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Esther
Chapter 7
{Chapters
6-10: Jews Deliverance and Prosperity - Continued}
{Chapter
7: Public Hanging of Haman}
1~~~Now
the king and Haman
came
to drink wine with Esther the queen.
2a~~~And
the king said again unto Esther
on
the second day also
at
the banquet of wine,
"What
is your petition, queen Esther?"
2b~~~"And
it shall be granted you."
2c~~~"And
what is your request?"
2d~~~"And
it shall be performed . . .
even
to the half of the kingdom."
{Time
has Come - Esther Takes a Deep Breath and Answers}
3~~~Then
Esther the queen answered and said,
"If
I have found grace/favor in your sight, O king,
and
if it please the king,
{Esther is still observing strict protocol}
let
my life be given me . . . as my petition,
and
my people . . . as my request."
{Note:
When Divine Viewpoint replaces Fear in one's thinking, the result is
poise. Esther is poised under great pressure. This request will shock
the king! She requests her life! Who in this world would take the
life of his beloved queen! This must flabbergast the king! But,
Esther has handled the situation beautifully.}
4a~~~"For
we have been sold, I and my people,
to
be destroyed, to be killed, and to perish."
{idiom again for complete and utter destruction}
{Note:
The reference to being sold is the bribe that Haman offered the king
if he could destroy 'the people' he hated.}
4b~~~
"Now if we had only been sold
for
slaves . . . men and women,
I
would have held silent,
for
the trouble would not have been
commiserate
with the trouble to the king."
{Note:
Here is a statement of grace to the king. Esther is saying if only
her enemy had wanted to enslave the Jews, that would not have been
sufficient to bother even mentioning to the king, but genocide, well
she must bother the king with this. Her logic is to use the King's
greed. She will imply that by killing the Jews he will lose more in
his economy than the amount of direct money Haman has offered him.}
5~~~Then
the king {Xerxes}'/'Achashverowsh answered
and
said unto Esther the queen,
"Who
is he . . .
and
where is he . . .
who
would presume in his heart to do so?"
6a~~~And
Esther said,
{probably pointing dramatically at Haman}
"The
foe/adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman."
6b~~~Then
Haman became terrified before the king and the queen.
7a~~~And
the king arose
from
the banquet of wine
in
his anger/wrath
and
went into the palace garden.
{Note:
Remember the king was in charge. He is ultimately responsible for
letting this death edict happen. Yet, in his self-righteous
arrogance, he will become furious with Haman and neatly forget his
own culpability. And, anger consumes people in proportion with their
arrogance/'sense of themselves'.}
7b~~~But
Haman stayed to beg for his life
from
Esther the queen
for
he saw that harm/evil
was
determined against him by the king.
8a~~~Now
when the king returned
from
the palace garden
into
the place where they were drinking wine,
Haman
was fallen upon the couch where Esther was.
{Note:
Haman is right on top of Esther in his desperate pleading with her
to have her intercede with the king on his behalf. The Persians
reclined at dinner on a couch similar to what the ancient Romans did.}
8b~~~And
the king said,
"Will
he {Haman}
even
assault the queen also before me in the palace?"
8c~~~As
the word went out of the king's mouth,
they
covered Haman's face.
9a~~~Then
Harbonah/Harbona,
one
of the eunuchs,
said
before the king,
"Behold
also, the gallows/'impaling pole'
fifty
cubits high {75 feet},
which
Haman had made for Mordecai,
who
had spoken good for the king,
stands
in the house of Haman."
{Note:
Harbona was mentioned in Chapter 1, verse 10. He was one of the 7
aristocrats who were top advisors of the king. Apparently, when Haman
was promoted, the 7 were pushed into the background. Harbona is very
anxious to be 'helpful' now!}
9b~~~Then
the king said, "Impale/Hang him thereon."
{Note:
Now the king knew why Haman was previously at the palace early. He
had wanted to impale Mordecai when the king wanted to honor Mordecai!
This revelation just adds to his fury.}
10a~~~So
they impaled/hanged Haman
on
the gallows/'impaling pole'
that
he had prepared for Mordecai.
10b~~~Then
the king's wrath/anger
subsided/'was
pacified'.
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