PM June 9th Esther 5

June 9^th Esther 5 Esther’s request

1: Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. 2: And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. 3: Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. 4: And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. 5: Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6: And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. 7: Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is; 8: If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king hath said. 9: Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. 10: Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. 11: And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. 12: Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. 13: Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. 14: Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Esther 6 Ahasuerus honours Mordecai

1: On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2: And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. 3: And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him. 4: And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5: And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. 6: So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? 7: And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, 8: Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: 9: And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. 10: Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou has spoken. 11: Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. 12: And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. 13: And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. 14: And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Esther 7 The Jews defend themselves

1: So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. 2: And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. 3: Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 4: For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. 5: Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? 6: And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. 7: And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 8: Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 9: And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. 10: So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

In ch 5 we see that Esther literally puts her head in the noose to speak to the greatest monarch of her day. In ch 6 the king Ahasuerus honours Mordecai and in ch 7 The Jews defend themselves and the wicked plot of Haman unravels so that finally he is executed. Ahasuerus is the absolute monarch nobody would dare to cross him and in fact no one was to enter his presence without him inviting them to attend. So even his wife Esther must present herself in her royal robes and even this has the risk of his wrath at her presumption. However because of the dire emergency she takes her life into her hand and stands there in the distance but in full view of her king. Then a wonderful thing happens he sees her and he finds grace in his heart toward her and he stretches out his sceptre to her, which is an invitation to come near and speak. She comes near and touches the sceptre and the king asks her what he can do to please her. He tells her that he will give her anything, up to half of his kingdom. A generous request, probably not a promise of fact, yet a statement of the largeness of his heart to her. She asks that both Haman and the King might attend a banquet that she has prepared. And she promises that on the following day she will ask her greatest request. Haman is full of himself and is full of excitement all day, but when he saw Mordecai he was increased in his anger for him. When Haman arrived in his own house he called his friends and his wife Zerash to tell them all about the news he had heard. He told then that he was invited to a feast with Esther and the King the next day and he told them of his anger at Mordecai. (BOOO) His wife and friends told him to go ahead and have the gallows built on which he would hang Mordecai. The gallows were to be 66.6 ft high! So he went ahead to build the gallows. That night the King could not sleep so he commanded for the records of the Chronicle to be read to him. During the reading it was found that Mordecai had discovered and foiled the plot against the king. So the king asked what honour had been given to Mordecai for this loyal deed. But he was told that no honour had been given to Mordecai. Then the king asked who was in the court of the king and he was told that Haman was standing waiting on the king. The king asked that Haman might come in to him. And then he asked him what could be done to the man who the king delights to honour? Haman being the man that he was thought only of himself, so he said, Let him be clothed in royal clothes and let him ride a royal horse and let him have The royal crown on his head (Hang on a minute, he wants to be the king himself ! ) And he is to be dressed by a royal prince and let him be paraded in the streets telling the people that this is what happens to the man who the king delights to honour. So the King said, Yes. Go quickly and do all this to Mordecai the Jew! Haman was astounded but he had no option but to carry out the kings wishes. (Hurray) In the end Haman went to the kings house and Haman went home in mourning, probably wondering what on earth was going on. His wife and friends told him to be very careful about Mordecai because if he is really a Jew then he will conquer Haman instead of Mordecai being hung. And so we are moving hurriedly on to the end game and check mate or should l say resignation. Haman (BOOO) is hurriedly brought into the feast. And the king asks Esther again what is her request. So she answers if l have found grace in your sight then grant that my life might be spared and the life of my people. Because we have been sold to be destroyed, and murdered and we will all perish. She said if we had been sold into slavery then l would not presume to ask. Then the king asked who is he and where is he, that has presumed to do this wicked thing in his heart? Then Esther answered the adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Haman was petrified. The king rose up in great anger and went into his garden and Haman asked for his life from Queen Esther. When the king returned from the garden to found Haman lying on Esther’s bed pleading with her. And he thought to himself is he now trying to rape my wife, in front of me, in my house. As the words fell from his mouth they covered the head of Haman and the assistants said, if you look now you will see the gallows that Haman has made to execute the Jews, so the King commanded that Haman should be hanged on his own gallows, which they did. (Hurray) Finally the anger of the king was satisfied.

• How did Queen Esther set out to save her people?
• Who is commanded to honour Mordecai?
• What happens to Haman?