Esther 6:13 Ulasan

It is a very surprising scene that opens in this chapter. Haman, when he hoped to be Mordecai's judge, was made his page, to his great confusion and mortification; and thus way was made for the defeat of Haman's plot and the deliverance of the Jews. I. The providence of God recommends Mordecai in the night to the king's favour (Est 6:1-3). II. Haman, who came to incense the king against him, is employed as an instrument of the king's favour to him (Est 6:4-11). III. From this his friends read him his doom, which is executed in the next chapter (Est 6:12-14). And now it appears that Esther's intercession for her people was happily adjourned, "De die in diem" - from day to day.

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 6 Ahasuerus, not being able to sleep in the night, ordered the book of records to be brought and read to him, where a fact of Mordecai's was registered, and, upon inquiry, it appeared that nothing had been done to him for it, Est 6:1 and Haman being in the outward court, was ordered in, with whom the king consulted what should be done to the man the king delighted to honour; to which Haman gave answer, and was bid to do as he said, Est 6:4, which he did, but went home after it confounded and sorrowful, and told his mournful case to his wife and friends, who plainly foresaw his downfall, Est 6:11.

And while they were yet talking with him,.... About these things, and giving their opinion of the issue of them, upon the present appearance of them: came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared; the time appointed for it being very near, or quite up, and Haman being backward and dilatory, having no stomach to go to it, and perhaps fearing worse things were coming upon him he should hear of there. Next: Esther Chapter 7

This is the change in the right hand of the Most High, when someone who was only recently boasting that he had power over others, and was more arrogant than anyone, suddenly becomes more wretched than anyone else and weaker than all of them. It is the magnitude of this phenomenon that Mary, the mother of the Lord, has in mind when she says in her song in the Gospels: “He has made power in his arm, and scattered the arrogant with the thought of his heart. He has dislodged the powerful from their seats, and raised up the humble. He has sated the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty-handed” (Luke 1). We are told about this in Isaiah: “Lebanon will be turned into Carmel, and Carmel will be regarded as a forest” (Isaiah 29). Here we see how the stubbornness of the Synagogue of the Jews was crushed, and the humility of the Church of the nations exalted; how the persecutors of the Christian faith, who once tore apart the flock of Christ like savage lions, have now been destroyed and reduced to nothing; and how those who proclaim Christ throughout the world have been raised up in a state of vigorous faith and exalted through the power of the virtues. The head has been turned into the tail and the tail into the head, because “Everyone who exalts himself will be brought low; and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This is the change caused by the right hand of the Highest: the one who had just boasted about his power and was arrogant towards everyone else becomes viler and weaker than anyone else. When Mary the mother of our Lord considered the greatness of this divine ordering, she sang in her song of praise, “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” And through Isaiah it is said about this same power, “Shall not Lebanon be transformed into Carmel, and Carmel be regarded as a forest?”

That night the king, not being able to sleep, orders the chronicles of the kingdom to be read to him; and finds there the record concerning the discovery of the treason of the two eunuchs, made by Mordecai, Est 6:1, Est 6:2. He inquires whether Mordecai had been rewarded, and was answered in the negative, Est 6:3. At this time Haman arrives, in order to request the king's permission to hang Mordecai; and being suddenly asked what should be done to the man whom the king delighted to honor, supposing that himself must be meant, presented the ceremonial, Est 6:4-9. The king orders him to give Mordecai those honors; which he performs, to his extreme mortification, Est 6:10, Est 6:11. He informs his wife Zeresh of these transactions, who predicts his downfall, Est 6:12-13. He is hurried by the eunuchs to the queen's banquet, Est 6:14.

But shalt surely fall before him - The Septuagint adds, ὁτι ὁ Θεος ὁ ζων μετ' αυτου, for the living God is with him. But this is a sentiment that could scarcely be expected to proceed from the mouth of heathens, such as these were.

AHASUERUS REWARDS MORDECAI FOR FORMER SERVICE. (Est 6:1-14) the king . . . commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles--In Eastern courts, there are scribes or officers whose duty it is to keep a journal of every occurrence worthy of notice. A book of this kind, abounding with anecdotes, is full of interest. It has been a custom with Eastern kings, in all ages, frequently to cause the annals of the kingdom to be read to them. It is resorted to, not merely as a pastime to while away the tedium of an hour, but as a source of instruction to the monarch, by reviewing the important incidents of his own life, as well as those of his ancestors. There was, therefore, nothing uncommon in this Persian monarch calling for the court journal. But, in his being unable to sleep at that particular juncture, in his ordering the book then to be read to him, and in his attention having been specially directed to the important and as yet unrewarded services of Mordecai, the immediate interposition of Providence is distinctly visible.

Elevation of Mordochai and Disgrace of Haman - Est 6:1-14 The next night the king, being unable to sleep, caused the chronicles of the kingdom to be read to him. The account of the conspiracy discovered by Mordochai, which was written therein, was thus brought before him, and he inquired of his servants whether this man had been rewarded (Est 6:1-3). On receiving a negative answer, the king sent to inquire who was in the court; and Haman being found there thus early, he had him summoned, and asked him: what should be done to the man in whose honour the king delighteth. Haman, supposing that the king could intend to honour no one but himself, voted for the very highest public mark of respect (Est 6:3-9), and was then obliged at the king's command to pay the proposed honour to Mordochai (Est 6:10, Est 6:11). From this humiliation his wife and friends prognosticated his speedy downfall (Est 6:12-14).