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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>E S T H E R</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. VI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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It is a very surprising scene that opens in this chapter. Haman, when
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he hoped to be Mordecai's judge, was made his page, to his great
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confusion and mortification; and thus way was made for the defeat of
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Haman's plot and the deliverance of the Jews.
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I. The providence of God recommends Mordecai in the night to the king's
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favour,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. Haman, who came to incense the king against him, is employed as an
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instrument of the king's favour to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:4-11">ver. 4-11</A>.
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III. From this his friends read him his doom, which is executed in the
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next chapter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:12-14">ver. 12-14</A>.
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And now it appears that Esther's intercession for her people was
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happily adjourned, <I>De die in diem--from day to day.</I></P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Es6_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Record of Mordecai's Loyalty.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 510.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to
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bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read
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before the king.
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2 And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana
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and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the
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door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
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3 And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to
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Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered
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unto him, There is nothing done for him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Now Satan put it into the heart of Haman to contrive Mordecai's death
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we read in the foregoing chapter; how God put it into the heart of the
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king to contrive Mordecai's honour we are here told. Now, if the king's
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word will prevail above Haman's (for, though Haman be a great man, the
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king in the throne must be above him), much more will the <I>counsel of
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God stand,</I> whatever <I>devices there are in men's hearts.</I> It is
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to no purpose therefore for Haman to oppose it, when both God and the
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king will have Mordecai honoured, and in this juncture too, when his
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preferment, and Haman's disappointment, would help to ripen the great
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affair of the Jewish deliverance for the effort that Esther was to make
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towards it the next day. Sometimes delay may prove to have been good
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conduct. Stay awhile, and we may have done the sooner. <I>Cunctando
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restituit rem--He conquered by delay.</I> Let us trace the steps which
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Providence took towards the advancement of Mordecai.</P>
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<P>
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I. <I>On that night could not the king sleep.</I> His <I>sleep fled
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away</I> (so the word is); and perhaps, like a shadow, the more
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carefully he pursued it the further it went from him. Sometimes we
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cannot sleep because we fain would sleep. Even after a banquet of wine
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he could not sleep when Providence had a design to serve in keeping him
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waking. We read of no bodily indisposition he was under, that might
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break his sleep; but God, <I>whose gift sleep is,</I> withheld it from
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him. Those that are ever so much resolved to cast away care cannot
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always do it; they find it in their pillows when they neither expect
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nor welcome it. He that commanded 127 provinces could not command one
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hour's sleep. Perhaps the charms of Esther's conversation the day
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before gave occasion to his heart to reproach him for neglecting her,
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and banishing her from his presence, though she was the wife of his
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bosom, for above thirty days; and that might keep him waking. An
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offended conscience can find a time to speak when it will be heard.</P>
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<P>
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II. When he could not sleep he called to have the book of records, the
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Journals of his reign, read to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Surely he did not design that that should lull him asleep; it would
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rather fill his head with cares, and drive away sleep. But God put it
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into his heart to call for it, rather than for music or songs, which
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the Persian kings used to be attended with
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+6:18">Dan. vi. 18</A>)
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and which would have been more likely to compose him to rest. When men
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do that which is unaccountable we know not what God intends by it.
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Perhaps he would have this book of business read to him that he might
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improve time and be forming some useful projects. Had it been king
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David's case, he would have found some other entertainment for his
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thoughts; when he could not sleep he would have remembered God and
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meditated upon him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:6">Ps. lxiv. 6</A>),
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and, if he would have had any book read to him, it would have been his
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Bible; for <I>in that law did he meditate day and night.</I></P>
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<P>
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III. The servant that read to him either lighted first on that article
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which concerned Mordecai, or, reading long, came to it at length. Among
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other things it was found written that Mordecai had discovered a plot
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against the life of the king which prevented the execution of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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Mordecai was not in such favour at court that the reader should
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designedly pitch upon that place; but Providence directed him to it;
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nay, if we may believe the Jews' tradition (as bishop Patrick relates
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it), opening the book at this place he turned over the leaves, and
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would have read another part of the book, but the leaves flew back
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again to the same place where he opened it; so that he was forced to
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read that paragraph. How Mordecai's good service was recorded we read
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+2:23"><I>ch.</I> ii. 23</A>,
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and here it is found upon record.</P>
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<P>
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IV. The king enquired <I>what honour and dignity had been done to
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Mordecai</I> for this, suspecting that this good service had gone
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unrewarded, and, like Pharaoh's butler, remembering it as <I>his fault
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this day,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+41:9">Gen. xli. 9</A>.
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Note, The law of gratitude is a law of nature. We ought particularly
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to be grateful to our inferiors, and not to think all their services
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such debts to us but that they make us indebted to them. Two rules of
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gratitude may be gathered from the king's enquiry here:--
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1. Better honour than nothing. If we cannot, or need not, make
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recompence to those who have been kind to us, yet let us do them honour
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by acknowledging their kindnesses and owning our obligations to them.
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2. Better late than never. If we have long neglected to make grateful
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returns for good offices done us, let us at length bethink ourselves of
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our debts.</P>
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<P>
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V. The servants informed him that nothing had been done to Mordecai for
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that eminent service; in the king's gate he sat before, and there he
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still sat. Note,
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1. It is common for great men to take little notice of their inferiors.
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The king knew not whether Mordecai was preferred or no till his
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servants informed him. High spirits take a pride in being careless and
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unconcerned about those that are below them and ignorant of their
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state. The great God takes cognizance of the meanest of his servants,
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knows what dignity is done them and what disgrace.
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2. Humility, modesty, and self-denial, though in God's account of
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great price, yet commonly hinder men's preferment in the world.
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Mordecai rises no higher than the king's gate, while proud ambitious
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Haman gets the king's ear and heart; but, though the aspiring rise
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fast, the humble stand fast. Honour makes proud men giddy, but
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<I>upholds the humble in spirit,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+29:23">Prov. xxix. 23</A>.
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3. Honour and dignity are rated high in the king's books. He does not
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ask, What reward has been given Mordecai? what money? what estate? but
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only, What honour?--a poor thing, and which, if he had not wherewith to
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support it, would be but a burden.
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4. The greatest merits and the best services are often overlooked and
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go unrewarded among men. Little honour is done to those who best
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deserve it, and fittest for it, and would do most good with it. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+9:14-16">Eccl. ix. 14-16</A>.
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The acquisition of wealth and honour is usually a perfect lottery, in
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which those that venture least commonly carry off the best prize. Nay,
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5. Good services are sometimes so far from being a man's preferment
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that they will not be his protection. Mordecai is at this time, by the
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king's edict, doomed to destruction, with all the Jews, though it is
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owned that he deserved dignity. Those that faithfully serve God need
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not fear being thus ill paid.</P>
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<A NAME="Es6_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Honour Conferred on Mordecai.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 510.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 And the king said, Who <I>is</I> in the court? Now Haman was come
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into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the
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king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for
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him.
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5 And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth
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in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.
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6 So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be
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done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman
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thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour
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more than to myself?
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7 And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king
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delighteth to honour,
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8 Let the royal apparel be brought which the king <I>useth</I> to
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wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown
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royal which is set upon his head:
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9 And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of
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one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man
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<I>withal</I> whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on
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horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before
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him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to
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honour.
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10 Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, <I>and</I> take the
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apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to
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Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing
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fail of all that thou hast spoken.
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11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed
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Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the
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city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the
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man whom the king delighteth to honour.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It is now morning, and people begin to stir.</P>
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<P>
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I. Haman is so impatient to get Mordecai hanged that he comes early to
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court, to be ready at the king's levee, before any other business is
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brought before him, to get a warrant for his execution
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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which he makes sure that he shall have at the first word. The king
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would gratify him in a greater thing than that; and he could tell the
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king that he was so confident of the justice of his request, and the
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king's favour to him in it, that he had got the gallows ready: one word
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from the king would complete his satisfaction.</P>
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<P>
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II. The king is so impatient to have Mordecai honoured that he sends to
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know who is in the court that is fit to be employed in it. Word is
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brought him that Haman is in the court,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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<I>Let him come in,</I> says the king, the fittest man to be made use
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of both in directing and in dispensing the king's favour; and the king
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knew nothing of any quarrel he had with Mordecai. Haman is brought in
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immediately, proud of the honour done him in being admitted into the
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king's bed-chamber, as it should seem, <I>before he was up;</I> for let
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the king but give orders for the dignifying of Mordecai, and he will be
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easy in his mind and try to sleep. Now Haman thinks he has the fairest
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opportunity he can wish for to solicit against Mordecai; but the king's
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heart is as full as his, and it is fit he should speak first.</P>
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<P>
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III. The king asks Haman how he should express his favour to one whom
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he had marked for a favourite: <I>What shall be done to the man whom
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the king delights to honour?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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Note, It is a good property in kings, and other superiors, to delight
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in bestowing rewards and not to delight in punishing. Parents and
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masters should take a pleasure in commending and encouraging that which
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is good in those under their charge.</P>
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<P>
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IV. Haman concludes that he himself is the favourite intended, and
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therefore prescribes the highest expressions of honour that could, for
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once, be bestowed upon a subject. His proud heart presently suggested,
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"To whom will the king delight to do honour more than to myself? No one
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deserves it so well as I," thinks Haman, "nor stands so fair for it."
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See how men's pride deceives them.
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1. Haman had a better opinion of his merits than there was cause for:
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he thought none so worthy of honour as himself. It is a foolish thing
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for us thus to think ourselves the only deserving persons, or more
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deserving than any other. The deceitfulness of our own hearts appears
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in nothing so much as in the good conceit we have of ourselves and our
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own performances, against which we should therefore constantly watch
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and pray.
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2. He had a better opinion of his interest than there was reason for.
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He thought the king loved and valued no one but himself, but he was
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deceived. We should suspect that the esteem which others profess for us
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is not so great as it seems to be or as we are sometimes willing to
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believe it is, that we may not think too well of ourselves nor place
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too much confidence in others. Now Haman thinks he is carving out
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honour for himself, and therefore does it very liberally,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>.
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Nay, he does it presumptuously, prescribing honours too great to be
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conferred upon any subject, that he must be dressed in the royal robes,
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wear the royal crown, and ride on the king's own horse; in short, he
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must appear in all the pomp and grandeur of the king himself, only he
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must not carry the sceptre, the emblem of power. He must be attended by
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one of <I>the king's most noble princes,</I> who must be his lacquey,
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and all the people must be made to take notice of him and do him
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reverence; for he must ride in state through the streets, and it must
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be <I>proclaimed before him,</I> for his honour, and the encouragement
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of all to seek the ruler's favour, <I>Thus shall it be done to the man
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whom the king delights to honour,</I> which had the same intention with
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that which was proclaimed before Joseph, <I>Bow the knee;</I> for every
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good subject will honour those whom the king delights to honour. And
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shall not every good Christian then honour those whom the King of kings
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delights to honour and call the <I>saints that are on the earth the
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excellent ones?</I></P>
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<P>
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V. The king confounds him with a positive order that he should
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immediately go himself and put all this honour upon Mordecai the Jew,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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If the king had but said, as Haman expected, <I>Thou art the man,</I>
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what a fair opportunity would he have had to do the errand he came on,
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and to desire that, to grace the solemnity of his triumphs, Mordecai,
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his sworn enemy, might be hanged at the same time! But how is he
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thunderstruck when the king bids him not to order all this to be done,
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but to do it himself to Mordecai the Jew, the very man he hated above
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all men and whose ruin he was now designing! Now, it is to no purpose
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to think of moving any thing to the king against Mordecai when he is
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<I>the man whom the king delights to honour.</I> Solomon says, <I>The
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heart of the king is unsearchable</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+25:3">Prov. xxv. 3</A>),
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but it is not unchangeable.</P>
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<P>
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VI. Haman dares not dispute nor so much as seem to dislike the king's
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order, but, with the greatest regret and reluctance imaginable, brings
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it to Mordecai, who I suppose did no more cringe to Haman now than he
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had done, valuing his counterfeit respect no more than he had valued
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his concealed malice. The apparel is brought, Mordecai is dressed up,
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and rides in state through the city, recognized as the king's
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favourite,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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It is hard to say which of the two put a greater force upon himself,
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proud Haman in putting this honour upon Mordecai, or humble Mordecai in
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accepting it: the king would have it so, and both must submit. Upon
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<I>this</I> account it was agreeable to Mordecai as it was an
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indication of the king's favour, and gave hope that Esther would
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prevail for the reversing of the edict against the Jews.</P>
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<A NAME="Es6_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Es6_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Haman Cast Down.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 510.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted
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to his house mourning, and having his head covered.
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13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every
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<I>thing</I> that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh
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his wife unto him, If Mordecai <I>be</I> of the seed of the Jews,
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before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail
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against him, but shalt surely fall before him.
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14 And while they <I>were</I> yet talking with him, came the king's
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chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that
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Esther had prepared.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We may here observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. How little Mordecai was puffed up with his advancement. He <I>came
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again to the king's gate</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
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he returned to his place and the duty of it immediately, and minded his
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business as closely as he had done before. Honour is well bestowed on
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those that are not made proud and idle by it, and will not think
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themselves above their business.</P>
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<P>
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II. How much Haman was cast down with his disappointment. He could not
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bear it. To wait upon any man, especially Mordecai, and at this time,
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when he hoped to have seen him hanged, was enough to break such a proud
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heart as he had. He <I>hasted to his house mourning, and having his
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head covered,</I> as one that looked upon himself as sunk and in a
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manner condemned. What harm had it done him to stoop thus to Mordecai?
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Was he ever the worse for it? Was it not what he himself proposed to be
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done by <I>one of the king's most noble princes?</I> Why then should he
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grudge to do it himself? But that will break a proud man's heart which
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would not break a humble man's sleep.</P>
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<P>
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III. How his doom was, out of this event, read to him by his wife and
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his friends: "If Mordecai be, as they say he is, <I>of the seed of the
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Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall,</I> though but in a point of
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honour, never expect to <I>prevail against him;</I> for thou <I>shalt
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surely fall before him,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
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Miserable comforters were they all; they did not advise him to repent,
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and ask Mordecai's pardon for his bad design against him, but foretold
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his destiny as fatal and unavoidable. Two things they foresaw:--
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1. That Haman would be disappointed in his enterprise against the Jews:
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"<I>Thou shalt not prevail</I> to root out that people. Heaven plainly
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fights against thee."
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2. That he himself would be destroyed: <I>Thou shalt surely fall before
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him.</I> The contest between Michael and the dragon will not be a drawn
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battle; no, Haman must fall before Mordecai. Two things they grounded
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their prognostications upon:--
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(1.) This Mordecai was <I>of the seed of the Jews; feeble Jews</I>
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their enemies sometimes called them, but formidable Jews they sometimes
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found them. They are a holy seed, a praying seed, in covenant with God,
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and a seed that the Lord hath all along blessed, and therefore let not
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their enemies expect to triumph over them.
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(2.) Haman had begun to fall, and therefore he was certainly a gone
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man. It has been observed of great court-favourites that when once they
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have been frowned upon they have fallen utterly, as fast as they rose;
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it is true of the church's enemies that when God begins with them he
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will make an end. As for God his work is perfect.</P>
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<P>
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IV. How seasonably he was now sent for to the banquet that Esther had
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prepared,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+6:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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He thought it seasonable, in hopes it would revive his drooping spirits
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and save his sinking honour. But really it was seasonable because, his
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spirits being broken by this sore disappointment, he might the more
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|
easily be run down by Esther's complaint against him. The wisdom of God
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is seen in timing the means of his church's deliverance so as to
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manifest his own glory.</P>
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