's actually putting these garments of glory on Mordecai. And then he brings him on horseback through the street of the city, right through the city square, right through. Again, the king wanted this to be done so that the most number of people would see it. And so here's Haman leading this man. And he brought him on horseback through the street of the city and proclaimed before him, thus shall be done unto the man whom the king delighted to honor. I can imagine how hard it would be for him to do this. Like the words would be hard to come, wouldn't they? But he's got no choice. The king has told him to do it. Are we seeing a shadow of a far greater ride, a far greater event when one who was once despised and rejected, a Jew, will ride in triumph on a white horse, not through Shushan, but Jerusalem. It's kind of a bit like Joseph's exaltation when the Lord Jesus rides through. You could imagine just as the command was given before that royal chariot, bow the knee, bow the knee. The day is coming when the command is being given to bow the knee to that lovely one, the Lord Jesus. And we might say this, that why was this man honored? Well, it was because he'd saved the life of a king. So why would the Lord Jesus be honored? Well, because he has done enough to save every life eternally from death. And surely he is worthy of the greatest honor. And isn't it our delight each Lord's Day morning when we come together to lavish honor upon the Lord Jesus for what he has done? And isn't it interesting that what is being done for him is he's clothed with this garment. And we think of the Lord Jesus in a coming, well, he said to the Father, Father, glorify me with the glory I had with thee before the world was. And when he comes back, he will come in his glory. He'll be arrayed in garments of glory and beauty. And he'll be riding triumphantly on that horse. And the world will be told, bow the knee, bow the knee. Yes, this is what God will do with the one who he delights to honor. And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. What a glorious day that will be. What a great reversal. The despised and rejected Jew will be given the place of highest honor. And don't forget, brothers and sisters, every Lord's Day morning, we have the privilege of honoring the one who has saved us from death by lavishing him with praise and adoration and worship that he alone is worthy of. Amon had no choice but to carry out the king's orders. No writer, however gifted, could adequately describe the chagrin, the disgust, the mortification of Amon, what he must have experienced leading Mordecai through the streets of the city. One wonders, what brought the greatest enjoyment to Mordecai that day? Was it the fact that the king had remembered him? I'm sure he thought that was a good thing. Was it the fact that the people were to adulate him? Or was it most of all, seeing Haman's humiliation? I think he might have just enjoyed, I mean, if he's like the rest of us, I mean, if he's of the same kind of nature as us, I think he would have enjoyed a little bit watching the humiliation of Haman. I know I certainly would, somebody so pompous as this. The king's intention was that the honoree is to be seen by as many people as possible, which makes Haman's humiliation even more public. He's leading this throughout the whole of the city square, where everybody can see it, in Shushan the palace and Shushan's surrounding area, everybody gets to see it. Well, verse 12, it says, Mordecai came again to the king's gate, but Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered. So we've got tremendous contrast here. Mordecai goes back to the king's gate. He's not exalted by his experience. He's seemingly quite content to resume his former state. There's a mark of humility about him. Something of the character of the man is being shown us here. He's not puffed up by this, by all these recent great honors, which had been conferred upon him. He's happy to return to his post at the gate. But by contrast, there's another that goes home. Mordecai came to the king's gate, but Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered. He had risen that morning with plans to execute Mordecai, and now had to lead him through the city, declaring his honor, and his homecoming was a sad affair. In fact, his wife is going to be a little bit like Job's comforters. She's not going to, you know, sometimes you come home hoping to get some comfort, some help from the wife, but in this case, she's not going to get any from that source either. She was actually sure the stage was now set for his demise. She had come to realize, maybe through these events, that there was something supernatural about the Jewish people. And so Haman comes back in a very, very different mood from what he left early that morning. He had gone with the intention of removing the one blot from his otherwise perfect life, and he returns feeling as if his life has collapsed around about him. He's utterly deflated and angered. He hurries to his home, and in the manner of the east, he covers his head as a symbol of grief. Remember when David was in exile, and he had to cross the Brook Kidron to flee from Absalom, the rebel. And we read in 2 Samuel 15 and verse 30, and David went out by the ascent of Mount Olivet and wept as he went up and had his head covered, and he went barefoot, and all the people that was with him covered every man's head, and they went up weeping as they went up. And so we see again this expression, a token of grief and shame, just like David. And so remember we said that during the feast of Purim, this story is read out loud in the synagogue. And we've said that every time that Haman is mentioned, there's kind of a hasten, and there's kind of may his name perish forever. But when this part is read, A. C. Gaebelein tells us when the reader reaches this passage, he reads the record with raised and triumphant voice. It's like kind of the highlight passage, Haman having to go home, just completely humiliated. They read that with great triumph. Verse 13, it says, Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends, everything that had befallen him. Remember the night before, verse 14 of chapter 5, then verse 12, Haman said, moreover, let me just get the right scripture here. Yeah, verse 14, then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, let the gallows be made. And so he went back and told his wife and his friends, everything that had happened. And he's so excited about it all. Verse 11 is what I'm looking for, Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him, and how the princes and servants of the king, both the princes and servants of the king. And so basically, he goes home after his greatest day, and he's just boasting of all the greatness that he's achieved. And now set in contrast, a tremendous, remarkable contrast, it says he told Zeresh his wife and all his friends, everything that had befallen him. And so there's a complete reversal of experiences. For those who were Gentiles and heathen, Haman's wife and friends, counselors spoke very wisely. Indeed, Zeresh and the friends said, if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shall surely fall before him. Now, of course, these people are wise after the event. It's only the previous chapter that she's told him, build the gallows and hang Mordecai the Jew. And now she's telling him, because hindsight's always 20-20, well, these Jews, you mess with the wrong people, don't mess with them. Because they're, well, you touch them, biblically would say, you're touching the apple of God's eye. So she recognized these things, that God was somehow with these people. And of course, they should have known that from their secular history. They should have known that Amalek never prevails against Israel. The biblical accounts are full of examples of Amalek's failure against Israel, and also God's protection of his people. And so verse 14, while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains and hasted to bring Haman onto the banquet that Esther had prepared. And so their conversation is interrupted, the courtiers have arrived from the palace to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther now had prepared, to which Haman had already been invited. It wouldn't be such a happy occasion for him on this time. Little did he know that worse, a worse fate yet awaited him. But there's no doubt that he would not be in a mood for banqueting after the day that he just experienced. He wouldn't go with the lightness of spirit and the joy in his heart that he'd gone the day before, because it'd been such a humbling day for this man. You know, it's very interesting, isn't it, that God has an amazing way of humbling the proud. We have examples in the scripture, we have Nebuchadnezzar. Remember him walking in the gardens of Babylon? Look at all the things my hands have created and made. God made him eat grass and live like a wild animal for seven years. God can really humble a man. That's why the scripture says humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. Don't let God do it, you do it. Because if he does it, he knows how to do it. For maximum effect. Then it was going to get worse. It was going to go downhill for him. But for this Jew, Mordecai, the exaltation has just begun. Not only does God resist the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. We see this, this book illustrates this. But most of all, as we bring our thoughts to a close in this session this morning, let's think again about that question that's a refrain through this particular chapter. What shall be done to the man who the king delights to honor? And we think of the reason it's because of he saved the king. Well, Adam was made to be the king of the earth. And the descendants of Adam, they were meant to have dominion over the earth. They're made in the image and likeness of God. But there was a plot hatched against them to bring about their death and destruction. But someone saved them. Somebody came with the express purpose of saving them from the certainty of eternal death. So what should be done? What should we do who have been saved from death by this glorious person? How could we honor him? Every single day we should be thinking, how can I honor this one who has done so much for me? How can I bring honor to him? You see, that's the whole point of the New Testament, isn't it? We're bought with a price. Therefore, what are we to do? Glorify God because of what he's done for us. And so every, not just on the last day morning, when we come together, and yes, we should delight to honor him on that day. But we should delight to honor him with every fiber of our being, in every moment of our life, because he is worthy. May God encourage us as we consider these things. Amen.