Scripture Union Daily Discovery 15th September 2020
TODAY’S TOPIC: …A FALL!
Opening Prayer: God, You are in control. I give myself to You today.
Read Esther 6 Mordecai Honored
6 That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
3 “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.
“Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.
4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.
5 His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered.
6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
Scripture Union Daily Discovery 15th September 2020
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”
10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”
11 So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, 13 and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.
His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.
New International Version (NIV)
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Reflect: Scripture Union Daily Discovery 15th September 2020
Think of an occasion when events turned out completely differently from how you expected. Was it better, or worse?
The tables are properly turned in this episode, and the way events are related is almost deliciously farcical. It’s full of complete chagrin for Haman—he has failed in his ambition and has been dreadfully humiliated, not least in his own eyes. The personal adulation he expects, as he details what the king should do for someone he wishes to honor, is awarded not to him—but to his enemy. He thinks up the greatest accolade he can, thinking it’s for himself, and he has to deliver it—for his enemy (10).
For Mordecai, the episode in chapter 2 where he uncovered the assassination plot (2:21–23), described almost as an aside, now pays dividends. Then, he did the right thing—presumably without any expectation of reward. Now, his past service gains him great honor (11); and I wonder what the city made of it, given the king’s edict to destroy the Jews and the apparent knowledge that Mordecai, at least, is a Jew. What Haman’s friends make of it is clear; a positive outcome is not what they expect (13)!
Apply: We believe that God works for the good of all who love him and are seeking to follow his call on their lives (Rom. 8:28). Are you facing a situation that has an uncertain end? Trust God’s plans.
Closing Prayer: I pray that as I trust You, God, with my life, I will see Your hand directing all of my circumstances.
Through the Bible in One Year
Isaiah 29,30 / Philemon 1
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