Est 6:1-2 | KingComments | STEP | “During that night” ( ), emphasizing “that”, so in this very night, Ahasuerus could not sleep. He, who commands 127 provinces, cannot command sleep for one hour. That is because another does not sleep: He who keeps Israel ( ). He brings about a miracle in providence. God is going to do something only He can do. How He controls everything can only cause us to be in awe. It is a special night. In this night everything revolves around Mordecai. Haman thinks of him. Esther will have been busy with him, too. The king will also remember him that night. This happens in a strange way that makes it clear that God’s hand leads things. Because the king cannot sleep, he orders to bring the book of records, a book in which the memorabilia are written down, also called ‘the chronicles’. Certainly, Ahasuerus did not let himself be read from it to fall asleep. To fall asleep, music or singing are more suitable. God gives it to him in the heart to ask for it. From the many records precisely, the role is taken in which is written down what Mordecai has done and from it is “read before the king”. The writing has also been done “in the king’s presence” ( ). By reading this event the king is reminded of the danger he was exposed to about four years ago and how Mordecai averted this evil by making it known ( ). Here again we see a parallel with the history of Joseph. Pharaoh, too, is reminded of Joseph only a few years after his conversation in prison with the cupbearer ( ). That it is only now known to the king is because not only is Mordecai to be honored, but also Haman is to be unveiled and judged. In his ignorance and negligence, of course, Ahasuerus is not a picture of God. What does apply to him is that in His time God will openly glorify both the Lord Jesus and completely humiliate satan. The glorification of the Lord Jesus is related to the humiliation of satan. The answer to the king’s question as to what honor and dignity Mordecai has been granted for his deed is: “Nothing has been done for him” ( ). It reminds us of the Lord Jesus, Who is not yet openly honored before the eyes of the world and seems to have been forgotten (cf. ). He came for His people as a Messiah, but was rejected by them. In this respect He has not yet received anything (cf. ). To the world Christ seems to be the loser and satan seems to be the victor. The devil has brought the Lord Jesus into the greatest humiliation and defamation. It is precisely because of this that the greatest and most glorious exquisite things have become manifest in Christ for which God and we too honor and admire Him. The time will come for God to act in order to openly give Him the glory that is due to Him. For faith God has already glorified Him, for “we do see Him …, namely, Jesus, ... crowned with glory and honor” ( ) in heaven. God does not wait with the glorification of His Son, but has glorified Him directly after His work on the cross ( ). The king is wide awake. He must make up for an omission and do so immediately. Not a minute more must be lost. The hand of God is unmistakably present in the way in which he wants to make amends for his omission. He won’t let Mordecai fetch him to apologize and give him a great reward in money. He could also have called his wise men to consult with them, as he did when Vashti refused to come. No, he gets the prompting to ask who is in the court ( ). That is a very strange prompting, because it is still night. We don’t know how long the chronicles have been read before we read what Mordecai did. It is not plausible that this took hours. In any case, it is an unusual time to ask for the presence of someone in the court. Before the king gets an answer to his question, the author of the book tells us that Haman has entered the court and also why he is there. The case is that – by God’s control – Haman has just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to tell the king to let Mordecai hang on the gallows that he had erected for him. Haman is so impatient to have Mordecai hanged that he went to the palace very early. He wants to bring this to the attention of the king as soon as the king has risen and before he has to deal with anything else. On the other hand, the king is so impatient to see Mordecai honored, that he asks who is in the court that might be suitable to be used for this purpose. What a miraculous coincidence. Think about the situation. The moment the king is looking for a suitable way to exalt Mordecai, Haman enters the court. Haman is also busy with the exaltation of Mordecai, but on the gallows. This is not a coincidence, but a directing from God, Who is working behind the scenes for Mordecai and the people of Mordecai. When the servants have told the king that Haman is in the court, the king’s command is: “Let him come in” ( ). The brevity of the announcement accentuates the urgency of the tribute that the king wants to pay to Mordecai. It also increases the dramatic effect that this order will have for Haman. History is now developing at an accelerated pace.

‏ Esther 6:1-2

The King Wants to Honor Mordecai

“During that night” (Est 6:1), emphasizing “that”, so in this very night, Ahasuerus could not sleep. He, who commands 127 provinces, cannot command sleep for one hour. That is because another does not sleep: He who keeps Israel (Psa 121:3-4). He brings about a miracle in providence. God is going to do something only He can do. How He controls everything can only cause us to be in awe.

It is a special night. In this night everything revolves around Mordecai. Haman thinks of him. Esther will have been busy with him, too. The king will also remember him that night. This happens in a strange way that makes it clear that God’s hand leads things.

Because the king cannot sleep, he orders to bring the book of records, a book in which the memorabilia are written down, also called ‘the chronicles’. Certainly, Ahasuerus did not let himself be read from it to fall asleep. To fall asleep, music or singing are more suitable. God gives it to him in the heart to ask for it. From the many records precisely, the role is taken in which is written down what Mordecai has done and from it is “read before the king”. The writing has also been done “in the king’s presence” (Est 2:23).

By reading this event the king is reminded of the danger he was exposed to about four years ago and how Mordecai averted this evil by making it known (Est 6:2). Here again we see a parallel with the history of Joseph. Pharaoh, too, is reminded of Joseph only a few years after his conversation in prison with the cupbearer (Gen 40:23 ; Gen 41:1 ; 9).

That it is only now known to the king is because not only is Mordecai to be honored, but also Haman is to be unveiled and judged. In his ignorance and negligence, of course, Ahasuerus is not a picture of God. What does apply to him is that in His time God will openly glorify both the Lord Jesus and completely humiliate satan. The glorification of the Lord Jesus is related to the humiliation of satan.

The answer to the king’s question as to what honor and dignity Mordecai has been granted for his deed is: “Nothing has been done for him” (Est 6:3). It reminds us of the Lord Jesus, Who is not yet openly honored before the eyes of the world and seems to have been forgotten (cf. Ecc 9:14-15). He came for His people as a Messiah, but was rejected by them. In this respect He has not yet received anything (cf. Dan 9:26a). To the world Christ seems to be the loser and satan seems to be the victor.

The devil has brought the Lord Jesus into the greatest humiliation and defamation. It is precisely because of this that the greatest and most glorious exquisite things have become manifest in Christ for which God and we too honor and admire Him. The time will come for God to act in order to openly give Him the glory that is due to Him. For faith God has already glorified Him, for “we do see Him …, namely, Jesus, ... crowned with glory and honor” (Heb 2:9) in heaven. God does not wait with the glorification of His Son, but has glorified Him directly after His work on the cross (Jn 13:31-32).

The king is wide awake. He must make up for an omission and do so immediately. Not a minute more must be lost. The hand of God is unmistakably present in the way in which he wants to make amends for his omission. He won’t let Mordecai fetch him to apologize and give him a great reward in money. He could also have called his wise men to consult with them, as he did when Vashti refused to come. No, he gets the prompting to ask who is in the court (Est 6:4).

That is a very strange prompting, because it is still night. We don’t know how long the chronicles have been read before we read what Mordecai did. It is not plausible that this took hours. In any case, it is an unusual time to ask for the presence of someone in the court.

Before the king gets an answer to his question, the author of the book tells us that Haman has entered the court and also why he is there. The case is that – by God’s control – Haman has just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to tell the king to let Mordecai hang on the gallows that he had erected for him.

Haman is so impatient to have Mordecai hanged that he went to the palace very early. He wants to bring this to the attention of the king as soon as the king has risen and before he has to deal with anything else. On the other hand, the king is so impatient to see Mordecai honored, that he asks who is in the court that might be suitable to be used for this purpose.

What a miraculous coincidence. Think about the situation. The moment the king is looking for a suitable way to exalt Mordecai, Haman enters the court. Haman is also busy with the exaltation of Mordecai, but on the gallows. This is not a coincidence, but a directing from God, Who is working behind the scenes for Mordecai and the people of Mordecai.

When the servants have told the king that Haman is in the court, the king’s command is: “Let him come in” (Est 6:5). The brevity of the announcement accentuates the urgency of the tribute that the king wants to pay to Mordecai. It also increases the dramatic effect that this order will have for Haman. History is now developing at an accelerated pace.