Slices
Prepare
Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do? Were you able to defend yourself? Or tried to wriggle out of something you were guilty of? Did you succeed?
Bible passage
Haman impaled
So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, 2 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.’
3 Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have found favour 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. 4 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.’
5 King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, ‘Who is he? Where is he – the man who has dared to do such a thing?’
6 Esther said, ‘An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!’
Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7 The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realising that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banqueting 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. 9 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!’ 10 So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.
Explore
Esther’s appeal to the king, who has reiterated his offer of generosity at this second banquet, is carefully constructed. Her petition, in effect, reveals her full identity. She appeals to the king’s feelings for her on her own behalf, and then on her people’s, explaining that it’s only their extreme peril that justifies her plea (vs 3,4). Xerxes immediately assumes (correctly) that this is down to a particular individual – and Esther exposes the king’s most highly honoured noble as the architect of the plot (v 6).
Meanwhile Haman, who has been rushed to the banquet straight after the humiliating parade, may or may not have had his wife’s and advisors’ words (6:13) in his mind. But as far as he knew he was still high in the king’s and queen’s esteem, and of course was still unaware of exactly who Esther was. Haman’s exposure as the villain of the piece enrages the king; his attempt to plead for his life is misinterpreted, and that is the end of him (vs 8–10)! But not – yet – the end of the plot.
Respond
In situations of pressure, it matters how we respond; choosing our words (and actions) carefully and prayerfully is important. Pray that your conversations will be ‘full of grace and seasoned with salt’ (Colossians 4:6) so that God’s name is honoured through them.
Deeper Bible study
‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever … Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.’1
The storytelling skill here is brilliant. We have no idea whether or not Esther knew about Haman’s latest threat, but it didn’t matter. The king has already indicated that her request will be granted and she starts by simply asking for herself and her people to be spared from death. The king asks who was responsible for the threat and is told it was Haman. It is interesting that neither Esther nor the king himself give any hint that he had personally affirmed Haman’s request and therefore shared the responsibility. Maybe the king’s rage, causing him immediately to leave the room, does indicate that he might have realised his own involvement – but on his return, Haman’s excessive pleading to Esther gave him the excuse to get rid of Haman without any chance of his own part being revealed! Harbona’s intervention probably shows that the arrogant Haman had not been a popular figure with the rest of the court. His own actions meant that his final lifting up over the people was on the execution pole he had designed to humiliate and destroy Mordecai. Once Haman had been killed ‘the king’s fury subsided’ (v 10). Was this because there was now no one who could blame him for agreeing to the wholesale destruction of Esther’s people?
The ongoing critique of self-centred, arrogant leadership is continued in this chapter and neither the king nor Haman come out of it well. The chapter raises more questions for readers about how leaders should behave, but also questions about the way in which we reap what we sow – in terms of the way we treat inferiors like Harbona, as well as the plans we devise to destroy those who do not give us the honour we think we deserve!
Lord, make me brave enough to speak out against injustice and also help me to take responsibility for even the unintended consequences of my own actions.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 25,26; John 10
Pray for Scripture Union
This is the second of three days of the Prayer Fellowship Conference. Give thanks for the faithfulness in prayer of the former trustees, Council members and staff who are attending and pray that they will be inspired by all they hear during the conference.
