Justice and the Prophets
God Promises a Just Kingdom
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)
Injustice Will Be Punished
Esther 5:9-14 The Message
9-13 Haman left the palace that day happy, beaming. And then he saw Mordecai sitting at the King’s Gate ignoring him, oblivious to him. Haman was furious with Mordecai. But he held himself in and went on home. He got his friends together with his wife Zeresh and started bragging about how much money he had, his many sons, all the times the king had honored him, and his promotion to the highest position in the government. “On top of all that,” Haman continued, “Queen Esther invited me to a private dinner she gave for the king, just the three of us. And she’s invited me to another one tomorrow. But I can’t enjoy any of it when I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King’s Gate.”
14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said, “Build a gallows seventy-five feet high. First thing in the morning, speak with the king; get him to order Mordecai hanged on it. Then happily go with the king to dinner.”
Haman liked that. He had the gallows built.
For Reflection
How did Haman attempt to appease the longing for validation of his worthiness? He sought recognition for the accumulation of money and power, but it was empty false adulation. That the nagging need could not be satisfied with material wealth is proof of the insufficiency of his attempts to satisfy his soul's demands in corporeal success. Hammon served an insatiable god and suffered for it.
Pray
Pray prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the gift of grace. Pray for those who place trust in the accumulation of corporeal riches to satisfy their longing for the comfort and peace that comes only from the reliance on the eternal grace of God.
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