[Esther 6] Act 2 Scene 3: CLIMAX! - A Foreshadowing of the Villain’s Downfall to the Heroes

When I first introduced the book of Esther to you, I said that Esther 6 would be the climax of the story. In literary terms, the climax is the point of the story when the tension heightens to the max, and then a turning point happens in which things cannot go back to the way there were, due the heighten tension maxing out. The characters move forward in either victory or tragedy. If tragedy, the protagonist’s good fortune will run out, leading to downfall, but if victory, the events will cease to stand against the protagonist and now favor the protagonist. Esther 6 is the climax because the tension between Haman and the Jews, like Mordecai and Esther, will come to its max. In Esther 6, Esther and Mordecai will stop receiving bad news and actually get some good news. The climax in the book of Esther will come in the form of foreshadowing. A small event will happen which will foreshadow how the rest of the falling action will occur. As we read Esther 6 together, look out for how the chapter serves as the climax of the story. In what ways does the heightening tension max out, and things cannot return to the way they were? Also look out for what small event will foreshadow Esther and Mordecai ending in victory, and Haman ending in defeat.

The first sentence of Esther 6 mentions how the king cannot sleep. While this sentence may seem like just the opener to explain why the events in the rest of Esther 6 occurred, it also helps give more clarity to what happened in the last chapter. In Esther 5, we hypothesized on why, for Esther’s favor, Esther invited King Xerxes and Haman to a banquet, only to invite him to another banquet again. Perhaps this was God’s working. God knew the king would not sleep, which would eventually lead to Xerxes thinking favorably about Esther. Maybe God himself did not allow Xerxes to sleep until he had favorable views of Esther and Mordecai.

I’m not sure about you, but when I can’t find sleep, I find it helpful to read. Scientists believe reading helps people sleep because it calms the mind down. Xerxes must have known this because he orders for someone to read a bedtime story to him. What better story than one about yourself! Indeed, these stories could put one to sleep, as the king would require the record keeper to record every event that happened, even as much as getting up, eating breakfast, getting a haircut, etc. Now keep in mind that at this point King Xerxes has reigned for 12 years. Of all the events in 12 years, it just so happens to be the one where Mordecai and Esther report to Xerxes about Bigthana’s and Teresh’s assassination attempt. Furthermore, the king remembers Mordecai has not received a reward for his heroic act. Xerxes must have been shocked to hear Mordecai never had been rewarded. In a world where assassins sought every opportunity to assassinate the king, kings made sure recognize and reward supporters who backed the king. Kings did not hold back on their rewarding; rewards were scrupulous and extravagant. To give anything less would bring shame upon the king’s head. Maybe Xerxes felt he now owed Mordecai even more, considering his well-deserved reward was overdue. Once again, the reader has to awe at God’s providence. If Xerxes would have rewarded Mordecai sooner, the king might not have had favorable thoughts on Mordecai. He might have thought he already paid his due to Mordecai, if Haman presented a case against Mordecai, Xerxes would have punished Mordecai to the fullest. Instead, King Xerxes wants to show thanks and favor Mordecai, which will lead to Mordecai’s uplifting and Haman’s defeat, as we shall see

And it just so happens at that very instant in which King Xerxes ponders how to thank Mordecai, Haman has completed his gallows project and has arrived to the outer court of the palace, wishing to request Mordecai be hanged on the gallows immediately. Kings would do their business in the outside court early in the morning before it became too hot. Haman wanted to make sure he was first in line (even before the king was up!). Upon hearing someone in the court, Xerxes asks who entered the court. The young attendants answer that it is Haman, and the king orders Haman to enter. Haman must have thought he just received another privilege. How many people get the opportunity to enter the king’s bedroom? I imagine Haman about to speak up and make his request when Xerxes interrupts him. As the king’s second in command, Xerxes asks Haman for his opinion on how the king should reward someone who the king wants to honor. From previous chapters, we know that Xerxes likes to consult his advisors for sage wisdom. How convenient one of his closest nobles is nearby. As we saw in the last chapter, Haman is selfish and egotistical, so naturally he thinks the king speaks about him. Haman might have thought that this was going to turn out to be the best day honored. Not only was he going to finally finish off Mordecai, but he was also going to be honored by the king, and then dine with the king and queen at a banquet! Haman wants the king to go all out on him, so Haman goes all out in his description.

In essence, Haman suggests King Xerxes throws a parade for the man the king delights to honor, but not just any parade. In this parade, the man the king delights to honor will wear a robe the king has worn (wearing the king’s robe would symbolize close relation to the king), will ride a horse the king has ridden (the crown/crest on the horses head will display that this horse indeed is the king’s horse), and will have a royal noble proclaim the man as a man the king delights to honor. This parade was nothing new. Kings would sometimes do something similar to demonstrate their luxury and/or their power. Such a parade for anyone who wasn’t the king was the highest honor to be received in the kingdom. In essence, Haman suggests that the man the king delights to honor should be treated like the king for day, in which all his peers look upon in dignity and respect.

How fitting Haman planned such an elaborate award, especially because he thought it for himself. Haman could have suggested a monetary reward, but he did not, for he already had great wealth as the king’s second in command. He could have suggested a position of power in the empire, but he did not, for he already was second in command. The only person more powerful than he was the king himself! Instead, Haman suggests an event which will give him the one thing that he does not have. It will force his peers and the people of the empire give him the honor and respect he believe he deserves and has not received. After all, Haman’s hatred of Mordecai and the Jews stems from the fact that Mordecai will not bow to Haman out of respect. Haman’s desire for honor and respect will be his fatal flaw, almost quite literally.

If you’re looking for the exact climax and the exact turning point, look no further than verses 10 and 11. This climax is full of irony. To state the obvious, the tables get turned. Haman arrives expecting to execute Mordecai and then receive honor from the king. Instead, Mordecai ends up receiving honor, leading Haman to walk home ashamed and Mordecai quite alive. Not only is the action ironic, but the internal feelings make this event even more ironic. Haman hates Mordecai, so Haman wants Mordecai dead. Haman does not feel respected or honored by his peers, so he wants a parade. Instead, Haman has to honor and respect someone he hates. As the Bible Knowledge Commentary puts it, “He who wanted respect from Mordecai had to give respect to Mordecai.” Even the fact Xerxes calls Mordecai “the Jew” reeks of irony. This possibly could be the first time Xerxes learns that Mordecai is a Jew, for the official record books would have recorded the citizen’s nationality and family history. The reader has to wonder if the king remembers he order the genocide of the Jews. Yet in this instance, he wants to award a particular Jew, more specifically the one Haman focuses his hatred towards. The reader also has to wonder about how the onlookers in Susa must have felt about this parade. Thoughts that might have run through their head would be something like, “Why is the king honoring a Jew who he will have killed in the near future? And why is Haman, the man who wrote the decree, leading the procession himself?” It must have left the citizens of Susa bewildered! Yet Mordecai seems unaffected. At the end, he simply returns to the king’s gate.

I want you to compare Esther 6:12-14 to Esther 5:10-14 and note the parallels. The parallels further reveal that the climax has happened and the tides have turned. In Esther 5:10-13, Haman comes to his wife, sons and friends boasting. In Esther 6:12, Haman comes to his wife, sons and friends in grief. The covering of the head is a public display that verifies the feeling of grief. In Esther 5:14, Haman’s family and friends encourage his boasting, further lifting him up and further encouraging him. In Esther 6:13-14, Haman’s family and friends put him down and discourage him. The Persian religion strongly believed in signs and omens. What someone might consider luck or fortune meant fate for the Persians. When Haman reports that he went to execute Mordecai on the gallows, only to reward him with a parade, Haman’s family and friends even know how this story will end, and it’s not good for Haman. In contrast to Persian pagan polytheism, Judaism in the book of Esther says different. The God of the Jews does not have to submit to fate. The God of the Jews can actively insert his hand into history and do as his sovereign hand pleases. Since God does not change, the God of the Christians reacts the same way. He inserts his sovereign hand, working the favor his people and against those who oppose him people, just like Haman. God has decided Haman’s fate, and everyone can see it. It would almost seem as if Haman’s wife and friends recognize the Jews have this divine protection. Haman himself has no chance to react, as the king’s eunuchs hurry him away to the next banquet.

God's providence comes in small pieces

Taking a step back and overlooking the whole chapter, at what points did we see God’s providence at work? First, we see it with King Xerxes’s insomnia. The night before an important banquet, the king cannot sleep. Second, we read about how the king reads from the annals and chronicles of Persian on how Mordecai saved him from an assassination attempt. Of all the events of the king’s twelve years reign, he heard the one about Mordecai saving him from certain death. Third, Xerxes wants to honor Mordecai. He could have forgot about paying back Mordecai and never paid him back. Rather, the story reminds Xerxes, and Xerxes wants to pay him back. Fourth, Haman resides in the courtyard when Xerxes cannot sleep and is planning his reward for Mordecai. Because Haman stands in such close proximity, he ends up being the one to carry out the king’s reward for Mordecai, foreshadowing the rest of the story. If you don’t believe in God’s providence, you’ll be saying “it just so happened” a lot in this chapter. It just so happened the king couldn’t sleep. It just so happened the annals and chronicles of the Persians reminded King Xerxes of Mordecai’s heroic act. It just so happens the king is overdue for rewarding Mordecai. It just so happens Haman stands in the courtyard when Xerxes plans his reward for Mordecai, so Haman has to carry out the reward. Truly, God is at work here. All these small pieces of God’s providence come to make a “medium-sized” event of God’s providence, which will foreshadow the larger story of God’s providence for His people.