Esther 6:6-10 – When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?”

So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head.”

We see here a picture of the mentality of many religious leaders – self-promotion and seeking glory, and being oblivious to the Lord’s purposes.  Men seek to be elevated or have control over others.  The Lord carries out his project without glorifying man or yielding control to any human being.

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Esther 6:1-3 – That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.  It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.

“Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.

This passage is about a remarkable answer to prayer.  Esther and all the Jewish people had been fasting and praying for a deliverance from the genocide that their enemies were planning against them.  Esther had already received one blessing because of her fasting, when the King gladly welcomed her into his court even when she came uninvited.  From her perspective, that was the very thing for which she had prayed, and she received the very blessing she sought.

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