The Book of Esther
Chapter 5
"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. 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.
Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen
Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”
“If it pleases the king,” replied
Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have
prepared for him.”
“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. 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.”
Esther replied, “My petition and my
request is this: 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.”
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.
Calling
together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 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. “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. But
all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at
the king’s gate.”
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."
Discussion......After three days, Queen Esther approached the king and the
king put out his scepter but only because she had found favor in the king’s
eyes (Esther 5:1-2). When the king asked what Esther wanted and could have up
to half the kingdom if that’s what she wanted, she used tact and said that she
wanted to have a banquet or feast for the king and for Haman (Esther
5:7-8). Esther clearly showed great skill!
The king, by coming to her banquet and acknowledging his favor of her,
has already almost agreed to her request. She is outmaneuvering everybody. When the deceitful Haman
heard this, he was sure that this was all meant for him and he was partially
right but not (Esther 5:7-8). in the way that he thought (Esther 5:9-13) and his friends were so excited that they
suggested he build some gallows which he did and which were intended for
Mordecai (Esther 5:14).
NOTE:
God demands obedience!
Esther’s obedience saved God’s
people from genocide. The reality is that Esther didn’t know what would happen
when she approached the king. She acted in obedience and by doing so she saved
a nation and received the best.
Obedience is better than sacrifice!
1 Samuel 15:22
Chapter 6
"That
night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the
record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was
found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the
king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King
Xerxes.
“What honor and recognition has Mordecai
received for this?” the king asked.
“Nothing has been done for him,” his
attendants answered.
The king said, “Who is in the court?”
Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king
about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.
His attendants answered, “Haman is standing
in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the king ordered.
When
Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king
delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is
there that the king would rather honor than me?” So
he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them
bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with
a royal crest placed on its head. Then let
the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let
them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through
the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the
king delights to honor!’”
“Go
at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe
and the horse and do just as you have
suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect
anything you have recommended.”
So Haman got the robe and the horse. He
robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming
before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”
Afterward
Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head
covered in grief, 13 and
told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.
His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to
him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish
origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!” While they
were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away
to the banquet Esther had prepared."
Discussion......By God’s providence, the king couldn’t sleep and so just to occupy himself he went to the chronicles and read about the plot to take his life and discovered that it was Mordecai that had saved his life (Esther 6:1-3) He asked what had been done to reward Mordecai. His servants replied that nothing had been done.
Who should be outside waiting to see the king that morning but evil Haman, who was plotting to kill Mordecai! So when the king called Haman to come in, the two men had totally opposite plans in mind.
The king asked Haman what should be done to someone the king wanted to honor. Of course, in his pride, Haman thought the king was talking about him. So he said that such a person should be treated like royalty and honored by a high official announcing, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” (verse 9).
Imagine Haman’s surprise when the king assigned him to honor his archenemy Mordecai (verse 10-12)!
Let’s take
just a quick moment and learn/discuss the literary term, “irony.” It is beautifully exemplied in Chapter
6. The word “irony” is derived from the
Latin word ironia, meaning “feigned ignorance.”
The key to understanding irony
is that it is a discrepancy between:
•
what is expected or intended and what
happens, or
•
what is said and what others
understand, or
•
what is said and what is done, or
•
what is said and what is meant.
However,
this discrepancy must also be in some way absurd or laughable. If there is no
humor to be found in it, it is not ironic.
(It might be tragic, but it is not
ironic.)
Irony is:
incongruous
subtly funny or absurd
Irony is not:
bad luck
just an unrelated coincidence
random
sarcasm (although many confuse the
two!)
More about irony......Do you
remember reading in Chapter 2:21–23 about a plot against the king that was
exposed by Mordecai? Well, in Chapter 6, this plot was revisited. As mentioned above, one night when
the king cannot sleep he has his book of records read to him. Imagine the king
hearing that his loyal subject Mordecai had not been royally thanked for
helping to save his life. Just as he is pondering how he should honor Mordecai,
in comes Haman, anxious to get the king’s approval for setting Mordecai on the
gallows he just had built! But before he can ask permission, the king asks him
what he should do for a man he wishes to honor?
Can’t you just
picture Haman? He thinks the king is
desiring to honor him? Haman quickly lists all the things he would like
as one so honored and then— to his utter horror— the king tells him to go and do
all these things . . . to none other than Mordecai!
Now THAT is
irony!
After Haman
does all that he had suggested to the king, Mordecai quietly returns to his job
at the palace gates while Haman rushes home absolutely beside himself with this
completely unexpected turn of events. He fusses and fumes about this indignity
to his wife and friends for a short while before being summoned by the king to
attend Queen Esther’s second banquet.
Until next time.......
God's justice gives you miraculous favor in high places
or wherever you need it and in the sight of those in power. (Esther 5:1-2).
