Based on Esther 6 - 7
“That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. Then the king said, ‘What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?’ And the king’s servants who attended him said, ‘Nothing has been done for him.’ So the king said, ‘Who is in the court?’ Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. The king’s servants said to him, ‘Haman is there, standing in the court.’ And the king said, ‘Let him come in.’ So Haman came in, and the king asked him, ‘What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?’ Now Haman thought in his heart, ‘Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?’ And Haman answered the king, ‘For the man whom the king delights to honor, let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’’ Then the king said to Haman, ‘Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.’ So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, ‘If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.’ While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared. So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!’ Then Queen Esther answered and said, ‘If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.’ So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?’ And Esther said, ‘The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!’ So Haman was terrified before the king and queen. Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, ‘Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?’ As the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, ‘Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.’ Then the king said, ‘Hang him on it!’ So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.’”
I know that today’s passage is a long one, but it is hard to separate things in this particular book. The book of Esther, by the way, is a great book. You should read the whole thing when you get a chance. With relation to today’s passage, we see that there is an incredible wrong that is corrected. The problem with Haman started with something as simple as when Mordecai did not bow and pay him homage. Mordecai was not able to do that because even though it was the king’s command, it was in violation of his faith; it interfered with his love for God. Bowing down and paying homage implied worship, and according to the Bible, that belongs only to one person: God. As a result, Haman wanted to not only kill Mordecai, but also every Jew. Is it right to extinguish a whole nation because they would not worship a person as a god? There are just too many things that are wrong with this train of thought.
The lesson learned here is that true love was operating in the king’s heart. The king really loved Esther. Love is one of the things where we have the image and likeness with God as His creation. Every human being has the capacity to love. The problem lays in that people confuse many things for love, and they turn something so pure and beautiful into something completely different.
When true love is at work, justice begins to occur as a natural product. One cannot exist without the other. If there is true love, justice will be done, sooner or later. When there is no love, injustice will be the product; many wrongs will be done. When God’s love is “in us” through faith in Jesus Christ, it should automatically start making things right throughout everything we do. Even when we are not thinking about (like King Ahasuerus), we start making right the wrongs we have done, and making things right for people around us. That is true love, the gift God! And everyone that is led by that virtue will “always” wind up looking to be on the side of God; guaranteed. There cannot be any injustice in love. It’s just not possible. If there is sin and injustice in your life, then there is no true love present. Love will “never” agree with sin.
So, is true love operating in your heart or something else? Lord bless! John