#630 Enter At Your Own Risk

On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” 4 And Esther said, “If it please the king,[a] let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. 6 And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said 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.”[b]7 Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king[c] 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.”

Haman Plans to Hang Mordecai

9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “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. 13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows[d] fifty cubits[e] 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.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made. Esther 5 ESV

The dead need not eat, and so they fast and pray, but on the third day Esther enters the inner court. It says that when he sees her, he is pleased for she has won his favor. He extends to her the golden scepter, the sign of power in his hand. Her predecessor was divorced for not appearing and Esther is rewarded for showing up uninvited. The things that cause us to fear in this life, that may not even follow us into the next, but men are cruel and can also be fickle. Some wrongly and unjustly point at God to be like earthly kings, and yet He is infinitely all that He is, The Great "I AM", never changing, always opposed to sin, still sovereign above all and ever aware and involved in the affairs of men. Your knees may buckle, your face may cringe, but He is steadfast, and has made a thousand Xerxes from the dust. Fortunately there is Someone Who God is already pleased with, Who has won our favor, that we may stand before God covered in His righteousness. Esther represents a nation, and Christ represents the elect of all time from every place. We have and advocate with the Father, no one has to go alone.

For Christ also suffered[a] once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 1 Peter 3:18

Up to half the kingdom, but she does not request that, not riches, not the things that Haman would request, and yet not even the thing that is weighing so much upon her heart at this time. He ask her this same thing the second time and again she invites the king and Haman to another feast. Why doesn't she just blurt it out? Look further, follow Haman home, and rest under the shade of his head. He is so full of himself, his head is an eclipse, but only a pin prick away from destroying everything around him. Mordecai is the needle, and the sight of him after this is too much. Mordecai is unmoved, and still in protest against this evil man, he stands. Sadly, I know that I have been like Haman, every time I have puffed myself up, tried to invent my worth outside of Christ. We have all hated someone to the extent that we have laughed at their demise, or wanted it to prove our standing. "I am the moral high ground here. I need closure. You need to admit your wrong. Bow down when you see me." Who is it that says, "this is what is happening God, not my will but Yours be done. Help my enemy to see, help me to love my enemy, to continue with Your work, without need of recognition." It is not wrong to desire recognition, but it is wrong to demand what is not deserved. It is wrong to be the ungrateful servant who has been forgiven so much. Haman is ridiculous, he has all this worlds goods, more than he needs, but one man not bowing down to him leaves him in a frenzy. Now I must pull in my wife and minions and explain once again who I am, how many times I have been promoted, how deserving I am. I also have to kill Haman because he is a rebuke to me. He is a reminder that there are those yet who will stand up against me and not acknowledge my greatness, even accuse me of being delusional, unworthy. He has gallows made or as some write, a pole to lift the body of Mordecai on, so everyone can see, that you don't mess with Haman. This is what happens to those who don't bow to him. This is what a life looks like that is lived solely to it's own honor.