That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in. (Est. 6:1)
Expanded Passage: Esther 6:1
Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think? You’re welcome! You now have a song stuck in your head, especially if you were a teen in the mid-1990s. For the rest of the day, you may find yourself singing over and over: “It’s like rain on your wedding day / It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid / It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take / And who would have thought? It figures!” But to create more consternation as you sing, the only thing ironic about the song is the song itself does not contain irony. Which may have been the intent of the artist.
When it comes to irony, the book of Esther is overflowing with it. In today’s Scripture, the king desires to honor Mordecai and he asks a man, Haman—who wants to kill Mordecai—how he should do it. The full extent of the irony is revealed later. However, the book of Esther is not the only place irony is found in the Bible. Jesus shares an ironic teaching when he says, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matt. 20:16). This teaches that God’s kingdom functions differently than that of the world, and what makes us acceptable to him has everything to do with what he has done for us, rather than what we have done for him.
Ask for forgiveness for trying to earn what was freely given.
T. J. Albertson has been pastoring for twenty-one years, the last nineteen in interchurch service. He loves teaching the whole Bible and its relevance to life.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
