Esther Reading Plan | Week 8 | Day 2
Prayer
Take thirty seconds to be silent. Be still and listen to yourself breathing. This will help you to be present to hear from God. Thank God in prayer, that He humbled himself to rescue, leaving heaven to die on a cross.
Bible Reading: Esther 6:7-14
Read these verses three times slowly.
So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 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.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!’”
“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.”
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!”
Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, 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!” While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.
Reflection & Questions
In yesterday’s reading the King asked Haman, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” In today’s reading, Haman answers and, boy, does he milk the idea of ways to honor someone. The irony of course, is that he ends up giving all the kudos he had dreamed up to his declared arch-enemy, Mordecai.
Haman was humiliated by this, but of course he couldn’t show it to the king. He went home and threw a huge pity party in front of his wife and friends. Interestingly, their advice to him is that he has chosen the wrong adversary. Mordecai is “of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him – you will surely come to ruin.” Haman couldn’t stand Mordecai, because Mordecai stood for something besides himself. God was at the center of Mordecai’s heart. Haman’s advisers knew this made Mordecai indestructible. Unfortunately, although Haman wanted that same indestructibility, he had chosen the wrong path for it. He puffed himself up and tore others down. His advisers wisely wanted him, saying “you will surely come to ruin.” And so it is in this ironic story, that the fruit of pride and humility are completely exposed. The fruit of humility is honor and strength. The fruit of pride is weakness and ruin. Putting himself at the center, Haman’s identity was crushed and he came to ruin. Mordecai, put God at the center, and he was honored and protected.
- How have you seen the fruit of pride in your life?
- What are ways you can show humility today (by thinking of others more than you think of yourself)? You might consider opportunities in your home, in your workplace and in your neighborhood.
Prayer
Pray in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Prepare to Meet with Jesus
Go to your quiet place. When there are no devices around that will distract you, take a deep breath. Blow it out slowly. Do that again. And do it one last time. Ask God for His help to read and understand.
Bible Reading: Esther 6:4-5
Read these verses three times slowly.
The king asked, “Who is in the courtyard?” Haman had just entered the outer courtyard of the palace. He had come to speak to the king about putting Mordecai to death. He wanted to talk about putting Mordecai’s body on the pole he had prepared for him.
The king’s attendants said to him, “Haman is standing in the courtyard.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered.
Reflection & Questions
It’s meeting time! But I don’t think this meeting is going to go as Haman expects. We know something that Haman doesn’t know: the king thinks Mordecai is a hero while Haman wants him killed.
This sounds like the makings of a great movie, don’t you think? We already don’t like Haman and the king is going to foil Haman’s plan. Things are going along great! Justice will be served. I can’t wait to see Haman’s face!
It’s a good feeling to see justice in real life, isn’t it? If a bully at school gets a detention or if the person who always steals your favorite snack gets their snack taken away. But we don’t always see justice happen. Sometimes it feels so unfair when someone gets away with doing something wrong.
That’s when we remind ourselves that God is just – He will take care of all the unfair situations in His time, we just might not see when He does it. It’s difficult to accept that sometimes justice doesn’t happen but we can trust that God will deliver justice where needed at the right time.
- Can you think of a time when you saw something unfair happening? Or when something unfair happened to you?
- Did you see justice get served when that unfair thing happened?
Pray
Sometimes life is unfair, but God is not. Thank God for being a just God. Ask him to help you trust him to be fair, even when you cannot see it happening.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
