Being Set Up For The Kill Series

Ester 5 : 1 – 14

Being Set Up For The Kill

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. 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. 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!” 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.” 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. 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!” 7 Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: 8 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.” 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. 10 Nevertheless Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 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. 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. 13 Yet all this avails me nothing, 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 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.

We learn from the book of Proverbs chapter 1 verse 17 a warning, “Surely, in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird;”

Every person on earth goes about their lives oblivious to the fact that our Great and Holy God can cause anyone to give immediate account of their lives spent here. He has given the created creatures like a bird the instincts to be on the alert to potential trouble. Yet mankinds who are created in His Own Image are clueless. In a moment they walk into their own trap and then wammo!

Throughout the bible our Lord provides warnings for us to look out for. I just want to mention a couple of more from the book of Proverbs. Please consider what traps Haman for his evil will walk into himself.

Proverbs 11: 19, “As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.

Proverbs 14: 12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Proverbs 21: 6, “Getting treasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

So having considered these things let us get back to our bible story.

To her great relief, when Esther made her attempt to approach King Ahasuerus, he received her favorably, holding out to her his golden scepter, and asking her what her petition was, promising that he would fulfill it ‘even to half the kingdom’. But Esther had planned her campaign carefully and she commenced by asking the king to a private banquet along with Haman. This was to be the first banquet to which the two were invited, and this one ended with Haman feeling exalted. The second would end in a very different way. We may surmise that Esther had two ends in view in these banquets. Firstly to once more arouse in Ahasuerus the previous feelings that he had had for her, thus making him more willing to consider her request, and secondly in order to discourage any attempts by Haman to undermine her influence. Had he not been present he may well have had suspicions of what Esther intended to do. He would no doubt have learned from his spies that Mordecai was a protégé of Esther’s.