The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. – Esther 7:7

Today's Scripture Reading (November 3, 2023): Esther 7

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." It is a common proverb that has been rephrased several times. In his book, "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft," Steven King adds to the phrase by writing, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us." It sounds good, but if you fool me three times, the reality is that you are smart and I am not, or I am just too trusting, which might be true. The phrase might be best remembered for the way that George W. Bush mangled it. "There's an old saying in Tennessee – I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once - shame on you. Fool me – you can't get fooled again" (George W. Bush).

The phrase probably originates with courtier and politician Sir Anthony Weldon (1583-1648). Weldon was thrown out of the Court of King James for his negative assessment of the people of Scotland in his book "A Description of Scotland." King James reigned over England from 1603-1625, but over Scotland from 1567-1625. It is an understatement to say that King James was not impressed by Weldon's description of the Scots, so he showed the politician the door and told him not to come back. In revenge for his release, Sir Weldon decided to write a tell-all book filled with gossip and secrets from King James's court. In this book, Weldon includes the phrase, "He that deceives me once, it's his fault; but if twice, it's my fault." It seems that it was in this book that the phrase first originated, or at least was first written down.

At Esther's banquet, Esther unveils Haman's plot to kill the Jews. What is even worse, she reveals that this plot is actually a personal fight of Haman and has nothing to do with the Empire of Xerxes. Mordecai had been an asset to the Kingdom and was even instrumental in saving Xerxes's life. But instead of being honored for his loyalty, he and his people are about to be exterminated because of a personal grudge being held by Haman. Xerxes feels like he has been used and played for a fool. He storms out of the room, probably to get a hold of his emotions, but Haman knows that the gig is up. The King has already decided his fate, and his only hope is to convince Esther that she needs to extend mercy to him for his foolishness. It is an apology that Esther doesn't seem to want to hear, and what follows would be comedic if the outcomes weren't so dire.

Xerxes has been fooled once, but he has no intention of being fooled again. He may not have been from Texas or Tennessee or have known about any of the secrets of King James's Kingdom. Still, even in Persia, the King could not allow anyone to fool him, let alone get him caught up in the revenge of a courtier or the execution of people who had proven their loyalty to him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Esther 8