So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther.
The king and Haman come to Esther's second banquet, the meal she had asked for instead of naming what she wanted. At that table sit a queen hiding her nationality, a king who has promised her anything, and a guest who cannot guess what is coming.
A Promise Confirmed Three Times
Ahasuerus had already offered half his kingdom twice. When he asks again at this banquet, Esther stands on tested ground.
H. L. RossierFor the third time Ahasuerus repeats to Esther his offer of half of his kingdom. Whatever may happen, she may have full confidence since the promise has been confirmed twice by the king's own mouth. And so she now becomes quite bold.
The king's repeated question was not empty courtesy. He had sensed that something heavy was still unspoken.
William KellyFor the third time the king renews his desire to know and to grant the queen's petition. He who was made to remember his forgotten deliverer did not forget that some deeply-felt request of Esther remained behind. The moment ordered by His secret providence, Who alone can order anything rightly, was now come.
Why Esther Waited
Esther could have spoken at the first banquet. One writer credits her silence to wisdom God gave her.
William KellyGod gave her wisdom. She does not at once bring out what was so heavy a burden on her heart. "He that believes shall not make haste." The unseen God who was the object of her trust enabled her soul to wait. She asks not only the king to the banquet, but the king and Haman. Little did Haman know what the God who did not appear was preparing for him.
Her patience also let Haman climb higher before he fell. One writer contrasts her with Herodias, another woman who grabbed at the same offer the moment it came.
The Christian's FriendShe has "the golden sceptre" on her side, and with it the king's promise to give her whatever she might ask, even to the half of his kingdom. But she is patient. She invites the king and Haman to her banquet of wine. They come, and again half the kingdom is put within her grasp. But she is still patient, and invites them a second time. Is this merely virtue and a well-ordered heart, as opposed to the passionate way of a Herodias who had the same offer in her hands? It may have been all this; but it was more. It was the way of one who knew and imitated God's way in like cases.
A Woman Who Now Knew God Was Working
Between the first banquet and this one came a sleepless night for the king. Esther came to this table with those events fresh in mind.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAt this second feast Esther knew that the God of her fathers was at work. She knew that all the hatred against her race did not come from the heart of the king. It centered in Haman. In the events of the sleepless night and what followed she must have seen the display of the hand of God. And now she utters her delayed petition.
Naming Her People
At this banquet Esther stops hiding. One writer notes that the timing was not hers to pick. She had to stay hidden until evil reached its peak.
H. L. RossierShe is not allowed to make herself known until the power of wickedness, seen in Haman, reaches its full measure. But Mordecai is attacked by the enemy who wants to be rid of him. Then Esther reveals herself. She cannot let Haman win. So she declares that she belongs to the people of God, whom she calls "my people." She does this in front of the ruler who shows her boundless favour and holds her dear.
Where the Banquet Ends
The banquet starts as a feast and ends with a hanging. The gallows Haman built for Mordecai became his own.
A J PollockHaman, a ruler in Persia, was filled with rage against Mordecai. He made a gallows, fifty cubits high, to hang the man he blindly hated. When his wickedness came to light, Harbonah, one of the king's attendants, told Ahasuerus that Haman had built this gallows and what he meant to use it for. The king at once ordered his men to hang Haman on it.
Summary
- Confirmed. The king offers half his kingdom a third time. He had already said it twice with his own mouth, so Esther could speak on solid ground.
- Timed. This banquet was "the moment ordered by His secret providence." First the king had to remember the deliverer he had forgotten.
- Patient. Esther's delay was faith: "He that believes shall not make haste." Waiting let Haman's pride rise to its full measure.
- Owned. At this table Esther calls her hated nation "my people." She takes her stand with them in front of the throne instead of hiding behind her crown.
- Reversed. Haman came to the banquet as an honoured guest. He died on the gallows he had built for Mordecai.