Day 139: Esther 4-6

(The previous post covered the king's removal of Vashti as queen, Esther becoming queen, and Haman getting the king to make a decree to attack all the Jews.)

Esther 4
¹ Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
² and he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.

(Mordecai found out about the decree to destroy the Jews and he humbled himself and cried loudly. He did not care that he was not supposed to go to the king's gate clothed in sackcloth.)

³ And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

(This affected all the tribes of Israel. All the Jews throughout the kingdom who heard of the decree were mourning, fasting, weeping, and wailing.)

⁴ And Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he received it not.

(Esther also found out about the decree and she was very grieved. Did Mordecai wear sackcloth so that Esther would find out how upset he was? She tried to get Mordecai to stop wearing sackcloth. He refused.)

⁵ Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and charged him to go to Mordecai, to know what this was, and why it was.

(Did Mordecai refuse so that Esther would ask why?)

⁶ So Hathach went forth to Mordecai unto the broad place of the city, which was before the king's gate.
⁷ And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
⁸ Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given out in Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him, for her people.
⁹ And Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

(Mordecai sent a copy of the decree to Esther. It sounded like Esther was very insulated from what was going on and Mordecai's actions made her aware of the details. Mordecai had a solution: he wanted Esther to take it to the king and make a request for the Jews by telling the king that she was a Jewess.)

¹⁰ Then Esther spake unto Hathach, and gave him a message unto Mordecai saying:
¹¹ All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except those to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
¹² And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.

(Esther was making Mordecai aware of what he already knew: he was asking her to risk her life by his request. If the king did not extend his sceptre, she would be killed instantly. It had been thirty days since the king called for Esther.)

¹³ Then Mordecai bade them return answer unto Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.
¹⁴ For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's house will perish: and who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

(Mordecai pointed out the decree extended to her as well since she was also a Jew. This was a threat ("fear of loss"). Then Mordecai approached her by showing her the benefit: Mordecai asked Esther to consider if she was brought to this kingdom for this cause. What an amazing question! Mordecai had the faith (understanding and experience) to know that God may have put Esther into the kingdom for the purpose of all the Jews.)

¹⁵ Then Esther bade them return answer unto Mordecai,
¹⁶ Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

(Esther agreed to go to the king. She essentially said, "If I die, I die." Esther was about the cause regardless of the effect. She was bearing the pain of the whole nation of Israel regardless of what it cost her. She was acting as a man ought to act and above and beyond how a woman ought to act because she was a leader and an excellent woman!)

¹⁷ So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

(Featured Story Solution: They fasted, and by implication prayed, in preparation of Esther's meeting with the king. Notice, the first time she met with the king, Esther spent twelve months preparing herself physically to approach the king in order to gain favor, and the result was that she became queen. This time, Esther was going to spend days preparing herself spiritually to approach the king in order to gain favor for all the Jews.)




Esther 5
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 entrance of the house.

(After three days of fasting and prayer, Esther dressed up and stood in the inner court of the king's house. Esther knew she was made queen because of appearance so she appealed to the king by appearance.)

² And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor 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.

(The fasting and praying worked. This was the second time Esther gained favor with the king.)

³ Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be given thee even to the half of the kingdom.

(The king asked Esther what she wanted. The phrase "even to half of the kingdom" was customary to be stated to people who found favor in the king's eyes.)

⁴ And Esther said, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.

(Since we did not see Mordecai come up with this idea, we have to assume Esther's idea was divinely inspired by God during her three days of fasting and prayer. Also, this was the second case of God's hidden Name in the original manuscripts. JHVH: "let the king and Haman come this day." Can you see God's Hand in this? Likewise, Esther's plan was hidden.)

⁵ Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that it may be done 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.

(Haman was brought to the banquet and the king asked Esther what she wanted again. It must have been understood that her actual request would be presented during the banquet of wine with Ahasuerus and Haman. Notice, it was a feast at which Ahasuerus was "merry with wine" that led to Esther becoming queen.)

⁷ Then answered Esther, and said, My petition 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 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 to-morrow as the king hath said.

(Esther asked for the king and Haman to come to another banquet the next day. Perhaps Esther realized that Ahasuerus and Haman were not relaxed enough, or this may have been Esther's plan all along.)

⁹ Then went Haman forth that day joyful and glad of heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.
¹⁰ Nevertheless Haman refrained himself, and went home; and he sent and fetched his friends and Zeresh his wife.
¹¹ And Haman recounted unto them 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 also am I invited by her together with the king.

(The effect of this "double invitation" (Haman was invited to two private banquets with the king) was that Haman became overconfident. He saw Mordecai and believed everything was going his (Haman's) way. Haman retold the story of his success to his family and friends. Meanwhile, Mordecai had faith that God would prevail, with or without Esther. Mordecai did not honor Haman by standing in Haman's presence.)

¹³ Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

(Even after telling everyone all the good things he had going for him, Haman could not be happy because Mordecai did not honor him. The third hidden Name of God was in this verse. JHVH: "all this availeth me nothing." Can you see God's Hand in this specific circumstance?)

¹⁴ Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning 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.

(The story of Esther's "double invitation" was a "nested story": it sat within the Featured Story. Nested Story Introduction and Conflict: Haman's wife and friends goad Haman into speaking to the king about hanging Mordecai on a gallows.)

(Haman caused a gallows to be made to hang Mordecai. A gallows was a stake, a sharpened piece of wood, which a person was impaled onto or hung from like Jesus was on the cross. This gallows was made to be seventy-five feet high. Did God tell Mordecai not to stand for Haman? Regardless, Mordecai's not honoring Haman caused Haman to be upset to the point he had a gallows built, even though Haman was the chief prince and believed he had everything going for him.)




Esther 6
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.

(Did all the fasting and praying allow God to disrupt Ahasuerus' sleep? Did Esther's "double invitation" cause Ahasuerus' conscience to look for information? Ahasuerus could not sleep and the effect of this was he asked for the chronicles to be read to him. It sounded like something prompted him to do this.)

² And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, of those that kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
³ And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.

(The events from the "mini-story" (Esther 2:21-23) were read. The king found out that nothing was done for Mordecai.)

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 honor? Now Haman said in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself?

(Ahasuerus must have decided this was what was keeping him up because he wanted to deal with it immediately. Haman was the only prince present because he was preparing the gallows for Mordecai and most likely going to request the king allow him to have Mordecai killed. Notice, if Esther had made her request at the first feast, Ahasuerus would not have consulted the chronicles and Haman would not have been overconfident and preparing the gallows. Esther's sense of timing was perfect. Notice, someone could say, "If you know what you are going to request, why not do it as soon as possible?" That would be our timing. Esther did not care if she took more than one opportunity to make her request. She was following God's timing regardless of how it made her look.)

⁷ And Haman said unto the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honor,
⁸ let royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on the head of which a crown royal is set:
⁹ and let the apparel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man therewith whom the king delighteth to honor, and cause him to ride 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 honor.

(Haman, overconfident and in pride, answered while thinking that the king spoke of him.)

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 hast spoken.

(God made His move. Nested Story Resolution: The king prevented Haman from asking to hang Mordecai on the gallows. In one verse, Haman's life turned upside down. Haman went from requesting Mordecai's life to having to be the one to honor Mordecai, the same man who would not honor him.)

¹¹ Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor.
¹² And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered.

(Notice the responses:
-Mordecai had been spared, yet he returned to the king's gate in sackcloth.
-Haman had given advice to the king, yet he mourned and hid his head in shame.)

¹³ And Haman recounted unto Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.
¹⁴ While they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

(All that had happened was that Mordecai had been spared from Haman. However, his wise men realized the effect: Haman would end up falling before Mordecai. While they were talking, the king's household help came for Haman so he could attend Esther's second banquet.)

(This post covered Esther's second request of the king and Mordecai being spared from Haman.)

Day 140