20250524

Hang him on that

Esther 7:1-10

Esther 7:1 The king and Haman came to feast with Esther, the queen.
Esther 7:2 On the second day, while drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “Queen Esther, whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek will be done even to half the kingdom.”
Esther 7:3 Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your eyes, Your Majesty, and if the king is pleased, spare my life; this is my request. And spare my people; this is my desire.
Esther 7:4 For my people and I have been sold to destruction, death, and extermination. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”
Esther 7:5 King Ahasuerus spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”
Esther 7:6: Esther answered, “The adversary and enemy are this evil Haman.” Haman stood terrified before the king and queen.
Esther 7:7 The king arose angrily and went from where they were drinking wine to the palace garden. Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his life because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him.
Esther 7:8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman fell on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he violate the queen while I am in the house?” As soon as the statement left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Esther 7:9 Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said: “There is a gallows seventy-five feet tall at Haman’s house that he made for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” The king said, “Hang him on it.”
Esther 7:10 They hung Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then, the king’s anger subsided.

Hang him on that

The story of Esther’s intervention to save her people is not a story of revenge. It is a reminder to all those who would seek to do a great injustice that God has a way of turning treachery around. Haman still awaits judgment. He will stand before Jesus Christ who will judge him for all of his evil works, including his plot to commit genocide. But those like Haman who would seek their own success at the cost of others should know that sometimes God allows a sneak peek of that judgment. He allows consequences to come to those who do evil. The gallows Haman had prepared for Mordecai is a symbol of those consequences.

LORD, when we are tempted to get our own way at the expense of others, remind us of Haman’s gallows.