The Bible says that King Ahasuerus of Shushan promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite and gave an order that everyone should bow down and pay homage to him. Everyone obeyed he king’s order except Mordecai, who being a Jew, would not bow down and reverence anyone but God. Mordecai’s defiance angered Haman so much that he began to plot how he would destroy Mordecai and the entire Jewish people who lived in the citadel of Shushan (Esther 3:6). He was able to persuade the king that the Jewish people had different laws from the other people in the kingdom and they did not obey the laws of the king therefore they should be destroyed (Esther 3:11).

 

Being the proud man that he was, Haman boasted to his family and friends about his riches, his numerous children and the favour he had gained with the king and with Queen Esther, so he thought. The only thing that dampened his joy and pride was the fact that Mordecai still refused to honour him. At the suggestion of his wife and friends, Haman decides to build a gallows on which to hang Mordecai. Little did he know that his prosperity and favour with the king would be short-lived and that the very same gallows he built to hang Mordecai would be used to hang him.

 

We often wonder and question God as to why it is that the unjust, the wicked, the unrighteous prosper and seem to have everything going for them. King David too asked himself this question and even envied the prosperity of the wicked (Psalm 73:2-3). But the Bible tells us that when he went into the sanctuary of God he understood that the end of the wicked is destruction (Psalm 73:17-28).

 

Friend, like King David, we too must understand that no matter how much the wicked may seem to prosper, it pays to be righteous and walk in the ways of God. You see, God has a time for everything and nothing we do goes unnoticed. What we sow we shall surely reap. Those who sow evil and wickedness shall get their just reward and those who walk uprightly and trust in the Lord shall not be put to shame  

   

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Word that is true and that never changes. Help us to keep our eyes focused on you and not on the people and the things around us. May we not envy the prosperity of the wicked but continue to live for you and understand that in your time, you will give everyone their just reward. Amen.