Esther 7
-The crescendo in the plot comes in this pivotal chapter as the king and Haman come to drink wine with Esther the queen in the second evening of her banquet. For the third time the king asked her what her petition was promising that it would be granted even up to half of the kingdom. Queen Esther gathered up her courage that was more than likely becoming more and more confident with all that she’d seen God do. She spoke, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.” King Ahasuerus became indignant with this perpetrator and asked, “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” Esther now made her decisive move, “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then, Haman, the Bible states, “became terrified (ba`ath- suddenly frightened, startled, overtaken by sudden terror, overwhelmed) before the king and queen.” The king, who was known for his angry tirades when filled with wine, arose furiously from his drinking and went into the palace garden. Haman stayed behind with Queen Esther begging for his life because he definitely perceived that harm had been determined against him by the king for this deliberate-prearranged savagery against the queen’s people. When the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they had been drinking, he saw Haman falling on the couch where Esther was. Further incensed, he fumed, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” Even as these words went out of his mouth, his executioners covered the face of Haman. One of the king’s eunuchs, named Harbonah, who was before him, said, “Behold, indeed, the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits (about 75 feet) high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king!” The king pronounced his judgment on the wicked enemy of the Jews, “Hang him on it.” “So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided (Esther 7:1-10).”
*Application* Getting caught in an evil plot can leave one mortified. So it’s best that we never go about scheming malevolence upon our enemies, especially if they are part of God’s family and people. Esther’s prayers and plans had worked out perfectly under the Divine sovereignty of All-Mighty God. Surrendering courageously to His call for “such a time as this” may seem out there or overwhelming at times, but then He shows up and destroys the enemy before us leaving us in wonder and awe of His wisdom, glory, and power. God can easily do it, trust Him and see miracles abound all around.
Verse to Memorize:
Esther 7:10
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