10/11/2011 9:11:16 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: A day of disgrace
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ester 6:11-14
Message of the verses: “11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor."
“12 ¶ Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered. 13 Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him." 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hastily brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.”
When Haman woke up early on this morning I am sure that he had no idea as to what this day would bring about. The day before we saw Haman as a man, who was happy for all of the wrong reasons, those reasons were that he was going to have Mordecai killed and so that is why the early morning trip to the palace. Now when he gets there he finds that there is a new assignment for him and this began a very bad day in the life of Haman.
We have seen that after Haman subjects to the king how he should honor a man who had done something good for the king that he had to be the one who followed his own orders, but those orders were not the ones he wished to follow for he had to put the kings robe onto Mordecai and then lead him around on the kings horse saying “Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.” This must have taken a good part of the day for this to happen.
We see two different men going in different directions and yet after the horse ride Mordecai just goes back to his job at the king’s gate. This is what could be described as humility. Dr. Wiersbe says the following about this: “Applause doesn’t change truly humble people, for their values are far deeper. God can trust His blessings with the humble because they seek to honor only the Lord.”
Haman goes home looking similar to how Mordecai looked when he found out that all of the Jews were going to be killed after Haman’s law was put into force. When he got home he heard and interesting statement from his wife that if he would have taken to heart may have saved his life. I want to look at her statement from the Message: “"If this Mordecai is in fact a Jew, your bad luck has only begun. You don’t stand a chance against him—you’re as good as ruined.’” We have seen a number of different ways that could have changed the life of Haman if he would have only listened. This is the last lesson he heard, and as the others he will not listen to it either. Haman could have gone into the banquet with the king and queen and say that the law that he helped pass was wrong and repent of it so that something could be done to stop the slaughter of the Jews, but he did not. Dr. Wiersbe closes this chapter with these wise words: “When God sounds the alarm, it pays to stop, look, and listen—and obey.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: When I think of humility I cannot help but think of the Lord Jesus Christ, for there was no man more humble than Him. The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians chapter two about the humility of Jesus Christ and I wish to use the Philips translation here in order to make it clear what he was writing: “5 Let your attitude to life be that of Christ Jesus himself. 6 For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his privileges as God’s equal, 7 but stripped himself of every advantage by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born a man. 8 And, plainly seen as a human being, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, to the point of death, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal. 9 That is why God has now lifted him to the heights, and has given him the name beyond all names, 10 so that at the name of Jesus "every knee shall bow," whether in Heaven or earth or under the earth. 11 And that is why "every tongue shall confess" that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” There could not be a better example to follow than what is written here that is having the same attitude as that of Jesus Christ.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Having the same humble attitude that Christ had through the power of the Spirit of Christ.
2. Continue to learn contentment.
10/11/2011 9:50:58 AM
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