The King is restless and unable to sleep. This is a little bit of a theme in books describing the exile. Think of how Darius is restless whilst Daniel faces his ordeal in the lions’ den. To keep him occupied, and perhaps to read in a rhythm, that will help him drift off, the chronicles detailing the history of his reign are brought and read to him. They get to the point where Mordecai’s intervention protects the king’s life. This brings Ahasuerus fully awake. He asks if anything was ever done to reward Mordecai. He is told not (Esther 6:1-3).
The next day, Haman arrives at court seeking an audience with the king so that he can put his plan against Mordecai into action. What terrible timing! The king welcomes him in and seeks his advise. How should someone the king wishes to honour be treated. Haman in his pride thinks that this could only apply to himself (6:4-7). So he responds (6:8-9):
“For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”
The king thinks that this is a brilliant idea and sends Haman off to do just that, for Mordecai. Haman has to lead his arch-nemesis through the streets announcing him as the king’s favoured one (6:10-11).
Humiliated, he returns home and tells his wife and friends what has happened, though I suspect they would already have known! Their response, remembering that they had been the ones who had egged Haman on, is basically to tell Haman that confronting Mordecai was always going to lead to trouble. Mordecai was a Jew and this meant he was under some form of special protection (6:12-14). Why did they think this? Well, it is perhaps in part, that something has dawned in their brains, that the Jews had in fact won favour in the land for their behaviour in captivity. Perhaps they began to remember Daniel and his friends.
If, this is so, then perhaps this helps us to think about what it means for us to live as strangers and exiles in this world. It is true on one level that we will experience hostility and opposition. If this world hated Jesus, then it will hate his followers. However, at the same time, if we are living godly lives, showing love for our neighbours, acting with integrity, seeking the good of the place where we live, then we will also have a positive reputation with those who also care about our community.
Something even more important is going on though.. The Jews hadn’t just won the favour of an emperor. They were God’s people. Trying to attack God’s people, to touch the Lord’s anointed was always going to result in bad timing. There’s never a good time to go head to head with those who belong to Him. This should encourage us as the church. God will bring true justice and vindication in the end.
Most of all, as we read this, we will think about Jesus as “the true and better Mordecai.” Jesus is the Lord’s anointed. He is the one who was subjected to scorn and hatred. Jesus was the one, like Mordecai, that the people plotted to have hung up to die, in fact, they realised their plan with him. Like a rejected bit of stone though, Jesus became the honoured corner stone. He was raised from the shame of a cursed death to the glory of heaven. Jesus is the one on whom God’s favour rests.
Faithroots 