Esther 5
BBCEsther 5:1
IV. THE EXTERMINATION OF THE JEWS THWARTED (Chaps. 5-9) A. Esther’s Supplication and Haman’s Rage (Chap. 5)5:1-3 On the third day, when the fast was completed, Esther put on her royal robes, summoned her courage, and appeared before Ahasuerus uninvited. Recognizing that only a very important matter would cause his queen to risk her life, the king held out to Esther the golden scepter and granted her safety. He also promised to grant her request, up to half his kingdom (a figure of speech meaning that he would give her anything at all within reason). Christ holds out His scepter of grace to any unbeliever who comes to Him in repentance and faith (see Joh_6:37 b). For the believer the golden scepter is always extended (see Heb_10:22). 5:4-8 At this point Esther simply invited the king and his favorite minister, Haman, to the banquet (the fourth banquet in the book). During the meal the king again tried to find out what the queen wanted. Once more Esther procrastinated and asked Ahasuerus and Haman to return the following day for yet another banquet. Then she would make her matter known. Opinions vary as to why Esther planned these two delays before making her request: (1) She wanted time to ingratiate herself with the king, having apparently been out of favor with him (see notes on Est_4:9-12); (2) her courage failed her both times; (3) she wanted to build up an element of suspense and impress upon the king that her business was vitally important and no mere whim; (4) she wanted to inflate Haman’s pride and take him off guard before she exposed him as a vicious murderer. Perhaps elements of all these ideas entered into her strategy. 5:9-14 Filled with pride, Haman left the banquet in good spirits. When he met Mordecai on the way out of the palace, he was filled with indignation but restrained himself from violence. Calling his friends and his wife Zeresh together, he recited all the favorable things that had happened to him. The only cloud on his horizon was that stubborn Jew! His wife advised him to make a gallows seventy-five feet high, then get permission from the king to hang Mordecai . . . on it. This pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made.