Esther 7:1 says, So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. Haman had to go and escort Mordecai to receive honor from the king instead of hanging him, but now he was on his way to the banquet with the king and Esther. Haman had also been told that if Mordecai was born a Jew that he would not prevail against him. I have to wonder how he was feeling at this time. Those who oppose God and His people will never prevail against them, no matter how much they may plot nor how powerful they may be in the eyes of the world.
Verse two adds, And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. On the second day of the banquet, which is referred to as a banquet of wine, King Ahasuerus asked Esther once again what her request was and said once more that he would give her whatever she wanted, even up to half the kingdom. I am not sure how much the wine had to do with his asking Esther for the third time what she wanted, but Matthew Henry points out that if he hadn’t asked her, she might have been hard pressed to bring it up again herself. God will always give us the opportunity to do what He has called us to do if we are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Verse three continues, Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: Instead of asking for riches, Esther simply asked that her life and the lives of her people be spared. She was not concerned just for herself but for all of her people, who were God’s chosen people. As followers of Christ, we should not just be concerned with our own welfare but with the welfare of all God’s people. I would go even further and say that we should be concerned with spiritual welfare of all people everywhere.
Verse four concludes, For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. Esther then told the king that she had her people had been sold to be killed, and though she didn’t say it that we know of, this was because of the pride of one man. She also said if they had just been sold into bondage that she would not have said anything because redemption would always be possible. They had done nothing to deserve this death sentence but were actually a benefit to the kingdom. Everyone in the world is under a spiritual death sentence and it is because they have earned it, but there is hope. If anyone accepts the gift of salvation by putting their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, this death sentence is lifted. Of course, we cannot save all our family and friends, but we should intercede for them. After we accept Jesus Christ, we should willingly be His servants and not make demands for riches in this world.
Verse five states, Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? King Ahasuerus then asked Esther who the person was that would presume to destroy her people and her. He evidently hadn’t connected this to Haman’s getting him to issue a decree to kill all the Jews. It may be that people in power today make laws without considering what effect they may have on Christians. This doesn’t excuse them from the responsibility but may explain why they are often so willing to make such laws.
Verse six adds, And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. Esther didn’t have to go far to point out the enemy of God’s people since he was standing there in a position of honor. She boldly referred to him as the wicked Haman, and that he was. Haman then became very afraid. He thought he had outsmarted the king by getting him to issue the decree, but now his motive was being revealed. People may think they have outsmarted God today, but one day they are going to find out how wrong they were.
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