In the last post, Mordecai had just told Esther that she could ignore the problem if she wanted, but she would die, her family would die (including Mordecai) and God would find deliverance for the Jews from someplace else. That’s an important point, the Jews WOULD be delivered. The promises of God to Abraham could not be fulfilled if they were all exterminated. The question was whether or not Esther would “Queen up” and take a stand, intervening before Xerxes. As Mordecai had put it:
Esther 4 (New King James Version)
Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? |
So Esther gives in and sends a message to Mordecai to get every Jew in the city and begin a three day fast.
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Esther 4
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”
17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.
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I can’t read the end of verse 16 without hearing Esther speaking in her best Jewish mother accent. The Randy Reed very loose translation goes like this:
“Okay, okay, I’ll go talk to the king, which, you know, is AGAINST the law. I’ll do it and if I die, I die, OF COURSE, I die. But don’t you worry about that.”
Mordecai turns to do what Esther has told him (but not without shaking his head and saying “oy vey!”)
After Esther, her staff and all the Jews fasted for three days, she gets ready to see the king. Remember, this is not just any king. This is the guy that, after defeating the 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae, lost 200 ships at Salamís and returned home in disgrace. This is the guy that took a stick and beat the waves of the sea because of his humiliating naval defeat (the Greeks lost only 20 ships). At best, Xerxes had a volatile temper and had to be approached with great care.
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| Tiffany Dupont as Esther in "One Night With The King" |
To approach the king was a capital offense, unless the king extended his scepter towards you, giving you pardon and permission. So Esther gets dressed up and prepares to see the king. Esther 5:1 uses the word “royal” (twklm) three times. Once to describe the clothing that Esther wore and twice in reference to the throne and palace. Probably not a major point, but it illustrates that Esther went dressed in the proper attire for the occasion. She wasn’t trying to make some personal statement, she was just making sure she fit in. This is the second time we see Esther making the smart choice about what she wears before the king. The first time contributed to her being picked for the position of queen.
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Esther 5
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.
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!”
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Bingo! Esther must have had a real hold on Xerxes. He hadn’t seen her in a month and the minute she puts herself at risk to see him, he not only grants her audience, but offers her anything she wants, up to half his kingdom. Now, “half the kingdom” may have been just an idiom and not to be taken literally, but you get the point. Esther had clout with the king.
But how does she use her clout? She can’t just ask him to reverse the decree to exterminate the Jews. Xerxes couldn’t do that if he wanted. He was bound by his own laws. Xerxes, in this aspect, is a type, or model, of God. Once God has made a promise or covenant He CANNOT break it.
Some people would say that God can do anything, but He can’t. Shocked? Good, here are some things He can’t do:
- He can’t lie.
- He can’t learn.
- He can’t force you to love Him.
- He can’t break a covenant (see #1)
This is what separates the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from allah (small “a” intentional). The Koran teaches that allah is capricious and unknowable. The God of the Bible says what He means and means what He says. If a promise is made, He cannot break it without ceasing to be who He is.
So Esther has to come up with a different plan than to just come right out and ask him to change his mind. She requests the king attend a dinner she has prepared and, oh yea, bring Haman. Esther was setting Haman up and doing a good job of it. Feed his ego and invite him to a banquet with the queen. This was not done very often. The Persian women were protected by their husbands and usually dined alone, without even their husband present.
For Haman to be invited, by the king, to dine with him AND the queen was a huge honor.
At the banquet, Xerxes asks Esther a second time:
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Esther 5
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!”
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But, Esther avoids the main issue and requests a second banquet.
Esther 5
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.”
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This doesn’t seem to make sense. She has the attention of the king. She has Haman there at the dinner. Why doesn’t she just come out and say something, instead of setting up a second banquet?
There are many possibilities. Perhaps, Xerxes wasn’t in the right frame of mind. This IS Xerxes, remember. It was a wine banquet and maybe too much wine had been done away with. I tend to think there is another reason.
When fishing, you have a much better chance of pulling in the big one if you feed him a little line. By having Haman attend a second banquet, Esther was playing into his vanity and giving him plenty of line to hang himself with (pun intended, if you know what’s coming). There is also the definite possibility that God’s plan for Haman required another 24 hours to complete.
Another incident occurs after the first banquet that plays a major part in the events to come. I’ll talk about that next time.
Randy
Randy Reed Esther bible, Christian Bible study, esther