So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor."
Esther 6:11
This strange twist of irony halfway through the Book of Esther lets us know that all is well. God shows us His hand before it is played. And this peek into sovereign irony was ultimately salvation for the Jews.
It all started with a king's insomnia. Since he could not sleep, Ahaseurus calls for the royal chronicles to be read to him. Maybe it was a way to get some productivity out of his sleepless hours. Maybe he hoped the dry facts would make him drowsy. Either way, the interruption and the king's response to what he finds out with it, were used by God to further the plot of the sovereign storyline. A sleepless night was a moment for God to work.
What came from this was a big response to a small footnote in events. Mordecai had been unrewarded in his discovery of a conspiracy to overthrow the king. And now Ahaseurus is bent on rewarding Mordecai. The only royal official in the courtyard is Haman. The king asks Haman for a fitting reward to honor one who served the throne. Self-obsessed Haman assumes it his own reward and concocts this scenario.
And then the irony falls with sweet laughter. Prejudiced, hate-filled Haman is forced to lead his object of hate, Mordecai, around the capital city on horseback, proclaiming royal honor that was bestowed on... a Jew. From this point on in the story God is clearly in control of events. He will use the minds of His enemies against them. Haman will be humiliated by the "honor" he proposed for himself. He will soon die in the way he dreamed of Mordecai's demise. God is bigger than human thinking.
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