Esther 5:1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. 2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. 3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. 4 And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him. 5 Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. 7 Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is; 8 If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.
It has been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I suppose for some men that is the case. In our text, we know that Esther had some serious business to take care of. She had spent three days fasting, and now it was time to take the next step in her plan. We read that after her fast, she put on her royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the king’s house. She was now going to present herself before the king, even though he had not asked for her. We read as well that the king was doing his kingly thing. He was sitting on his throne, making himself look important. In verse 2 we read that the king observed Esther standing in the court. Once again, she obtained favour in his sight. In spite of the ungodliness of this kingdom and of the relationship between the king and Esther, God was going to work this matter for His glory. The king held out his golden sceptre, inviting Esther to come closer to him. When she approached she put out her hand and touched the top of his sceptre. She was asserting herself to some degree here. In verse 3 we see that the king certainly did favour Esther. He asked what her request was. He was not aware yet of the dire situation he had agreed to. He offered Esther whatever she wanted, up to half of the kingdom. As we have noted already, he was not the wisest man on earth. He did not know Esther that well yet, but here he is opening himself up to giving away half of his kingdom. This sounds very much like foolish King Herod in the days of John the Baptist. He was impressed with the dancing of his adulterous wife’s daughter and he offered her up to half of his kingdom. In verse 4 Esther took the king up on his offer. She began by asking that Haman and the king come to a banquet she was preparing for him. Esther flattered the king with her words. She made it seem that she had this special banquet prepared just for him. He, being the vain man that he was, was willing to take all the flattery he could get. In verse 5 we see that the king was quick to accept this invitation. He immediately commanded that Haman come that very day to the banquet that Esther had prepared. There was no business in the kingdom that was of greater importance than a banquet. Of course, Haman too was flattered to think that Esther would invite him to a banquet with her and the king. No one else was invited. He must be a special person, so he thought. In verse 6 we see that the banquet was prepared and the guests were there. The king enjoyed a good banquet, but he was interested in knowing why Esther had prepared this event for just himself and Haman. She must have something on her mind. We notice here that this was called the banquet of wine. As we have noted from Proverbs 20:1, wine will break down the sensibilities of those who consume it. Habakkuk 2 warns of the sin of encouraging someone to drink alcohol.
Habakkuk 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
The king repeated his offer to Esther once again. He would give her up to half the kingdom. The door was certainly open for Esther to ask for what she was after. However, Esther was not going to make her request known that day. Rather, she would further butter up the king and Haman and invite them to another banquet that she was preparing for the next day. She promised the king that she would make her request known to him on the morrow. She was certainly building up the suspense. We need to keep in mind that Esther was operating here on a completely secular manner. We read nothing of her consulting with God about His plans. She had not received any special instructions from Mordecai on how to approach this matter. We read nothing of Mordecai consulting with God on this matter either. This was just a couple of people scheming and plotting their next move. Esther knew the vanity of the king. She also knew the pride of Haman. She was playing on what she knew of these two men. She was working on the only level she knew of. She did not seem to have been instructed in the fear of the Lord. We will observe how this event will work itself out. The wise person prays to God and seeks His wisdom first. That is what Jesus stated in Matthew 6:33.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
King David had often sought the Lord’s direction first. When he did, God never let him down. He could exalt God because he had clearly sought His will. In many of the Psalms of David, he was directed by God to write about God’s blessings in his life. Esther could not do that, neither could Mordecai. God was obviously working behind the scenes here, but it was in spite of Mordecai and Esther, not in honour of their faithfulness to Him. The same is true in Israel today. God is definitely working behind the scenes in Israel today. The development of the Iron Dome and then the Iron Beam are a protection that they have. No other nation has anything like that unless they have asked for Israel’s help in developing it. I read this week that Israel now has a mobile version of this on one of their ships and it protected them from rockets shot at the ship. Israel is trusting in their abilities and they are heavily dependent upon these technologies that they have. They do not see that it is God that is blessing them with these things. Soon the day will come where all of Israel’s technological advances will not be enough to help them. They will face a massive attack that will make it look like they are finished. At just the right moment, God will stop the attack and protect Israel. God will never allow Israel to be destroyed. He will and He is punishing her for her rebellion against Him. However, they will never be destroyed. Those who plot against her will suffer the consequences. No one can attack Israel without facing the wrath of God. How much better it would be if Israel could speak of their faith in God. We know that Joseph and Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah certainly did. We know that Peter and John and Paul and Silas certainly did. It is important for us to know the true God and to boldly stand upon His truth and trust in Him to make a way for us. He deserves to be glorified. He does not need us but we certainly need Him. Let us choose to humbly submit to Him and glorify Him in our plans and actions. Pastor Bartel
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