The writer of the book of Esther is mapping Haman’s pathway to self-destruction very clearly. Biblically literate readers will see the description of his boasting as a clue to how things are going to turn out for Haman. Proverbs 16:18 says: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” And in Psalm 7 it says: “He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head.” The Biblically minded person will also remember that when God bound himself in a covenant of love with Abraham’s descendants he said to Abraham, “Whoever curses you I will curse” (12:3). So, the writer of Esther is showing that God is still poised to show his faithfulness to his scattered people. He is showing how these circumstances were a perfect setting for God to show his faithfulness. God may often lead us into circumstances that will have no other purpose than to be a good setting for his faithfulness to be clearly seen. You might feel that everything is coming to ruin and despair, but God may have allowed you to come into a dark place to show you the light of his love more clearly. This time of impending genocide was a dark time for Esther and her people. But this threat set the stage for such a clear display of God’s faithfulness and providence that Jews have celebrated it ever since in their annual ‘Feast of Purim’.
Ask God to show his faithfulness where you need to see it most.
Read Esther 5:9-14
