December 14, Day 348 – Divinely Ordained Insomnia

Esther 6-8; Psalm 142;

Revelation 4

We come again now to Esther 6-8, where we encounter the denouement of the narrative, beginning with the king’s divinely ordained insomnia.  God is working personally in His universe – always and everywhere – within all its places including those inaudible and invisible to us.  Thankfully, God never sleeps, and as He wills in His sovereign purposes, He is free to impose sleep or insomnia on mankind whenever, wherever, and for however long He chooses (cf., Genesis 2:21; 15:12; Esther 6:1; Daniel 2:1-25).  Try to consider the implications of God’s impositions; if He puts someone to sleep, that person stays asleep until God decrees the time for him to awaken.  Regardless of what we think, the king’s insomnia should teach us that we actually have only minor authority over the events of our own lives.  Here in this section, we see how God turns the table on Haman’s intentional foolishness.  Haman attempted to grasp for himself the honor that was due to Mordecai, who saved the king’s life.  The king assigns Haman the embarrassing task of showing favor to Mordecai.  By now – though too late – Zeresh, Haman’s wife, begins to get it: she says, “your downfall has started” (verse 13).  It’s never a good idea to oppose the Jews – God is their special Caretaker and Protector (cf., Psalm 121:6-7; Zechariah 14:12-ff.).  Chapter 7 presents Esther’s banquet where she takes her stand and announces to the king what has happened and who initiated the impending “destruction” on her people – “this vile Haman” (verse 6). Coincidentally, Haman “was falling on Esther’s couch before the king’s eyes” (verse 8).  Who controlled that?  We see that sin compounds into a downward spiral, and man is powerless to free himself from his fall.  The king issued an immediate edict to “impale Haman on the pole he set up for Mordecai” (verse 10).  In chapter 8, we see Esther’s intervention for her people – a picture of Christ’s intercession for us – and their jubilation over their national redemption.  This section of the book beautifully foreshadows the heavenly celebrations that God – our eternal King – has planned for us with Him in the future.

In Psalm 142, David records a prayer “when he was in the cave” – probably while he was running from Saul (cf., 1 Samuel 21-23; Psalm 142).  This prayer is a “cry for mercy and a complaint” in which David “tells God his trouble” (verses 1-2).  This is an important, instructive Psalm for us today because it shows us that we may voice our own cares and concerns before our God.  In life, we sometimes feel that we have been cornered into a place with no exit; we sense that we have no escape.  Like David, we feel like “no one is there for us; no one is at our right hand; no one is concerned about us; we have no refuge, and no one cares” (verse 4).  When we “are in desperate need” (verse 6), we should “cry out” to the One Who is there – the only One Who can “rescue us and set us free” from our own intentional foolishness (verses 6-7).  Moreover, as was true for David, it’s a good idea for us to maintain a warm, growing relationship with God before things become desperate.

In Revelation 4, the action moves from earth (cf., Revelation 3) to heaven (cf., Revelation 4).  We see God’s glorious throne surrounded by great power, beauty, majesty, twenty-four elders, and four living creatures.  All of these are “praising, honoring, and worshiping God, day and night” (verse 8).  Because God is the “holy and righteous Creator of all things,” He is also “worthy to receive all glory, honor, and power” (verses 8-11).  To its detriment, our culture has discarded not only its ability to reason sufficiently, but also it has rejected the importance of God’s holiness, righteousness, and worthiness.  As with Haman, the intentional foolishness of our culture cannot end well.