“And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.” — Esther 5:9 (ESV)
On the day that would ultimately lead to his destruction, Haman was having the best day of his life.
He had been invited to a private banquet with the king and queen. He alone, out of all the officials in the empire. He went out that day, the text says, joyful and glad of heart. He hurried home to boast to his wife and friends about what had happened. He told them about the glory of his riches, the number of his sons, the promotions the king had given him. And then he added: and Queen Esther invited no one to the banquet she prepared but me and the king. He was at the top of his world.
But on his way home from this greatest of days, he passed Mordecai at the king’s gate, and Mordecai did not stand or tremble before him. The text says Haman was filled with wrath. One man’s refusal to perform deference poisoned the entire experience. All the glory, all the riches, all the royal access: none of it satisfied because the one person who would not bow was still not bowing.
His wife and friends gave him the obvious advice: build a gallows fifty cubits high and ask the king tomorrow to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then you will be able to go to the banquet with the king in a cheerful mood. Haman loved the idea. The gallows were built that night.
The tragedy of Haman’s happiest day is visible only from outside it. He was celebrating in the evening, and by the next morning, everything that had made him celebrate would be the instruments of his undoing. The banquet invitation he had bragged about would be the setting where Esther revealed his plot. The gallows he had built in triumph would be the place he died. His happiest day was the last chapter of his story, and he did not know it.
Today, do not be shaken by the enemy’s apparent good days. The instruments of their triumph can become, in God’s hands, the instruments of their undoing. Haman was building gallows for Mordecai on the night that Mordecai was about to be honoured by the king. The stories were running simultaneously. They just had different endings.
Prayer
Father, I release the pressure to keep score day by day. What looks like the enemy’s victory in this moment may be the setup for their undoing. Give me the long view. You are writing the last chapter, not me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
