“That Night the King Could Not Sleep”Where Is God? - The Tale of Queen EstherLanse Evangelical Free ChurchNovember 23, 2025 :: Esther 6:1-14  
Timing is everything.
In so many areas of life, so much comes down to timing. What happened when. How fast something unfolded. What came first. What came last. What happened at just the right time...or at just the wrong time!
Timing is so important. Especially in storytelling. Right? Especially in comedy. Have you ever told a joke that just fell flat because you got the timing wrong? I’ve done that up here! 
The storytelling in Esther chapter 6 is all about timing. And when you really get it, you see that it’s comedic timing.
Esther chapter 6 is, perhaps, the funniest chapter in the whole Bible, depending on your sense of humor. I know that most audiences just laugh and laugh when they get it for the first time...and for all the times after that! And it all comes down to timing.
Now, nothing was funny at the end of chapter 5. Because, speaking of timing, there were two clocks ticking down towards  death for God’s people. One was ticking more slowly, but it was the bigger clock. All of the Jews in the world were slated for genocide in just eleven months.
Haman, the enemy of the Jews, had manipulated the Persian King Xerxes (also known as Ashasuerus) to authorize the extermination of all of the Jews in the Persian Kingdom of the fifth century BC because one of the Jews, a man named Mordecai, had refused to honor Haman.
Mordecai was a low level civil servant in the king’s city of Susa. His enemy Haman had risen to the top spot in that kingdom, just below the king. As high a non-royal person could go. Like a prime minister.
But Haman was not content with that position, especially because Mordecai would not bow in honor to him. So Haman had cast the “pur,” he rolled the dice, and randomly chose the 13th day of Adar in about a year to [this was the wording of the irrevocable decree he got the king’s ring to authorize to] “...destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews–young and old, women and little children–on a single day” (Est. 3:13).
And the big clock was ticking down.
There is one person who may be close enough to the king to do something about this wicked plan. Amazingly enough, it is Mordecai’s own cousin whom he had raised, a beautiful orphaned Jewish girl named Hadassah, and her Persian name was Esther.
Amazingly enough, Esther had been chosen to be the queen! She had pleased the king over all the other girls taken into his harem and been chosen for the top spot. 
Nobody knew, even apparently her husband, that Esther was a Jew. She has been keeping it secret because Mordecai told her to. But now, Mordecai has asked her to take her life in her hands and ask the king to save her and her people.  
Maybe, just maybe, she had been raised to this position for such a time as this! Timing is so important!
Did she do it? Not yet. First, she fasted and asked all the Jews to fast with her. For three days! No food or water! And then she went and broke the law. This is what we read about last week in chapter 5. 
Esther robed herself in courage and royal dignity and wisdom. And she approached the king without being summoned–which unless the king extended his golden scepter meant death. But she had decided that if she died, she died. But she was going to do what was right. And she did.
And...big relief...the king extended his golden scepter and asked her what was up. What did she want? And what did she say?
She said, “I want you to come to lunch with me. How about a banquet? Me, and you and Haman.” And that pleased the king because he loves banquets. Oh boy, does he love banquets! And then when they were at her banquet, he said, “Ok. Now what was it you were going to ask? What is your request?” And she said, “I’ll tell you tomorrow at the next banquet.”
She’s teasing him! She’s pulling him along. He loves this. Esther has great timing!
Probably tomorrow she’s going to ask him to do something to save the Jews. (Unless she invites him to another banquet! She just might have a third one up her sleeve.)
But that’s when the second clock started ticking down. Because Haman saw Mordecai on his way home from Banquet #1, and he was filled with rage again because Mordecai still would not honor him. And Haman poured out his anger and pride and hate at home, and his “friends” and wife there egged him on to do something about it right then and there. They said, “Don’t wait for next year. Kill Mordecai tomorrow. Build a gallows, a killing machine that towers above all of the buildings in this city and ask the king in the morning to execute Mordecai on it tomorrow before Banquet #2.
Timing is everything. Esther may have dodged death today, but little did she or her cousin know, Mordecai was headed for death tomorrow. The carpenters had been hammering all night long. The second clock is ticking down towards death, and it’s not months, it’s hours, it’s minutes.
But here’s where it gets funny! Because the very next thing that happens is that king passes a sleepless night. First words of chapter 6, verse 1. Our title for today:
“That Night the King Could Not Sleep”
My friend Nick Boonstra’s sermon on chapter 6 was titled, “Sleepless in Susa” with apologies to Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. 
That night (there’s timing for you!) the king could not sleep. The Hebrew is even funnier. It says something like “the sleep of the king fled.”  The Christian Standard Bible says, “Sleep escaped the king.”
Ever felt that way? Sleep got away from you. Tossing and turning. Warm side of the pillow. Cool side of the pillow. Warm side of the pillow. Cool side of the pillow. Look at the clock. Stare at the ceiling. “I don’t think I’m going to sleep.” Talk about timing. Have you ever had a big day planned, and the night before is the night that you just can’t sleep?
It doesn’t say why he couldn’t sleep. Maybe this happened to him often.
Maybe it was all that rich banquet food he ate. I know I can’t sleep if I eat too much. Maybe he was worried about something like “What was Esther going to ask tomorrow?” Or when would his army ever defeat the Greeks? Maybe he was excited about something. “I can’t wait to see Esther tomorrow and find out what she has planned for our banquet!” Too keyed up to sleep. Or maybe there’s this sound of hammering in the distance that is keeping him awake. “What’s all that construction noise?”
It doesn’t say why. It just says that it just so happened (wink, wink) that “That night (of all nights!) the king could not sleep.” We laugh, but he didn’t think it was funny. The most powerful man in the world, and he can’t even get himself to get some rest.
What do you do when you can’t sleep? Do you count sheep? Here’s what Xerxes did: 
He decided to listen to a podcast. Or something like it. He turned on C-Span. Look again at verse 1. 
“That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.”
To me that sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry.
He calls in his night staff, and says, “Read to me from the record of my reign.” Maybe he wants to bore himself to sleep. Or maybe if he has to be awake, he wants to hear stories about how great he is and how great his kingdom has been. And be reminded of all of the great things he’s done or have been done for him and his glory. So they are reading to him from these history books. And it just so happened (wink, wink, that verse 2):
“It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.”
Do you remember that story? It might have been 4 or 5 years ago. That was way back in chapter 2 soon after Esther had become queen. 
What are the chances that Xerxes would have had this story read to him on the very night before Haman would ask for Mordecai’s head? Timing!
Now, this is very important to the king. He puts his reader on pause, and he asks a question. Verse 3.
“‘What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?’ the king asked. ‘Nothing has been done for him,’ his attendants answered.”
And that’s correct. We heard about that back in chapter 2. They wrote it down, but then nothing happened. As far as we know, the king has never met Mordecai. He’s just some guy who works on the first floor. Works out by the door. It sure doesn’t seem like the king knows hardly anything about him–especially Mordecai’s real connection to his wife. 
But he’s been reminded of that day that he saved his life through his wife. And it’s important for a Persian king to reward that kind of service. Because if people know that they will be rewarded for exposing a threat to the king, they will exposes more threats to the king. And that will keep him  safe and will show him to be generous. And this king loves to seem generous!
“‘What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?’ ...  ‘Nothing has been done for him...”
“Oh, that’s not right! We’ve got to fix this now.”
And it’s apparently reached morning. It’s tomorrow already. He hasn’t slept, but now he’s on a mission. And he’s headed for a collision. Timing is everything.
Speaking of timing, let’s do this with the name of Haman today. Let’s drown out his name the first time he’s mentioned as we read this chapter and the last time. So here in verse 4 and then again in verse 14. I’ll remind you.
Xerxes wants advice. He never does anything without getting advice which can be a good idea if you have good advisers. He’s got some of the worst.
He want some advice on what to do to honor Mordecai who once saved his life. Who should he asked? How about Mordecai’s worst enemy? Verse 4.  [Remember: Boo and Hiss for Haman!]
“The king said, ‘Who is in the court?’ Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him."
He can hardly wait! This is the day that Mordecai dies! He’s there first thing to ask. Verse 5.
"His attendants answered, ‘Haman is standing in the court.’ ‘Bring him in,’ the king ordered. When Haman entered, the king asked him, ‘What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?’” Do you feel it? Do you feel the timing? It just so happened (wink, wink) that Haman was on hand to take this question.
And the king doesn’t say who he’s talking about! Which just sets things up for a classic case of comedic misunderstanding. Like a sitcom where everybody is assuming something different and talking past each other. And it just gets funnier and funnier!
The king doesn’t give Haman a chance to open his mouth. He doesn’t say good morning. He just launches in with, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”
And who does Haman think he means? Himself, right? Haman is a narcissist who is completely full of himself. He can’t think of anybody else. And he’s always been honored before.
In fact, he’s always been successful at manipulating this king before. Haman assumes that he can do it again. Verse 6.
“Now Haman thought to himself, ‘Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?’ So he answered the king, ‘For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!'”
I almost titled this sermon “The Man the King Delights to Honor” because he repeats it over and over and over again.
Haman doesn’t ask for much, does he? I would have asked for cash, but he’s already loaded. What he wants is to be king for the day. He wants to wear the king’s clothes and ride the king’s horse and be given a king’s parade. He wants everything but the king’s wife!
And I think he wants Mordecai to see it. He’s now happy to wait for Mordecai to hang until after Mordecai sees Haman paraded around town as “the man the king delights to honor.”
Haman craves glory for himself. He is so proud. So proud he doesn’t realize what he’s done. Timing is everything. Verse 10.
“‘Go at once,’ the king commanded Haman. ‘Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.’”
I don’t know if the king has an idea of the rivalry between these two guys. It’s possible that as he heard what Haman thought should be done, he picked up that Haman thought it was all about him, and he enjoyed playing this practical joke on Haman. That’s possible. It sure doesn’t seem like he knows the beef between these two. He just says, “That’s a great idea. Do that! Robe, horse, parade. Mordecai the Jew. Go! Now! Timing is everything.”
Can you imagine the look on Haman’s face? I see him opening his mouth. And then closing it. And then turning on his heel and swallowing hard and gritting his teeth and doing everything just like the king said. Because you don’t disobey this king. He doesn’t get to say why he came early. He has to honor his enemy. V.11
“So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”
Can you imagine what this was like for Mordecai? He probably didn’t know about the gallows, but when Haman showed up at his house, he must have thought this was it! And he is forced to take off his sackcloth and put on a robe that King Ahasuerus has worn! And get up on a horse that King Ahasuerus has ridden. This horse has some kind of royal crest on his head. It’s like the horse has a crown! And his enemy, the enemy of his people, is leading the horse around town and shouting, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor! This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor! This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
I can’t imagine what he must have been feeling. All we’re told is that he got dropped off back at work. But we are told what Haman was feeling. V.12
“Afterward Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, [The tables have been turned. Look who is mourning now...] and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, ‘Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him–you will surely come to ruin!’”
That’s not what they said yesterday! Yesterday, he was on top of the world, and they were riding his coattails. But now, they say, “It’s tough to be you. You know you can’t win against the Jews.”
And, speaking of timing, Haman doesn’t have time to come up with a plan. Look at verse 14 and remember to drown out his name. Verse 14.
“While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.”
This isn’t going so well for him. All of a sudden, Haman is finding out that he’s not in control of his life after all. He’s rushed away to the second banquet that Esther had prepared.
Which we will read about next Sunday. Yep, it’s another cliffhanger. Because there is enough stuff in this chapter for us to think about more deeply today.
What can we learn from that night that the king could not sleep?
Let’s start by asking ourselves this question:
Who is the hero of Esther chapter 6?
It’s obviously a very funny story and has a happy ending...so far. Mordecai has dodged the bullet so far, but the big clock is still ticking down. His people are still scheduled for annihilation. We don’t know what’s going to happened at this second banquet. They don’t know. We don’t know.
But chapter 6 was very funny and very happy. 
Who made that happen?  
It wasn’t Esther, right? She didn’t do anything in chapter 6. She didn’t even start anything that then played out in chapter 6. She’s doing her part. She’s been courageous and prepared these banquets, but she’s hardly even mentioned in this chapter.
Is it Mordecai? Did he save the day? No. He’s pretty passive in this chapter. He goes for quite a ride! But it all happens to him. It’s not stuff he’s doing. He’s not the hero.
It sure isn’t Haman!
And I don’t think it’s Xerxes either. I mean, he does something right. He decides to fix something that was wrong and give credit where credit was due. But he’s not sweeping in to save Mordecai’s life. He doesn’t even know Mordecai was in danger.
Who’s the hero?
Nobody...that is named. But it sure feels like Somebody is moving things around in this story, doesn’t it? Timing is everything.
There sure are a lot of coincidences in this story.
How many times in re-telling it did I said, “It just so happened that...” How is that the king would be robbed of sleep that night? How is that the king would have read to him about when Mordecai saved his life that night? How is that Haman would have walked into the court at that very moment? How is that they would have talked past each other in that way? What are the chances?
What if there is no such thing as chance? Who could be doing all of that?
Someone who has not been named. Someone else is driving this story. It sure seems like the Author of this Story is the hero who is making it all happen.
I have three points for us to consider to apply Esther chapter 6 to our lives, and here’s the first one. They are all things for which we can be eternally grateful this Thanksgiving. 
#1. SOMEONE IS WORKING WHEN WE ARE NOT LOOKING.
Someone–this book does not say His name, but He’s very important to the story nonetheless–is working when we are not looking. 
He’s working in all of the details of our lives, no matter how seemingly insignificant. 
He’s working in our sleepless nights.He’s working in our random meetings.He’s working in our misunderstandings and when we’re talking past each other.He’s working in the smallest of details to accomplish His grand plan.
Do you believe that? I do.
That’s something to be grateful for on Thursday when you’re having the turkey. Be thankful for (I’ll say His name, God’s) providence. God so orders the world that He uses every single thing that happens to accomplish His purposes. 
That doesn’t make everything good. Sleepless nights are not always good. You don’t have to pretend they are. But God is always good, and He’s working every single sleepless night for our good! Even when we can’t see it. Especially when we can’t see it.
He is working when we are not looking. [I got that phrase from Nick Boonstra. I’m loving his sermon series on the Tale of Queen Esther.] And we don’t have to see His hand or even His fingerprints to know that they are there.
Often, we’ll only know in hindsight. Looking back. Looking back in your life, what are some of the super small things that made a big impact when you look back on them?
I think about the time I met Heather Joy. Her maiden name was Lundeen. My last name was Mitchell. We just so happened to be put in the same orientation group at Moody Bible Institute. Our last names just so happened to be close together in the American alphabet. And we just so happened to be at Moody as freshman at the same time. 
Did we know that day that Someone was working towards our marriage and our family and our ministry here in Pennsylvania? No. We were not looking. (I mean, I was looking! And I liked what I saw. But I had no idea.)
How about you? Looking back can you see some ways that Someone was working when you weren’t looking?
How about how you came to know Jesus as your Savior? What all had to come together for that to happen? What “just so happened” so that today you are saved? If today you are saved.
I think that this is the turning point of the Book of Esther. It feels like it. Even the Persians feel it (v.13)! Even Haman’s evil wife feels it! Someone is working when we’re not looking. He’s working all the time and in every thing that happens, big or small. 
That might be an even greater miracle than all the miracles we read about in the Book of Daniel! Because this is every single thing in the world in history being worked together into achieving God’s grand plan!
He’s doing it on His own timing. Talk about timing being everything. He doesn’t do it on our timing. But His timing is perfect. Down to the smallest thing. Down to the sleepless nights and silliest misunderstandings. Someone is working even when we are not looking. And here’s what He’s doing:
#2. SOMEONE IS OPPOSING THE PROUD BUT GIVING GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
Haman is so proud, and he’s going down.
It seemed like he was never going down. His trajectory was just up, and up, and up. And it didn’t matter whom he trampled on to get there. All he cares about is himself. He’s the only person he can imagine that king might want to honor.
Think about that. And ask yourself if that’s been you.
I know it’s been me. I have to regularly remind myself, “It’s not about you, Matt.”
It’s not about you. Stop thinking just about yourself and focus on others. Humble yourself and God will lift you up. The humble are the ones that the King delights to honor! But if you keep making everything about yourself, then you will find that Someone is opposing you. Someone is going to stop you, and you don’t want this unnamed Person as your enemy.
Haman would have done much better if he had known and taken heed to Proverbs 25:6&7.
“Do not exalt yourself in the king's presence, and do not claim a place among great men; it is better for him to say to you, ‘Come up here,’ than for him to humiliate you before a nobleman.”
Or 1 Peter 5:5, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
God is in the business of reversing things. Making everything right. He does it in his own perfect timing. Not on our timing. But He’s doing it. Haman was finding that out the hard way. God is going to settle all accounts. He’s going to bring perfect justice. Just like Mordecai was finally rewarded for his service to his king, we know that our King will one day reward all faithful service to Him. Justice will be done and will be seen to be done.
This story we’re living in is a not a tragedy. It’s a comedy. 
A comedy, in the classic literary sense, is a story that turns out to have a happy ending.
Lots of bad things can happen in a comedy, but the ending is always one of joy.
Church, we are a living in a comedy! I’ve read the end of the story, and our Hero wins! Remember: All bad things must come to an end! And this little chapter gives us just a hint of that. That’s something we can be give thanks for on Thursday. We living in a comedy, not a tragedy.
And one other thing that Someone is doing when we’re not looking...
#3. SOMEONE IS KEEPING ALL OF HIS PROMISES.
You know Who I mean! 
Did you notice why Haman’s wife and friends say that Haman is going down? Was it because Mordecai was such a great guy? Was that what they emphasized?
No. If you still have your Bible open, look at verse 13. It’s the thing that keeps getting mentioned over and over about Mordecai. It’s not that he’s a hero or an example or even really strong-willed and defiant. Verse 13.
“Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started [they expect it to continue!], is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him–you will surely come to ruin!’”
Now, they could be wrong. They are not prophets. But they have this sense that the Jews were protected. They have this sense, maybe they’ve heard some things about Daniel and his friends over in Babylon fifty years ago. Or maybe they’ve heard ancient prophecies from the Bible like the Eastern prophet Balaam’s in Numbers 24 about how if you curse these people you will be cursed.
Or the promises given to their ancestor Father Abraham. Promises of land, offspring, and blessing no matter what. Promises that the Promise Maker is going to keep.
Not on our timetable! He’s going to do it on His own schedule.
Timing is everything, and His timing is inscrutable and unimprovable.
So He’s going to do it. He’s going to keep every one of His promises. Including the promise to send a Messiah, a Savior who saves His people, not just from death but from their sins and eternal death. And He promises to allow that Messiah to suffer and die for His people’s sins, but then to be raised to life and given the name that is above every name. So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
That’s what’s going to happen to the Man the heavenly king delights to honor! 
And we can count on it. Someone is keeping all of His promises, every single one, and we just need to trust in them and in Him.
And give thanks for His faithfulness forever!

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Messages in this Series:

01. The King Gave a Banquet - Esther 1:1-22
02. “Hadassah” - Esther 2:1-23
03. "Bewildered" - Esther 3:1-15
04. "Who Knows?" - Esther 4:1-17
05. "What Is Your Request?" - Esther 5:1-14