Walking with the Wise #51: Concealing Corruption

“Blessings are on the head of the righteous,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”
—Proverbs 10:6

Those who seek the Lord will be blessed, but the mouth of the wicked who plot violence will find themselves victims of their own plots. Consider for a moment Haman, from the book of Esther. The heroine of the book, Esther, was selected as Queen of Persia after a long kingdom-wide beauty contest conducted by King Ahasuerus. Raised by her cousin Mordecai, Esther was Jewish and had managed to keep her heritage a secret in the land of Persia. One man, Haman the Agagite, was a political mover and shaker who managed to advance quickly up the ranks of the King’s court. Respected throughout the kingdom, people bowed down whenever they saw Haman—all, that is, except Mordecai, Esther’s cousin. Angered by such a slight, Haman laid out plans for a pogrom against Mordecai’s people, the Jews. He managed to get the king to sign off on his diabolical plot, going so far as to fix a day for the slaughter of Jews throughout the kingdom. He even constructed a gallows designed especially for Mordecai to be hanged on.

God cannot be mocked, and He has a way of turning our plans against us whenever they are for heinous purposes. The story of Haman is no exception. Unbeknownst to Haman, Mordecai had earlier uncovered an assassination plot on the king’s life. And, on the night before he was to see the king, Ahasuerus couldn’t sleep and had some of the records of his reign read in his presence. Discovering Mordecai’s fidelity in foiling the assassination plot, he sought to honor him. In one of the Bible’s great ironic twists, just as the King was contemplating what to do, Haman was on his way to see the King. Ushered into the King’s presence, Haman was asked what should be done for the man whom the King desires to honor. Thinking that there was no one more honorable than himself in the kingdom, he laid out a series of honorific ceremonies and endowments, only to be shocked to discover that the honors weren’t for him, but for the hated Mordecai! The King then does the unthinkable and commands Haman to parade Mordecai through the kingdom, bestowing honor, goods and recognition upon the man he hates!

If honoring his enemy weren’t enough, it was only a short time later that Esther revealed her heritage while identifying Haman as an enemy of the royal court! Angered, the King marched out of the room as Haman vainly begged Esther for his life. The King returned, saw Haman, and wrongly believed that he was attempting to take advantage of his wife. Furious, he ordered Haman’s death on the very gallows Haman had designed for Mordecai!

The evil we harbor in the darkness of our hearts has a way of being brought out into the light of Christ’s presence. We may plot evil for others, but it will find its way back to us. Our only hope is to admit the evil of our heart, forsake it, and plead for Christ’s forgiveness. Or, as Paul said,

“But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God”—2 Corinthians 4:2.

We commend ourselves in the sight of God, opening up our souls to the penetrating light of His Holy Spirit. May the Lord our God cleanse our consciences through confession, and enable us to find forgiveness through the cross of Christ. His blood covered even the worst of our sins. And His resurrection enabled us to be freed from the penalty and power of our sins. It also has guaranteed us the day when we will be freed from the very presence of sin in glory.

May our lives be beacons of truth and may our hearts resound with loving affection for others. May the corruption we once concealed be turned into loving concern for those for whom Christ died so that He might receive the glory due to His holy and awesome name. Amen.