God’s Guiding Word: Prayer
Introduction
Esther 6:14—7:10: Esther invites the king and Haman to a second banquet and tells the king about the plot to destroy her people. When she reveals that Haman instigated this plot, the king orders that Haman be executed on the very gallows Haman had built for Mordecai.
Today’s Key Verse: Esther 7:3
Queen Esther answered, “If it please Your Majesty to grant my humble request, my wish is that I may live and that my people may live.”
Reading
14 While they were still talking, the palace eunuchs arrived in a hurry to take Haman to Esther’s banquet.
7 And so the king and Haman went to eat with Esther 2 for a second time. Over the wine the king asked her again, “Now, Queen Esther, what do you want? Tell me and you shall have it. I’ll even give you half the empire.”
3 Queen Esther answered, “If it please Your Majesty to grant my humble request, my wish is that I may live and that my people may live. 4 My people and I have been sold for slaughter. If it were nothing more serious than being sold into slavery, I would have kept quiet and not bothered you about it; but we are about to be destroyed—exterminated!”
5 Then King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who dares to do such a thing? Where is this man?”
6 Esther answered, “Our enemy, our persecutor, is this evil man Haman!”
Haman faced the king and queen with terror. 7 The king got up in a fury, left the room, and went outside to the palace gardens. Haman could see that the king was determined to punish him for this, so he stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. 8 He had just thrown himself down on Esther’s couch to beg for mercy, when the king came back into the room from the gardens. Seeing this, the king cried out, “Is this man going to rape the queen right here in front of me, in my own palace?”
The king had no sooner said this than the eunuchs covered Haman’s head. 9 Then one of them, who was named Harbonah, said, “Haman even went so far as to build a gallows at his house so that he could hang Mordecai, who saved Your Majesty’s life. And it’s seventy-five feet tall!”
“Hang Haman on it!” the king commanded.
10 So Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai. Then the king’s anger cooled down.
Reflect
What did Haman do when he realized that he was about to be punished? What did the king surmise? In today’s reading, Esther has now revealed her identity when referring to the Jews as her people (verses 3 and 4). Was this still a risky thing for her to do? Why or why not?
Pray
Sovereign God, you are a God of justice and mercy. Look upon all who live under the threat of oppressive regimes and safeguard those who seek just resolutions to conflicts in our world today. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Esther 8:1–17: Mordecai issues letters in the king’s name so that the Jews may defend themselves.