Our heartbeats should be quickening as we approach this week's study on Esther 5. "If I perish, I perish" was Esther's response after Mordecai reminded her of her purpose and identity in chapter 4.
Now, we hit an intense moment when the queen appears to the king, and her life is in his hands.
1 Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house.
The three days of fasting were complete, and it was time for Esther to remove her fasting clothes and put on her royal robes. Matthew Henry's commentary says, "When the heart is enlarged in communion with God it will be emboldened in doing and suffering for him." Imagine her nervousness as she dressed for the presence of the king. I'm sure her heart was waffling between hope and fear. Yet, I also wonder if, at that moment, Esther felt all-out peace. While her hands drifted over the extravagant silk and linen robe, just maybe, she had an unspeakable grounding that came over her.
2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.
The inner court was where the king conducted business and where his throne sat. Esther knew that anyone who entered it without permission was immediately killed. Thank God the king looked on her in favor (love) and extended his grace to her.
Christ dresses us in royal robes (Isaiah 61:10), extends His scepter of grace, and welcomes us into an inner intimacy with Him. Hebrews 4:16 encourages: "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
I will share something I read in a commentary recently (Matthew Henry). It gave me such a beautiful perspective of how our Lord moves:
““The apocryphal author and Josephus say that she [Esther] took two maids with her, on one of whom she leaned, while the other bore up her train, — that her countenance was cheerful and very amiable, but her heart was in anguish — that the king, lifting up his countenance that shone with majesty, at first looked very fiercely upon her, whereupon she grew pale, and fainted, and bowed herself on the head of the maid that went by her; but then God changed the spirit of the king, and, in a fear, he leaped from his throne, took her in his arms till she came to herself, and comforted her with loving words.”
3 And the king said to her, "What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!"
4 So Esther answered, "If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him."
5 Then the king said, "Bring Haman quickly, that he may do as Esther has said." So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
The request and timing are interesting here. Instead of blurting out the petition, Esther pauses and invites the king and Haman to a banquet. This was partly out of respect because she knew the king enjoyed Haman and also out of wisdom in the event she unveiled the evil scheme.
Banquets are an exciting theme. The Old and New Testaments refer to eating and drinking because breaking bread brings closeness. As time passes here on earth, we should begin to long for that day more and more as we are weaned from this world (but should continue to be in fellowship with others until then!). Our hearts should anticipate the day spoken of in Isaiah 25:6-8: "And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken."
6 At the banquet of wine the king said to Esther, "What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!"
7 Then Esther answered and said, "My petition and request is this: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said."
For a wise reason, Esther deferred the request a second time. Our flesh loves to rush into situations and blurt out the emotions welling up inside. Feelings and emotions have a purpose, but they cannot sit on the throne of our hearts. Conversely, it can be spiritually toxic if we ignore our feelings or try to push them aside and not process them with the Lord. I had it explained once like this: if we were standing together and off in the distance, we saw a flair go up in the air. What would that mean? We have yet to determine; we'd have to examine what's happening. It could be someone playing around and misfiring a flair, an emergency where someone needed help or some other circumstance. Feelings work the same way. It's a signal flair, but the Lord wants us to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ," as it says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, and to "come and reason" with Him, as it talks of in Isaiah 1. That means we acknowledge our feeling, sit with the Lord in those feelings (not push this aside or try to quote scripture to our emotions to override their existence), and then ask and allow godly reason and judgment to enter into the situation through the Holy Spirit's prompting and the righteous application of the Word. Our emotions can be right and warranted [i.e., I can feel tired and therefore choose not to go out with a friend to a late-night movie.], and feelings can be wrong [i.e., I can feel like not being social because I am hurting inside and isolating myself from others.]. We must examine what is happening to discern the difference and elevate our emotions to reason and judgment. Remember that our Lord tells us, "Be still and know that I am God." God is the one who has the complete understanding of our spiritual nature (reason, conscience, worship), will, thoughts (beliefs, values, morals, imagination), and feelings (desire for relationships, affections). Allowing God to be part of the discernment process teaches us to let the spiritual (redeemed) nature rule over the fleshly (sinful) nature.
I can't help but think of Mordecai when Esther is in with the king. Maybe the people were still fasting, but I'm confident the suspense was horrendous! Their lives hung in the balance of Queen Esther's ability to persuade the king. Yet, whether the Jews realized it or not, this invisible providential hand guided every step.
9 So Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king.
When hate consumes our hearts – even hate towards one human being – it consumes our entire life. Even though Hamman was highly regarded everywhere he went, it was not enough without Mordecai bowing his knee.
Note that "Haman restrained himself" from acting outlandish towards Mordecai when he saw him at the king's gate. God's hand held back Haman's wrath until all the pieces were in place. One day, I hope we can see how God worked on our behalf, even when it felt like we were alone. The words of Deuteronomy 31:6 are beyond our comprehension because we do not yet see how He is present: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."
12 Moreover Haman said, "Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. 13 Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."
14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet."
And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made.
Adam Clarke notes that "the gallows mentioned here was not for hanging a victim, but for violently killing and displaying the victim. A pointed stake is set upright in the ground, and the culprit is taken, placed on the sharp point, and then pulled down by his legs till the stake that went in at the fundament passes up through the body and comes out through the neck. A most dreadful species of punishment, in which revenge and cruelty may glut the utmost of their malice."
Haman had a treacherous death planned for Mordecai, and he relished his day of vengeance. Friends, as gruesome of an enemy Mordecai was to Haman, remember that we were once enemies of God. We should've been hung on those gallows, yet our Savior – whom we viewed as an enemy – took our place on that hideous cross. Let us not be too quick to judge Haman, as our hearts were once dark, too.
“Father, teach us to peel back the outer layers of poor behavior and recognize that we are looking at a heart in desperate need of Christ. By Your Holy Spirit, move us to remember that we were once lost in sin, and our penalty should’ve been eternal gallows. Give us hearts of compassion and spirits willing to pray for an awakening. Amen.”