Esther 5
1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”
5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.”
So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “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.”
7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”
Esther approaches the king. In Esther 4:11 we see the law that she is violating: 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
The king has the right to put to death anyone who approaches him without his summoning of them. When Mordecai challenged Esther to do just that, in order to save the Jewish population, she is well aware of this rule. But she doesn’t first go to the king. She first asked Mordecai and the people to fast for three days in preparation of this. This shows us that Esther needs this period of preparation, with fasting and prayer backing her, before she goes to the king.
When she finally goes before him, a true act of courage, the gold scepter is extended to her. This means that she can approach. Xerxes is happy to see her. This is surprising, because Xerxes first isn’t very good to his wives (see Queen Vashti) and has a reputation for being rash and impulsive (see his response to Vashti’s refusal). But God is at work here, if not overtly expressed in the text.
We will also notice that there isn’t an instant blurting of the problem at hand. Instead, her wish before the king is to invite Haman to a banquet. What is Esther up to?
9 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. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.
Again, Haman, even though being honored by Xerxes and his queen, can’t be happy until everyone is showing him the respect he thinks he needs.
Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “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. 13 But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”
Haman’s heart is wrong. Ultimately, this man needs God in his life, to humble himself and submit to the true, holy and pure power of the creator. Yet he cannot do that. His view of the world is temporal. He has done well for himself, but the one thing he can’t control, Mordecai, eats at his heart. His response is to lash out, to see the one speck that isn’t right in his life is rubbed out of existence. To eradicate everything that Mordecai and the Jews, are.
14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.
One thing we can gather about human life is that a person likes to surround themselves with like thinkers. People who will validate one’s own views. It gives comfort to the sinner. If everyone is sinning, then it blunts the individual’s sin and allows sin to continue. We see this in who Haman surrounds himself with. Think about what delights Haman: hanging Mordecai from a pole! The killing of Mordecai will cheer him up immensely so he can enjoy himself at the banquet.
When our heart is wrong, our motivation is corrupt in just about everything. When we aren’t seeking God, we’re running away from Him. When we do that, God gives us into our iniquity so that we can experience the hopelessness of sin. Paul says it this was in Romans 1:32:
32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”
5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.”
So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “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.”
7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”
Esther approaches the king. In Esther 4:11 we see the law that she is violating: 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
The king has the right to put to death anyone who approaches him without his summoning of them. When Mordecai challenged Esther to do just that, in order to save the Jewish population, she is well aware of this rule. But she doesn’t first go to the king. She first asked Mordecai and the people to fast for three days in preparation of this. This shows us that Esther needs this period of preparation, with fasting and prayer backing her, before she goes to the king.
When she finally goes before him, a true act of courage, the gold scepter is extended to her. This means that she can approach. Xerxes is happy to see her. This is surprising, because Xerxes first isn’t very good to his wives (see Queen Vashti) and has a reputation for being rash and impulsive (see his response to Vashti’s refusal). But God is at work here, if not overtly expressed in the text.
We will also notice that there isn’t an instant blurting of the problem at hand. Instead, her wish before the king is to invite Haman to a banquet. What is Esther up to?
9 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. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.
Again, Haman, even though being honored by Xerxes and his queen, can’t be happy until everyone is showing him the respect he thinks he needs.
Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “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. 13 But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”
Haman’s heart is wrong. Ultimately, this man needs God in his life, to humble himself and submit to the true, holy and pure power of the creator. Yet he cannot do that. His view of the world is temporal. He has done well for himself, but the one thing he can’t control, Mordecai, eats at his heart. His response is to lash out, to see the one speck that isn’t right in his life is rubbed out of existence. To eradicate everything that Mordecai and the Jews, are.
14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.
One thing we can gather about human life is that a person likes to surround themselves with like thinkers. People who will validate one’s own views. It gives comfort to the sinner. If everyone is sinning, then it blunts the individual’s sin and allows sin to continue. We see this in who Haman surrounds himself with. Think about what delights Haman: hanging Mordecai from a pole! The killing of Mordecai will cheer him up immensely so he can enjoy himself at the banquet.
When our heart is wrong, our motivation is corrupt in just about everything. When we aren’t seeking God, we’re running away from Him. When we do that, God gives us into our iniquity so that we can experience the hopelessness of sin. Paul says it this was in Romans 1:32:
32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.