Esther 5-7

After fasting, Esther begins her plan to approach the king and seek his favor. This begins by inviting both the king and Haman to a banquet she has prepared for them. She does this on consecutive nights. In the midst of this, Haman’s pride and discontent continue to grow. His friends suggest building gallows to have Mordecai hung to death. But, the Lord intervenes by disrupting the king’s sleep and having the records read to him. At this, Haman’s pride gets the better of him, which causes him to parade Mordecai around town, all because he thought the honor would be for himself. Then, as Esther makes her request to save the Jews, Haman is called out and hung on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.

Proverbs 16:18 says that “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” This describes Haman’s life in these chapters of Esther. He is so caught up in the position and authority he has been given. Haman no longer has any humility, but things all honor and respect should be his, at any cost. Both his pride and discontent led to his downfall. The same is true of us. Arrogance is something God hates (Pr. 6:16-19) and we are called to live in humility. Any authority we have is given by God, whose authority we are under. So, we must check our hearts for pride and replace it with love and humility.

Do you carry pride in your heart?