And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.
Esther has just named Haman as the enemy. In this verse the king storms out to the garden, and Haman is left begging the queen for his life.
A King Who Cannot Govern Himself
This is not the first time in the book that this ruler explodes. One writer traces the pattern across the story and asks what such rage really proves.
H. L. RossierAhasuerus's proud sense of his own unlimited power went together with a terribly violent character. It broke out whenever an obstacle or any resistance appeared in his path. Again and again, in the course of this account, the king bursts into wrath and his fury blazes. (Esther 1:12; Esther 2:1; Esther 7:7, 10) Violence is never a sign of strength. On the contrary, it shows the weakness of a man who cannot govern himself. That weakness shows up again in this: for all his claims to be a god-like ruler, Ahasuerus is the plaything of his favorites. He lets them take his place, and then turns on them in revenge if they displease him.
Why the King Left the Room
Commentators differ on what drove Ahasuerus outside. One writer sees a king who wanted to be alone, because he had his own part in what Haman did:
William KellyThe king would feel his own part in it. No wonder that in his agitation he wanted to be alone. Meanwhile Haman made a desperate plea to the queen.
Another sees self-control, not agitation. On this reading the king held his anger back until he had time to think:
Leslie M. GrantThe king was wise enough not to erupt in anger toward Haman at that moment. He took time to think in quietness, and went into the palace garden. Haman remained with Esther, pleading for his life. He knew the king would not overlook an evil as great as the one he was guilty of.
The Verdict Haman Read Without Hearing It
The king passed no sentence. But the verse says "he saw that harm was determined against him by the king." Haman read his own death in that silent exit.
William KellyHaman knew well that this meant a death sentence for him.
Haman's Plea and Esther's Silence
Haman turns to the one person left who might save him. A court custom, and the queen's answer, decide the rest.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe king arose in his wrath. Close to the banquet hall was the garden. There the king went, in the heat of his wrath and the great excitement that had seized him and left him speechless. When an eastern king rises angry from his own table, there is no mercy for the man who caused it. Meanwhile Haman begs like a coward for his life. He must have fallen at her feet weeping and wailing. And Esther did not open her lips.
Too Late for the Enemy
Some writers read the story as a picture of things to come. On that reading, Haman's terror marks the point where the enemy runs out of escape routes.
H. L. RossierThis enemy is revealed at last as "the Adversary, the Enemy, the Wicked one." These are names the Word gives to Satan and to the Antichrist. It is too late for him. Anguish grips this man. He had sought the death of the righteous, and his folly had gone so far as to attack Israel's protector! The king's wrath is not calmed until Haman hangs on the gallows he had intended for Mordecai. Haman's judgment falls, as the judgment of the Antichrist will fall, before God steps in for the full deliverance of His people.
One writer ties Haman's end to a warning already written in Scripture:
Leslie M. GrantSo the evil that Haman planned came back violently on his own head, as Ecclesiastes 10:8 warns, "He who digs a pit will fall into it."
Summary
- Exposed. Esther names him, and Haman's cover is gone. Commentators see in him a picture of the great enemy, unmasked before God delivers His people.
- Abandoned. The king walks out. Commentators differ on whether it was fury or cold calculation. Either way, Haman has no one left to plead for him.
- Certain. No one had spoken a sentence, yet Haman "saw" it. Guilt reads its own verdict long before the judge returns.
- Silent. He begs the queen for his life, and she does not open her lips. Mercy asked from the one you have wronged comes too late.
- Returned. The gallows he built for Mordecai carried him. The pit-digger fell into his own pit.