Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right. – Proverbs 16:13
We left our drama last week with Haman planning the downfall of Mordecai. The gallow was being built and Haman was happy that, once and for all, Mordecai, who had been a constant annoyance to him, was going to be done away with.
But God…
We read this phrase throughout the Bible, and while it is not stated directly in Esther, it is implied through the events that are unfolding.
But God had other plans. Sleep is a gift from our Lord (Ps. 127:2) and He chose to withhold it that night from King Xerxes. He used the insomnia of a king to set into motion the downfall of one man and the salvation of a whole people group. Instead of calling for some soothing music like King Saul used to do (1 Sam. 16:23) Xerxes asked for the book of records to be brought to him. This may sound like a boring book of dry facts but it was actually a very interesting work written in poetry form.
As chronicles were composed among the Persians, a more instructive and interesting work could not be brought before the king; because they were all written in verse, and were generally the work of the most eminent poets of the empire. – The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I love seeing God in the details. The fact that the king couldn’t sleep and that he ended up reading the account of Mordecai saving his life, an account buried by five years worth of other accounts, was no accident.
While there is one grand, overarching story in Esther, we also see smaller stories woven throughout this book. Stories within stories. As we have said many times in this study we see salvation of the Jewish people, but we also see a story of two men, Mordecai and Haman. One is truthful, honorable and humble, while the other is self-serving, proud and dishonest. One will be praised and honored as a hero while the other will be humiliated and then killed as a villain.
Does this sound familiar? Can you think of an even greater story that parallels what we are reading about? As the children’s Bible states, “every Story whispers His name,” the name of Jesus. The entire Bible is the telling of one grand story, the story of the salvation of the people of God. But interwoven are lots of smaller stories. Stories that show the exaltation of the humble and the downfall of the prideful. We see stories that show the virtues of truth and the ugliness of deceit, and there are stories that show brokenness and the hope of all things being restored.
What story is your life telling? Is it one of honor, truth, and humility or is it one of deceit, pride and selfishness? I am guessing we see many of these vices and virtues in our lives because we live in a world that is broken and have hearts that are sinful, but hopefully, we see God working in us as we work in his word and like Mordecai will be honored for our faithfulness, truth, and honor.
Looking to Jesus,
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