Abide Together: Reflections on Esther 7

The irony continues in chapter 7 of Esther. After Mordecai receives the honor and the parade that Haman expected for himself, he is invited in to a feast that was prepared by Queen Esther. (This is the feast she asked the king to attend when she was in his court.) While at the feast, the king asked her once again what he could do for her. Finally, Esther tells the king what it is she wants–for her people to not be killed. When the king finds out about the plot to kill the Jews in Persia, he is astonished and asks who it was that had ordered this to take place. Esther then points out that Haman is the wicked one who sought to have the Jews destroyed. Haman is then hung on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. The one who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. May God help us to be people that don’t use others for our own glory and gain (as Haman did with the king), but rather be people who humbly serve where we are asked and bring God glory in whatever task he gives us. Let us be content in humility and God will exalt us in the age to come when we reign with Christ.