Day 9: Esther 7:1-10
So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”
Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”
King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”
Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage,left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”
As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Impale him on it!” So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
The story of Esther is one of my favorites as I look up to her as an example of what I want to be as a woman of God. As I looked up the meaning of her name, I see the words “star” and “hidden” mentioned. Yes, she was a star––she shone so brightly in her bravery for her fellow Jews. And, yes, she was hidden in many ways. The words I can think of to describe Esther are modest, full of grace, honest, humble, quiet, reserved, obedient, and brave. Esther was not one who looked for fame or wanted to control others. She allowed herself to be used to represent others. She was obedient and allowed God to use her to help others and make a change. She was given the strength and an extreme soundness of mind to stand up to a very wicked man, Haman. We can have that same strength and boldness to stand up for what we know is right, to stand up against the evil that can creep up on us.
Haman was evil and ended up dying to satisfy the wrath of the King––the guilty one died in place of the innocent Mordecai. The thing that Haman had constructed to kill Mordecai was the very thing that was used to bring his own death. You know, Satan thought he was using the cross to defeat Jesus and bring his death, but the cross ended up defeating Satan. In this case, it was the innocent dying in the place of the guilty.
I pray that I can be an Esther––that I can stand up for what is right despite any fears that may arise, and that I can declare, “I was made for such a time as this” and not back down. Praise God, that with his strength, the victory can be and has been won!
Pam Little | Director of Children’s Ministry