ESTHER 7:8-10
When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine,
Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also
assault the queen while I am in the house?”As the word left the king’s mouth, they
covered Haman’s face. Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs,said to the king, “Look!
The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on
the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on
it!”
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s
wrath subsided.
The fastest speed for a cross-country skier was set by Aleksey Prokurorov of Russia on
March 19, 1994. Mr. Prokurorov maintained an average speed of 16.24 miles per hour for 50
kilometers. On the other hand, the speed record for downhill skiing belongs to Philippe Goitschel of
France, who, on April 21, 1993, whizzed down the hill at 145.161 miles per hour. The
drastic difference, of course, is caused by the slope.
Sin is also a slippery slope. In Psalm 73, the psalmist says about the wicked, “Then I
understood their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to
destruction” (vv, I 7-18).
When Haman plotted to destroy the Jews, he placed his feet on a slippery slope. Then,

like a downhill skier out of control, he careened first through exposure, then condemnation
and finally death.
Sin still operates that way today. Most people begin with small transgressions. Perhaps
they shoplift a candy bar or rent an X-rated video. These sins seem rather small
compared to bank robbery or rape. Yet they set the person’s feet on the edge of a very
slippery slope.
If Satan whispers in your ear, “Go ahead. It’s only a little sin,” tell him you know better. If
you refuse to take lightly the minor transgressions, you’ll be sure to avoid the major ones.
THE BEST WAY TO AVOID GOING DOWNHILL IS TO STAY OFF THE
SLOPE.
WOODROW KROLL
www.backtothebible.in