Esther 5-6 Special Treatment

Esther is prepared to ask the king for help for the Jews, but she can’t simply jump into it. Special treatment is her recipe. Haman has to dish it out too.

They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. That may be true, but Esther put a little more ‘umph’ into her path. She made the king AND Haman feel extra special. They were the ONLY ones invited to her special dinners.

The ‘funniest’ part of the book of Esther happens today too. Haman has to lavish praise on his mortal enemy. Let’s rejoin our story and watch as God’s hand rescues His people. Lead on Holy Spirit.

♥ ♦ ♥

Esther and her servants and Mordecai and the Jews of Susa have been fasting and praying for three days and nights. The time has come for Esther to act. She rises from her place and goes to the kitchen. The head cook is pleased to see her.

“My lady, I have been worried about you. It was told to me that you were on a fast.”

“It will conclude soon. There is a task I must ask of you.”

“Anything, my queen.”

“I need you to prepare a feast for three. I am inviting the king and Haman to a feast. Ensure that there are plenty of the king’s favorite foods and the best wine. Serve it in the small banquet room, but do not lay it out until I tell you to.”

After arranging for the food and service, Esther returns to her chambers. Her stomach grumbles from being so close to food and not partaking. She prays it will not betray her as she approaches the king. She will not break her fast until she finds favor with the king.

Next in her preparations is a bath. Esther washes from head to toe, paying special attention to her hair and face. A fire burns brightly in the fireplace to help Esther’s hair dry. She is grateful that it is not a hot day. She does not have time for it to dry on its own.

Esther’s best servant towels and brushes her hair dry while she applies ointments and creams to enhance her beauty. Once her hair is dry, a special oil is lightly applied to make it shine. Now it is time for her cosmetics. Esther holds perfectly still while her servant applies just the right amount and in the right places. Esther looks at her face and hair in the mirror. They are exquisite!

Esther’s royal robes are brought out for her. Being careful of her hair and makeup, Esther’s servant helps her into her clothing. A binder is placed at the base of her breasts to the top of her hip bones. This will make her waist trim and her body smooth; not that she needs it, but every little bit helps. Next, Esther steps into the under robe. It is designed to lift her breasts high once it is fastened. Esther’s servant laces up the back and pulls it tight for her.

Now comes the part Esther loves the most; her tunic. This garment is made of the finest silk and has silk threads woven through it, creating a breathtaking pattern that shifts with her movements. Finally, Ester’s royal robe, with the blue fringes on the edges is placed on her. It is secured about her waist with a red sash with blue threads mirroring the tunic’s patterning. Esther steps into her sandals, made of the softest leather. They lace up her calf, hugging every curve of her leg. The final touch is Esther’s royal crown, including her headscarf. The scarf falls loosely at her shoulders and is stirred by the gentlest of breezes. Her crown sits high atop her head with jewels cut with prisms that sparkle and reflect back tiny rainbows when the light hits it just right.

Esther looks at herself in the mirror. All that is missing is the smile that drives the worry from her eyes. Esther practices this smile until it feels comfortable. She cannot let the king see her concern. He must see love and respect emanating from her whole presentation.

“I’m as ready as I will ever be” she says to herself and her servants. “Pray for me as I go to await the king’s decision.”

With no sound but the swishing of her robes and the soft fall of her leather soles on the palace floor, Esther makes her way into the courtyard of the king. As she enters, she bows her head in respect and submission. She steps only two paces into the courtyard. Her hands are clasped together lightly with her sleeves covering them. This is to keep herself from fidgeting. Here she waits. She watches the king from this distance to see what her fate will be.

Ahasuerus sees Esther as she quietly enters just past the threshold. He takes in her beauty and the humility she exhibits as she stands waiting. His heart is moved with compassion. From his throne, he extends his royal scepter out towards her.

Esther sees the move and quietly crosses the distance between them. As she nears the king, she bows, then reaches out with her right hand and lightly touches the tip of the scepter. She then withdraws her hand and returns them to the position they were in while she was waiting.

Ahasuerus knows that there must be a reason Esther risked her life to see him. His heart is hers to take. All she need do is ask. “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom” (Esther 5:3).

Esther raises her head a little. She must show submission but not cowardice. “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king” (Esther 5:4).

The king immediately calls out to his attendant; “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked” (Esther 5:5).

Esther bows, then quietly leaves the throne room to let the kitchen staff know it is time to bring out the feast. While on the way, she takes the first full breath of the day; or as much as her binders will allow her to take.

The king’s attendant easily locates Haman. He is in the city square looking over the people. The attendant approaches him. “The queen has asked you and the king to attend a banquet she has set.”

Haman’s eyes shine and he stands a little taller. Pride oozes off of him like sweat in a sauna as he follows the attendant into the king’s presence. Ahasuerus looks up with expectancy. “Haman. Let’s not keep the queen waiting any longer.”

Hatcach waits outside the throne room to lead them to the banquet room Esther has prepared for them. He says nothing, but listens in on their conversation.

“What is the occasion for this banquet” asks Haman.

“I don’t know, other than that the queen desired it enough to come before me without being called.”

“And you allowed this?”

“She is my queen, and I love her more than any other. I extended my scepter to her, and this is her request.”

Haman is excited to be honored above all others, except the king, in the queen’s eyes. He stretches to his fullest height as his heart fills with pride.

Esther waits inside the banquet room as Haman and Ahasuerus enter. She bows low and motions them to their couches with a sweep of her arm. Both men sit and make themselves comfortable. Esther begins loading plates. She sets the first before the king, then returns and loads Haman’s, setting it before him. She fills their goblets with wine, then steps back to allow them to eat.

After the king finishes his first plate, she brings him a second with dishes not featured on the first. She does the same with Haman. After topping off their goblets, she returns to wait again. Unless invited, she will not join the men in their meal. She is grateful that she had time to eat a little bread while the servant found Haman. If not, her stomach would certainly betray her now.

Esther watches each man carefully so she can anticipate their needs. After a third plate and another goblet of wind, Ahasuerus settles back on his couch. He lifts his goblet in a salute to Esther.

“What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled” (Esther 5:6) says Ahasuerus with sincerity.

Esther blushes. She knows that the king is not quite ready to hear her request. She has another plan instead. One that will heap on the honor even higher. “My wish and my request is: ⁸ If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said” (Esther 5:7).

Haman’s eyes go wide and his pride swells even more. Invited by the queen herself, not once but TWICE to a banquet she prepares.

“I await the moment” says the king as he bends forward and takes Esther’s hand. “But tomorrow, you will not serve, but be served as well.”

Esther blushes and bows her head with a small nod. Ahasuerus rises from his couch and makes his way back to his throne room. There is still work to be done today. Haman rises also and leaves the palace.

After both men have departed, Esther sinks onto one of the couches and gives thanks to her God. “Lord God of all creation, continue to bless me with favor in the king’s eyes that I may help Your people. Thank You for protecting me as I stood before him this day.”

As the servants are clearing the room, Esther nibbles on a small portion of bread. Her fast is officially over, but her stomach is still in knots. Once the room is clean, Esther returns to her chambers to ready for tomorrow’s tasks.

Haman is floating on air as he exits the palace, but he plumets back to earth as he passes Mordecai at the king’s gate. Mordecai doesn’t look up, bow down, or acknowledge Haman in any way. This sends Haman’s blood boiling!

Haman refuses to allow Mordecai how much his disrespect angers him. With tightly controlled anger, he makes his way home. He doesn’t know how he is going to stand waiting until the end of the year to kill Mordecai. Every day he passes that despicable Jew, he grinds another layer from his teeth.

Haman’s wife, Zeresh, knows him well. She sees the tension in his shoulders as soon as he steps through the door, but she knows to wait and let her husband set the tone of their house.

Haman heads straight to the wine. After pouring himself a goblet he turns to his wife. “Send word to my friends. I need to meet with them right away.”

The servant is dispatched with invitations to six of Haman’s closest friends. All arrive at his home within the hour. Haman is standing straight and proud as his friends and Zeresh settle around him.

Haman puffs out his chest and begins recounting his life before them. “I am the richest man in the province, except the king. My sons and their sons bring me honor in all they do and have attained glory of their own; which reflects back on me. No one has a higher standing with him that I do. He personally advanced me above all the princes of Persia. “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king” (Esther 5:12).

Haman’s chest is so full at this moment that the seams of his garments must be straining. But, in an instant, all the air leaves him and his shoulders fall. “Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate” (Esther 5:13). By the time he finishes stating his problem, the fire that burned within him earlier is raging. He does not try and hide this from those around him.

His friends see his frustration. For Haman’s sake, Mordecai must go now. Haman won’t be able to rest until he is dead.

Haman’s closest friend has a suggestion. “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast” (Esther 5:14).

Heads nod around the room as his friends shout out their agreement with this plan. Haman loves this plan as well.

Haman grabs his purse and hurries back to town. He purchases the lumber to build the gallows, rope for Mordecai’s neck, and hires workers to get the job done quickly. Haman returns home two hours later, ready to begin the task. This is one building project.

Work goes on all day and into the late night, but it is finished.

While Haman sleeps, dreaming of speaking to the king in the morning, the king is up and pacing. He can’t sleep. And if the king can’t sleep, neither can his servants. In hopes of lulling himself to sleep, the king calls for the annals. The book of memorable deeds and the chronicles of his reign.

The scribe begins reading the chronicles to the king. He starts at the point where Ahasuerus becomes king. The next portion covers the time with Vashti as queen, including her disrespectful deeds and her punishment. Next comes the search for a new queen. The gathering of the virgins and ends with Esther’s banquet where Ahasuerus announces Esther as his queen. Next comes the account of Mordecai warning the king of a plot hatched against him.

At this point, the king’s ears perk up. He had forgotten all about this event. Now that it is mentioned, it all comes flooding back to him. How Esther had told her of the story, giving Mordecai all the credit.

“What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” (Esther 6:3).

The scribe looks further into the chronicles before answering. “Nothing has been done for him” (Esther 6:4).

“Who is in the court?”

The king’s servant goes to the window and looks out on the square. At that very moment, Haman is entering the courtyard.

“Haman is there, standing in the court” (Esther 6:5a).

The king nods his head. “Let him come in” (Esther 6:5b).

The king’s servant motions to Haman to enter.

Haman bows quickly after entering the king’s presence, then goes to stand before him. Before he can even say a word, the king poses a question.

“What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” (Esther 6:6a).

Haman is CERTAIN that the king is talking about him. “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” (Esther 6:6b) he asks himself. To the king, he states what HE would want to have done for himself.

Chest puffed out and head held high, Haman gives the king his answer. “For the man whom the king delights to honor, let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor’” (Esther 6:7-9).

The king loves the idea. He gives Haman permission and instructions to do that very thing. “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned” (Esther 6:10).

It takes every ounce of Haman’s strength to not cry out to the king. He retrieves the pieces required in his OWN statement and comes to face Mordecai at the king’s gate.

“Mordecai, the king wishes to honor you and he has chosen me to do it. Change into these robes, put this crown on your head, and climb upon the king’s horse.”

“Why is the king honoring me” asks Mordecai.

“He did not tell me. He only instructed me to do this.”

Mordecai complies and as soon as he is mounted on the king’s horse, Haman takes the reins and leads the horse up and down the roads of Susa, crying out; “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor” (Esther 6:11).

It takes all morning to completely walk the city. Mordecai sits atop the king’s horse with his head held high, drinking in the looks from the people. After looking back over his life, he decides that the king’s honor must be from the time he exposed the plot against his life. He has done no other great works for the king.

Haman chokes down the bile that tries to rise in his throat with every proclamation he calls out in honor of Mordecai. When he has walked the entire city, Haman brings the king’s horse back to the very spot where he picked up Mordecai. Once Mordecai dismounts, he hands the robe and crown back to Haman. Haman turns and hands the reins and garments to one of the guards at the gate.

“Make sure these are returned to their rightful places” Haman instructs him before turning and rushing from the square.

Mordecai watches Haman leave. He can’t help but smile as the man who wants him dead has to deal with the shame of honoring him instead. Mordecai resumes his place beside his baskets and sends a prayer heavenward. “Thank You Lord of all creation for this little blessing today. Protect Your people from this evil man’s hand.”

As soon as he is out of sight of the square, Haman covers his head with his hands and lets out strangled cries of mourning. He nearly runs to his home. He can’t wait to be out of sight of the people.

Zeresh sees him approaching, and so do his friends. They all hurry and gather around him as he makes it safely inside his own home. They had all witnessed him leading Mordecai through the town.

“What happened? How did you wind up leading Mordecai around on the king’s horse.”

Haman, with tears in his eyes and voice tells them the story. He stops for a moment to shake his head in shame. “When I arrived at the palace, I was immediately taken into the king’s presence. And he asked me ‘What should be done to a man the king wants to honor?’. Assuming he was speaking of me, I told him to put a royal robe that he had worn on him, to put a crown on his head, and to put him on a horse that the king had ridden. Then, take him through the town and proclaim that this is what is done to one the king wishes to honor. No sooner had I spoken these words than the king tells me to do this very thing for MORDECAI!”

His friends shake their heads as well.

Zeresh comes to Haman’s side and lays a hand on his arm. She and the wisest of Haman’s friends share what they feel he needs to know now. “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him” (Esther 6:13).

While they are still speaking this warning to Haman, the king’s servant pounds on the door. It is time for Haman to attend Queen Esther’s feast.

(to be continued)

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). This is certainly true in Haman’s case. I cannot put my finger on a specific event in my own life, but I KNOW there are times when I suffered because of my own pride. I PRAY I have learned that lesson well and do NOT have to repeat it again.

Haman’s downfall isn’t complete yet. It is coming piece by piece. Brick by brick, he built this vendetta, and it falls on him the same way. But that is a story for another day. For today, we simply get to watch the Lord’s hand in action, as He works His plan.

Father God, THANK YOU that I cannot derail Your plans! You have EVERYTHING in hand; even today. All I have to do is trust in You. AND follow any commands You send my way.