ESTHER

If you're new here this morning or you've had a bit of a gap in what's been happening here in the last couple of weeks,

we've been following the story of Esther.

She's the young orphan Jewish woman who becomes the queen of Persia,

the greatest empire in the world at that particular time.

It all turns bad for God's people when the crazed Haman,

the bloke who we just saw in God's word just then,

has all the people, the Jews, that is God's people throughout the whole empire of Persia,

condemned to be annihilated because Mordecai, the other guy in the passage which was just read out then,

wouldn't acknowledge how important he was.

Last week we saw that Esther risked everything in her life in her palace,

her own life in fact, to work to save God's people.

You could have walked away from last week thinking that it's all about to work out now for God's people.

A saviour has arisen.

But so far, Esther hasn't done a whole lot.

She said she's got to go to the king and she's been to king once and, you know, let's have dinner.

That's about it, really.

The clock was still ticking towards that deadline of annihilation.

And what we discover from what was just read out to us now is that there is a separate clock ticking,

and that is for Mordecai's own fate,

a fate that Esther herself and Mordecai and Xerxes were just oblivious to.

The edicts against the Jews had several months to run,

but Haman's determination to execute Mordecai required only hours to run.

And again, we see here God is silent, but he is sovereignly at work through the ordinary,

and in fact, I'm not sure if you picked it up as you were saying we're through there,

through the ridiculous situation that we find ourselves in in chapter 6.

What I want to do today, though, is I want to really sort of plan to take a look at this villain of the whole story,

this guy named Haman.

I want to focus particularly on him.

Haman would have to be one of the most vivid and sustained case studies in the whole Bible

about what the Bible says about pride

and what happens when pride rages unchecked.

So this is not an overstatement.

It's important for you to listen,

because it might just save your life.

That's not an overstatement.

Haman has the highest position in the king's administration.

Xerxes, in fact, has to command people to kneel down and to honour Haman.

It's a pretty odd thing to command, to make such a command in what is a hierarchical and a traditional society,

where bowing is instinctive for position.

And so Haman must have been a particularly obnoxious individual

for the king to have to command people to bow in front of him.

And one man, despite the king's command, wouldn't do it.

Mordecai.

We see that, first of all, back in chapter 3.

But if we fast forward to chapter 5, verse 9, our text today,

we see Haman is leaving a dinner party he's just had with Xerxes and Esther,

and he's fairly pleased with himself.

It says,

Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and he went home.

And the next verses reveal that he didn't just leave the banquet in high spirits

because of the effect of alcohol in his system.

He was also leaving because of the intoxicating impact of self-importance.

At the end of verse 10, it says,

He goes home from that moment.

He calls together his friends and his wife.

And Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth,

his many sons,

and all the ways the king has honoured him

and how he has elevated him above the other nobles and officials.

And that's not all, Haman says.

I am the only person that Queen Esther invited to accompany the king

to the banquet she gave.

And she's invited me along with the king tomorrow.

But all this gives me no satisfaction

as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king's gate.

Haman's whole world revolved around his fragile ego.

His emotional strings were being pulled by his idol

when he saw Mordecai.

And his strings, the emotional idol,

his attachment here is his public recognition,

his public respect.

And when that idol was being fed by the masses,

he felt good.

But when it was challenged,

it led him ultimately to anger and malice.

And so when his ego is dented by this guy Mordecai

having left the palace,

he immediately goes home to pump up his ego.

He gathers his friends around.

He gathers his wife and tells them how many sons he's got,

like his wife doesn't know that,

or how much money he's got,

or how much power he has.

He goes on this lengthy monologue of how great he is.

It's ridiculous.

And pride, according to the Bible,

is concentration on the self.

C.S. Lewis gave a great definition,

his little book, Christian Behavior.

He wrote,

Pride is a ruthless, sleepless, unsmiling concentration on the self.

Pride makes you concentrate everything about you.

You don't get into relationships.

You don't take a job or a role.

You don't do anything

unless it makes you feel good about yourself.

Whatever makes you happy

is a statement of pride.

Pride's the goal.

Pride is what drives that statement.

Nothing is about the thing that you're doing.

Everything is about you.

And so Lewis writes that pride is essentially competitive.

Pride gets no pleasure out of getting something,

but only in having more of it than the next person.

Pride turns everything as a means to an end.

You never do things for their own sake.

It's a means to an end of getting respect and approval.

That is, pride is about image management.

And that's the reason why Haman can have all that he has.

He can walk out of a banquet with Xerxes and Esther,

and he finds no satisfaction,

as long as this Jew Mordecai is still alive.

Mordecai will not give him the very thing he craves,

recognition.

And that's why I think Lewis is right

when he says that pride is sleepless,

and it's unsmiling.

It's sleepless

because it results in an endless ego calculation.

And it's unsmiling because you're never happy

because you're not getting it.

Am I getting the thanks I deserve?

Am I getting the appreciation I deserve?

How am I being regarded?

How does this make me look?

Now, there are two forms of pride.

There is the superiority form of pride.

It's generally recognised as a pride by most people.

That is, when you see it, you see it.

It's acknowledgeable.

You know, mention names like Donald Trump.

He's never been called a humble man.

Things like that.

I mean, it sticks out.

Superiority form of pride.

There's another form of pride.

It's the inferiority form of pride.

And this is where you are down on yourself

and you don't like yourself.

You're very self-conscious

and always beating yourself up.

Now, the inferiority form of pride

is doing exactly the same thing

as superiority form of pride.

It's just that you don't score yourself as well.

You're always looking at yourself.

You're always assessing yourself.

You just don't score as well.

And so humility is not thinking less of yourself

it is thinking of yourself less.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself

it is thinking of yourself less.

Humility is not being needy

or driven for approval and recognition

and respect.

And if you actually met a truly humble person

you wouldn't come away thinking they were humble.

You were just thinking they were incredibly happy

and were just interested in you.

Humble persons not thinking about themselves

and how they're being treated

or how they're being looked at.

That is, the ego calculation is not there.

Am I being recognised?

Now, pride can be a little bit embarrassing

and a little bit awkward

like I think it might have been

to listen to Haman's monologue

but, you know, how bad could it really be?

Very bad.

Very bad.

Haman wasn't just satisfied with killing Mordecai

and therefore forcing him to bow.

He wanted to annihilate all the Jews in the empire.

Pride leads to devastation

it leads to destruction.

It is deadly.

Pride makes you evil.

Pride is what the devil is

what made the devil the devil.

Since St. Augustine

Christian theology has acknowledged

that pride is not just one sin

amongst many

but really is in fact

the root sin

below them all.

C.S. Lewis again writes

Pride leads us to every other vice.

It is the complete anti-God state of mind.

It is the essential vice

the utmost evil

unchastity

anger

greed

drunkenness

are mere flea bites

in comparison.

So for instance

some of us

maybe even many of us

struggle

a heap

with bitterness

towards people

because of what they've done

for us in the past.

But you cannot stay angry

and bitter

with someone

unless you feel superior

to that person.

That's what C.S. Lewis is saying

it's the root

pride's the root.

There is no bitterness

without pride.

Pride says

I would never do that.

And if your life

is distorted by anger

it's because

pride is the root of it.

Pride leads to being

opinionated

but it also leads

to being indecisive.

Pride makes you shy

but it also makes you

too abrasive.

There is racism

and social injustice

and imperialism

they all come

from pride

a racial pride

or a class pride

which results

in all kinds of evil.

Pride makes you evil.

Pride also makes you a fool.

Haman

didn't pick up at all

that three was a crowd.

Would that not have been awkward?

Going to the queen's banquet

just

just the three of you?

Pride makes you a fool.

Pride keeps you

from ever learning

from your mistakes.

A proud heart

is always

justifying itself.

When relationships

are going bad

or the job

isn't working out

it's always

something

or someone else's fault.

When you're angry

it's always

someone else's fault

the reason why

you're angry.

Humble people

aren't always

standing on their own

dignity.

They can actually

laugh at themselves.

They can learn.

And when something

goes wrong

they look for

what they might

have contributed.

What they might have

even if it's not

mainly their fault.

They find the part

that they need

to own

to learn from it

and grow.

And proud people

don't just learn

not learn from

mistakes in general

they don't learn

from criticism

in particular.

One of the best

ways to grow

is to take

criticism.

The superior

type of pride

dismisses criticism

because who are you

to tell me

how I need

to improve?

the inferiority

form of pride

means you get

so melted

down with

criticism

that people

are too scared

to say anything

to you

without a good

box of tissues.

You never learn

anything

and so therefore

you constantly

make bad

choices

like Haman

does here

and you

surround

yourselves

with the

wrong

advisors

like Haman

does here.

what is

particularly

difficult

is that

pride

hides

itself.

Pride is

the

carbon

monoxide

of sin

it's the

sin that

hides

itself

it kills

you without

you even

knowing

it's

happening

the more

proud you

are

the more

you are

in its

clutches

and the

less proud

you think

you are

because the

more you

will see

it in

other

people.

Lewis

again

writes

I

pointed out

a moment

ago

that the

more

pride

one had

the more

one

disliked

pride

in others.

In

fact

if you

want to

find out

how proud

you are

the easiest

way is to

ask yourself

how much

do I

dislike it

when other

people snub

me or

refuse to

take any

notice of

me or

patronise me

or show

off.

Now many

people hate

snobs but

you can only

hate snobs if

you feel

superior to

snobs.

Hating

snobbery is

a form of

snobbery.

Do you

look down

your nose at

people who

look down

their nose?

Do you

do that?

I mean

you know

so far

we're 15

minutes into

this.

Have you

been mainly

thinking about

someone else?

Have you

at all

thought about

another

individual?

Maybe in

this room

maybe not

in this

room.

it takes

a certain

amount of

pride to

come this

far through

a message

like this

and to

be mainly

thinking about

someone else.

things.

And that

leads me

to one

more

deadliness

associated

with pride

and that

is that

pride

I think

there is

no pride

like

religious

pride.

Religiosity

can kill

greed off

to a certain

degree.

It can

kill lust

off to a

certain degree

and a whole

lot of

other sins

to a certain

degree.

that is

it can

put external

constraints

on you

but religion

makes pride

worse.

Religion

might

subdue

a range

of sins

but it's

like throwing

petrol

on the

fire

of pride.

Just to be

told that

God is

great

and that

you need

to obey

him

doesn't

decrease

pride in

your life

at all.

Jonathan

Edwards

in his

lecture on

humility

in charity

and its

fruits

says

that

I think

this is

what he

says

the language

is a little

bit difficult

but I'm

pretty sure

this is

what he

says

that

to know

that there

is a

great

infinite

God

of justice

does not

create

humility

because

either

you will

try to

live up

to that

God's

standards

and become

self-righteous

and a

Pharisee

or you

will feel

like

you can't

live

up to

those

standards

and it

will

crush

you

but that

still

makes you

proud

because

either way

you're

absorbed

in

yourself

religion

will

either

make you

feel

more

self-consciously

a failure

or it will

make you

feel so

much more

superior

to everyone

else

that's

what

religion

does

and it's

deadly

everywhere

in the

Bible

we are

told

that

pride

goes

before

a

fall

both

James

and

Peter

in

James

4

and

1

Peter

5

both

warn us

that

God

opposes

the

proud

which

is

exactly

what

we

see

here

in

the

life

of

Haman

and we

start

seeing it

in

chapter

6

in

the

beginning

of

chapter

6

Haman

is

coming

to

see

Xerxes

Haman

isn't

just

satisfied

with

killing

Mordecai

he

wants

to

make

a

public

spectacle

of

Mordecai

he

wants

to

show

everyone

that

ultimately

Mordecai

will

bow

to

him

he

has

spent

the

night

building

this

huge

pole

in

a

public

place

because

he

is

surrounding

himself

by

morons

of

advisors

who

say

yeah

go

and

build

a

big

pole

and

now

he's

coming

to

King

Xerxes

to

ask

for

special

permission

to

have

Mordecai

on

that

pole

hung

on

that

pole

and

while

this

has

been

going

on

the

poles

being

built

Xerxes

can't

sleep

we're

not

told

why

can't

sleep

maybe

it's

the

construction

noise

from

the

75

foot

pole

going

on

that's

keeping

him

awake

but

we're

not

told

that

now

bear in

mind

that

Xerxes

has a

harem of

the most

beautiful

women in

the empire

he has

the

choicest

food

the choicest

wine

he has

dances

he

doesn't have

foxtel

but he has

endless

options

of

entertainment

and

while

he's

awake

in

the

middle

of

night

he

says

bring

the

AGM

minutes

and

read

them

to

me

idiot

unless

of

course

he's

thinking

this

is

going

to

put

me

to

sleep

read

me

the

tax

act

and

so

he's

got

someone

there

reading

him

the

AGM

minutes

records

all

that

his

life

has

done

and

he

gets

the

minutes

that

records

that

Mordecai

has

saved

his

life

from

assassination

and

he

says

so

what

did

he

get

for

reward

no

reward

what

do

you

mean

he

didn't

get

a

reward

it's

a

crisis

hits

in

the

early

hours

of

the

morning

if

word

got

out

that

Xerxes

doesn't

reward

the

people

who

save

his

life

who's

going

to

risk

their

life

to

save

his

life

he

ended

up

getting

assassinated

as it

turns

out

he

needs

this

whole

gossip

dobbing

system

to

flourish

for the

sake

of

his

own

life

and

you

can

imagine

this

impulsive

king

jumping

out of

bed

striding

out of

the

royal

chamber

in

the

early

dawn's

light

this

admission

from

four

years

prior

has

to

be

rectified

it

has

to

be

done

right

now

but

what

do

I

do

Xerxes

isn't

the

sharpest

tool

in

the

shed

what

do

I

do

he

is

helpless

without

his

advisors

so

he

asks

his

servant

who's

in

the

court

immediate

response

no one's

in

the

court

do you

see

what

time

it

is

Xerxes

they're

all

asleep

except

for

Bordecai

he's

building

this

take

thing

you

know

and

Haman

comes

in at

just

that

moment

coincidence

hang

around

I don't

think

so

and

Xerxes

asks

Haman

what

should

for

the

man

the

king

delights

in

and

Haman

desperately

needing

respect

desperately

needing

approval

desperately

wanting

the

honor

and

the

glory

driven

by a

heart

that is

so

absorbed

in

himself

is

thinking

that

the

king

could

not

possibly

be

thinking

about

anyone

else

but

him

unthinkable

it

must

be

me

and

so

he

comes

up

with

the

most

fascinating

proposal

verse

seven

now

bear

in

mind

this

is

this

is

the

highest

this

is

the

prime

minister

there's

no

one

higher

except

the

king

himself

in

all

the

empire

but

it's

not

enough

verse

seven

for

the

king

delights

in

delights

to

honor

have

them

bring

a

royal

robe

the

king

has

worn

and

a

horse

the

king

has

ridden

on

one

with

a

royal

crest

placed

on

its

head

that's

the

picture

there

of

the

king

riding

the

horse

on

return

from

conquering

another

empire

this

is

the

picture

of

a

conquering

king

riding

a

horse

verse

nine

then let

the

robe

and

horse

be

entrusted

to

one

of

the

king's

most

noble

princes

that

is

let

the

greatest

noble

be

given

the

position

of

a

slave

that

leads

the

horse

and

that

will

show

how

much

delight

in

this

man

and

let

them

robe

the

man

with

the

man

the

king

delights

to

honor

and

this

is

a

very

significant

thing

here

that

he's

put

the

robe

on

this

man

the

robe

that

the

king

himself

has

worn

very

significant

because

in

ancient

times

for

the

king

to

put

the

robe

on

someone

is

not

just

giving

them

a

high

position

so

for

instance

in

Genesis

41

when

Pharaoh

puts

the

robe

on

Joseph

he's

actually

partaking

in

the

king's

position

and

when

Jonathan

gives

his

kingly

robe

to

David

in

1

Samuel

18

it's

Jonathan's

way of

saying

you should

be

king

not

me

see

what

Mordecai

is doing

here

sorry

Haman

is doing

here

very

subtly

and very

carefully

he's committing

an act

of treason

I want

to be

king

I want

to be

king

if I

can't

be

king

then I

want

you to

say

that I'm

the person

that you

delight in

more than

anyone else

I'm the

one that

usurks

his love

and I

think

Haman

he is

pretty

excited

he's

probably

thinking

if the

people

saw

that I

am

loved

like

that

by

someone

as

great

as

Xerxes

then

they'll

know

and

then

I'll

know

my

worth

my

value

and

then he

says

make sure

this

horse is

and this

person is

led

through

the

streets

and make

and this

is what

is done

for the

man

the

king

delights

to

honor

and

someone

once

wrote

the

praise

of the

praiseworthy

is above

all

rewards

the

praise

the

and so

it's

quite

humorous

but

very

sad

and

quite

a

shock

for

Haman

when

Xerxes

says

do that

to

Mordecai

do that

to

Mordecai

and

you

take

the

role

of the

servant

leading

the

horse

and

yelling

that

out

it's

it's

the

most

incredible

reversal

of

fortunes

Mordecai

was

literally

hours

from

death

if not

even

less

than

that

he

was

about

to be

lifted

up

and

impaled

on

this

ridiculous

stake

and

now

instead

he's

going

to be

lifted

up

and

honored

and

Haman

thinking

he's

about

to be

lifted

up

and

honored

is

now

taking

the

role

of

a

servant

leading

the

horse

and

he's

about

to

descend

even

more

in

coming

chapters

and

this

reversal

of

Mordecai

and

Haman

signals

the

reversal

of

God's

people

in

Esther

God

stands

against

the

proud

and

in

verse

12

Haman

rushes

home

he covers

his head

with

grief

he is

so

mortified

and

his

wife

and

his

friends

gather

there

say

to

him

well

actually

we

told

you

so

without

actually

telling

you

so

I

mean

you're

an idiot

Haman

of course

he's

going

to

he

surrounds

himself

with

foolish

people

if

you

humble

yourself

you

will

be

exalted

but

if

you

exalt

yourself

you

will

be

humbled

that

that's

right

through

the

Bible

C.S.

Lewis

wrote

lose

yourself

to

find

it

lose

yourself

to

find

it

now

that

might

seem

strange

but it

works in

everyday

life

in social

life

you

you

will

never

make

a

good

impression

on

people

unless

you

stop

trying

to

make

a

good

impression

on

people

and

the

principle

runs

through

life

from

top

to

bottom

lose

your

life

and

you

will

save

it

this

is

a

principle

of

the

universe

because

it

is

the

nature

of

the

God

who

made

the

universe

how

do

we

know

this

is

the

nature

of

God

Haman

wanted

the

one

thing

we

all

want

let's

be

frank

here

Haman

wanted

the

one

thing

that

we

all

want

and

that

is

someone

of

ultimate

glory

recognizing

us

and

loving

us

what

we

need

is

this

ultimate

assurance

of who

we

are

we

need

ultimate

assurance

of our

worth

we

need

someone

we

think

the

world

of

loving

us

we

need

the

praise

of

the

praise

worthy

Haman

asked

Xerxes

for

what

we

all

want

and

what

we

all

need

he

didn't

actually

ask

for

the

wrong

thing

he

asked

the

wrong

king

that

rhymes

he

didn't

actually

ask

for

the

wrong

thing

he

asked

the

wrong

king

there

is

a

better

king

there

is

a

king

with

ultimate

glory

who

came

to

earth

and

stripped

himself

of

his

glory

why

because

he

was

swapping

places

with

us

Mordecai

was

saved

because

Haman

swapped

places

with

him

but

it

wasn't

voluntary

Jesus

does it

voluntary

there

is

the

ultimate

king

there

is

the

king

of

glory

Jesus

Christ

is

the

king

you

can

go

to

because

of

at

infinite

cost

to

himself

he

came

to

us

and

reverses

places

with

us

and

so

there

in

that

act

of