Esther 6:1 - Meaning and Application

In the previous chapter, we read that Satan worked in Haman’s heart to plan Mordecai’s death. Here we see God working in the king’s heart to plan Mordecai’s honor. If the king’s word can stand above Haman’s, then much more can God’s purpose stand, no matter what people plan in their hearts. So Haman’s resistance was useless, because both God and the king would have Mordecai honored.

This happened at just the right time. Mordecai’s promotion and Haman’s disappointment would help move forward the rescue of the Jews, which Esther would begin to seek the next day. Sometimes a delay turns out to be wise and useful. Wait a little, and we may be able to do more sooner. By waiting, the matter was advanced.

On that night, the king could not sleep. His sleep left him, and it seemed to move farther away the harder he tried to catch it. Sometimes we cannot sleep even when we strongly want to. After a banquet of wine, he still could not sleep, because God was using his wakefulness to serve His own purpose. We are not told that any bodily illness kept him awake. Rather, God, who gives sleep, withheld it from him.

Even people who are determined to cast off worry cannot always do it. They often find their cares right there on their pillows, whether they want them or not. The man who ruled 127 provinces could not command even one hour of sleep. Perhaps Esther’s conversation the day before had stirred his conscience, because he had neglected her and kept her from his presence for more than thirty days, even though she was his wife. An offended conscience can speak when it finally gets a hearing.

Since he could not sleep, he called for the book of records, the journals of his reign, to be read to him (Esther 6:1). He likely did not mean that as a way to fall asleep, because it would more likely have stirred his thoughts and driven sleep away. Yet God moved him to ask for this book rather than for music or songs, which Persian kings usually had to entertain them (Daniel 6:18). Those would have been more likely to calm him. When people do things that seem strange, we do not always know what God is doing through them.

Perhaps he wanted the book read so he could use the time well and think about useful plans. If this had been David’s situation, he would have chosen a different kind of comfort. When he could not sleep, he remembered God and meditated on Him (Psalm 64:6). If he wanted a book read to him, it would have been his Bible, because he meditated on God’s law day and night.

The servant reading the records either began with the passage about Mordecai, or else, after reading for a while, reached it. Among the records, it was found written that Mordecai had exposed a plot against the king’s life and had prevented the plan from being carried out (Esther 6:2). Mordecai was not important enough at court for the reader to choose that place on purpose. Providence directed him there. Jewish tradition even says, as Bishop Patrick reports, that when the book was opened there, the reader tried to turn to another page, but the leaves fell back to the same place. So he was forced to read that section. Mordecai’s loyal service had been recorded before (Esther 2:23), and now it was found in the royal records.

Then the king asked what honor and dignity had been given to Mordecai for this. He realized that this good service had not been rewarded, and he remembered it now, much like Pharaoh’s cupbearer remembered his fault that day (Genesis 41:9). Gratitude is part of human nature. We should especially be thankful to those below us and not treat their kindness as if it placed them under debt to us alone. From the king’s question, we can learn two things about gratitude. It is better to give some honor than none at all. And if we have been slow to thank someone, it is better late than never.

The servants told him that nothing had been done for Mordecai, even though he had done that great service. Mordecai still sat in the king’s gate as before. It is common for great men to pay little attention to those under them. The king did not even know whether Mordecai had been promoted until his servants told him. Proud and high-spirited people often act as if they do not care about the condition of those beneath them. But God keeps close watch on even the least of His servants. He knows what honor or shame is done to them.

Humility, modesty, and self-denial may be precious in God’s sight, but they often slow a person’s rise in the world. Mordecai remained at the king’s gate, while proud Haman quickly gained the king’s ear and favor. Yet those who climb by ambition may rise fast, while the humble remain steady. Honor can make proud people dizzy, but it supports those who are lowly in spirit (Proverbs 29:23). The king also measured honor as something highly valuable. He did not ask what money or land had been given to Mordecai, only what honor. Yet honor without means to support it can become a burden.

The best services and the greatest merit are often ignored among people. Those who deserve honor most, and who could do the most good with it, often receive the least. See (Ecclesiastes 9:14-16). Getting wealth and honor is often like a lottery, where those who risk the least sometimes win the biggest prize. More than that, good service may not even protect a person from harm. Mordecai was still under the king’s decree of death along with all the Jews, even though everyone admitted he deserved honor. Those who faithfully serve God need not fear being repaid this badly.