I love this picture!

Esther 5

Esther had settled in her mind that God had placed her in this position of royalty for the task before her. She determined to go before the king and plead the case of her people. She didn’t wait long. After three days of fasting, she put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court in front of the king’s rooms. She is going to ‘Put herself out there.’  Has she lost favor with the king? Is this fairy tale about to end in tragedy? Her heart must have been pounding. Verse 2 says, “when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter…then the king said to her, ‘what is troubling you, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even to half the kingdom it shall be given you.” Her heart was pounding in trepidation and his was pounding in delight at seeing her and being in her presence. Her presence made him giddy. He was willing to grant her up to half the kingdom. Unbelievable.

What a tease!
Esther made her request. She asked if the king would come and bring Haman to a banquet she had prepared for them. The king was delighted and called for Haman. With great wisdom, Esther determined that the king needed some context before she made her real request. During her fasting, it would seem, God prompted her to proceed with this plan. The banquet came and the king again asked Esther for her request, reaffirming she can have anything. Whether this was her plan or whether God prompted her in that moment, I’m not sure. But she asked that the king and Haman attend one more banquet the next day and she promised her request would come then. What a tease. The king seemed to enjoy the game and his anticipation of being with Esther again. The king agreed.

Pride
Haman left the banquet with great happiness.  He was bursting with pride. On his way home he encountered Mordechai who stood in defiance of Haman and did not tremble before him as others did. He controlled himself and appeased his rage by calling together his wife and friends to brag about his day with the king and queen. “Then Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, and the number of sons, and every instance where the king had magnified him…even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the banquet,” verse 11. He also let them know that Mordechai put a damper on his day by defying him. His wife and friends advised him to have the gallows prepared to have him hung the next day.  Then he could go to the second banquet with great joy. He determined to ask the king the next morning if he can hang Mordecai before the banquet. This plan pleased him, so he had the gallows built.

Pride goes before the fall. God shares His glory with no one. Haman was living in a world without the consciousness of God. He didn’t realize that our lives are but a vapor; our time on earth is fleeting; we are not long here. And while here, God is Sovereign; God is at work; God is the orchestra conductor of our lives. We are servants, not princes and princesses. Our destiny is that of princes and princesses in heaven. Children of the king. Heaven will come but now is a time to serve. When He calls us, we go. When he grants us favor, we bless Him. When we call our friends together, it is to recount His glory, not ours. All glory resides in Him!!! Amen!