Esther 5:14 "Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made."
Haman was "living high on the hog." He had inside access to the king and was invited to an exclusive banquet. Yet, even as he finished telling his wife and friends how great of a guy he was, he was still not happy because of one man! "Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai. . . ." From this point on, the events of Haman's life were trending downward. We can learn from Haman's part in Esther's story that God will give a proud man just enough rope to hang himself.
Haman climbed up the ladder of success, only to find himself standing on top of his own gallows. God has a way of giving a man just enough rope to hang himself when he is full of himself. On the flip side, God will give you enough grace to do what is right when you recognize the fact that He is in control. All of the "good" things in Haman's life were conspiring against him in preparation for his bad end.
Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." You can see this demonstrated in Haman's life. When you are living on the other side of the fact-in humility-you can trust God for things that you cannot see. A friend of mine was distraught because he was seeing ambitious people who lack integrity come into prominence. It is not just in his life, either; our world is full of the same. It is tempting to become discouraged and disgusted by all of this, but we should not forget that God rules. If you feel like you are being passed over, remember that God rules. If you are climbing the ladder and stepping on people on the way up, you might just be climbing to the top of your own gallows!
When it comes down to it, I don't want any part of Haman in my life! It is so easy to spot pride, selfish ambition, and manipulation in other people; it is not so easy to spot in your own life. God may be giving you just enough figurative rope to hang yourself. If you are living in humility but are discouraged by others' selfish ambitions, remember than God still reigns and is in control.
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