Esther’s Request to the King
Esther 5 NLT
5:1 On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
4 And Esther replied, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for the king.”
5 The king turned to his attendants and said, “Tell Haman to come quickly to a banquet, as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet.
6 And while they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what you really want. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
7 Esther replied, “This is my request and deepest wish. 8 If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I ask, please come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will explain what this is all about.”
Haman’s Plan to Kill Mordecai
9 Haman was a happy man as he left the banquet! But when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or trembling nervously before him, Haman became furious. 10 However, he restrained himself and went on home.
Then Haman gathered together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 and boasted to them about his great wealth and his many children. He bragged about the honors the king had given him and how he had been promoted over all the other nobles and officials.
12 Then Haman added, “And that’s not all! Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us. And she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow!” 13 Then he added, “But this is all worth nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew just sitting there at the palace gate.”
14 So Haman’s wife, Zeresh, and all his friends suggested, “Set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall, and in the morning ask the king to impale Mordecai on it. When this is done, you can go on your merry way to the banquet with the king.” This pleased Haman, and he ordered the pole set up.
Examine the Scriptures
Esther 5 NLT
Esther’s Request to the King
5:1 On the third day of the fast,
Review
Mordecai has asked Esther to go to the king and plead for her people, the Jews.
Esther had been very apprehensive about doing this. (We can relate to this.)
Esther 4:16 NLT
13 Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” 17 So Mordecai went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
- Mordecai and all the Jews of Susa, along with Esther and her maids fasted for three days.
A reminder for us.
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall.
Esther had prepared, by fasting, and was ready to go to the king with her request.
The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her.
A reminder of God’s sovereignty.
Romans 13:1 NLT
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
Proverbs 21:1 NLT
The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord;
he guides it wherever he pleases.
- The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases.
King Xerxes welcomed Esther.
So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.
3 Then the king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request?
- The king made it easy for Esther to make a request.
I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
This comment should not be taken literally. It simply meant that the king would be generous toward her request.
Mark 6:22-23 NLT
21… on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22 Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.” 23 He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”
4 And Esther replied, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for the king.”
It was an unusual honor to be invited to a banquet with the Queen. Persian officials were protective of their wives.
- Esther shares her real wish in chapter 7.
5 The king turned to his attendants and said, “Tell Haman to come quickly to a banquet, as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet.
6 And while they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what you really want. What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”
King Xerxes knew that Esther was not asking for what she really wanted.
7 Esther replied, “This is my request and deepest wish. 8 If I have found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I ask, please come with Haman tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I will explain what this is all about.”
It may seem strange that Esther asked for a second banquet.
We don’t know Esther’s thoughts.
We don’t always know God’s thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Note: Remember, at this point in time King Xerxes had forgotten how Mordecai had heard about a plot, by two of the king’s eunuchs, to kill the king.
Without this information fresh in his mind, King Xerxes may not have looked favorably on Mordecai and the Jews.
God would providentially intervene between the two banquets.
- Remember, at this point in time King Xerxes had forgotten how Mordecai had heard about a plot, by two of the king’s eunuchs, to kill the king.
- God would providentially intervene between the two banquets.
Haman’s Plan to Kill Mordecai
9 Haman was a happy man as he left the banquet!
Happy
But when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or trembling nervously before him, Haman became furious.
Furious
- Haman was on an emotional roller coaster. He went from feeling happy to becoming furious.
It could be seen as a very special privilege to be the guest of honor at a private banquet with only the king and queen two days in a row.
10 However, he restrained himself and went on home.
Then Haman gathered together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 and boasted to them about his great wealth and his many children.
Boasted
He bragged about the honors the king had given him and how he had been promoted over all the other nobles and officials.
Bragged
Proverbs 16:18 NLT
18 Pride goes before destruction,
and haughtiness before a fall.
1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT
12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.
Galatians 6:3 NLT
3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
- Haman personified sinful pride.
- Pride goes before destruction.
12 Then Haman added, “And that’s not all! Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us. And she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow!”
It could be seen as a very special privilege to be the guest of honor at a private banquet with only the king and queen two days in a row.
13 Then he added, “But this is all worth nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew just sitting there at the palace gate.”
Haman was obsessed with the idea of killing Mordecai.
As long as Mordecai was alive, Haman’s great wealth, his many children, the honors he had received from the king, and his promotions over all the other nobles and officials were worth nothing to him.
Hate destroys:
Proverbs 14:30 NLT
30 A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body;
jealousy is like cancer in the bones.
Hebrews 12:15 NLT
15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
Proverbs 10:12 NLT
12 Hatred stirs up quarrels, …
1 John 3:15 NLT
15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
- Hate destroys.
- Scripture tells us to get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
Ephesians 4:31 NLT
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
Proverbs 19:11 NLT
11 Sensible people control their temper;
they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.
1 Corinthians 4:12 NLT
12 We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us.
1 Peter 3:9 NLT
9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.
Luke 6:27-28 NLT
27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.
14 So Haman’s wife, Zeresh, and all his friends suggested, “Set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall, and in the morning ask the king to impale Mordecai on it.
75 feet tall is unusually high.
This is as tall as an eight story building.
This would tower above most, if not all, of the surrounding structures.
- Haman’s wife, Zeresh, and all his friends suggested, “Set up a sharpened pole that stands seventy-five feet tall, and in the morning ask the king to impale Mordecai on it.
When this is done, you can go on your merry way to the banquet with the king.” This pleased Haman, and he ordered the pole set up.
- Haman believed that he could “go on his merry way” if Mordecai was dead.
