Esther 7:7-10 And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden… I. A SILENT WRATH. Feeling may be too deep for utterance. The king's silence was ominous. He could not speak for the moment in answer to Esther's charge, but neither could he sit still; and when he rose and went out Haman felt that the king had abandoned him. Whenever God turns from an evildoer, and ceases to speak to him, the end is not far off. It is a solemn thought that God may thus withdraw his mercy, and leave a sinner to himself. That is fatal. II. A VAIN PRAYER. In the absence of the king Haman besought his life at the hands of Esther. But the queen was now powerless. She could render no help to the intended destroyer of her race. In presence of the Judge prayer will be too late. Vainly shall the impenitent cry to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from "the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:15-17). III. A SIGN OF DOOM. On his return from the garden the king saw Haman at the feet of Esther in an agony of imploration. He uttered a harsh word at the sight, and perhaps gave a signal, whereupon his attendants "covered Haman's face." A sign of death I Judgment had been pronounced, and the great man had fallen. In a moment the brilliant fabric which wickedness had reared crumbled into the dust. How many are thus startled by the signs of approaching death! How many will be similarly overtaken in "the day of the Son of man!" IV. A PITILESS SUGGESTION. Harbonah's name is memorable and blessed among the Jews; but his words seem servile and heartless. He and his companions had probably fawned on the favourite whilst he was in power; but now, in his eagerness to please the wrathful king, he suggests the infliction of a special ignominy. No confidence can be placed in the sycophants of the great. When the wicked fall their friends turn into enemies. The same motives that make men flatter them in prosperity make men insult them in adversity. Nor will the impenitent derive any advantage before the tribunal of God from the things or beings in which they trusted on earth. All refuges will then fail them. Their boasted defences will prove a mockery. V. AN APPROPRIATE END. When Harbonah spoke of the gallows in Haman's house, the king said, "Hang him on it." And so Haman was hanged on the very gibbet which he had prepared for Mordecai. A most fit yet terrible retribution l The would-be murderer was "hoist with his own petard." Evil contrived against the innocent recoils with deadly force on the contriver. The person who maliciously injures receives more harm than the person on whom he inflicts injury. The wicked themselves fall into the pit which they dig for the righteous (Psalm 7:15, 16). VI. AN APPEASED WRATH. The execution of Haman gave quiet to the king's mind. Justice had been done, and the way opened up for a great deliverance. The mediation of the queen had been effective. The enemy of Israel had been destroyed. We have little sympathy with the king in connection with the death of Haman; yet his action serves to remind us of the justice and mercy of God. The Bible tells us of a Divine wrath against sin, and of the way in which that wrath satisfied itself. Justice was appeased and sin was punished and slain in the sacrifice of God's Son. On the cross justice and mercy meet in amity. "He who knew no sin was made sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21). "Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust" (1 Peter 3:18). And now the salvation of a doomed race is heralded by the gospel through- out the earth (Isaiah 55:1; Matthew 11:28, 30; John 3:14-18). - D. Parallel Verses KJV: And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. |
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