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Haman's Rollercoaster

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Haman's Rollercoaster Haman’s Rollercoaster Esther 5:9-14 I have often said that if King David were alive today that he would be diagnosed as being bi-polar. His tendencies and range of emotions had David on a rollercoaster ride more than once in the Psalms as he dealt with his everchanging feelings. Haman is on his own coaster ride in this passage that we’ll be looking at this evening. Haman’s fragile ego and pride are described in the scriptures as Solomon wrote in Proverbs 21:24, “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” No other person in the whole of the Bible is best described as such than Haman. We must always keep before our eyes that Haman is a type of Satan. Satan’s pride and ego were bruised by the Lord of Glory as he was once known as Lucifer. Lucifer wanted the praise that could never be his. He was resentful because of a position that he could never ascend to. Lucifer was jealous because of a Presence that was greater than his; Jesus. Like Lucifer, Haman’s unstable emotions will cause him in one day and with one decision to seal his own fate just as did Satan. Let me give you the history of pride in three small chapters. The beginning of pride was in heaven. The continuance of pride is on earth. The end of pride is in hell. This history shows how unprofitable it is. RICHARD NEWTON (1813–1887) I. HIS DECISION TO BE PUFFED UP Vss. 9a, 10-12 (a) Triumphant Departure: When Haman left Shushan the palace and from the presence of the royal couple, Haman was on cloud 9. That word ‘joyful’ literally means to be filled with merriment and rejoicing. The pride of Haman’s heart had turned him into a man enamored by his own presence; he was a legend in his own mind. Obadiah 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ (NKJV) (b) Triumphant Arrival: After Haman got home, he continued with his boasting and the stroking of his own ego as he uses words to paint the picture of his importance at the palace of Susa. Vss. 10-12 • He sent and called for an audience of his family and friends • He told them of the glory of his riches • He reminded them of the children that assured him of a future legacy • He bragged about his promotion by Xerxes and how that he had been chosen above the rich and poor of Persia • He was moved by the attention of Queen Esther and how that he alone was allowed to come to the dinner with the king at the request of the queen • Tomorrow, I’m again to be with her…and the king can come along also…if he wants. 1. Self-admirers and self-flatterers are really just self-deceivers. The actions of the queen that Haman had so erroneously believed were in honor of him was really a trap being laid for him. Haman believes that he will be attending a banquet but will really be attending a judgment bar. Pride and ego blind the simple of heart. An egotist is a man whose self-importance makes his mind shrink while his head swells. II. HIS HATRED & DISDAIN FOR ANOTHER Vss. 9b and 13 (a) A Contrast in Character: Mordecai. If there was a name that just made Haman’s blood boil it was the name of Mordecai. God has a way of bringing us down from the lofty heights of self-glorification and Haman’s ‘Achilles Heel’ was Mordecai. Vs. 9b • Haman was proud while Mordecai was humble • Haman wanted the pride given within a palace while Mordecai sat in the place that had been assigned to him in the gate • Haman was full of anger while Mordecai nursed a broken heart • Mordecai rested in the hope of a deliverance while Haman contemplated an execution Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. (ESV) 1. Think of the examples found in scripture who felt that they were so important yet God had a way of reminding them of what they were and were not. a. Jonah thought that he was important enough to decide whether or not that the people of Nineveh (the notorious Assyrians) would hear the Word of the Lord. Jonah went on a cruise…and was swallowed by a whale AFTER he was thrown overboard by his shipmates (Jonah 1:17)! b. Balaam thought that he could decide whether or not that his words alone would either bless or curse the people of Israel that God had chosen for His own. Balaam was hired to speak, but God opened the mouth of a donkey for free (Numbers 22:21- 31)! Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! (b) A Contrast of Contentment: “Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” (KJV) Simply put, Mordecai was the dead fly that contaminated Haman’s pot of precious ointment. Haman wrestled with his anger (Vs. 9b) and his patience (Vs. 10a) as he tried to wait for a future day that Mordecai would die with the rest of the Jews. What will Haman do? III. THINKING ON REVENGE Vs. 14 (a) Satisfied in the Moment: Revenge is sweet only for a moment. The impetuous behavior that brings about thoughts of revenge or impulsive sin often is accompanied by the lack of thought concerning consequences. • David and Bathsheba • Samson and Delilah • Absalom and Amnon • Judas in his betrayal of Jesus When we “get even” with someone, that is literally what we are doing—becoming even with them, that is, descending to their level in vengeance and losing whatever moral advantage we may have had. SYDNEY J. HARRIS (1917–1986) (b) Strangeness in Motivation: I have often wondered that after the implied feelings that Haman believed that Esther had for him and the schoolboy giddiness he had for Esther why would his wife even want to help him. Listen to the folly of impatient people. • Let the gallows of 75 feet be built hastily • Speak to the king tomorrow about Mordecai’s disrespect of you • Let him be hanged tomorrow • Then you go and enjoy yourself with the king at the banquet It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. A. W. TOZER (1897–1963) .
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