Haman returns from the palace in high spirits. It seems to him that he has not only won the king’s favour but the Queen’s too (Esther 5:9). However, he notices en-route that Mordecai is still defying him and refusing to bow down (5:10). This fills him with rage but he just about manages to restrain himself.
When he gets home, he boasts about his new found status to his wife and friends, his unique place in the kingdom, favoured by both king and queen. However, he mourns that even this cannot satisfy him. He will not be happy as long as Mordecai is still in position, still defying him (5:13).
His wife and friends give him new advice. He should focus his rage not just on the Jews in general but specifically on Mordecai. He should use his relationship to Ahasuerus and Esther to get his way by asking for Mordecai to be executed. Haman should personally oversee this by setting up a tall pole for Mordecai to be impaled on. Like a crucifixion, the impaled victim would send a clear if gory message to all who might be tempted to oppose him. Haman likes this advice and begins to act on it (5:14).
Notice the addictive power of all temptation. We can see drugs and alcohol as addictive but in fact anything that we place central in our lives and look to for satisfaction instead of God becomes addictive and all consuming. This is really a form of idolatry. Of course the thing we are addicted to becomes a craving that we cannot satisfy. Haman craved more and more attention, popularity, praise and power. Yet even when he thought he had the attention of the Queen, this wasn’t enough. He needed everyone to give him full attention.
This should help us to be alert to the dangers we can face both from temptations, addictions and idols generally and from the specific example here. How do we respond if we do not get our own way? Do we need to be the centre of attention? What if we find that not everyone gives us that attention? If you are popular but you are addicted to popularity, if you’ve let it become your idol then you will never be popular enough.
Christians have learnt that true satisfaction can be found in Christ alone. Popularity, fame, power, success will never be enough but if we have Christ, then he is enough for us and we do not need these other things.
Faithroots 