The Fall of Haman

It is the middle of the night in the palace at Susa. The most powerful man in the world cannot sleep. He tosses. He turns. Finally he calls for a servant. Bring me the book of records. Read it to me.

Here is where things stand. Haman has a royal decree to destroy every Jew in the Persian Empire on a single day. Queen Esther, secretly Jewish herself, has risked her life to approach the king and has invited him and Haman to two banquets. The second one is tomorrow. And in Haman's courtyard stands a tall gallows, built for Esther's cousin Mordecai. Haman plans to ask the king's permission first thing in the morning.

So the servant reads to the sleepless king. And he comes to a page that tells how Mordecai uncovered a plot against the king's life. What honour was given to Mordecai for this? asks the king. Nothing, say the servants. Nothing has been done for him. Just then, footsteps in the outer court. It is Haman, come early to ask about the gallows. Bring him in, says the king. And before Haman can speak, the king asks him a question. What should be done for the man the king delights to honour?

Haman thinks, who could the king want to honour more than me? So he dreams big. Dress him in a royal robe the king has worn. Put him on a horse the king has ridden, with a royal crown on its head. Have a noble lead him through the city square, calling out, this is what is done for the man the king delights to honour! Perfect, says the king. Hurry. Do all of that for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. And so Haman, of all people, leads Mordecai through the streets, shouting his praises. Afterwards Mordecai goes back to the gate. Haman hurries home, his head covered in shame. Even his wife and friends say his downfall has begun.

That evening, at Esther's second banquet, the king asks one more time. What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be granted. Now she speaks. Let my life be spared, and the lives of my people. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed. Who would dare do such a thing? the king demands. Esther points. Our enemy is this wicked Haman. Haman is terrified. The king storms out into the palace garden. When he returns, he finds Haman throwing himself on the queen's couch, begging for his life. A servant mentions the gallows Haman built for Mordecai, the man who saved the king. Hang him on that, says the king. And Haman's story ends on the very gallows he built for someone else.

But the decree is still law, and a Persian law cannot simply be undone. So Esther goes to the king again and falls at his feet in tears. The king gives Mordecai his signet ring and lets him write a new decree. On the day their enemies planned to attack, the Jews may gather and defend themselves. Mordecai comes out of the palace in royal blue and white, with a great golden crown, and the city of Susa shouts for joy. When the day of danger comes, the tables are turned. The Jews defend themselves against those who attack them, and the Bible notes three times that they took no plunder. Then they rest, and celebrate.

Esther and Mordecai wrote to the Jews everywhere, telling them to remember these days every year with feasting, gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. The feast is called Purim, after the pur, the lot Haman cast. It is still kept today. The scroll of Esther is read aloud, and by long custom, whenever Haman's name is read, the listeners drown it out with rattles, stamping and booing.

The Fall of Haman. You'll find it in the book of Esther, chapters 6 to 10. A sleepless night. A forgotten good deed. A brave queen who spoke up. God is never named in this book, yet nothing in it happens by accident. As the book says, the month was turned from sorrow to joy. So here's the question to carry with you. When have you seen something that looked like chance turn out to be care?