The second banquet goes ahead, and the king and Haman are present with Queen Esther. The king asked her again what her petition was, and again he said that he would give her up to half the kingdom (v1-4). She answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”
It is clear that God was delaying the petition from Esther until the king knew exactly what Haman wanted to do with Mordecai and the rest of the Jews.
The king sounded shocked as he replied (v5) “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” He was oblivious to the fact that he had made the decree. He had, maybe, acted on impulse and signed it without thinking it though. He was thinking that it was someone else and that that person should be dealt with. It is like pointing the finger when three are pointing back yourself. I am sure Esther knew this; she knew that the real culprits were other than the king and that he had been duped into signing this law. Very much like King Darius in Daniel, when he agreed to the decree that no-one should pray to any god but himself. Done to catch out Daniel by the scheming of wicked men.
In both these passages we read of the law of the Medes and Persians, that it cannot be altered. They liked to pride themselves that they never got the laws wrong, at the time it seemed an excellent idea, but flaws soon appeared. Like our laws, which over time must be amended or repealed because circumstances change, and laws are ineffective. Only God’s law never changes.
Was Esther going to be brave? She certainly was and said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” (v6) strong words, but true. It shows how wise Esther was to invite both the King and Haman to her banquet. They both needed to be present. Esther’s words were an indication that Haman was not loyal to the king and was only looking after his own interests. We also read that Haman was terrified. It is thought that, at this time, Haman did not know that Esther was a Jew, thus, his actions were bordering on treason.
The king was angry. ‘How dare Haman do such a thing!’ Perhaps he now realised that Haman had deceived him into signing the decree and went into the garden, to assuage his anger. Meanwhile Haman pleaded for his life with Queen Esther (v7), no doubt hoping that she would calm the king in his anger. When the king returned, he found Haman fallen across Esther’s couch and thought that Haman was assaulting Esther. He really was angry; it was one thing to be accused but another to appear to assault Esther in the king’s palace. Immediately they covered Haman’s face, perhaps to protect him from the king, who was still in a rage, or getting him ready for what came next.
Harbonah, one of the king’s eunuchs told the king of Haman’s gallows which had been prepared for Mordecai. The king ordered that Haman should be impaled on the gallows (spike) which he had made, so, he was hanged (impaled) on his own gallows. Then the king’s anger subsided (v9,10).
We must be careful that what we plot against others does not rebound on us, ‘what we reap, we sow.’ As we noted earlier, ‘whoever digs a pit will fall into it’ and the Psalmist also said, “Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. He made a pit and dug it out and has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.” (Psalm 7:14-16)
