Today you should read: Esther 5:1-14
God is at work behind the scenes, even when it doesn’t feel like it. We’ve already talked about how this book doesn’t mention the name of God, but that God is present and working none the less.
Today we see that he is continuing to work through Esther to protect his people Israel. Esther is growing in her influence with the king, and she is scheming to expose the wicked plan of Haman, who is seeking to destroy Mordecai and the Jews. Esther is wisely trying to gain their trust and favor by throwing a feast for them.
Haman, on the other hand, only exposes more and more his wickedness and pride. He leaves the feast to brag about his rising influence to his wife and friends, and talks about all his advancements, but also how he cannot stand Mordecai. His wife says he should hang him and put him to death in order to put and end to it, and he agrees.
There are many different principles that we can draw from our passage today, but the one I can’t help but think about is the different paths that Esther and Haman are taking on the road to power and influence. Esther is growing in influence and using that growth for the good of God and his people. Paradoxically, Haman is using this growth for his own glory and kingdom. I doubt many of us are seeking to build our own kingdom through planning something so wicked as mass murder, but many of us have more subtle things that we pursue every day that feeds our pride and self-centeredness and does not increase our godliness.
Is there an area of your life that you have been seeking more of yourself than God recently?
By: Graham Withers — Pastoral Ministry Associate
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