Esther 7:1-10
Queen Esther was beautiful. Scripture says she was “lovely in form and features” (2:7). When Esther walked into a room, heads would have turned. If she had lived today she would have been on every major magazine cover without the need of air brushing or computerized touch-ups. But Esther was also Jewish, living in exile with her family secret. Because of the anti-Semitism of Haman, Esther and her people were living under a death sentence … yet, neither Haman nor the king had any idea that the queen was Jewish.
In the previous chapters, Esther was urged by Mordecai to appeal to the king to stop the annihilation decree. Appearing unannounced before the king was against court protocol, but the king welcomed Esther’s intrusion, even though he hadn’t called for her in the last 30 days She requested that the king and Haman come to a banquet the following day. After they had dined, Esther put off voicing her request and instead asked the king and Haman to yet another banquet the following day. This is where chapter seven picks up the story.
Esther’s Petition (vv. 1-5)
The scene began innocently enough. “As they were drinking wine on that second day, the king again asked, ‘Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted’” (v. 2).
Wine was usually served after Persian meals. Thus, the meal was over and the suspense was mounting. This is the third time that Xerxes has asked Esther to voice her request (5:3, 6; 7:2). Again, his promise was generous.
We need to think about the delicate nature of Esther’s request. She needed to announce to a very volatile king that his second-in-command, his most trusted assistant, is not to be trusted at all, and in fact, is a beast! In chapter one, the king had deposed his queen for her disobedience; what would he do to Esther if he disliked her request, or to Haman if he agreed with her? Esther must now not only reveal that she is a member of a condemned people, but she must also accuse the king’s assistant of arranging for their murder! And both of these revelations could be highly offensive to such a king! Add to that, the king could be offended at her insolence since he had signed the decree! How could she risk implying that all of this was his fault (out of his ignorance and apathy, he signed the decree without asking any questions)? This was indeed delicate territory! The king’s response could swing either way. Very carefully, Esther voiced her request: “If I have found favor with you, O King, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life – this is my petition. And spare my people – this is my request. For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king” (vv. 3-4). She was shrewd. She didn’t even mention her people by name nor did she mention Haman’s name. Because it was burned into her memory, she was able to quote the decree word for word. But even quoting the edict didn’t jog the king’s memory. In measured condescension to this egotistical king, Esther amazingly went on to mention if her people had only been sold as slaves, she would not have mentioned this, but since this was a matter of life and death, she appealed to the king for mercy.
The king was trying to comprehend such a monstrous thing. All he seems to have heard at this point was that someone was trying to kill Esther! So he asked, “Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing? (v. 5)”
2. Esther Identifies Haman (vv. 6-7a)
The moment was finally right, the moment of truth. The next 60 seconds would be the hinge on which Jewish extinction in Persia would turn. Esther boldly answered the king’s question. “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman!” (v. 6). Esther was taking on the second most powerful man in the kingdom. Esther was bold and brave. She didn’t hesitate any longer. She answered the king.
Haman was terrified, as well he should be! He was caught! There was no way out!
The text says the king got up in a rage. He was angry. His mind would have been flooded with questions: How could this be? My wife is Jewish, a member of a captive people? A foreigner? My second in command is about to kill her along with all of her people? And then the worst question of all…
. . . What decree is she talking about? And I signed this decree? How could I have done such a thing? How can I change this decree I signed when the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be changed?
3. Haman’s Downfall (vv. 7b-8)
Haman knew the king well enough to know his only hope was to plead to the queen for mercy and ask her to plead to the king for him. Protocol dictated that no one was ever to be with the queen alone in the harem except for the king. Even in the presence of others, a man was to stay at least seven steps from a woman in the harem. Haman should have left along with the king but he was trapped between the king’s wrath and his offended queen. What could he do? He made another bad decision.
Haman decided to take his chances with Esther, knowing that his fate was about to be decided by the king, “…he stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.”
This was unthinkable! Xerxes interpreted Haman’s actions as a sexual advance and exclaimed, “’Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?’” (vv. 7-8a)
Palace gossip had circulated enough that the court officials knew of the gallows Haman had built for Mordecai. “As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.” Then Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs (1:10) said, “’A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman’s house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.’ The king said, ‘Hang him on it!’ So they hung Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided” (vv. 8b-10). This revelation of the gallows appears to have sealed the fate of Haman and he was immediately executed. Jobes comments: “This sudden reversal gives Haman’s story a tragic irony. In an instant, all of a person’s best-laid plans can be reversed to produce the opposite result. It’s especially ironic when that person has all the power of a great empire behind him and when his downfall began with something as insignificant as someone else’s sleepless night”.
Esther has been criticized for being hard-hearted in not forgiving Haman and interceding with the king on his behalf. After all, Haman didn’t know she was Jewish, for Esther herself had concealed the fact. She knew he wasn’t assaulting her on the couch. Why didn’t she stand up for him? She could have manipulated the king to pardon Haman. On this point, author Karen Jobes asks an insightful question: “Is pity always a virtue? And is the lack of it always a character flaw?” The author of Esther doesn’t give us any insight into Esther’s mind, but perhaps it’s in this very moment that Esther shows her greatest strength of character and fulfills her highest calling. From chapter five onward, Esther came into her own as queen. Aligning herself with God’s people, she no longer was only a beautiful trophy wife. By putting on her royal robes as she prepared to enter the king’s presence unbidden, she took up the power of her position and identified herself with her people. This was no time for emotionalism.
Whereas King Saul failed on this matter (I Samuel 13:1-15, especially verse 13), Esther would not. This killer needed to be killed and Esther was equal to the task.
Remember our key verse? Esther 4:14b, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” She was God’s woman … for such a time as this. God had placed her in this position for this very moment.
Human evil exists. Even though many today deny evil exists, we can be sure it does. Psalm 1:5-6 says, “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. The Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” Haman was an evil man. God is the definition of goodness and righteousness. Human evil is always directed against God whether the evil person recognizes God or not. The battle between good and evil has been going on ever since Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin (Genesis 3). It will continue until Christ destroys death and hell and then establishes the new heaven and the new earth for eternity (Revelation 21:1).
Evil is self-deceptive. Haman thought he was safe; he was the king’s right-hand man, he was invited to the queen’s banquet. How could he be any safer or more successful? But things were not as they appeared. Evil allows us to believe in ourselves, justifying our actions. We believe that if we are clever enough we won’t get caught. Others might get caught, but not us. Evil appears to promise well-being and safety. It all seemed so right to Haman. So secure. Why?
Because sin blinds. Evil will be punished (Psalm 9:15-16). One day Haman was on top of the world – wealthy, successful, powerful. The very next day he was executed in disgrace. Overnight circumstances had changed. Evil is always punished (Romans 2:9), if not in this life, then in the next.
Divine judgment awaits those who oppose God and His people (II Thessalonians 1:4-10). God has chosen not to spare His children the consequences of living in a sinful world. We are to expect suffering. Yet we must remember God is keeping the records. Evil will be punished. God will have the last word. God sent His Son to die for lost sinners. And yet if the sinner continues to reject the Gospel, there is nothing left but divine judgment.
Take Home Truth: Divine judgment awaits those who oppose God and His people.
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