A Sleepless Night

A SLEEPLESS NIGHT (Esther 5:14-613)
Mordecai’s indifference to Haman had deflated Haman; his joy turned to wrath. The thought that Mordecai would die after 11 months along with the other Jews of the kingdom no longer satisfied Haman.

Esther 5:14
Haman’s wife Zeresh and his friends, knowing that the only way Haman was going to be satisfied was if he could kill Mordecai, encouraged him to have Mordecai publicly hanged on a tall gallows built for this purpose. Haman accepted their advice; he would kill Mordecai and then go to Queen Esther’s second feast. While all this was happening, neither Mordecai nor Esther had any idea about the imminent danger to Mordecai’s life. At the first feast, by deciding to delay her plea by a day, Esther had unwittingly given Haman time to devise a plan to execute Mordecai. And now, when the preparations for Mordecai’s execution were being made, Esther was oblivious to it. Mordecai was unaware that he had but a few hours to live. What miracle can deliver him now? God was going to save His people by His providence.

Esther 6:1-3
On that night the king could not sleep. What kept the king awake that night? There was no apparent reason, except God’s sovereign purpose to deliver His people. This is the pivotal verse in the story. The bible says sleep is a gift from God (Psalm 127:2). But on that night God kept the king awake. God’s providence also directed the king’s eyes to the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles. Isn’t it surprising that when he, as a king, had a variety of entertainment to choose from, he chose to read the government records? While the king was reading the chronicles, Haman was preparing the gallows for Mordecai. The king came to the part that had the story of Mordecai’s loyalty to the king. What finger guided him to this story? This was the hour for the deliverance and exaltation of Mordecai, and the finger of God pointed to the record of Mordecai’s service. With this seemingly insignificant event—a sleepless night—the tables begin to turn, and reversals begin to happen. Beneath the surface of human decisions and a myriad ordinary, even meaningless, actions is an unseen and uncontrollable power at work that can be neither explained nor thwarted.

Esther 6:4-11
When the king came to know that Mordecai had not been rewarded, he wanted to discuss this with someone. As the saying goes ‘the early bird catches the worm’. Haman was in the court before anyone else to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai. He may have thought that he was lucky to be called in to see the king so early. The Bible states: Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! (Mal 2:1). How ironic that Haman himself was asked what should be done to the man whom the king delights to honour. What Haman didn’t realize was that the king had left out the crucial piece of information, the name of the person, who was to be honoured, just as Haman himself had left out the crucial information about the identity of a ‘certain people’ to be destroyed when he brought the issue before the king in Chapter 3. Haman assumed that he was the one the king intended to honour. His strange answer as to what was to be done to the man the king wanted to honour showed that he did not want wealth, power, or a promotion—he had all these. All he wanted was to be treated like the king in public. Haman is singled out to attend on Mordecai whom he hated from the bottom of his heart. In a reversal of fortunes, the worm got the early bird. Before God destroyed Haman, He was making a fool of him, filling his cup with gall and vinegar. As The Psalmist writes The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. (Psalm 37:12-13). Is there such a thing as coincidence or chance? Can we ever be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Does God control everything to the minutest detail—the people we meet, the places we visit, and the particular times involved? The Bible teaches that God is not only sovereign in controlling all things at all times, but He is actually programming and guiding events in accordance with His eternal purposes. Ephesians 1:11 says that He “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” This is what we refer to as the Providence of God. When the procession with Haman leading Mordecai passed through the city square, Mordecai might have seen the gallows towering over the city wall and might have wondered what it was for. Mordecai had a narrow escape from death. Mordecai had no hand whatsoever in his own deliverance, God alone rescued Mordecai. Mordecai is a picture of every sinner saved by God’s grace. We contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary. Whether it is insomnia or the reading of a specific book, nothing in life is too small or insignificant for God to use for his purposes. God’s care and His protection for His children seldom come by mighty miracles.

Esther 6:12-13
At the end of the day, Mordecai went back to the king’s gate virtually unaffected by the day’s events. Haman went home mourning, expecting his wife and his friends to comfort him, but they turned out to be miserable comforters. They said, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” Haman was given little time to reflect on his foolish ways. It seems the words of doom had barely been spoken by friends and his wife when the king’s servants had come to escort Haman to the banquet. His doom was imminent. This passage poses a serious warning to those who are not willing to bow the knee before God. Haman seemed to have it all: fame, wealth, position and honour. Yet in the space of less than twenty-four hours, he was disgraced and dead. Unlike Haman we may still have time to turn around. Where can we turn to avoid such a terrible end? There is only one place to go, and that is to turn to Jesus Christ. As John wrote “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16).