Esther's Banquet
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Introduction
Introduction
The time has come for the second banquet with the King. If she fails in this she guarantees the murder of the Jews-including herself.
She must have been wondering if she would succeed . Could she persuade the king to rescind his decree against the Jews? As we begin this chapter it is full of suspense and of uncertainty (even though we already know how it ends)
< Have Congregation Stand>
Esther 7
Esther 7
So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. And the king again said to Esther, on the second day while they were drinking, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.” Then Queen Esther answered, and she said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it is good to the king, let my life be given to me at my petition and my people at my request; I and my people have been sold to be destroyed and killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold as male and female slaves I would have kept quiet, because this is not a need sufficient to trouble the king.” And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who gave himself the right to do this?” And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman!” And Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
The king rose in his anger from the banquet and went to the palace garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he realized that the king was determined to make an end to his life. And the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, where Haman was lying prostrate on the couch that Esther was on, and the king said, “Will he also molest the queen with me in the house?” As the words went from the king’s mouth they covered Haman’s face. And Habrona, one of the eunuchs in the presence of the king, said, “Look, the same gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai who spoke good for the sake of the king stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the anger of the king was abated.
<These are the Words of God for the People of God and the People of God said Amen>
Dinner With The King
Dinner With The King
At the end of chapter 6 the king’s eunuchs brought Haman to Esther’s second banquet even after Haman was warned by his family that his career was in jeopardy. . They eat are in the stage of the meal when wine is enjoyed after the meal.
The King repeats his offer to grant any request Esther wished to make. The King is full of himself. At This point I imagine he is dying to know what he can do for her. How can he show off for his Queen.
Then Queen Esther answered, and she said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it is good to the king, let my life be given to me at my petition and my people at my request;
Esther addresses the King. Notice her language acknowledged his sovereignty and his need for royal recognition
Also notice that Esther did not identify her people as Jewish
I and my people have been sold to be destroyed and killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold as male and female slaves I would have kept quiet, because this is not a need sufficient to trouble the king.”
I and my people have been sold. This is a man who owns everything. He has shown that from the very beginning of this book. Now he is saying that His queen whom he owns has been sold. And they had been sold by the king when he accepted money from Haman in exchange for permission to slaughter the Jews.
And the text gives no indication that the King remember having granted permission to Haman to extinguish the Jewish.
To his defence he probably signed hundreds of decrees. so what one was signing the death of a complete race.
As Haman is named the King grows angry. SO he goes for a walk in the garden to think.
How could he punish Haman for an edict stamped with his own royal seal?
How could he deal with Haman without admitting his own role?
How could he rescind the decree which was now the Law of the Medes and Persians?
How could he possibly soften the law that demanded the total destruction of all Jews when it left no loophole?
How could he somehow protect Esther’s life, while at the same time protect his own reputation?
And if he couldn’t … how was he going to explain her death?
The king was probably infuriated with himself, as he wondered:
Why did I trust Haman so completely?
Why in the world did I sign that edict?
And why didn’t I read the fine print?.
One author summarized it this way:
Who knows how many edicts Ahasuerus had signed on that day? Who knows how many pressing matters of government had been on his mind? He had countless decisions to make. And Haman, who was a trusted official, had proposed it in such a way that he seemed to be solving a problem that directly affected the good of the kingdom.”3
[3 Charles R. Swindoll, Esther: A Woman of Strength & Dignity (Word Publishing, 1997), 132.]
[Stephen Davey, Esther, Wisdom Commentary Series (Apex, NC: Charity House Publishers, 2012), 103.The Father sees the bigger picture]
While he was out Haman began to plead for his life. In essence thats what this banquet was all about pleading for life. Haman just didn’t know who was doing the pleading.
Irony Here Haman is begging for his life from someone who he as already condemned to death
As she reclined on her couch ( the ordinary position for eating and drinking at Persian banquets), Haman fell on his knees before her and touched her couch. At that moment the king returned from the garden, only to find Haman in a compromised position with the queen. Assuming the worst, the king accused Haman of assaulting Esther in an indecent manner (v. 8). The phrase “while I am in the house” emphasizes both the outrageous and foolish nature of Haman’s action.
Persian law stated that no man was allowed within seven paces of any member of the king’s harem. In fact, that law also held that touching the king’s wife was punishable by death.
Anthony Tomasino, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Esther (Zondervan, 2009), 496.
Esther Game Over!
According to Persian custom, a condemned man was no longer worthy to be looked upon or to look upon another. So Haman’s face was covered at once, indicating he was condemned to die.
The Greek historian Herodotus explains that Persian law required at least two serious accusations against a citizen before they could be convicted and put to death.
The king now had both: Haman’s plot to kill the Jews—which could be shown to be a direct threat against his own wife—and Haman’s assault on the queen.
But then, out of nowhere, certainly unexpected by Esther, a third offense was revealed:
Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king.” (Esther 7:9a).
Don’t miss those last few words. This servant was making sure the king remembered who Mordecai was.
He who digs a pit, in it he will fall, and he who rolls a stone, on him it will come back.
Mordecai was remembered and Haman was put to death on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai.
The righteous will come through trouble.
The righteous will come through trouble.
By the transgression of lips, evil is ensnared, but the righteous escapes from trouble.
Sin never leads to the path. It may feel good for awhile but in the end there is a better way. The way that God has laid out for us in his wisdom is a better path.
We as Christians find ourselves in a similar situation to the jews in the diaspora.
We can no longer assume that we live in a nation that shares our language and our values
In his book, The American Religion, Harold Bloom argues that the American religious spirit resembles ancient Gnosticism more than the Judeo-Christian tradition.9 America is “post-Christian” rather than authentically Christian, according to Bloom. In practice, this means that we Christians cannot communicate as if our neighbors, our communities, and our institutions were Christian. When we speak of God’s absolute truth or moral standards, for example, most people will not understand what we mean and will disagree with us once they do understand.
The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 11: Ezra / Nehemiah / Esther Communicating the Gospel in Our Secular World
According to a George Barna survey, sixty-seven percent of Americans agreed with this statement: “There is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct.”10
[Cited in G. Barna, What Americans Believe: An Annual Survey of Values and Religious Views in the United States (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1991), p. 85.]
[Mark Roberts and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, vol. 11, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1993).]
According to George Gallup, Jr. and Jim Castelli, “Americans revere the Bible—but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.”11 The majority of Americans do not know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, nor can they name the four Gospels.12 With such widespread ignorance of biblical basics, is it any wonder that so many people today have a hard time understanding even simple biblical truths, like what it means to be saved?
We then have to assume that we must engage this secular world not giving in to sin but following the path of Righteousness. Engaging the world assuming that it will sin. Assuming that it will not be “christian”.
And realize that God will put you in the situation for his glory and to make you wiser. Often he uses (because we need it) reversals. those moments when you life is turned upside down and life and full of stress. But he sees a greater picture.
Next Steps
Next Steps