The Great Reversal Begins

On that night the king could not sleep. Of all the ways to pass a sleepless night, he commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought and read. The reading reached the account of Mordecai exposing Bigthana and Teresh, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on the king. The king asked what honor and dignity had been given to Mordecai for this. Nothing had been done.

At that moment Haman entered the outer court to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared. The king asked him what should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor. Haman said in his heart that the king would delight to honor no one more than himself. He proposed royal apparel the king had worn, the horse the king had ridden, and a crown royal. A most noble prince would array the man and proclaim before him through the city square.

The king told Haman to make haste and do even so to Mordecai the Jew who sat at the king's gate. Haman had to array his enemy and proclaim his honor in public. Afterward Mordecai returned to the gate, but Haman hurried home mourning with his head covered. His wise men and Zeresh his wife told him that if Mordecai was of the seed of the Jews, Haman would not prevail but would surely fall. Even pagan advisors sensed that this people was protected. God's name is unspoken, yet Christians see His sovereign care in the reversal. Proverbs 16:18 warns that pride goes before destruction.