The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 129

I. Tmil TlmRtBLm OONBUMMATION OF A WIOXED OAREER. It sometime!! happens that the ungodly flourish in the world to such an extent that ourfaith in eternal ri,,.hteouir nese is staggered. We could point to men whose road to power was pa..;'cd with injustice, treachery, and bloodshed. Many an upright heart, crushed for its v8ry uprightness, has poured forth, in contemplating such men, the despairing complaint of the Psalmist," Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency." But a careful observation of facts would doubtless show that even in this world excessive wickedness frequently brings about its own requital. Pharaoh perished in the Red Sea ; the dogs licked the blood of A.bah in Samaria ; Herod was eaten of worms upon bis throne. There are circumstances about the case of Haman which separate it from all others, but in it!! essential features it is but one among thousands. Three elements in Hame.n's character may be mentioned which, while they contributed to his temporary success, led to his final ruin. 1. Boundless ambition. 2. Boundless pride. 3. Boundle8s cruelty. II. THE IGNOMINIOUS EXTINCTION OF AN INFAMOUS BACE. Some think that Haman was an Amalekite ; and we are told that the Amalekites, for their hostility to the Israelites, had been singled out for retribution. The Lord said to Moses, "I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." The threat was not carried out at once; for ages the footsteps of justice seemed to linger, and the delay had only intensified their malignity. But here the last of the race dies upon the gallows, for after this they disappear altogether from history. Piety runs in families, and so does wickedness. God's blessing rests upon families, and so does his curse. This is not due to haphazard, caprice, or favouritism ; but there is always a definite cause for it. Think of the Stuarts of England, and the Bourbons of France. By trampling upon the rights of the people, and seeking self-aggrandisement at the expense of righteousness, they sinned no less against Heaven than against humanity. But, as if pursued by an inexorable fate, they were hurled from the summit of power to the ignoble obscurity which they so richly deserved. Let us beware of commit- ting "presumptuous sins," lest they should taint our families, and doom them as well as ourselves to eternal disgrace. III. THE SIGNAL DEFEAT OF A HEARTLESS PURPOSE. The incident before us is one of those incidents which cannot be accounted for except on the supposition of an overruling Providence. We perceive cunning baffled, crime punished, impiousness abashed in such a wonderful way, that to attribute the whole affair to mere chance would be the height of folly. 1. Haman was degraded just when he thought of reaching the goal of hu ambition. The highest dignities of the kingdom, next to those enjoyed by the king, were his already. His vanity, his love of authority, his fondness for display had nothing to desire. And now the only annoyance that dis- turbed him was about to be removed - the people which he hated was about to be annihilated-and he was about to become absolute master of the situation. Henceforth he would be admired, courted, envied by all the world. But, alas, it was not to be. "There are many devices in a man's heart ; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall· stand." Haman had left that counsel out of his calculation ; hence, when he thought of attaining the climax of honour, he was plunged into the abyss of she.me. Prosperity is the worst thing that can happen to the wicked man. Adversity may mellow his heart, and produce reflection, repentance, and reformation ; but a course of unbroken triumph only hardens his heart, and hastens the inevitable catastrophe. " For when they shall say, Peace and safety ; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall not escape." 2. Haman perished on· the very gallows that lie had erected for another. This was probably the bitterest ingredient in his cup of woe. Imagine his chagrin, his confusion, his despair, when he found that the huge instrument of death which he had set up at such great expense to punish his unbending antagonist was to be employed for no other purpose than his own execution I And who knows but that Mordecai himself was among the crowd who witnessed the scene ? There was an awful fitness about the punishment. After-ages have with one consent pronounced it just. No utterance commends itself to universal approval with greater force than this : " Whoso diggeth a pit she.II fall therein ; and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him." We are reminded here that as virtue is its own reward, so sin is  136 THE BOOK OF ESTHER. [CH, VII. 1-10,