Esther 5-10

May 29

Esther 5-10

People often speak of their pride as an asset. They are proud of their accomplishments, the accomplishments of an organization they participate with, or they are proud of their children or parents or others people they know well. Pride kept in check is not a problem. The problem is that pride easily overflows its banks and brings a flood of problems with it.

Haman had a problem with pride. We often see this kind of pride when someone is elevated in position. He enjoyed having people kneel down before him and pay him honor, but one man, Mordecai refused. We assume by the passage the Mordecai does not kneel before Haman because of his dedication to God, but this infuriates Haman. So Haman plots for a way to get rid of Mordecai and all the people like him. He got the king to sign a law that would allow for all the Jews to be wiped out on a given day. Haman had everything going for him, it seemed, but still whenever he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, it stirred up hatred within him.

Haman called his friends together to brag about all that was going well in his life, but he also said that with all that was going well, he found no satisfaction because of Mordecai. The convinced Haman to build a gallows to hang Mordecai, to get rid of Haman’s problem. The more Haman plotted against Mordecai, the more God seemed to be working behind the scene to lift him up. Situations arose that made Haman believe he was being lifted up for honor, when the end results showed he was being lifted up in preparation for a great fall.

When Haman told his friends and family that the king had made him honor Mordecai, the man who refused to honor him, his friends and family saw that Haman was fighting a losing battle against God and His chosen people. “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!”" (Esther 6:13, NIV) In rapid succession, events turned against Haman and he was hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai.

Pride is dangerous. Our pride can lift us up in our own eyes only to prepare us to fall with a crash. Throughout the bible we are told that God does not like the proud. When we begin to think we are better than others, we are putting down God’s children and elevating ourselves. God loves us, but He also loves every other person you meet. He calls us to care for “the least of these.” If we remain humble we do not have far to fall.