Haman, the one who had initiated the destruction of all the Jews because of his insolence against Mordecai, had come to the king’s palace early.  He came to ask official permission to hang Mordecai.

But in the night the king had been disturbed and asked for his servants to bring scrolls to read.  It was there that he read about how Mordecai had stopped a plot to kill the king.  When the king inquired further, he found out that nothing had been done to honor Mordecai.  So he asked for whoever was in the court at the moment, because he wanted to do something special for him.

Haman was in the court at the moment, asking for Mordecai to be hanged.

While the king was in his chambers, seeking for someone to show honor to Mordecai.

When Haman was summoned and entered the presence of the king, the king asked him his advice.  What should the king do for the man the king wanted to honor?

Thinking this was a backdoor way of asking Haman how he himself wanted to be honored, Haman spelled it out.  He should ride through the streets in royal robes on a royal horse and parade him through the town.  The king thought it was a great idea.

And he had Haman do just that.  For Mordecai.  The man Haman had come to ask permission to hang.

Haman did as he was told, utterly humiliated.  Then his wife said something very telling, that she too understood God’s hand on the Jewish people:

“Since Mordecai is Jewish, and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him, because your downfall is certain” (Esther 6:13).

What a statement!  She knew that God’s hand was on the Jewish people, and because her husband opposed the Jews, his downfall was now certain.

At that very moment while they were still speaking, the eunuchs came and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared for him.

Wow.  It’s not that God’s people are never killed.  They are and often so more than any other people in history.

But know this:  God takes seriously the harm of the covenant people of God.