Esther 4-7 / 1 Corinthians 12:1-26 / Psalm 36 / Proverbs 21:21-22
The story of Haman’s demise would be comical if it weren’t so sad and didn’t end in his death. Even the death of an evil man is sad from an eternal perspective. It seemed that no matter what Haman tried, he was always one step behind his dark destiny. And the fact that he was completely unaware that he was falling into his own trap is especially devastating.
The first 4 verses of Psalm 36 perfectly describe Haman’s character. Here are those verses in the NLT. Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good. They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil.
Do you see what I mean? If you read Esther 4-7 (and I hope you did!) those four verses in Psalm 36 appear to go hand in hand with Esther’s account of Haman. He is so evil and deceived that he has no idea of what’s coming. To think that there are people like that on earth is both obvious at times but also incredible.
I’ve wondered how another person can be so unaware of the evil they are perpetrating. In addition to the evil they pour out, they are totally oblivious that that same evil will come right back onto their own lives because of a law called sowing and reaping. What we put out to others is what we receive in return. There is nothing you can do to stop that reaping process, short of complete repentance.
I don’t even know that repentance stops all the reaping process, because once a law is in motion, I don’t know how long it takes to interrupt that process. God’s grace can, of course, suddenly stop the backlash. But I’ve also seen and experienced a continuation of reaping what’s been sown for a time. It’s as if that runaway train I spoke of a few days ago needs a few more feet of track to come to a complete stop.
Sadly, Haman was impaled on the pole he set up to impale Mordecai. He literally died as he had planned to kill an innocent man. I read of no repentance on his part only pleading that he wouldn’t be killed for his deception. As for you and me, I’m praying that we will quickly be made aware of our deceptions so that God’s grace can cover us and save us from trouble.
I know it is God’s heart to save and deliver us because we are His and His mercy is great. The next verses of Psalm 36 are encouraging for those of us who are His. Let’s look at those.
Psalm 36:5-9 NLT Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
I want to end this post with you considering those last 5 verses because they bring us around the other side of the circle of our thoughts toward God’s love and care even when we have been imperfect.
