Esther 6:1

"On that night the king could not sleep." How was this? Why could not the mighty Ahasuerus enjoy a mercy that belonged to the very least of his subjects? Some may say, "The heavy cares of royalty robbed him of what a labouring man enjoys." That might be true on other nights. But on that night we must account for his restlessness in quite another way. The finger of the Almighty was in that sleepless night. The Lord God of the Hebrews had a mighty work to do for His beloved people. To bring it about, He drove sleep from the luxurious couch of the ruler of 127 provinces.

What was the cause of his insomnia? The ancient Jewish expositors say that God took his sleep away from him. And this is the correct answer. His wakefulness was ordered by God. Next God puts it into his heart to order the book of records of the chronicles to be brought and read to him. This was not to make him sleep, but to spend the sleepless night in a profitable way.

This brings out in a marked way the character of the book of Esther. All through this section of Scripture, the name of God is never heard. Yet His finger is visibly stamped on everything. The most trivial circumstance displays His wonderful counsel and excellent working. Natural sight cannot trace the movement of the wheels of Jehovah's chariot, but faith not only traces it, it knows the direction in which it moves. The enemy plots, but God is above him.

This section opens with what looks like a small matter under the hand of Him who works unseen; but it proved full of the most important consequences. The king could not sleep and asked for the strangest sleeping draught anyone ever sought — to hear the records of the kingdom. He had forgotten the best deed yet done for him. When two of his chamberlains plotted against his life, Mordecai came to know their wickedness and saved the king. But, strangely, it was quite forgotten. The king now heard it and asked what had been done. He learned to his own shame that so great a debt was unpaid. That made him all the more eager to put it right now.

Even so, though a neglected duty was now to be put right, far more was in the mind of Him who worked secretly. Most surprising of all, He used the bitterest enemy. That enemy had come to seek one man's ruin, yet he gave him the highest honour. God also used him to deliver a whole people, His own people, whose existence was at stake. The banquet seemed to achieve nothing for them, and the delay must have tested Mordecai. Yet this was exactly the occasion that prepared the way for the overthrow of the enemy.

The Lord uses a figure to teach us something. He records for everlasting remembrance the words of those who were drawn to His name, and to one another, apart from the evil around them at such a time. An illustration of this may be found in the book of Esther. When the king could not sleep, the royal records were read to him. In them was an act of loyalty and faithfulness by Mordecai at a time of danger to his king. He was rewarded at once, and also used to become the saviour of his people. The Lord does the same, but far more perfectly, for He never forgets. He has a book of remembrance written about the faithfulness of His people, and nothing escapes His eye or ear.

Of King Ahasuerus we read that on that night the king could not sleep. Then things were brought to his notice that he had previously ignored, and as a result he set matters right. So sleeplessness can sometimes be a hidden blessing. In any case it is always a good habit, when we suffer from sleeplessness, to praise and pray.