Esther: The Shadows of Providence
The Book of Esther Session 7
Esther’s Banquet
(Esther 5:1-14)

“Esther, as compared to the rest of the Old Testament, is like falling from heaven to earth.” – Heinrich Ewald

Introduction
Esther is an obscure book to many. It is a story of human love, palace intrigue, and the glory days of the Persian Empire. A Jewish maiden, elevated to the Throne of Persia as queen, is used by God to preserve His people against a Hitler-like annihilation… The Book of Esther commemorates the deliverance celebrated, to this day—the Feast of Purim. It is, in the end, an account of God’s providence in the people of Israel.
Puzzles
• No mention of the name of God;
• No reference to worship or faith;
• No prediction of the Messiah;
• No mention of heaven or hell…nothing “religious” about it.
• It is a gripping tale, but why is it here in the Bible? Is it a revelation of God’s providence? Martin Luther believed it should not be part of the Canon!
• Esther = means “Something Hidden”(!)
• [The name of YHWH is hidden inside the text in several ways…]
Paul reveals that the historic incidents that happened to Israel are intended as types for us:
Romans 15:4 (NKJV), “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
Examples include:
– Feasts of Israel = prophetic implications (Passover, Firstfruits, etc.);
– Days of Noah;
– Abraham’s Offering of Isaac;
– Jonah, three days…
The story behind the story: Ourselves.
Bible = To know God; to know ourselves!
Time Period
Chronologically, it antedates the Book of Nehemiah by about 30 years. Esther makes possible Nehemiah. It was Esther’s marriage to the King of Persia that ultimately leads to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
These are historical events: not just a story to highlight a moral imperative. It deals with an escape from annihilation after their return from Babylonian captivity and enables the chain of events that led to the Messiah five centuries later.
The book takes place in the Persian period (539-331 b.c.), after many Israelites had returned from the Exile to the land of Palestine to rebuild the temple. Most Israelite captives, however, chose not to return to their homeland. They should have done so for Isaiah and Jeremiah had urged the yet-to-be-exiled nation to come out of Babylon after 70 years (Isa 48:20; Jer 29:10 50:8; 51:6) and return to the place where the Lord could bless them under the promises (Deut 28).

The events in the Book of Esther extend over a decade:
- From 483 b.c., Xerxes’ 3rd year; Esther 1:3
- to 473 b.c., the end of Xerxes’ 12th year; Esther 3:7
The events in this book occurred between those recorded in Ezra 6 & 7.

Festival of Purim
We are going to learn about the origins of the festival of Purim. Purim is a celebration of deliverance. In contrast to Hanukkah, another festival of deliverance in which the achievement of religious liberty is celebrated, and the preservation of Israel is remembered. Purim commemorates the preservation of the Jewish people.
Outline
I. Affairs in the court and the Dethronement of Vashti - Chapter 1
II. The search for the new Queen - Chapter 2
III. The feud between Haman and Mordecai - Chapter 3
IV. Mordecai’s plan - Chapter 4
V. Pride goes before the fall - Chapter 5
VI. Haman’s humiliation - Chapter 6
VII. Haman’s downfall - Chapter 7
VIII. Esther’s petition - Chapter 8
IX. The day of vengeance - Chapter 9
X. The observance of Purim - Chapter 10

READ (All) Esther 5:1-14

Esther is a proclamation of the vanity of human greatness and the greatness of human vanity. These chapters mark the climax of the book. Here the tables are turned, and evil is overcome by good. God’s people are preserved through an unlikely set of circumstances. Coincidence is when God is working undercover.
Daniel 4:25 (NKJV), “The Most High God rules in the kingdom of men.”

And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. Esther 4:13
Esther’s response to Mordecai was not encouraging…Haman’s edict would even reach to the throne.

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14
A key lesson for all of us!
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
“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!” Esther 4:15, 16
Fasting also implies prayer. Esther looks to God, not man, for her deliverance…

1) (Esther 5:1-5) Esther invites both king Ahasuerus and Haman to this banquet.

[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.

a) Esther put on her royal robes: There is an appropriateness in dress as in other things. Inattention to bodily attire has an impact on your virtue and your witness. It may be the mark of an idle or careless spirit, a lack of self-respect, an arrogance of self, or a desire to show disrespect to others.
i) What does our clothing communicate to others? Should it matter?

b) And stood in the inner court of the king’s palace: The destiny of Israel seemed to rest on this one act of Esther. Remember, King Ahasuerus does not have a good reputation for the way he treats his queens. She positioned herself in view of the king and in view of God.
i) Why are the smallest acts for God some of the most important ones?
[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.
c) This is the pivot point of the entire book. She presents herself and the threat of death evaporates. Her unlawful breach of etiquette was forgiven.
Proverbs 21:1 (NKJV), “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
[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!”
d) The king has a sense that Esther has a special request. “Up to half of the kingdom” is a common hyperbolic idiom of the day.
[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.”

e) If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him: Usually the king and queen would eat dinner separately. To invite not only the king, but also another male guest, not a relation, was a remarkable act of favor. Esther is also showing great tact by not just blurting out her request. She looks to win the kings confidence and then she wanted to expose the wickedness of Haman as well.
Proverbs 25:19 (NLT), “Putting confidence in an unreliable person in times of trouble is like chewing with a broken tooth or walking on a lame foot.”
i) What are some ways that we, as Christians, can build confidence in the lives of others (especially unbelievers)?
[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.
f) It was an unusual honor to be invited to a banquet with the queen, for Persian officials were protective of their wives.
2) (Esther 5:6-8) Esther’s request at the first banquet.

[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!”

a) At the banquet of wine: I have found that I can most freely make my requests at the Lord’s Table. As I hold His blood in my hand, I am reminded of how much He loves me.
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 (NKJV), “In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”
b) What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done: The king understood that it was not for mere entertainment that Esther had risked her very life. His curiosity is being stirred.
[7-8] Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: 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.”
c) 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: Esther delays and promises to reveal her request at the second banquet. Some reasons for the delay:
(1 Esther lost her nerve.
(2 The king’s mood was not “perfect.”
(3 It was too public, the scene might backfire.
(4 She may have only wanted Haman present.

ii) Regardless, the 24-hour period will prove to be essential for God’s purposes.

3) (Esther 5:9-13) Haman’s frustration with Mordecai.

[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.

a) He was filled with indignation against Mordecai: Haman receives honor from both the King and the Queen, but the disapproval of one man makes him feel worthless.
Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV), “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. – Greek proverb
i) What is the danger for all of us if we do not deal with our resentment towards others?

[10-11] Nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 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.

b) Nevertheless Haman restrained himself: This is a remarkable evidence of the hand of God. God would not allow the fury of Haman to take action until all the proper pieces were set in place to ultimately defeat his plan.

[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.
c) God sends blindness to those whom He means to destroy. Haman had no perception of the influences that were working against him:
i) God had given Mordecai the heroism of faith;
ii) God had strengthened timid Esther;
iii) God had Haman build the necessary gallows.

Jeremiah 17:5-10 (NKJV), “Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.
For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.”

[13] Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

d) Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate: He admits his wealth and position availed him nothing: his obsession with Mordecai poisoned his peace and exuberance. An empty heart can only be filled by Jesus.
Ecclesiastes 6:2 (ESV), “A man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.”
i) What aren’t the things of the world satisfying to our spirits?
4) (Esther 5:14) Haman happily receives counsel to ask for Mordecai’s execution the next day at the second feast.

[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.

a) Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it: For these friends of Haman, it wasn’t enough to just punish Mordecai’s people (remember the genocide against the Jews is already set in motion), or merely to kill Mordecai. They wanted Haman to ask for a public, humiliating execution of Mordecai on gallows 75 feet (25 meters) high.

i) 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. The culprit lives a considerable time in excruciating agonies.” (Clarke)

b) And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made: We should never underestimate the destructive and distorting power of hatred. The same irrational, violent hatred that made Haman want to see Mordecai hang to his death is the same irrational, violent hatred that made man want to hang Jesus on a cross.
Proverbs 10:12 (NKJV), “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.”
i) What is the danger of harboring hatred in your heart?