A King’s Eyes Opened

Synopsis     Esther 6:12-8:1     11/24/2020 

Even though Haman considered Mordecai his greatest adversary, he was forced to publicly honor him. Because of this humiliation, his wife and friends predicted that Haman would not prevail against Mordecai. 

In the midst of this conversation, Mordecai was summoned to join the king for Queen Esther’s second feast. 

Once again, the feast was a grand affair. And once again, King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther whatever wish she asked of him. But this time, the queen stated her true purpose. She asked for her life, and the lives of her people, to be spared. She begged that the Jews not be destroyed despite Haman’s order for their genocide.  

The king suddenly realized that Haman had deceived him, resulting in the condemnation of his own queen. And this infuriated him. In the end, he ordered Haman’s execution. And then, he brought Mordecai into the inner court as his most trusted advisor.  

King’s Eyes Opened 

When Queen Esther made her request to be saved from the genocide, the king realized he had been deceived by Haman. He was at once outraged at Haman’s temerity. And he felt humiliated for having trusted Haman’s counsel.  

In the end, he realized that it was better to empower a faithful man like Mordecai than a politically shrewd person like Haman.  

Cultivate Your Friendships Wisely 

Jesus made a distinction between followers and friends. In the end, His basis for this distinction was faithfulness. Those who did the will of the Father were friends. More specifically to His particular circumstances, He counted those who remained with Him despite the difficulty of His teachings, and the tribulations of sharing His sufferings, as His friends.  

Accordingly, He spoke to followers in parables. But to His friends, He spoke plainly. And to His friends, he revealed Himself more intimately.  

So, keep this in mind. Jesus wants to cultivate you as a friend. 

“I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.” John 15:15