1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” 4 And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. 6 And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 7 Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”
9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, 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 fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
On the third day, at the end of the fast, Esther dressed in her royal robes and went and stood in the presence of the king while he was seated on his throne. The fast was three days in that it started on the first day, perhaps mid-day, and continued through two nights ending on the morning of the third day. It is not uncommon to use three days to refer to three calendar days without requiring three full 24 hour periods. Jesus was dead for three days and rose on the third day with very similar timing. Esther won favour in king Xerces’s sight and he held out the golden scepter indicating his acceptance of her visit. He rightly sensed that for her to risk an audience as she did meant she had a request and so he promised to answer it with an offer of up to half the kingdom. This was an idiom that meant she could ask almost anything and he would honour her request (see Mark 6:23). Esther’s request was simple, that the king and Haman come to a feast she had prepared. Esther had already prepared the feast which shows she was acting in faith. At the feast, the king again perceived she still had a request and repeated his promise to honour it, whatever it was. She asked that they come to another feast the next night where she would finally reveal her request. Why did she delay? Why not just make her request at the first feast? The Bible doesn’t tell us but the story reveals that the delay allowed for things to unfold. Perhaps Esther sensed that the time was not right and in God’s providence other details needed to be put in place. We need to be sensitive to God’s timing and not be impatient when things don’t happen as quickly as we’d like them to.
Haman was thrilled at having received the honor of dining alone with the king and queen. But then he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and his mood swung. He was angry but restrained himself from acting at that moment. At home, he brought together his friends and his wife and began to boast about his wealth, his family, and how the king had promoted him above all others. Even the queen had invited only him to dine with the king and he was invited to another banquet the next night. But all of this was worth nothing to him because Mordecai continued to disrespect him. His wife and friends suggested he build a gallows and then ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on them. The gallows was likely a high pole for impaling someone on rather than a hangman’s gallows. It was either very high or on a hill in order to be seen by everyone as an example. With Mordecai out of the way, he could joyfully go to the feast with the king. Haman thought this was a splendid idea and had the gallows made.
Despite all his wealth, family, and position, Haman’s happiness was conditional on his circumstances. The thought of one person immediately extinguished his joy. Is your happiness dependant on worldly circumstances? Are you bound up by bitterness towards someone? What do you need to do today to fix that?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
The Jerusalem Council: Acts 15-16