Esther's plea
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
God’s provision
God’s provision
Where have you noticed God’s provision in the book of Esther?
Are there times when you have seen God’s provision even without God’s name being involved?
God empowers us to face challenging circumstances and situations. He equips us and calls for us to be bold, be faithful, be true, be useful for him.
In our chapter tonight we can see the courage and example of Esther. It is “a time such as this,” that everything before, God working it out to this right now. The mystery is about to be revealed. Esther was called to trust in God’s providence, God’s leading, God’s wisdom (through Mordecai) to this.
There are going to be times in our life when we are called to be strong, bold, courageous and trusting in God and His provision, so may we look together at our passage tonight.
Esther’s plea passage
Esther’s plea passage
1 Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”
3 Then Queen Esther replied, “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; 4 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.”
5 Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” 6 Esther said, “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.
7 The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king. 8 Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
9 Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
What do you see as the central theme in this passage?
Is there anything to stands out to you in this passage?
In the company of Haman, the king asks Esther a question, what is it (v.2)?
What is your petition? This is the same thing he asked her the day before and the first banquet.
What is Esther’s plea (v.3)? and why was it made (vv.3-4)?
If I have found favor, if it pleases you, spare my life.
For they had been sold to be killed, annihilated.
What is the king’s response to Esther’s plea (v.5)? Then, what is revealed about the “who” in (v.6)?
Who is this person to presume to do this?
It’s Haman, wicked Haman.
The king is angry what did he do (v.7)? What did the king say (v.8)?
He got up, went out into the palace garden
When he return Haman was on couch where Esther was and said he was assaulting his wife.
What facts do you in (vv.9-10)?
One of the eunuchs (Harbonah) told the king about the gallows ordered built by Haman to hang Mordecai on.
The king said to hang him (Haman) on it.
They did hang him
The king’s anger subsided.
How about a few other general questions for discussion:
Why do you think Queen Esther waited to reveal her heritage until 2nd day of banquet (vv.1-2)?
What can you learn about courage from (vv.3-4)?
I am sure you can see a sense of justice (v.5), but can you see anything about his relationship with Esther there too?
Do you think that it is significant that the revelation of evil Haman was done in front of Haman?( v.6)
Caught, what do you see about Haman and his character (vv.7-10)?
Esther’s plea
Esther’s plea
What was once concealed, Her heritage, her people, is about to be made known. After being prayerful and bold before in approaching the king without invitation she is going to make her plea known to him.
We see this is the 2nd day of banquet with only the king and Haman. Similar to first one, the king asks for her petition. Unlike the first one, this time she is going to make it, tactfully.
Esther in using true wisdom showed great tact in making the petition.
Notice she did not identify herself as a Jew, just that her people were going to be killed, annihilated.
Just as Haman did not identify those to be killed to be Mordecai and the Jews (Est3:10-11)
How do you see from the passage that she used tact in making the petition?
She appealed to the king “If I have found favor with the king.”
It it pleases the king. . . let him spare my life.
She is appealing to the king in a personal way. This impacts me, your queen, your wife. and I want you to do something if I have found favor with you.
Evil called out, Evil identified
Evil called out, Evil identified
The king calls out to know who is this wicked man.
The king asks the who and the where is the person. Leaving no room for Esther not to answer the question. She was in this far, she had to go forward.
I want you to think about this, who really authorized the killing of the Jews? The king did! He gave the authority to Haman (Est3:10-11). The king is not thinking about that.
It was typical that a king was thought of as a god and was never wrong, and if he was wrong it would be turned on someone else as a scapegoat, taking no responsibility. The King wanted to know who was responsible.
Esther speaks up boldly, confidently now and identify’s the wicked man as Haman.
She did not tell the king it was him, he gave authority to Haman not understanding what he agreed to.
Haman was not a faithful servant, but an adversary and an enemy. It is believed he could have been a part of the group that wanted to assassinate him that Mordecai revealed.
Haman had no clue that his request would have included the Queen.
Now here he is before the king saying he plotted to have his wife killed, not good to be in Haman’s shoes right now.
Haman went from being confident, prideful, to be terrified.
Like Christians today are to shine the light on evil and share the love and justice of Christ, it calls for us to be bold, trusting God. God is working in others even when you do not see it. He was working on you before you became a Christian.
God’s justice
God’s justice
While we have seen God working though all things to this point. Now it comes to the point of judgment. When the cup of iniquity is filled, His judgment will prevail.
The King is enraged!
Was it that he himself realizes that he was tricked by Haman?
We do not know for sure why, but we know he was angry.
Consider Pro16:14
14 The fury of a king is like messengers of death, But a wise man will appease it.
or Pro20:2
2 The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.
The King returns and finds Haman in a compromised position.
Even though he had been pleading with Esther for his life. The king sees him as assaulting his wife.
There is some Jewish writings that say the angel Gabriel pushed Haman, so she fell on Esther’s couch. We have no biblical evidence just Jewish writing.
Haman’s doom is sealed; He is covered and executed.
As we had discussed in another class about the gallows, stake to go through the body and out the head.
Haman had the gallows built to put Mordecai on, that did not happen, in fact he had to honor Moredecai (Chapter 6). Now the is going to suffer the fate himself. Consider Ps7:14-16
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness, And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood. 15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made. 16 His mischief will return upon his own head, And his violence will descend upon his own pate.
Do not miss the parallel with Jesus here. The death sentence on Haman satisfied the king’s wrath. The sentence carried out by Jesus satisfied God’s wrath.
The death of the evil in place of the innocent (Haman for Moredecai) but then when it came to Jesus it was the innocent for the guilty (Jesus for us for we are all guilty).
How about some take-away’s?
How about some take-away’s?
Take a stand for Jesus: Esther stood up for justice, she was an advocate. Being an advocate will take courage and bravery as exampled by Esther.
Use godly wisdom for timing and words.
Esther was deliberate in her timing and her words. we can learn from that to discern timing and pray for the right words to share with someone.
Use the power of the truth.
Remember things concealed will be revealed (Lk12:2-3)
Truth makes people free.
So, be truthful in your words trusting that God will bring justice in His way and in His timing, you do your part be honest.
Have faith in God’s timing.
We may wonder as many of the psalms do, where is God’s justice, when are we going to see it. We need to walk by faith knowing that God will bring about justice.
Intercession: Be willing to step up, step out and intercede for others.
Esther interceded for her people.
You too can intercede for others in prayer or being a voice of an advocate for someone.
(Prayer) (Exit)
