Esther 7:7: “Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.”

November 22nd, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Esther followed the council of Mordecai and went to the king on behalf of their people. The king asked her on 3 separate occasions what she wished of him, assuring her that whatever it was he would give it to her. Finally, the third time, she answered. She asked that her life and the lives of all her people would be saved, revealing Haman’s plan to destroy all the Jews, which would include herself. The king needed to think things through. It was hard for him to believe that Haman would dare to do such a thing. He believed his queen, but needed time to cool off a little so he could make a decision. When he had regained a little composure, he returned to find Haman making a fool of himself, pleading for favor from the queen. This was by itself beyond what an Oriental king would allow, but added to Haman’s first transgression, it became a capital offense. What irony that Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had constructed for the execution of his innocent enemy, Mordecai.

Our God has an exciting and uncanny ability to turn events, even at the last minute, into something beautiful. Just when it seemed that the worst was about to happen, God turned it around for good, taking the very thing that seemed so evil and using it as an instrument for good. We also see this in the cross. The cross was a terrible instrument of death used for several hundred years to administer capital punishment. But God used it to bring salvation to a world caught in the death grip of sin. The crucifixion of God’s Son on that instrument of death transformed it into an instrument of hope and freedom for a dying world. The message of the cross brings hope, as Paul the apostle told the Corinthians: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).

“LORD, we seek to serve You in all we do and say this day, in Jesus’ name.”