Esther - Satan's Enemy

Esther 5:9-14 Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. "And that's not all," Haman added. "I'm the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king's gate." His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows built, seventy-five feet high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner and be happy." This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the gallows built.

Misery loves company. Isn't that how the old saying goes? These verses really speak that truth. Haman was at the top of the ladder, right under the king, had just had a banquet served by the queen and is heading home for the evening. Who does he run into? Good ol' Mordecai. Once again, Mordecai just sat there, didn't say anything to Haman and Haman got angry. He ran home to his wife and called all his buddies together.

Now, there are a couple of things to look at in the next two verses (11 and 12). First, we see Haman go on and on about how good he's got it. He's got money, position, sons and he was the only one invited to the banquet by the queen, and invited back - how charming he thought he must be. But, he admitted, none of it made him happy because Mordecai bothers him so much.

Are we the same way, we let one small thing that irritates us overshadow all the blessings that we've been given? We focus so much on that one thing that the only solution anyone can see is to wipe out the problem. Before we go on, I'd like to note the second thing. If we can read between the lines here at what must've happened at dinner that evening. Haman is so excited that he's been invited back - how must Esther have behaved? This young orphan girl, ripped from her family and home, obedient to go to the king and request the banquet and then to pretend during the evening that she was so impressed with Haman - this man who wanted her people slaughtered - she wanted him to come back the next night! I think she could've won an Oscar for that performance. The strength she must have had to build up, the patience and will power to keep her mouth shut - truly God was guiding her.
At the end of Chapter 5, we see the advice that Haman's friends and wife have for him. Build a gallows and kill Mordecai. Now remember, he already had everything in place to have him killed when they attacked the rest of the Jews, but this just wasn't fast enough. So he had the gallows built that very night! Now we've already discussed the importance of choosing your friends wisely, and this is not what Haman had done.

But looking at the big picture, Mordecai was only praying at this point. During the dinner Esther had with the king, during the building of the gallows and Haman's evil plan - Mordecai didn't know about any of this - he simply prayed. I don't think we know even half of what the devil has in store for us each day and how much of it gets thwarted because we choose to pray and ask God to guide our steps. When God's people pray, miracles happen. My husband shared this with me the other day: "When she rolls out of bed in the morning and her feet hit the floor, Satan says, 'Darn, she's awake!'" I want to be that woman - don't you?