Start off with the first verse of Esther 5 . Right away, right after
Esther has ended her fast. She has been fasting and praying for 3 days, know
how volatile her husband can be, praying God will intervene in his heart. She
realizes what she must do, and she goes off to see the king. She has already
placed her life in God’s hands; now she will place her life in her king’s
hands. Now if you know anyone who has
ever fasted, even if it was just for one day, that person will tell you that
fasting for a whole day can make you pretty weak. Now imagine fasting for 3
days. Esther could have been pretty weak. On top of that, remember Esther is
doing something very scary. Ever do something so scary that it makes you
extremely nervous? What happens to your body? How does body react? Your knees
might get weak. Esther is already weak from not eating for 3 days. And now, she
nerves might be making her weaker. But Esther isn’t going in stupid. She wears
her finest clothing, the royal robes. Perhaps it was for sexual advance. But I
think it was just common courtesy. If you were going to see the President about
some important petition you wanted to make, you too would dress in your finest.
Esther dresses in her finest to appease to the king. Still, what a contrast to
what we saw in chapter 2, where Esther took a whole year to prepare before she
appeared before the king! One final note in verse 1. In verse 1, most Bibles
say “stood,” but it’s really a double entendre. While Esther is literally
standing, the word could also mean Esther is “taking a stand.” She is defying
the king’s order to make her presence known and to make her wish known.
Now’s a good time to parallel this even to Esther 1 by first reminding you of
the rules. The rule for the queen is not to enter the king’s presence unless
she is summoned. When the queen is summoned, she cannot refuse, she has to
come. Failure to follow either rule, whether it’s to appear uninvited, or to
refuse an invitation, could result in anything, from exile to death. The last
one to break this rule was Vashti, and she was banned from the king’s presence
(which could mean the whole city of Susa
Let’s see how King Xerxes responds in verse 2. The verse
says that when King Xerxes saw Esther, he was pleased with her, or she won
favor in his sight. I bet Xerxes forgot how beautiful his wife was and got
excited seeing her beauty after a 1 month draught of no sight or contact.
Immediately the tension dies down as Xerxes holds out his scepter. The scepter was
probably as long as Xerxes was tall, covered in gold, and had a knob at the
end. Esther touches it, symbolically receiving the mercy, but still recognizing
submission and humility. More hope arises in verse 3 when the king asks the
queen what her request was. Xerxes must has sensed that Esther had a dire
request if she dared to risk her life by entering his presence unannounced. He
offers her up to his half his kingdom, a common idiom used by kings during that
time, to express that he could give anything his power, as long it did not
involve making him less powerful.
Esther could have asked for anything. She could have
requested the safety of her people right there, and that would end the story
right now. But she knows it is neither the right time nor the right place. The
throne room was not the right place for a queen to beg and cry to the king,
especially in the presence of nobles and guards. Even if the king did side with
her, he might look weak by taking orders from a woman. On a similar note,
Esther did not want to make her accusation of Haman a public affair. She wanted
it just to be between her, Haman and the king. It was not the right time
because Xerxes did not expect such news. Esther knew her husband did not make
the best decisions on the spot. For all she knew, she could end up being the
one held for treason! But most importantly, we see God at work here, for
another event will happen before the big announcement that will make Xerxes
lean in favor of Mordecai.
Instead, as seen in verse 4, Esther humbly asks for his
presence at a banquet, as well as Haman’s presence. Believe it or not, the
second part, the request for Haman’s presence, is the unusual part. Kings were
usually very protective, even overprotective, of their women, both wives and
concubines alike. Kings were so protective that they were only allowed to
interact with other women, eunuchs and the king himself. Both wives and
concubines were strictly prohibited from coming into contact with other men
(not counting the king and eunuchs). But Xerxes did promise Esther anything,
and Esther did request Haman’s presence, so he fulfills the request. But still,
why even invited Haman in the first place? Couldn’t Esther just told Xerxes in
private, and that would have done the job? Many have speculated why. Maybe
Esther hoped to make Xerxes jealous by having another man present, which would
make Xerxes come down even harder on Haman. Perhaps Esther just wanted to see Haman’s
reaction of shock when the news comes. Or maybe Esther is following a godly
example of proper confrontation by personally facing the person she is about to
accuse in the presence of a rightful judge.
The story skips ahead to the banquet recorded in Esther
5:5-8. Just like the previous banquets, drinking wine stood at the forefront of
the event. The event must have been a more relaxed environment, as Xerxes calls
Esther by her name alone, not by her title and name, as he did in verse 3. By
the end of the banquet, King Xerxes senses that this was not Esther’s real
request, and that she has another real request, and she’s setting up some form
of negotiation. He asks again for her request, again promising up to half the
kingdom. Once again, Esther requests another banquet with Xerxes. The text does
not say why Esther diverted the request again. Perhaps she noticed he was too
drunk and not in right mind. Remember this is the king who makes rash decisions
when drunk. Maybe she had second thoughts about making such a request at such a
venue. It could be as simple as fear got to her. For us as the reader, it
builds the tension as we get closer to the climax. Either way, when we look at
the overall story, we see God working through it. Once again, because Esther
holds off on the big accusation, another event will happen that will put
Mordecai in favorable standing with the king. Although we don’t get an answer
from Xerxes, we know that answer is “yes” from Esther 5:12. Still, the reader
has to appreciate the king’s patience. Kings get what they wanted when they
want. They are rarely told to wait. God must have been at work in the king’s
heart, for the king waits patiently.
Esther 5:9 says that Haman left the banquet in good, high
spirits. Why shouldn’t he be? He was the guest of honor at a banquet with the
king, and the king was usually that honorable guest! No noble in the whole
empire has ever had that honor. Furthermore, he gets to hear private
conversation that normally happens between the king and queen. He must think he’s
pretty special to get that kind of treatment. His whole mood goes sour, though,
when he exits and sees Mordecai at the gate. Not only will Mordecai not bow to
Haman, he will not stand in honor, or even recognize him! It reminds him of how
not everyone will give him respect, and it puts him in a bitter mood. How fast
can worldly pride and recognition go sour! He is able to restrain himself and
go home. There, at home, he brags and boasts about everything from his family
to his money, from being second-in-command in Persia to being the honored guest
at Queen Esther’s banquet. Take note on how many times Haman uses the pronoun “his”
when bragging. As always, it’s all about him. He should have many reasons to be
happy with all the good fortune in his life. Still, he can’t get past seeing
Mordecai at the king’s gate every day.
The chapter closes with his friends and his wife Zeresh
advising him. Their advice seems to feed into his pride. They further lift him
up, as if he can do anything. With his power, they suggest he builds a gallows
50 cubits, or 75 feet high. Then go to King Xerxes and request that Mordecai be
hanged on them by morning, so Haman can enjoy the banquet in the evening. For
those of you of need a visual, this height is about the average height of a
barn silo. These hanging gallows were not meant for execution by asphyxiation,
but rather, they were meant as a display. Everyone can see the person brutally
executed. They would remember the crime the person committed. This encouraged
the other citizens of the nation to not commit the same crime. By building a
gallows 75 feet high, Haman wanted to send that same message in regards to
himself. Haman wanted everyone to know his power, and that he deserved respect
for it. Anyone who disagreed with also be hanged on those gallows. Perhaps
Haman might have noticed the Jews fasting, and he might have figured this was
in response to his decree. Haman wanted to discourage the Jews from standing up
and fighting this decree, and what a better way then executing the leader. How
ironic for the reader to know that it will be Esther that will lead to his
downfall!
I want to draw you back to the first part of Esther 5. I
want to you remind you again about the parallels between Queen Vashti and Queen
Esther. In Esther 2, Queen Vashti is summoned to the presence of King Xerxes,
and she does not come. In Esther 5, Queen Esther is not summoned, and she
arrives unannounced. Both actions show disobedience and disrespect to the king.
But notice the great difference in the king’s reaction. King Xerxes responds to
Queen Vashti by exiling her from Susa and perhaps the whole Persian Empire.
King Xerxes responds to Queen Esther with grace and mercy. Someone people want
to brush aside, attributing it to the king making up his own mind or Xerxes
being sober. I attribute it to God’s providence. God’s providence involves
grace and mercy. Of course, God’s ultimate grace and mercy is his Son on the
cross, paying for all our sins, so we would not have to pay with our own lives.
Yet God displays grace in and mercy in little pieces within our lives to remind
us of that grace and mercy. Ever not finish your homework in time for high
school or college, and the teacher gives you an extension on the due date? Ever
make a mistake a work, and the boss still lets you keep your life? Ever get
pulled over by a police officer for a traffic violation, and the officer lets
you go on a warning? This is how God inserts grace and mercy in your life, and
he can only do by personally interacting in your life. That’s God’s providence.
Therefore, when we have requests, we don’t have to approach God’s throne with
fear and trembling, like Esther had to do with King Xerxes. On the contrary,
the author of Hebrews reminds us in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach the
throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help us in our time of need.” Esther approached God’s throne before approaching
King Xerxes’s throne, and we can tell by Xerxes’s reaction. Xerxes gave Esther
the same grace and mercy God gives all who ask of it. It’s who God is.
We’re halfway through our study on Esther. Tension is
tightening on both sides. Both sides are getting riskier. Both Esther and Haman
are going to approach their king with requests, each one wanting to kill the
other. Who will win out? We’ll see at our climax next chapter. It will all be
downhill for one side for the rest of the story.
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