Esther 5:9

Haman was sitting on cloud 9! He left the banquet with a joyful heart. Yet there was one matter that greatly annoyed him. Mordecai was in the king's gate, evidently having changed from his sackcloth, but he gave Haman no recognition whatever (v. 9). So Haman's joy was spoiled by intense anger. He did not even comfort himself with the thought that Mordecai and all the Jews would soon be destroyed.

Did it not seem like a blind obstinacy to refuse the customary honour to the king's noblest lord — his highest officer? Certainly not! Haman was the highest officer of Ahasuerus, but he was also the greatest "enemy of the Lord," because he was the greatest "enemy of the Jews." He was an Amalekite. The Lord had sworn that He would "have war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Ex. 17:16). How then could a true son of Abraham bow to one with whom the Lord was at war? Impossible! Mordecai could save the life of an Ahasuerus, but he never could bow to an Amalekite. As a faithful Jew, he walked too closely with the God of his fathers to pay attention to a descendant of Amalek.

And how angry he is when he sees Mordecai again, standing there and refusing him honour. In his delusion he thinks more honour is due to him now than before. Why did he not kill him at once? According to Persian law one who sat at the king's gate put himself under the protection of the king. As long as he was there he was safe. So if Haman had killed Mordecai, his enemies would have reported it to the king. They would have said he murdered a man who had asked for the king's protection and was under it. Haman knew the possible consequences.

Despite all his dignity, wealth and splendour, one little matter wounded his wretched heart. A really great mind or a well-ordered heart would not have given it a thought. One simple fact made him miserable: Mordecai would not bow to him!… The highest position, the greatest wealth, the widest influence, the most flattering signs of royal favour — all of it counted for nothing, just because a poor Jew refused to bow to him! Such is the human heart! Such is man! Such is the world!

The things Satan offers people to seduce them are always like this. Once a man has them, they are of no more use to him while a new desire is still unsatisfied. Haman is an example: he gained the satisfaction of his pride, and it was of no more use to him. So sinners are led from one lustful desire to another, from one illusion to another, until the day of judgment.

For judgment to fall on Haman, his pride and hatred had to reach their full measure. He had to be found face to face with the people he wanted to wipe out — the people whose defence God Himself had taken up.

All this is an image, not only of the struggle between Haman and Mordecai, but also between Satan and Christ. The Adversary must completely unmask himself before God intervenes. At the cross, Satan said: Everything is worthless to me, as long as I am not rid of Christ.

But "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Haman proved this. He seemed about to plant his foot on the highest peak of his ambition. At that very moment a just and repaying providence arranged that he had to wait on Mordecai. And the very gallows he had ordered for his intended victim became the gallows of his own execution!