The Beginning of the End Text: Esther 6:12-14
Introduction: The Unraveling of Pride
The book of Esther is a masterclass in divine providence, where the name of God is nowhere mentioned, but the hand of God is everywhere seen. It is a story that unfolds with the intricate precision of a divine script, filled with dramatic irony and staggering reversals. The narrative is a tale of two seeds, a conflict that began centuries before Haman ever laid eyes on Mordecai. This is the ancient enmity between Amalek and Israel, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, playing out on the world stage of the Persian empire.
We come now to the hinge point of the entire story. Up to this point, Haman the Agagite has been ascending. He has been promoted above all the other princes, he has the king's ear, he has secured a decree for the annihilation of his enemies, and he has even built a gallows seventy-five feet high for the execution of his arch-nemesis, Mordecai. From a worldly perspective, his victory seems total and assured. But as we have seen, the Lord delights in letting the wicked build their towers of pride just high enough for the fall to be spectacular. The king's sleepless night was the quiet turning of the key in the lock of Haman's doom.
In our text, Haman has just endured the most exquisite humiliation imaginable. He has been forced to publicly honor the very man he planned to impale. He had to lead Mordecai through the streets of Susa, crying out, "Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!" The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife. And now, Haman scurries home, his grand parade over, to lick his wounds. What he finds there is not comfort, but a prophecy of his utter ruin. This passage is the moment the first crack appears in the dam of his pride, and the waters of judgment begin to rush in.
The Text
Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hastened home, mourning, with his head covered. And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.” While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs reached Haman’s home and hastily brought Haman to the feast which Esther had prepared.
(Esther 6:12-14 LSB)
Two Destinies Diverge (v. 12)
We begin with the immediate aftermath of the humiliating parade:
"Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hastened home, mourning, with his head covered." (Esther 6:12)
Here we see the great reversal in miniature. Two men, two paths, two destinies. Mordecai, having been paraded through the city in royal robes on the king's horse, does not launch a victory tour. He does not seek out Haman to gloat. He simply returns to his post. He goes back to his duty at the king's gate. This is the picture of a man whose identity is not caught up in the honors of men. He was faithful in obscurity, and he remains faithful in his moment of vindication. His demeanor is steady, his purpose is unchanged. He is a servant of God, and the temporary accolades of a pagan king do not derail him. He knows that the real battle is not yet won.
But Haman is another story entirely. He "hastened home." The Hebrew word implies a frantic, panicked rush. His dignity is in tatters. He is "mourning, with his head covered." Covering the head was a sign of deep grief, shame, and disgrace. The man who just hours before was boasting to his wife and friends about his glory, his riches, and his exclusive invitation to the queen's banquet is now a pathetic, shattered figure. His pride was a balloon, and the king's command was the pin. The bigger the pride, the louder the pop. Haman's entire sense of self was built on his status and the world's applause. When that was stripped away, he had nothing left. He is a hollow man, and the hollowness is now exposed for all to see.
The Counsel of Despair (v. 13)
Haman seeks solace from his inner circle, but finds none. Instead, he receives a chilling dose of reality.
"And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, 'If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.'" (Esther 6:13 LSB)
Haman pours out his tale of woe. He tells them "everything that had happened to him." He is looking for sympathy, for a new strategy, for someone to tell him it will all be okay. But his own wife and counselors, who just a chapter ago were enthusiastically endorsing his plan to build the gallows, now have a completely different tune. They are pagans, but they are not fools. They can read the writing on the wall, even if they don't know the God who is writing it.
Their response is a prophecy of doom, and it is remarkably insightful. Notice the key phrases. First, they acknowledge that he has "begun to fall." This is not a minor setback. This is the start of a catastrophic collapse. The first domino has been pushed. Second, they identify the crucial factor: Mordecai is "of the seed of the Jews." This is not merely an ethnic identifier. They are recognizing that there is something different about this people. There is a power, a destiny, a divine favor connected to them that makes them formidable. This is the pagan world's grudging acknowledgment of the covenant. They don't understand the theology of it, but they can see the effects of it. They sense that in picking a fight with Mordecai, Haman has picked a fight with Mordecai's God.
Their conclusion is absolute and unequivocal: "you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him." The Hebrew here is emphatic. It is literally "falling, you will fall." It is a complete and total defeat. This is the wisdom of the world at its best. It can recognize power. It can see when the tide has turned. What it cannot do is offer any hope or salvation. Zeresh and the wise men are like a godless weather service, accurately predicting a hurricane but offering no shelter. Their words are true, but they are words of pure despair. They offer no comfort, no way out. They simply pronounce his sentence before the judge does.
The Final Summons (v. 14)
There is no time for Haman to process this grim prophecy. The story moves with relentless speed, pulling him toward his final appointment.
"While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs reached Haman’s home and hastily brought Haman to the feast which Esther had prepared." (Esther 6:14 LSB)
The timing here is exquisite. As the words of his doom are still hanging in the air, the king's messengers arrive. The divine playwright leaves no room for Haman to collect himself, to scheme, or to try and wriggle out of his predicament. The summons is immediate and urgent. They "hastily brought Haman." He is no longer in control of his own schedule. He is being swept along by a current of events that is far too strong for him to resist.
And where is he being taken? To the very banquet he had boasted about. The feast he thought was a sign of his ultimate honor is now revealed to be the stage for his final exposure and condemnation. He is being rushed to his own trial and sentencing. God is not just defeating Haman; He is doing so with a literary flair and a sense of poetic justice that is breathtaking. The proud man who sought to destroy God's people at a feast of his own devising will be destroyed at a feast prepared by one of those very people.
The Unseen War
What is happening here is more than just court intrigue. This is a skirmish in an ancient war. As I have said before, Haman is an Agagite, a descendant of the king of the Amalekites. And Mordecai is a Benjamite, from the family of Kish, the father of King Saul. It was Saul who was commanded by God to utterly destroy the Amalekites, and he failed. He spared King Agag (1 Samuel 15). Now, centuries later, a descendant of Agag seeks to finish the job in reverse, to exterminate the Jews. And a descendant of Saul's family is the one God uses to bring about the final downfall of the Amalekite seed.
This is the war described in Genesis 3:15, the enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Amalek attacked Israel without provocation in the wilderness, and God swore that He would have war with Amalek from generation to generation (Exodus 17:16). Haman's hatred is not personal; it is satanic. It is the hatred of the serpent for the seed through whom the Messiah would come.
And so, the prophecy of Zeresh and the wise men was more profound than they knew. When they said, "If Mordecai...is of the seed of the Jews, you will not overcome him," they were stumbling upon a central truth of all history. The covenant people of God are an anvil that has worn out many hammers. Empires have risen and fallen, tyrants have raged and plotted, but the church of Jesus Christ, the true Israel of God, remains. Why? Because we are the "seed of the Jews" in the ultimate sense. We are united by faith to the great Son of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And in Him, we cannot be overcome. The gates of Hell itself cannot prevail against His church.
Haman began to fall before Mordecai, and he would surely fall. This is the destiny of all who set themselves against Christ and His people. They may appear to be winning for a season. They may build their gallows high. They may secure their decrees and mock the people of God. But their fall is not a matter of if, but when. And when it begins, it will be swift, it will be total, and it will be irreversible. The king's eunuchs are always on their way, and the banquet of judgment is already prepared.