T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S W ithin a few hours a movement of a totally different character began. The King discovered th a t nothing had been done to rew ard the discoverer of the last plot against his own life, and had resolved th a t th e same tomorrow should be celebrated by th is omission being repaired. This m eant t h a t 1Mordecai, instead of being hanged on H am an’s gallows, should on th a t very day be led through the city by Haman himself as th e man whom the King delighted to honor. That, too, was th e morrow on which the King and Haman were to banquet w ith Queen E sther. So the th ree very different projects were in th e air for the same day. And all of them were in the hands of God. Of the three, it was H am an’s th a t failed. His day was over. He passed through hum iliation in the public streets to disgrace a t the banquet, then to dism issal from his g reat post, and finally to death on th e very gallows he had erected for Mordecai. W hat can we say b u t th e old wish— “ So perish all th e enemies of God.” Xerxes showed his g ratitude to the man who had saved his life— the King delighted to honor the Jew. And E sther? She had taken her life in her hand; She obtained her first request, and then her second, and even more, she gained her great victory over Ha man. But th e chief difficulty lay be hind. And it was due to the statesm an ship of Mordecai, prepared of God for such an office and such an hour, th a t the decree was made null and void and the people of Israel were delivered. Let us learn to see first th a t we are on th e Lord’s side— saved, accepted through th e blood of Christ. And then, whatever be our station or post, low or high, let us seek God’s g reat purpose in our lives, be ready for God’s opportu nity, -never think God’s day too hard, bu t go where He guides and do what He asks of us.—J . E. Cumming. While, th e name of God is not found in the book of E sther th e veil which hides him is so th in in places th a t we can almost see through. It is said th a t Hebrew scholars DEVOTIONAL have found the name COMMENT Jehovah repeated four Dr. P . W. F a rr times in acrostic form. There is no actual
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in God— these are her elements of strength. Meanwhile the power of evil and self- will is dom inant th roughou t the land. One such man is the Prim e Minister, Hainan. He is almost all powerful, for the-K ing cannot be troubled w ith details of government. H am an’s likes and dis likes b ring sunshine and shadow where they fall on thousands in th e empire. Now, th e Jew ish people have always de veloped th e faculty of making them selves well hated. Through all history they have stood in the way of others. Haman had been annoyed by them . It had come to a point in a personal affront. Haman swore th a t every soul of th e hated Jew ish blood in Persia should pay for the insult. The dream of his vengeance is oriental, alike in its fu ry and its extent. Many would sym pathize w ith him. The hatred of the Jews needs b u t a spark to spread all over Persia. On a certain day every Jew was to be killed and letters under th e K ing’s seal were sent out. This was to be God’s opportunity, and E sth e r’s. H er uncle sends her a mes sage telling h er of th e edict. She was one of th e condemned and there was only one way of escape. She must secure it. She only could persuade th e K ing to undo th e order,^in some way to nullify th e b ru tal m andate and save herself and all her people. This great service was th e purpose for which God had made her Queen of P ersia (4 :1 4 ). But alas, th e call had come a t the worst possible time. She was apparently ou t of favor. The cold shade of neglect had fallen upon her. For a month she had no t seen th e Kiiig and to intrude upon his presence m ight mean death un less he in terfered and protected her. A fter th re e days of fasting, she would go in to the K ing unbidden and un sought, be it life or death. God had made the opportunity which would test th e soul and God had found one to seize and use it a t th e risk of death. That one was a woman and a queen. While th is sp iritu al contest had been tak ing place in the m ind and h eart of E sther, there had been other movements going on. Haman, no t being able to wait till th e g reat event should be ac complished, had formed a m inor plot for th e execution of the Jew ish offender, Mordecai. A high gallows was prepared on which Mordecai was to be hanged on th e morrow if the King gave permission.
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