Move In Silence Series

After Esther received Mordecai's message, she responded by calling for a 3 day fast for the Jews in Shushan. Esther and her maids would be fasting as well. She also decided that she was going to go to the king. She knew it was against the law, but she decided that if she perished, she perished. Mordecai went his way and did all Esther commanded him. Esther 4:15-17

Sometimes to get results, we have to go on a fast. Fasting is basically putting our flesh under submission so our spirit can hear God more clearly. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

Fasting is not easy to do nor is it something we should do to make ourselves look good in front of people. Matthew 6:16-18.

On the 3rd day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace while the king sat on his throne in the royal house facing the entrance of the house. When he saw her standing there, she found favor in his sight, and he held out the golden scepter. After she touched the top of the scepter, King Xerxes wanted to know what her request was. He said it would be given to her up to half his kingdom. Esther 5:1-3

This is why it pays to live a life of honor. Even better is to BE honorable person at heart.

Esther requested that he and Haman come to a banquet that she has prepared for him. King Xerxes requested Haman be brought quickly to the banquet. It was during this time King Xerxes asked Esther again what her request was. Her request was that King Xerxes and Haman attend another banquet she was preparing the next day. Esther 5:4-8

It's interesting how Esther could have told King Xerxes about Haman's plan to kill the Jews which would have included her and Mordecai. But she knew that this was a time that she still had to remain silent.

Meanwhile Haman was delighted that he got to have a banquet with the king and queen. Even better, he was going to a second banquet the next day. But then his mood changed when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate. Not only did he not like that Mordecai was there, but the fact that Mordecai wasn't standing or trembling before him made him angrier.

Instead of lashing out, Haman went home to his wife Zeresh and friends. Haman put on a good front talking about his great riches, children, his promotion, and how King Xerxes had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king. Esther 5:9-11

Haman also spoke about the banquet he had attended and that the next day he was going to another banquet. He especially liked the fact that it was just him with the king and queen. But then his mood switched back when he thought about Mordecai. He specifically said, "Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." Esther 5:12-13

Haman must have spent a LOT of time complaining about Mordecai to Zeresh and all his friends because their response was this: "Let the gallows be made, 50 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." Haman liked that idea, and the gallows were made. Esther 5:14

Haman's friends were just as wicked as Haman to suggest such a thing. While it's true that bad company corrupts good character (1 Cornithians 15:33), Haman had probably spent years operating in wickedness without seeing any consequences. It's disheartening to see a wicked person walking around living their best lives; seemingly free from the consequences of their actions. But the truth God never allows for an evil person to get away with stuff forever. Sooner or later, all that evil adds up and they will pay the price.