One day we had a fellow at work blow his top. The guy is a chronic complainer, always threatening to quit, and not afraid to run his mouth. Well, he had started off working for the company at the right time because he got a sweet heart route to temporarily run. When that route finally went up for bid he didn't like where they stuck him but it was all that was available. So when he was told some stuff he didn't like he cursed out the boss and said he quit. He then walked outside, thirty second later came back inside, and went back to work. The boss told him to go home since he had said all that. It left the rest of us wondering if the guy would be back or not (being union there was a chance). Turns out he played nice with all the right people and got to keep his job. The incident reminded me of a point in the Bible where other people were curious if a certain matter would stand. In Esther 3 Mordecai the Jew refused to bow down to the new prime minister of the Medo-Persian Empire, a man named Haman. We do not know why Mordecai took this stance only that he did. Haman on the other hand was a glory hound, who appeared to have risen through the political ranks fairly quickly. He did not like that Mordecai refused to bow to him. In addition to Mordecai's name and crime his ancestry was also disclosed. One way or another it lead to Haman hatching his plot to not only kill Mordecai but all the Jews in the empire. As far as he was concerned Mordecai might stand for the time being but Haman would stand taller. The thing is this, God over rules in all things. Even though God is not specifically mentioned in the book of Esther His providential hand is very evident. Esther had been made the new queen four or five years before Haman was made prime minister but she had not disclosed she was also a Jew. Mordecai was also to be honored for saving the king's life earlier and Haman was humiliated by having to parade Mordecai through the streets proclaiming how the king honors people who deserve it. Then Queen Esther made her feast and declared how her people were going to be executed by shortly. That news did not sit well with the king nor did Haman's involvement. Long story short, the king had Haman hung on the same gallows that he had built to hang Mordecai on. This matter was not going to stand. In fact God had promised hundreds and hundreds of years beforehand that the matter would not stand. When we dig a little deeper we find that God gave this promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." God promised he was going to stand by Abraham and his descendants. Yes there would be times when He would have to punish them but no matter what, the nation of Israel is His. This matter of killing them all will not stand. It did not stand for Nazi's nor any other who has tried to wipe out God's people. In Mordecai's case the matter did stand just with God and not Haman but then again God is the one we are supposed to be trying to please. So will the matter stand? That fella who ended up keeping his job only did so because the boss he angered is a real easy going guy who showed him mercy. It did come with the stipulation that next time that happens he is done. Thank God that He is long suffering toward His people. Christians the same goes for us. When we sin against Him we can receive mercy, grace, and forgiveness because in that matter the blood of Jesus still stands.