God Turns the Tables on the Proud ናሙና

Haman was a Proud Individual

Haman’s name in Persian means magnificent.

Haman was promoted to chief over all the princes, making him grand vizier. Notice in Esther 3:2 that the king has to ‘command’ honour for Haman. Perhaps the intended implication is that commanded honour is in fact no honour at all! 

Proud, vain, and hungry for adulation and praise, could it have been Haman’s own suggestion that the king issued this command? And all complied, with the exception of Mordecai the Jew, who, having God’s law to guide him, consistently refused to do obeisance to Haman.

The fact that Mordecai wouldn't kneel infuriated Haman. Why was he so angry? Could it have been his massive ego? He enjoyed all the people paying homage to him.

His pride was presumptuous and delusional because it had deluded him to the true reality of his place in the kingdom. He had overrated his own importance.

We find evidence of his pride when we see him talking about himself and his riches in verse 11. The word used here suggests that he is going over the same things again and again, boasting about his riches, his sons, and how the king had promoted him. In verse 12 he brags about how Esther invited him to the feast and how he’s been invited to another one the next day.

It is as if you can hear the pride dripping from his mouth.

Haman’s statement in verse 13, “yet all of this does not satisfy me” teaches us the important truth that pride is never satisfied. When a person is living for themselves, there’s never enough praise, compliments, or material possessions.

When Haman saw Mordecai at the King’s gate, which meant that Mordecai still had some position of authority in the kingdom, Haman was filled with rage. Unchecked pride will generate malice.

Malice is that deep-seated hatred that brings delight if our enemy suffers and pain if our enemy succeeds. Malice can never forgive; it must always take revenge. Malice has a good memory for hurts and a bad memory for kindnesses

All of this pride culminated in a rash decision and a rash act. His family members who had also bought into Haman’s hatred and pride suggested that he simply build gallows, have Mordecai executed, and be done with it.

Haman was made to know the truth of the Scriptural proverb: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov 16:18)

We need to understand, in this modern age, that we are susceptible to the same pride to which Haman fell. We live in a world that encourages us to think we can do it all and that there are no limits on human potential. 

Quote: “The next time you feel the need to brag about what you’ve done, pay attention to that faint cracking sound. It’s the thin ice beneath your feet that is about to give way.” Ray Pritchard

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I will never allow success in life to make me become proud. Keep me humble, I pray. Amen