Haman Hanged on His Own Gallows
In today’s Bible reading*, we read about Haman being hanged on the seventy-five foot-high gallows he had built for hanging Mordecai. You will remember from yesterday’s reading and devotional, that Haman had tricked King Ahasuerus into enacting a law to exterminate all of the Jews and to entrap Mordecai, giving Haman a way to hang him.
But Mordecai was unaware of several passages in the Hebrew Bible.
Let ruin come on him unexpectedly, and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his ruin.
Psalm 35:8 (CSB)
The one who digs a pit will fall into it,
and whoever rolls a stone— it will come back on him.
Proverbs 26:27 (CSB)
The one who leads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit,
but the blameless will inherit what is good.
Proverbs 28:10 (CSB)
The one who digs a pit may fall into it,
and the one who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.
Ecclesiastes 10:8 (CSB)
Application
Indeed, Haman was bitten by a snake of his own making! Of course, Haman wasn’t aware of this wisdom from the Hebrew Bible because he wasn’t a Jew. Instead, his hatred, narcissism, and pride led to his destruction. (Proverbs 16:18)
On the other hand, Mordecai walked in integrity. And it was his integrity that saved him. King Ahasuerus sought to reward Mordecai for protecting him. And Haman thought the reward was for himself.
In this story, we can see the sovereign Hand of God orchestrating things to save His people. If God had not moved, all of His people would have been exterminated. But God is mightier than our enemy who seeks the destruction of God’s people.
God always works things out for His people. Yes, sometimes we have to pay the consequences for the choices we make in life. But God is always orchestrating things behind the scenes for His people for His glory. (Romans 8:28)
* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
Esther 6
Esther 7
Esther 8
Esther 9
Esther 10