Esther 5:1-14
On May 10, 1939, the king of England summoned the newly-elected Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to Buckingham Palace and asked him to mobilize Britain to fight Adolph Hitler’s Nazis. England was in peril as Europe was falling to the Nazi war machine. Churchill wrote in his diary that day, “I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.”
Esther also had a date with destiny. Note again our theme verse, Mordecai’s famous words in chapter 4:14b, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Unknown to the king or to Haman was that Esther herself was a Jewess and that five years before God had divinely placed her as queen so she would be in position to save her people.
1. Esther Approaches the King (vv. 1-4)
Vashti, the former queen, had risked her life by refusing to appear before the drunken king and officials when summoned. The irony here is that Esther would risk her life by going to the king when she wasn’t summoned. Archeological evidence reveals that her fears were warranted. Two reliefs have been excavated showing a Persian king seated on his throne with a long scepter in his right hand. An attendant was standing behind the throne holding a large ax! The threat of death would be very real if Esther approached the king’s throne. And Xerxes was known for his volatile moods.
Esther was joined in her three-day fast by Mordecai, her maids and those Mordecai compelled to fast. Can you imagine what those three days were like for Esther while she waited? If she had a copy of Isaiah with her (she most likely did not), she could have read Isaiah 41:10 and 13 which say, “So do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand… For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you.” As Esther fasted (and we assume prayed), it appears she became more confident to face the king.
As she dressed in her royal robes, she had more than beauty in mind. She wasn’t only dressing to look beautiful to the king, she was claiming her authority and power as the Queen of Persia. Imagine how she was feeling standing behind the royal doors awaiting her entrance. Her heart must have been pounding, her hands sweating. But God was with Esther. He had prepared her for this very day.
As she entered, Xerxes was pleased with her and extended his royal scepter, granting her access into his presence. Jewish tradition says Esther fainted and that the king revived her but there is no biblical record of this. Certainly she could have been overcome with emotion.
For the first time in the book, Esther is addressed as “Queen Esther” as Xerxes asks her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half of the kingdom, it will be given you.” “Up to half the kingdom” was an idiom commonly used by ancient royalty and was not intended to be taken literally. It simply meant that the king was disposed to be generous in meeting the request.
Esther’s answer is not what we expect. Instead of accusing Haman or pleading for mercy, she invited the king and Haman to a special banquet. She wasn’t ready yet. The timing wasn’t right. Perhaps she felt the king would have been unprepared to hear that his chief assistant was seeking to kill the queen and her people. Perhaps the place wasn’t right. She preferred her choice of a place, rather than the feared throne room. And perhaps she wanted Haman present when she told the king of his treachery. She had prepared herself for this moment. It’s also possible that she may have still been overcome with emotion and she wanted to be in full control of her emotions. It was not the right time; God led her to wait.
2. Esther’s First Banquet (vv. 5-8)
At the banquet while the king was drinking his wine, he asked again, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted”(v. 6). Again Esther used delay tactics. She still wasn’t ready. She asked that the king and Haman come to a second banquet the very next day. Why she delayed again is simply not stated. Perhaps things still didn’t feel quite right. Suspense is heightened, not only for the king and for Haman, but also for the reader. Xerxes knew it was something important, or else Esther would never have risked her life to approach him. Since ancient kings were not in the habit of waiting for anything, this was a bold move on Esther’s part. We can trust that God was leading her.
3. Haman’s Plot Against Mordecai (vv. 9-14)
“Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home” (v. 9). All Haman’s happiness at being invited to a second banquet with the king and queen (his career at a pinnacle) evaporated at the sight of Mordecai not rising or showing fear in his presence. His day was totally spoiled. Sin has so saturated our lives that we can have nine things right and one thing wrong and we focus on the one wrong thing. Haman certainly did.
Note the way Haman boasted to his friends and to his wife later that day. He bragged “… about his vast wealth, his many sons [9:7-10 says he had ten sons] and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials” (v. 11). In verses 12-13 he continued, “And that’s not all, I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.” Poor Haman, all of his wealth, sons and self-importance couldn’t bring him happiness as long as Mordecai would not bow to him.
Haman’s hatred had infected his wife and his friends. Bitterness takes root inside us as long as we nourish it (Hebrews 12:15) and those around us often take up our offenses. Haman’s wife, Zeresh, suggested to Haman, “Have a gallows built, seventy-five feet high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the dinner and be happy”(5:14). As if happiness is achieved by the hanging of an enemy!
The excessive height (75 feet, over nine stories high) of the gallows speaks of Haman’s wife’s excessive desire for revenge. This was way too high; needlessly high. Interestingly, the gallows mentioned here were not like we imagine. Persian victims were impaled. This gallows would have been a tall, sharp, spear-like pole. Haman was delighted with Zeresh’s suggestion and ordered that the gallows be built overnight. The satisfaction of human pride in its demand for honor and respect outweighed the value of human life in the pagan world of Persia.
Zeresh’s advice reminds us of Jezebel’s advice to her husband, King Ahab, in I Kings 21:1-16. Like Haman, all of Ahab’s power and possessions failed to satisfy him because he wanted just one more thing (aren’t we all like that?). Ahab had been sulking like a spoiled child because he wanted to buy the vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. Naboth had refused to sell it because it had been in the family for perhaps hundreds of years. Jezebel’s solution was to have Naboth killed so Ahab could take the vineyard for himself. After all, he was the king!
Note Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord: he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” Xerxes’ scepter was in God’s hands. We need to remind ourselves not to judge our present circumstances merely from a human perspective. We need to ask God to help us see the bigger picture.
God used Haman’s pride to bring about his downfall. We see pride so easily in others, and yet are blithely unaware of its ugly grip in our own lives. There isn’t a temptation that we face more frequently than pride. And once we think we’ve got it conquered, we are proud of that! “In his pride the wicked does not seek him [God]; in all his thoughts there is no room for God”(Psalm 10:4), “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech” (Proverbs 8:13), When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2) and “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
Can you think of other Bible characters who struggle with pride? Do you deal with pride? What does God want us to do when we struggle (we all continually deal with thoughts of pride, we’re consumed with thinking about ourselves.)?
Haman’s pride and arrogance will be his downfall. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
God led Esther regarding the timing. She refused to state her request until the second banquet. How do we know when we should move ahead? When do we wait? James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” God will give us wisdom if we remember to ask Him for it.
God will prompt and enable you to stand up for what’s right. Esther’s transformation from a person of relatively weak character (chapters 1-2) to one who would risk her life in approaching the king uninvited proceeded from that defining moment when she decided to identify herself with her people as a Jewess. Esther is referred to by name 37 times in the story. In only 14 of those 37 times is she referred to as “Queen Esther.” All but one of these times occurs after 5:1. Esther assumed the dignity and power of her royal position only after she claimed her true identity as a woman of God. And so it can be for us as we stand up for what’s right and for who we are in Christ.
Chapter five ends like the high drama of an old radio program. Israel is marked for destruction. Will Mordecai be impaled on the gallows? Will Esther rescue her cousin in time? What will happen to the Jews? Will evil win the day? Tune in next time….
Take Home Truth: When disaster seems inevitable, remember God is still at work.
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