Sermon: A Sleepless Night (Esther 6:1-14)

A Sleepless Night
Sunday, March 2^nd, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA

Esther 6:1–14
On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him. And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. And while they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Prayer

Father, we thank you for the word of promise that you speak unto the church, that You who are “the God of peace shall soon crush Satan under our feet.” We ask now that you would hasten our enemies to destruction, even our own sinful flesh, and the devil, and all through the surpassing grace and power of Christ Jesus. In whose name we pray, Amen.

Introduction

Have you ever had a sleepless night? A night in which while your body might be very tired, but still your mind will not let you rest. To go without sleep is a great affliction for us creatures who God created to sleep (Ps. 127:2). And if you have ever suffered from insomnia, or paranoia, or incessant anxious thoughts, you know that a sleepless night can be a great affliction to both body and soul.

• The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 11 includes sleeplessness alongside his many other afflictions. He says there, “in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”
• So if the Apostle Paul counted sleeplessness as an affliction, so can we. And here in our text what do we have but two men who cannot sleep: Haman and Ahasuerus. And then also, lurking in the background above and behind this sleepless night is The Divine Author of the story, God, who as it says in Psalm 121:4, neither slumbers nor sleeps.
• So what is for us a privation and affliction, sleeplessness, is for God a mark of His perfection.
  • When we go without sleep, our judgment is impaired, our bodies break down. Studies have shown that driving drunk and driving after being awake for 20 hours, is basically equivalent.
  • But for God this is not so. God is never drunk or asleep at the wheel. His judgments are only and ever true, good, and beautiful. We get tired, God does not. We get weary, God is omnipotent and the fount of all refreshment.
  • And so while mortal men may struggle to sleep, their thoughts and desires not permitting them to rest, God’s thoughts and God’s desires for His people, for you, are only and ever and always good. Do you believe this? If not consider the words of the prophets.
    • God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
    • David says likewise in Psalm 139, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.”
  • So while you and I can really only focus on one thing at a time. God has no such constraints. All reality, all of history, all creation, every individual, is before His eyes as an ever-present now. This is part of what it means for God to be eternal and infinite and wise.What is eternity? The simultaneously-whole and perfect possession of interminable life. Meaning that in God there is no before and after, no beginning or end, no succession of moments, He is the same yesterday, today, and evermore.And what does God know in His eternity? It says in Hebrews 4:13, “There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
    • And that means, even when your mind is distracted, or your mind is asleep in dreamworld. Your whole life, your thoughts, your actions, past, present, and future, are in the mind of God as one present moment. And this is how David can say, “When I awake, I am still with you.” Because God never went anywhere, and you are always in His mind, even when you are not thinking of Him.
  • This is one of the great truths of the story of Esther: God has an eternal and perfect but sometimes hidden plan for our good. And what we have here in Esther 6 is the beginning of that goodness breaking through the dark and brooding clouds. And so as we walk through this text together, I want you to consider the question:
    • What is the good that God has conspired in eternity to give Mordecai? Or more personally, what good has God planned for you who love Him?

Division of the Text

Our text this morning divides into three sections according to three key actions of the king:

• In verses 1-3, The King Remembers Something.
• In verses 4-9, The King Questions His Chief Advisor
• In verses 10-14, The King Honors His Loyal Servant.
  • So let us briefly survey our text together.

Verses 1-3 – The King Remembers Something

• So recall that about 4 years earlier, Mordecai had reported this assassination attempt, Esther had told the king in Mordecai’s name, but nothing was ever done for him (Esther 2:19-23). Instead, the very next verse we read was that Haman was promoted (Esther 3:1).
  • And so while Ahasuerus may have forgotten that he owed his life to Mordecai, God has not forgotten, and has chosen this night of all nights to call Mordecai’s unrewarded good deed to mind.
• A question arises here about why the king could not sleep?
  • We know of course that God is the ultimate cause, but what are the human reasons for Ahasuerus’ insomnia?
  • Many possible answers could be given, but the most likely reasons are that the king is anxious about Esther’s behavior.
    • Why has Esther risked her life to invite the King and Haman to two feasts?
    • Why was Haman invited? What is Haman’s role in all this?
    • Are Haman and Esther plotting against the king? Are they romantically involved with one another? Is this the beginning of a coup? Is the king’s life in danger?
    • What is Esther going to ask for at the feast tomorrow? Why does she keep her husband in suspense?
    • These are just some of the possible questions and fears that might be keeping the king awake. Perhaps you can relate.
• What about Haman? Why can’t Haman sleep on this night?
  • With Haman we have a more explicit answer. Haman is evil and he is anxious to have Mordecai hung.
  • The words of Proverbs 4:16-17 well describe Haman’s state, “For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.”
• So there is a restlessness, a sleeplessness that can come from being evil. And then there is a restlessness and sleeplessness that can come from being deeply concerned. And then there is the sleeplessness of God, who rules the dark, and loves to bring about great and miraculous reversals in the night.
• We should also recall to our minds the date of this sleepless night. What day is it in the Hebrew Calendar?
  • We were told that Haman’s Decree against the Jews went forth on the 13^th day of the first month (Nisan 13^th). This is the day before Passover.
    • On that day Mordecai mourned, informed Esther, and Esther called for a three day fast. The first day of that fast was Nisan 13^th, the second day Nisan the 14^th, and then we are told…
  • On the third day of that fast (Nisan the 15^th), she went before the king and threw the first feast.
  • And since for the Jews, the new day starts in the evening, when it says here in verse 1, “on that night could not the king sleep,” it is referring to the beginning of Nisan the 16th, which is the day of First fruits in the Hebrew calendar.
  • Guess what else takes place on Nisan the 16^th? The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, of whom Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
  • And so on this sleepless night, we have the beginnings of resurrection and glorification. Haman the enemy, the accuser of the brethren begins to fall. Mordecai the faithful servant of the king begins to rise, and all that is left is for all authority to be given to Mordecai and Esther so they can reverse the curse of their enemy.
    • Do you see the outline of the gospel here?
• Continuing in verses 4-9, we then have the King’s interrogation of Haman. By now the king has determined to honor Mordecai, to remedy what he overlooked 4 years earlier, and it just so happens that sleepless Haman is seeking an audience with the king.
  • We might also note that if the king was suspicious about Haman before (wondering does Haman have designs on the throne?) he can test that suspicion here with a question.

Verses 4-9 – The King Questions His Chief Advisor

• Now recall that in chapter 5, Esther made it ambiguous who her first feast was for. The King asked Esther what she desired, and she said, “If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.” Who is the him? Haman or Ahasuerus?
• And now here, Haman does the same thing, except the object in question is the king’s royal crown. Notice the way verse 8 is phrased, “Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head.”
  • Whose head? The horse, or the king? Do you see how Haman is leaving it ambiguous whether the king should honor (in Haman’s mind himself) by giving him the king’s own crown. But he leaves himself an out just in case his request is too overt and ambitious.
  • So from Ahasuerus’ perspective, what is Haman suggesting? He is suggesting that someone else should be equal to the king. In Haman’s mind, that is Haman. And if Haman wants the king’s clothing, the king’s horse, and the king’s crown, well what else might Haman want but the king’s wife as well, Esther!
  • So Haman’s response would almost certainly confirm any suspicions that Ahasuerus had. And therefore, it is two birds and one stone for him to have Vice President Haman walking around giving honor to Mordecai instead. At the very least, this well help put Haman back into his place.
• We have then in verses 10-14, Mordecai’s exaltation and Haman’s humiliation.

Verses 10-14 – The King Honors His Loyal Servant.

• Three observations from this section:
• 1. Observe that Ahasuerus calls Mordecai, Mordecai the Jew. How does he know this all of a sudden? Was it written in the chronicles? Did one of his other servants tell him? How does this king know this, but not Haman’s decree against Mordecai’s people? This is odd.
• 2. Observe that after Mordecai is exalted, what does he do? We see in verse 12, he simply comes back to work at the king’s gate. He has just been given the highest and greatest honor a person could receive, and yet unlike Haman who became great in his own eyes, Mordecai has learned humility.
  • And in this, Mordecai is avoiding the fall of his Benjamite ancestor King Saul.
  • We read in 1 Samuel 15, that after Saul failed to kill Agag, king of the Amalekites (Haman’s ancestor), God said to him, “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.”
  • So this is Mordecai’s redemption moment. He has been rewarded, he has been honored, he has been exalted by the king above all others. And yet “Mordecai came again to the king’s gate.” He did not presume to take Haman’s position. He did not suddenly think himself above his present station. No. He simply went back to work as a servant of the king.
  • There is a great and important lesson here, and the wise will take it to heart.
• 3. Third and finally, observe that Haman is now being hasted/hurried to his destruction.
  • Three times Haman is said to be hasted away. First to honor Mordecai, then in mourning to his house, then to Esther’s feast. The man who once thought himself so dignified, who went on his leisurely way, for whom the world waited upon to act, now is getting his comeuppance.
    • And this is the reward for those who are hasty to do evil, who are quick to get angry.
    • The Prophet Isaiah speaks of such people in Isaiah 59:17 saying, “Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood: Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.”
    • Consider also the words of Proverbs 6 and how many of them are an apt description of Haman’s person. It says in Proverbs 6:14-18, “Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.”
  • God says, “all who hate me love death” (Pr. 8:36). And here now Haman who once hastened to do evil is being hastened to his own funeral.

Conclusion

I want to close with two exhortations based on this scene.

1. The first is that God’s judgments are often slow and then sudden. And that means you have to be patient in doing good especially when there seems to be no fruit, no reward, all while the wicked seem to flourish.
   1. For almost 5 years, Haman was permitted to prosper and do evil, while Mordecai went unrewarded and overlooked. But then on one sleepless night, God suddenly renders his judgment. He reverses the roles.
      1. And this how God likes to bring to pass the words of many Psalms, like Psalm 1, “the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.”
      1. Or Psalm 37 which says, “Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.”
      1. Or Psalm 125, which we love to sing, “no wicked ruler for long will remain, over the righteous one’s chosen domain.”
      1. If you are in Christ, and Christ dwells in you by faith. Then you are God’s domain. You are God’s holy habitation. You are God’s temple, and He is jealous to protect His temple.
      1. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:17, “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
      1. The God who neither slumbers nor sleeps is watching over you day and night. His thoughts are vast and His intentions for you only good. And so do as He says in Psalm 37:34, “wait on the Lord, and when the wicked are cut of, you shall see it.”
2. My second exhortation is to seek glory, honor, and immortality from God. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 2:6-8, “God will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath.”
   1. And likewise, he says in Romans 8:30, that those “whom God did predestine, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
      1. So do you believe that God wants to give you glory, honor, and immortality? In the words of Ahasuerus, “What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?”
      1. Do you believe that it makes God happy to give you good things, that God delights to honor those who honor Him?
      1. If Ahasuerus rewarded Mordecai with royal robes, the royal horse, the royal crown, and the later the royal signet ring, are you going to say that God is more stingy than Ahasuerus? Are you going to say that God is less generous than this gentile king?
   1. Consider again what the king remembers and rewards, and what the king totally overlooks in Mordecai.
      1. Mordecai had transgressed the king’s law. He had offended Haman and provoked him to wrath, and for that transgression Mordecai’s life (and the lives of all Jews) hangs in the balance.
      1. But Mordecai had also done a good work. He foiled an assassination attempt on the king. He showed himself loyal to the king in that instance.
      1. Now which of those two actions was written down in the king’s chronicles? Which of these two actions did the king remember and reward?
      1. Only the good work that Mordecai had done. And so also is it with God’s elect.
   1. When you repent of sin and ask God to forgive you, He really does cover all your transgressions.
      1. As it says in Micah 7:19, “God will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
      1. And that means that in the final judgment, when Romans 2 comes to pass and God renders to every man according to his deeds, for those who are in Christ Jesus, only your good deeds are remembered and rewarded, and all your sins and regrets are as if they never happened. That is what the grace of Christ accomplishes in those who God justifies. And those he justifies he also…glorifies.
   1. So not only does God want to come in and clean your dirty house. Not only does God want to renovate and purify your soul. He also wants to give you the Father’s mansion to live in. He also wants to make your soul glorious within.
      1. It says in Psalm 45:13, “The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; Her clothing is woven with gold.”
   1. We are told in Revelation 21 that the New Jerusalem has streets of pure gold, and gates made of pearls. And that is a picture of what God wants to do in every saint. He wants the streets of your mind to be pure gold, full of charity, wisdom, and the knowledge of God.
   1. He wants the doorways and the windows, the gates into your soul to be beautiful pearls, where only what is good and holy can enter in.
   1. So if you feel like your soul is a leaking shed, or a rat-infested doghouse. God’s word to you today is exchange that shed for a holy temple. Exchange the slums of sin for a royal palace. This is the glory God delights to give the justified. This is the glory and honor the king delights to crown you with.
   1. Jesus says to his disciples in Luke 10:20, “do not rejoice because evil spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
   1. And in Revelation 20:12 we get are given a glimpse of was written in heaven next to our name. John says, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” What works are these?
   1. Ephesians 2:10 calls them the “good works which God prepared in advance for you to do.” From all eternity.
   1. The only thing God will remember in the final judgment are your acts of loyalty to King Jesus. Your works of charity done by God’s grace.And it is these good works alone which shall be read from the king’s chronicles, announced before myriads of angels, and rewarded lavishly by God. For those who are in Christ Jesus, grace is crowned with glory.
   1. So are you zealous for that crown? Are you zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). Are you zealous for God to glorify you? Because God has promised that those who He predestined, he also called, and those He called, He also justified, and those He justified, He also glorified.
   1. May God hasten to give you such glory, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.