Purim - The Festival of Lots
If we intend to petition Adonai in prayer, we must show Him that our heart is pure and focused on Him, not ourselves. If we are overly concerned with our stomachs, then we are not truly concerned with Him and what is right. If we are willing to put aside our own selfish goals for just a short time, our Elohim is more willing to listen to what we have to say. We see this time and time again with the prophets who had some of the most amazing encounters with Adonai El Shaddai after extended periods of fasting.
Our fast food culture doesn’t understand the concept of going without food, voluntarily, for any amount of time. Food, or pictures of food, surrounds us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We want food handy, easy to grab and eat at a moment’s notice and we never want to be without it. Some say this is leftover from the great depression as all who lived through it always made sure to have plenty of food on hand, just in case. We learn at our mother’s knee, as she did at her mother’s.
Esther, however, learned at Mordecai’s knee, and Mordecai had faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Not only that, but he passed that faith on to his cousin, who now was instructing him. The statement, “and if I perish, I perish,” shows a resolve few of us have but are always found in heroes. Esther has put her fate in Adonai’s hands. And once again we see three days are given for this process. It amazes me how many sets of three we find throughout Scripture.
On the third day Esther puts on her royal robes and dares to venture into the presence of the king, without having been called. When King Ahasuerus see her he extends his scepter, thereby allowing her to not only approach him, but also to live past the moment. Praise God his love for her appears to be strong, but Esther is not sure just how strong it is or just how far she will be able to push before he angers. So she approaches him in the way of Abraham. She offers him hospitality.
Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” So Esther replied, “My petition and my request is: if I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do what I request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king says.” (Esther 5:4-8)
It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and this story may just be the basis for that statement, for Esther is heading in that direction. She is plying both men with good food and good wine. Why include Haman? In this way she is demonstrating that she has nothing personal against Haman and that Haman is wrong about her people. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak, and her actions are speaking volumes.
Most people would have only offered the first meal, choosing that evening to approach the king for his favor. Esther was not delaying this due to fear, as some may believe. She was carefully laying down the groundwork or the foundation for the revelation the following night. As it turns out, a lot happens during the next 24 hours. In fact, events begin unfolding very quickly now as Haman is reminded of just how much he hates the Jews when he runs into Mordecai on his way home from the banquet. Once again, Mordecai refuses to bow, infuriating Haman.
When he returns home, he summons his wife and friends, first recounting to them how favored he is among the princes of Persia, having the ear of the king himself, then complaining to them regarding this Jew, Mordecai.
Haman also said, “Even Esther the queen let no one but me come with the king to the banquet which she had prepared; and tomorrow also I am invited by her with the king. Yet all of this does not satisfy me every time I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” (Esther 5:12-13)
Haman has issues with Mordecai that just won’t go away, so he plans a little surprise for the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet.” And the advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made. (Esther 5:14)
Boy, these guys don’t waste any time! They want this thing built overnight so that Mordecai can hang the very next day. And it probably would have happened too, if other events had not occurred that would change the course of history that night. As it turns out, Haman and company are not the only ones up late. King Ahasuerus is unable to sleep as well, so he calls in a scribe to read to him and it just so happens that the scribe opens up the scroll and starts to read about how Mordecai saved the kings life, warning him about the plot of Bigthan and Teresh to lay hands on the king. When Ahasuerus is reminded of this, he asks the scribe what had been done to honor Mordecai for saving the king. Nothing had been done to thank Mordecai for his bravery and loyalty and the king really felt that he should do something, so seeking council, he asks who might be in the court that he may ask advice of.
Haman had just arrived at court, hoping to get a chance to discuss the hanging of Mordecai, when King Ahasuerus sends for whoever is at court for advice. As Haman approaches the king, he is cut off by the king’s own questions regarding how to honor one who has pleased the king. Haman mistakes the “someone” for himself and gives the following advice:
Then Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king desires to honor, let them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble princes and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.’” (Esther 6:7-9)
You can just imagine the shock on Haman’s face…
Then the king said to Haman, “Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have said.” (Esther 6:10)
Whoever said that Adonai doesn’t have a sense of humor needs to read the book of Esther! He truly does humble the arrogant, but unfortunately it doesn’t always teach them a lesson. This is one of those cases. Although Haman was humbled and had to proclaim to the entire city of Susa that the king favored Mordecai, his hatred of this man only grew stronger as a result of this event.
So Haman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.” Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered.
Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.” (Esther 6:11-13)
Haman should have listened to the council of his wife and his wise men, but his course was already set. It was apparent to all that Haman was already falling to this Jew, as made obvious by the events of the day. There was not time for him to change his mind, even if he wanted to, because immediately following these events, the palace eunuchs came to take Haman to Esther’s second banquet.
Once again the king was so impressed with Esther’s hospitality that he offered to fulfill whatever request she would make of him. This was the moment she had been preparing for and that the Jews of Susa had been fasting and praying for.
Then Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.” (Esther 7:3-4)
The humility of this woman was amazing! Had they only been sold into slavery, she would have remained quiet. Would we be able to say the same thing? Would we see the king’s annoyance as something to be avoided? I don’t think so. In fact, looking around at our country now, there are many people who have made it their goal to annoy the president in hopes of being heard, yet this woman used a different tactic with much better results.