In Chapter 5, we pick up the story again. Esther breaks her fast on the third day, dresses in her royal robes and goes to the king. Remember, it has been more than a month since the king had called for her, so I imagine she is a bit timid at this point. In fact, if my own experience informs me, she has been playing over every possible scenario in her mind about what could happen. I imagine that her fear meter is red-lined! Yet she goes. This is real courage. Courage is not what you do in absence of fear...it is what you do in the face of it. Esther displays courage and she displays character.
At any point along the way, she could have pulled the plug and gone on being the queen. To do so would mean that her people would be lost...but she would likely never have been discovered. She could have gone on just being the queen and avoided all risk. But she did not.
She appears before the king and he receives her and grants her in advance anything she wants, up to half of the kingdom. I am not sure why she didn't just ask for Haman's head in a basket at this point. It could have been fear...or it might have been the workings of a smart woman's mind...either way, it was certainly God's grace. She invited both Haman and the King to her banquet. They go and are blown away. The king offers her again anything she wants. She only asks that he and Haman come back tomorrow for another banquet and she will let him know then.
Haman leaves and goes home. He calls together his friends and family and has a "check me out and see how cool I am" meeting. He tells them of all that he has which should make him happy; however, the Mordecai issue haunts him. Haman's wife suggests that he build a gallows and get permission to hang Mordecai from them in the morning. Haman likes the idea and decides to proceed that way.
As we apply this...it would be good for us to admit that there is a Haman in all of us. We all wrestle with pride to some degree. Haman had forgotten that the same king that promoted him could have ignored him. He convinced himself that he was the master of his own destiny. Haman had more than enough "stuff" to make him content, yet he felt that one more thing would finally do it. We all see things that we think would be the key to our happiness. It may be a position, an achievement, a quality in a relationship. Yet, we do not consider that pursuing this element may cost us everything.
Proverbs 2:7b-8 is my takeaway: , "[The Lord] is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones."
The will of God always provides for protection and provision. When we yield to God without reservation, we place our future in His hands. God then assumes responsibility for our provision and our protection. Is there any more "certain" place to be than this one?
Grace,
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3 comments:
Esther is a wise lady. She is not letting emotion or anger cloud her judgement like a lot of us do. She has a plan and I do not know if she prayed about it and the plan was revealed to her or if she is winging it either way she is move ahead in a slow and steady pace. I think that is my problem from time to time. I move full steam ahead and don't worry about the destruction along the way and regret the path afterwards. If I did proceed in a Godly way the results would be to his glory which would allow me to share in his grace. A good lesson here. Don't be a Haman rather be a Esther.
Bob
Oh the courage of Esther... she is absolutely amazing. I love how God is using her, it is a true picture of how if we listen to God, He will mold our steps and they will be perfect. The more I read Esther the more I see a perfect plan. I am sure when this was happening to Esther she did not know how it was going to work out but how amazing on the outside looking in. I know if God can make His plan work for Esther then He will make His plan work for me too.
It does not tell us how she chose her plan, but she moved with assurance, ready to accept her fate, death or triumph, she would have done her duty before God and her people. The effects on both men were easy to see. The joy of the king and the whetting of his appetite to hear what this wonderful creature that he had made his queen would say at the second banquet and also the disarming of Haman by the signal honor given him to be invited not once, but twice to a private banquet with the king and his queen.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: (Proverbs 2:9-11)
Just continuing the passage, God gives us that buckler too and expects us to learn how to use it. How do we learn? The age old way, study the Scriptures and pray.
Stephen is an example in Acts 6:9-10 and the classic passage in the New Testament is Ephesians 6:10-18.
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