Esther 5:1

HAMAN PREPARES TO EXECUTE MORDECAI AT ONCE

"Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the kinifs house, over against the kinifs house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the king's house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be given thee even to the half of my kingdom. And Esther said, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet which I have prepared for him."

"On the third day ... Esther put on her royal apparel." (Esther 5:1). This was the third day of her fasting, during which she had not worn her royal apparel; perhaps she had even been clad in sackcloth.

"The king sat on his royal throne" (Esther 5:1). D. J. Wiseman tells us of, "A limestone palace relief recovered from Susa (which) shows Darius I sitting upon an elaborate throne, holding a long sceptre (five or six feet in length) in his hand."[1]

"Esther the queen standing in the court" (Esther 5:2). This was the moment of truth for Esther. If the king had merely refrained from noticing her appearance, she would have been dragged out of the court and slaughtered. One can only imagine her excitement and fear, as she stood there, facing either her death or the king's forgiveness of her intrusion, "Her thoughts wavering between hope and fear."[2]

"Then said the king, What wilt thou, queen Esther?" (Esther 5:3). The king received her with honor. So far so good. The victory belonged to Esther and her people; but only IF (and what an IF that was!) Esther's request, when made known to the king, would actually be granted.

"It shall be given thee, even to the half of my kingdom" (Esther 5:3). Such a kingly oath was hyperbole, of course; nevertheless it was a mighty promise indeed. See Mark 6:23 where such an oath resulted in the murder of John the Immerser.

"The Septuagint (LXX) has an addition to the scene described here. The king kissed his wife tenderly and restored her when she fainted through excitement."[3] In spite of the fact that the the Hebrew text of the O.T. omits that, there is certainly nothing unreasonable in what was stated. "The king must have known that she desperately wanted something, or else she would not have risked death by her appearance before him."[4]

"Let the king and Haman come this day to the banquet I have prepared" (Esther 5:4). This is a surprise to the reader, who naturally might have expected an immediate petition from Esther for the salvation of the Jews. "But Esther was too cautious, too wary of the dangerous ground upon which she stood, to risk it all at once. She would wait; she would gain time; she would be sure that she had the king's affection before she makes that appeal upon which all depended."[5]

Here in the attitude of the king we find an example of of the great truth that, "The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses" (Proverbs 21:1). The fate of ancient Israel turned upon the whim of this all-powerful monarch, but that response, in this situation, moved in perfect harmony with God's will.