20250523

well made plans

Esther 6:1-14

Esther 6:1 That night sleep escaped the king, so he ordered the book recording daily events to be brought and read to the king.
Esther 6:2 They found the written report on how Mordecai had informed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance when they planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus.
Esther 6:3 The king inquired, “What honor and special recognition have been given to Mordecai for this act?” The king’s attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”
Esther 6:4 The king asked, “Who is in the court?” Now, Haman was entering the palace’s outer court to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.
Esther 6:5 The king’s attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” “Have him enter,” the king ordered.
Esther 6:6 Haman entered, and the king asked, “What should be done for the man the king wants to honor?” Haman thought, “Who would the king want to honor more than me?”
Esther 6:7 Haman told the king, “For the man the king wants to honor:
Esther 6:8 Have them bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn and a horse the king himself has ridden, with a royal crown on its head.
Esther 6:9 Put the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king’s most noble officials. Have them clothe the man the king wants to honor, parade him on the horse through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.'”
Esther 6:10 The king told Haman, “Hurry, and do as you propose. Take a garment and a horse for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the King’s Gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested.”
Esther 6:11 So Haman took the garment and the horse. He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.”
Esther 6:12 Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman hurried off for home, mournful and with his head covered.
Esther 6:13 Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and wife Zeresh said, “Since Mordecai is Jewish, and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him because your downfall is certain.”
Esther 6:14 While speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.

well made plans

Reading stories like this reminds us of two things about God. He is sovereign over the affairs of men, and he sometimes shows that sovereignty by orchestrating events which turn the plans of men upside down. Those moments of irony where God upsets the schemes of people like Haman encourage us. Even if things seem to be going according to someone else’s plan, we can still pray, and God can turn things around.

LORD, thank you for spoiling the enemy’s well-made plans.