Job 17

Job 17:1

Introduction

The hour of truth has come. Haman’s role is over. The diabolical plan he devised to kill Mordecai has been thwarted. Now Haman’s devilish plan for the annihilation of Mordecai’s people has yet to be undone. It will be done by a supplication of Esther. Before us here is the lesson that God would like to save by the prayer of His people. This applies to us and it also applies to the faithful remnant in the end times. It is a tremendous exhortation for us to pray more for God’s people!

Esther’s Request

Ahasuerus comes with Haman to Queen Esther to drink with her (Esther 7:1). It reads as if the king takes Haman by the hand. Haman has nothing to say, but only to do what the king wants. It is the same in the relationship between God and satan. Satan is not an equal match for God, but only a creature that is completely subject to God.

As they drink the wine, the king also asks Esther on the second day, that is, the day of the second banquet, what her petition is and what her request is (Esther 7:2). His offer remains valid. He has not changed his mind and has not forgotten that Esther has a petition and what he has promised her in connection with it.

In her answer Esther first appeals to her personal relationship with the king that is based on grace (Esther 7:3). Then she appeals to the king on his mind of favor. Then she first asks for her own life; then she asks for the life of her people. She does not yet say which people are involved. She does, however, speak of “my people”. In doing so, she presents the people as her own endangered possessions. The way she expresses herself shows that she presupposes that the king’s kind offer testifies to his concern for her and her people, a concern that is greater than for anyone and any other people.

She cautiously motivates her petition and her request. She talks about the fact that she and her people have been sold (Esther 7:4), without speaking of a seller. The ‘seller’ is in fact the king himself! But she avoids any suggestion in that direction. She does say that the sale means that she and her people are sold “to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated”. That goes much further than selling them as slaves, men and women. How sad that might be, in that case she would have remained silent, because that would not have been an exceptional fate. History has shown this in what happened to the people in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Now, however, they have been sold to be annihilated.

The meaning of the last part of Est 7:4 is probably that in case of sale as slaves, men and women, the need of slavery would not outweigh the burden the king would have. Esther says slavery alone isn’t enough to bother the king. The fact that she is now bothering the king means that the situation is much more serious than that it would ‘merely’ be slavery. It’s about life and death.

God wants to work through the prayer of His own. God puts us in trouble, so that we can learn to intercede for His whole people with an appeal to His grace. Esther has no sword to defend herself, but a much more effective weapon: a supplication. If we were to use it more and more intently, how much it would benefit the people of God. God could give more blessing.

Job 17:2

Introduction

The hour of truth has come. Haman’s role is over. The diabolical plan he devised to kill Mordecai has been thwarted. Now Haman’s devilish plan for the annihilation of Mordecai’s people has yet to be undone. It will be done by a supplication of Esther. Before us here is the lesson that God would like to save by the prayer of His people. This applies to us and it also applies to the faithful remnant in the end times. It is a tremendous exhortation for us to pray more for God’s people!

Esther’s Request

Ahasuerus comes with Haman to Queen Esther to drink with her (Esther 7:1). It reads as if the king takes Haman by the hand. Haman has nothing to say, but only to do what the king wants. It is the same in the relationship between God and satan. Satan is not an equal match for God, but only a creature that is completely subject to God.

As they drink the wine, the king also asks Esther on the second day, that is, the day of the second banquet, what her petition is and what her request is (Esther 7:2). His offer remains valid. He has not changed his mind and has not forgotten that Esther has a petition and what he has promised her in connection with it.

In her answer Esther first appeals to her personal relationship with the king that is based on grace (Esther 7:3). Then she appeals to the king on his mind of favor. Then she first asks for her own life; then she asks for the life of her people. She does not yet say which people are involved. She does, however, speak of “my people”. In doing so, she presents the people as her own endangered possessions. The way she expresses herself shows that she presupposes that the king’s kind offer testifies to his concern for her and her people, a concern that is greater than for anyone and any other people.

She cautiously motivates her petition and her request. She talks about the fact that she and her people have been sold (Esther 7:4), without speaking of a seller. The ‘seller’ is in fact the king himself! But she avoids any suggestion in that direction. She does say that the sale means that she and her people are sold “to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated”. That goes much further than selling them as slaves, men and women. How sad that might be, in that case she would have remained silent, because that would not have been an exceptional fate. History has shown this in what happened to the people in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Now, however, they have been sold to be annihilated.

The meaning of the last part of Est 7:4 is probably that in case of sale as slaves, men and women, the need of slavery would not outweigh the burden the king would have. Esther says slavery alone isn’t enough to bother the king. The fact that she is now bothering the king means that the situation is much more serious than that it would ‘merely’ be slavery. It’s about life and death.

God wants to work through the prayer of His own. God puts us in trouble, so that we can learn to intercede for His whole people with an appeal to His grace. Esther has no sword to defend herself, but a much more effective weapon: a supplication. If we were to use it more and more intently, how much it would benefit the people of God. God could give more blessing.

Job 17:3

Introduction

The hour of truth has come. Haman’s role is over. The diabolical plan he devised to kill Mordecai has been thwarted. Now Haman’s devilish plan for the annihilation of Mordecai’s people has yet to be undone. It will be done by a supplication of Esther. Before us here is the lesson that God would like to save by the prayer of His people. This applies to us and it also applies to the faithful remnant in the end times. It is a tremendous exhortation for us to pray more for God’s people!

Esther’s Request

Ahasuerus comes with Haman to Queen Esther to drink with her (Esther 7:1). It reads as if the king takes Haman by the hand. Haman has nothing to say, but only to do what the king wants. It is the same in the relationship between God and satan. Satan is not an equal match for God, but only a creature that is completely subject to God.

As they drink the wine, the king also asks Esther on the second day, that is, the day of the second banquet, what her petition is and what her request is (Esther 7:2). His offer remains valid. He has not changed his mind and has not forgotten that Esther has a petition and what he has promised her in connection with it.

In her answer Esther first appeals to her personal relationship with the king that is based on grace (Esther 7:3). Then she appeals to the king on his mind of favor. Then she first asks for her own life; then she asks for the life of her people. She does not yet say which people are involved. She does, however, speak of “my people”. In doing so, she presents the people as her own endangered possessions. The way she expresses herself shows that she presupposes that the king’s kind offer testifies to his concern for her and her people, a concern that is greater than for anyone and any other people.

She cautiously motivates her petition and her request. She talks about the fact that she and her people have been sold (Esther 7:4), without speaking of a seller. The ‘seller’ is in fact the king himself! But she avoids any suggestion in that direction. She does say that the sale means that she and her people are sold “to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated”. That goes much further than selling them as slaves, men and women. How sad that might be, in that case she would have remained silent, because that would not have been an exceptional fate. History has shown this in what happened to the people in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Now, however, they have been sold to be annihilated.

The meaning of the last part of Est 7:4 is probably that in case of sale as slaves, men and women, the need of slavery would not outweigh the burden the king would have. Esther says slavery alone isn’t enough to bother the king. The fact that she is now bothering the king means that the situation is much more serious than that it would ‘merely’ be slavery. It’s about life and death.

God wants to work through the prayer of His own. God puts us in trouble, so that we can learn to intercede for His whole people with an appeal to His grace. Esther has no sword to defend herself, but a much more effective weapon: a supplication. If we were to use it more and more intently, how much it would benefit the people of God. God could give more blessing.

Job 17:4

Haman Unmasked and Judged

Her veiled way of speaking forces the king to ask the next question. Because Esther has introduced the king into her great distress in what she has said, it is as if the king asks his question with suffocated breath: “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” (Esther 7:5). The first part of the question concerns the person, who and where he is. The second part is a condemnation of that person’s inner motives. In order to come to an actual conviction, it is necessary to know who that person is and where he is, so that he can be arrested and punished.

Esther’s answer is now straightforward and with absolute precision. She says, as it were, with her finger pointed at Haman: “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6). With these names we must remember that they are mentioned in the king’s palace. Esther unmasks at the place of the greatest majesty someone who has penetrated into the inside of the palace, not as a friend, but as an opponent and enemy. The words Esther uses evoke the thought of a palace revolution. Only the death sentence can be pronounced on such a person.

Haman realizes this immediately. He becomes terrified. He is unmasked as someone who threatens the king by trying to kill his wife. He also threatens the queen by trying to kill her people. The star of Haman already falling falls deeper and deeper.

Part of our weak prayer life is that we do not distinguish the enemy. Esther knows how to identify him by name. She can bring the danger directly to the king’s attention. If we could and did that more, we would have more answers to our prayers. Haman is a picture of what the enemy will do to the people in the future as an oppressor.

The king also immediately realizes what a terrible man Haman is and becomes angry (Esther 7:7). That is a messenger of death, but there is no one here to reconcile (Proverbs 16:14). As if to consider the situation, the king removes himself from the dining room and goes into the garden. Immediately Haman uses the opportunity to make another desperate attempt to avert doom. He wants to beg the queen for his life. Here we see that the roles are reversed. He who seeks the life of the Jewish people to kill them now begs a Jewess to spare his own life. Just as Haman had to humiliate himself before for Mordecai, so he humiliates himself now before Esther.

He sinks on his knees in front of a Jewess, a woman. To save his skin, he’s not ashamed of that now. Demons can also behave very pitifully (Matthew 8:31). What Haman does, those who have distressed the Jews will once do to the same Jews (Isaiah 60:14). Something similar we read in the promise to the church in Philadelphia: “ Behold, I will cause [those] of the synagogue of satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will [make them] come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9). The day will come when those who now hate and persecute God’s elect will want to stand with them in favor, but must then discover that it is too late, forever too late.

When the king returns from the garden to the dining room, he sees that Haman has fallen down on Esther’s couch (Esther 7:9). The bed on which Esther sought rest and now has found it cannot be a rest bed for Haman. That he falls down there symbolically represents the even deeper fall he will make. He no longer stands up, but sinks even deeper.

Esther’s resting bed is in any case already an extremely inappropriate place for a subject, no matter how distinguished he may be. Moreover, in these circumstances, it is an act that grieves the king to the depths of his innermost being. He makes a direct judgment on Haman and lets it be carried out without delay. Haman’s attempt to save his life is counterproductive, as it accelerates his judgment.

For Haman the judgment is irrevocable. For him there is no golden scepter to touch, it is not given to him. From that moment on it becomes dark for him. His face is covered because he is not worthy to behold the king and the king does not want to see him anymore. He has seen nothing more of the king and of Esther. The darkening of his face is the harbinger of eternal darkness. Thus, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished (Proverbs 13:9; Proverbs 24:20).

Then Harbonah comes forward (Esther 7:9). He is one of the seven eunuchs who had to fetch Queen Vashti to appear at the feast of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10). He has important information, with which he now comes forward. He is pointing out to the king the gallows that Haman had erected for Mordecai. He also knows how high it is and tells that to the king as well.

Then he gives a beautiful testimony of Mordecai. Harbonah also knows that Mordecai “spoke good on behalf of the king”, which means that Mordecai spoke in the interest of the king. He also appears to be aware of the discovery of Mordecai’s conspiracy and royalism (Esther 2:21-23).

Harbonah speaks to the king about what Mordecai did out of love for him. Thus, we may speak to God about what the Lord Jesus did out of love for Him. Everything the Lord Jesus has done has been for the good of God. Let us also seek the interests of the Lord Jesus and not those of ourselves.

In what Harbonah says, for the king lies the solution to the question of what to do with Haman. A brief and powerful command sounds from his mouth toward Haman: “Hang him on it.” Ahasuerus gives Haman the place that Haman thought for Mordecai. In the next chapter Mordecai gets Haman’s place.

The change in fate between Mordecai and Haman can also be seen in the men who have let Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den. They end up there themselves, after Daniel has been taken out (Daniel 6:24-25). Evil returns on the head of the one who invented it (Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:17). Man is trapped by his own works.

The hanging of Haman at a great height is an open exhibition of the execution of the enemy of God’s people. This public execution of the judgment of the enemy can be seen in the work of Christ on the cross: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

When Haman is hanged “on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai” the king’s anger subsides (Esther 7:10). God’s anger over sin is appeased by what Christ did on the cross and where He bruised satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). How great is His work and how glorious are its results for everyone who believes! How great is He!

Job 17:5

Haman Unmasked and Judged

Her veiled way of speaking forces the king to ask the next question. Because Esther has introduced the king into her great distress in what she has said, it is as if the king asks his question with suffocated breath: “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” (Esther 7:5). The first part of the question concerns the person, who and where he is. The second part is a condemnation of that person’s inner motives. In order to come to an actual conviction, it is necessary to know who that person is and where he is, so that he can be arrested and punished.

Esther’s answer is now straightforward and with absolute precision. She says, as it were, with her finger pointed at Haman: “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6). With these names we must remember that they are mentioned in the king’s palace. Esther unmasks at the place of the greatest majesty someone who has penetrated into the inside of the palace, not as a friend, but as an opponent and enemy. The words Esther uses evoke the thought of a palace revolution. Only the death sentence can be pronounced on such a person.

Haman realizes this immediately. He becomes terrified. He is unmasked as someone who threatens the king by trying to kill his wife. He also threatens the queen by trying to kill her people. The star of Haman already falling falls deeper and deeper.

Part of our weak prayer life is that we do not distinguish the enemy. Esther knows how to identify him by name. She can bring the danger directly to the king’s attention. If we could and did that more, we would have more answers to our prayers. Haman is a picture of what the enemy will do to the people in the future as an oppressor.

The king also immediately realizes what a terrible man Haman is and becomes angry (Esther 7:7). That is a messenger of death, but there is no one here to reconcile (Proverbs 16:14). As if to consider the situation, the king removes himself from the dining room and goes into the garden. Immediately Haman uses the opportunity to make another desperate attempt to avert doom. He wants to beg the queen for his life. Here we see that the roles are reversed. He who seeks the life of the Jewish people to kill them now begs a Jewess to spare his own life. Just as Haman had to humiliate himself before for Mordecai, so he humiliates himself now before Esther.

He sinks on his knees in front of a Jewess, a woman. To save his skin, he’s not ashamed of that now. Demons can also behave very pitifully (Matthew 8:31). What Haman does, those who have distressed the Jews will once do to the same Jews (Isaiah 60:14). Something similar we read in the promise to the church in Philadelphia: “ Behold, I will cause [those] of the synagogue of satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will [make them] come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9). The day will come when those who now hate and persecute God’s elect will want to stand with them in favor, but must then discover that it is too late, forever too late.

When the king returns from the garden to the dining room, he sees that Haman has fallen down on Esther’s couch (Esther 7:9). The bed on which Esther sought rest and now has found it cannot be a rest bed for Haman. That he falls down there symbolically represents the even deeper fall he will make. He no longer stands up, but sinks even deeper.

Esther’s resting bed is in any case already an extremely inappropriate place for a subject, no matter how distinguished he may be. Moreover, in these circumstances, it is an act that grieves the king to the depths of his innermost being. He makes a direct judgment on Haman and lets it be carried out without delay. Haman’s attempt to save his life is counterproductive, as it accelerates his judgment.

For Haman the judgment is irrevocable. For him there is no golden scepter to touch, it is not given to him. From that moment on it becomes dark for him. His face is covered because he is not worthy to behold the king and the king does not want to see him anymore. He has seen nothing more of the king and of Esther. The darkening of his face is the harbinger of eternal darkness. Thus, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished (Proverbs 13:9; Proverbs 24:20).

Then Harbonah comes forward (Esther 7:9). He is one of the seven eunuchs who had to fetch Queen Vashti to appear at the feast of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10). He has important information, with which he now comes forward. He is pointing out to the king the gallows that Haman had erected for Mordecai. He also knows how high it is and tells that to the king as well.

Then he gives a beautiful testimony of Mordecai. Harbonah also knows that Mordecai “spoke good on behalf of the king”, which means that Mordecai spoke in the interest of the king. He also appears to be aware of the discovery of Mordecai’s conspiracy and royalism (Esther 2:21-23).

Harbonah speaks to the king about what Mordecai did out of love for him. Thus, we may speak to God about what the Lord Jesus did out of love for Him. Everything the Lord Jesus has done has been for the good of God. Let us also seek the interests of the Lord Jesus and not those of ourselves.

In what Harbonah says, for the king lies the solution to the question of what to do with Haman. A brief and powerful command sounds from his mouth toward Haman: “Hang him on it.” Ahasuerus gives Haman the place that Haman thought for Mordecai. In the next chapter Mordecai gets Haman’s place.

The change in fate between Mordecai and Haman can also be seen in the men who have let Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den. They end up there themselves, after Daniel has been taken out (Daniel 6:24-25). Evil returns on the head of the one who invented it (Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:17). Man is trapped by his own works.

The hanging of Haman at a great height is an open exhibition of the execution of the enemy of God’s people. This public execution of the judgment of the enemy can be seen in the work of Christ on the cross: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

When Haman is hanged “on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai” the king’s anger subsides (Esther 7:10). God’s anger over sin is appeased by what Christ did on the cross and where He bruised satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). How great is His work and how glorious are its results for everyone who believes! How great is He!

Job 17:6

Haman Unmasked and Judged

Her veiled way of speaking forces the king to ask the next question. Because Esther has introduced the king into her great distress in what she has said, it is as if the king asks his question with suffocated breath: “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” (Esther 7:5). The first part of the question concerns the person, who and where he is. The second part is a condemnation of that person’s inner motives. In order to come to an actual conviction, it is necessary to know who that person is and where he is, so that he can be arrested and punished.

Esther’s answer is now straightforward and with absolute precision. She says, as it were, with her finger pointed at Haman: “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6). With these names we must remember that they are mentioned in the king’s palace. Esther unmasks at the place of the greatest majesty someone who has penetrated into the inside of the palace, not as a friend, but as an opponent and enemy. The words Esther uses evoke the thought of a palace revolution. Only the death sentence can be pronounced on such a person.

Haman realizes this immediately. He becomes terrified. He is unmasked as someone who threatens the king by trying to kill his wife. He also threatens the queen by trying to kill her people. The star of Haman already falling falls deeper and deeper.

Part of our weak prayer life is that we do not distinguish the enemy. Esther knows how to identify him by name. She can bring the danger directly to the king’s attention. If we could and did that more, we would have more answers to our prayers. Haman is a picture of what the enemy will do to the people in the future as an oppressor.

The king also immediately realizes what a terrible man Haman is and becomes angry (Esther 7:7). That is a messenger of death, but there is no one here to reconcile (Proverbs 16:14). As if to consider the situation, the king removes himself from the dining room and goes into the garden. Immediately Haman uses the opportunity to make another desperate attempt to avert doom. He wants to beg the queen for his life. Here we see that the roles are reversed. He who seeks the life of the Jewish people to kill them now begs a Jewess to spare his own life. Just as Haman had to humiliate himself before for Mordecai, so he humiliates himself now before Esther.

He sinks on his knees in front of a Jewess, a woman. To save his skin, he’s not ashamed of that now. Demons can also behave very pitifully (Matthew 8:31). What Haman does, those who have distressed the Jews will once do to the same Jews (Isaiah 60:14). Something similar we read in the promise to the church in Philadelphia: “ Behold, I will cause [those] of the synagogue of satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will [make them] come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9). The day will come when those who now hate and persecute God’s elect will want to stand with them in favor, but must then discover that it is too late, forever too late.

When the king returns from the garden to the dining room, he sees that Haman has fallen down on Esther’s couch (Esther 7:9). The bed on which Esther sought rest and now has found it cannot be a rest bed for Haman. That he falls down there symbolically represents the even deeper fall he will make. He no longer stands up, but sinks even deeper.

Esther’s resting bed is in any case already an extremely inappropriate place for a subject, no matter how distinguished he may be. Moreover, in these circumstances, it is an act that grieves the king to the depths of his innermost being. He makes a direct judgment on Haman and lets it be carried out without delay. Haman’s attempt to save his life is counterproductive, as it accelerates his judgment.

For Haman the judgment is irrevocable. For him there is no golden scepter to touch, it is not given to him. From that moment on it becomes dark for him. His face is covered because he is not worthy to behold the king and the king does not want to see him anymore. He has seen nothing more of the king and of Esther. The darkening of his face is the harbinger of eternal darkness. Thus, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished (Proverbs 13:9; Proverbs 24:20).

Then Harbonah comes forward (Esther 7:9). He is one of the seven eunuchs who had to fetch Queen Vashti to appear at the feast of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10). He has important information, with which he now comes forward. He is pointing out to the king the gallows that Haman had erected for Mordecai. He also knows how high it is and tells that to the king as well.

Then he gives a beautiful testimony of Mordecai. Harbonah also knows that Mordecai “spoke good on behalf of the king”, which means that Mordecai spoke in the interest of the king. He also appears to be aware of the discovery of Mordecai’s conspiracy and royalism (Esther 2:21-23).

Harbonah speaks to the king about what Mordecai did out of love for him. Thus, we may speak to God about what the Lord Jesus did out of love for Him. Everything the Lord Jesus has done has been for the good of God. Let us also seek the interests of the Lord Jesus and not those of ourselves.

In what Harbonah says, for the king lies the solution to the question of what to do with Haman. A brief and powerful command sounds from his mouth toward Haman: “Hang him on it.” Ahasuerus gives Haman the place that Haman thought for Mordecai. In the next chapter Mordecai gets Haman’s place.

The change in fate between Mordecai and Haman can also be seen in the men who have let Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den. They end up there themselves, after Daniel has been taken out (Daniel 6:24-25). Evil returns on the head of the one who invented it (Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:17). Man is trapped by his own works.

The hanging of Haman at a great height is an open exhibition of the execution of the enemy of God’s people. This public execution of the judgment of the enemy can be seen in the work of Christ on the cross: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

When Haman is hanged “on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai” the king’s anger subsides (Esther 7:10). God’s anger over sin is appeased by what Christ did on the cross and where He bruised satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). How great is His work and how glorious are its results for everyone who believes! How great is He!

Job 17:7

Haman Unmasked and Judged

Her veiled way of speaking forces the king to ask the next question. Because Esther has introduced the king into her great distress in what she has said, it is as if the king asks his question with suffocated breath: “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” (Esther 7:5). The first part of the question concerns the person, who and where he is. The second part is a condemnation of that person’s inner motives. In order to come to an actual conviction, it is necessary to know who that person is and where he is, so that he can be arrested and punished.

Esther’s answer is now straightforward and with absolute precision. She says, as it were, with her finger pointed at Haman: “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6). With these names we must remember that they are mentioned in the king’s palace. Esther unmasks at the place of the greatest majesty someone who has penetrated into the inside of the palace, not as a friend, but as an opponent and enemy. The words Esther uses evoke the thought of a palace revolution. Only the death sentence can be pronounced on such a person.

Haman realizes this immediately. He becomes terrified. He is unmasked as someone who threatens the king by trying to kill his wife. He also threatens the queen by trying to kill her people. The star of Haman already falling falls deeper and deeper.

Part of our weak prayer life is that we do not distinguish the enemy. Esther knows how to identify him by name. She can bring the danger directly to the king’s attention. If we could and did that more, we would have more answers to our prayers. Haman is a picture of what the enemy will do to the people in the future as an oppressor.

The king also immediately realizes what a terrible man Haman is and becomes angry (Esther 7:7). That is a messenger of death, but there is no one here to reconcile (Proverbs 16:14). As if to consider the situation, the king removes himself from the dining room and goes into the garden. Immediately Haman uses the opportunity to make another desperate attempt to avert doom. He wants to beg the queen for his life. Here we see that the roles are reversed. He who seeks the life of the Jewish people to kill them now begs a Jewess to spare his own life. Just as Haman had to humiliate himself before for Mordecai, so he humiliates himself now before Esther.

He sinks on his knees in front of a Jewess, a woman. To save his skin, he’s not ashamed of that now. Demons can also behave very pitifully (Matthew 8:31). What Haman does, those who have distressed the Jews will once do to the same Jews (Isaiah 60:14). Something similar we read in the promise to the church in Philadelphia: “ Behold, I will cause [those] of the synagogue of satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will [make them] come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9). The day will come when those who now hate and persecute God’s elect will want to stand with them in favor, but must then discover that it is too late, forever too late.

When the king returns from the garden to the dining room, he sees that Haman has fallen down on Esther’s couch (Esther 7:9). The bed on which Esther sought rest and now has found it cannot be a rest bed for Haman. That he falls down there symbolically represents the even deeper fall he will make. He no longer stands up, but sinks even deeper.

Esther’s resting bed is in any case already an extremely inappropriate place for a subject, no matter how distinguished he may be. Moreover, in these circumstances, it is an act that grieves the king to the depths of his innermost being. He makes a direct judgment on Haman and lets it be carried out without delay. Haman’s attempt to save his life is counterproductive, as it accelerates his judgment.

For Haman the judgment is irrevocable. For him there is no golden scepter to touch, it is not given to him. From that moment on it becomes dark for him. His face is covered because he is not worthy to behold the king and the king does not want to see him anymore. He has seen nothing more of the king and of Esther. The darkening of his face is the harbinger of eternal darkness. Thus, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished (Proverbs 13:9; Proverbs 24:20).

Then Harbonah comes forward (Esther 7:9). He is one of the seven eunuchs who had to fetch Queen Vashti to appear at the feast of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10). He has important information, with which he now comes forward. He is pointing out to the king the gallows that Haman had erected for Mordecai. He also knows how high it is and tells that to the king as well.

Then he gives a beautiful testimony of Mordecai. Harbonah also knows that Mordecai “spoke good on behalf of the king”, which means that Mordecai spoke in the interest of the king. He also appears to be aware of the discovery of Mordecai’s conspiracy and royalism (Esther 2:21-23).

Harbonah speaks to the king about what Mordecai did out of love for him. Thus, we may speak to God about what the Lord Jesus did out of love for Him. Everything the Lord Jesus has done has been for the good of God. Let us also seek the interests of the Lord Jesus and not those of ourselves.

In what Harbonah says, for the king lies the solution to the question of what to do with Haman. A brief and powerful command sounds from his mouth toward Haman: “Hang him on it.” Ahasuerus gives Haman the place that Haman thought for Mordecai. In the next chapter Mordecai gets Haman’s place.

The change in fate between Mordecai and Haman can also be seen in the men who have let Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den. They end up there themselves, after Daniel has been taken out (Daniel 6:24-25). Evil returns on the head of the one who invented it (Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:17). Man is trapped by his own works.

The hanging of Haman at a great height is an open exhibition of the execution of the enemy of God’s people. This public execution of the judgment of the enemy can be seen in the work of Christ on the cross: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

When Haman is hanged “on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai” the king’s anger subsides (Esther 7:10). God’s anger over sin is appeased by what Christ did on the cross and where He bruised satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). How great is His work and how glorious are its results for everyone who believes! How great is He!

Job 17:8

Haman Unmasked and Judged

Her veiled way of speaking forces the king to ask the next question. Because Esther has introduced the king into her great distress in what she has said, it is as if the king asks his question with suffocated breath: “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” (Esther 7:5). The first part of the question concerns the person, who and where he is. The second part is a condemnation of that person’s inner motives. In order to come to an actual conviction, it is necessary to know who that person is and where he is, so that he can be arrested and punished.

Esther’s answer is now straightforward and with absolute precision. She says, as it were, with her finger pointed at Haman: “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6). With these names we must remember that they are mentioned in the king’s palace. Esther unmasks at the place of the greatest majesty someone who has penetrated into the inside of the palace, not as a friend, but as an opponent and enemy. The words Esther uses evoke the thought of a palace revolution. Only the death sentence can be pronounced on such a person.

Haman realizes this immediately. He becomes terrified. He is unmasked as someone who threatens the king by trying to kill his wife. He also threatens the queen by trying to kill her people. The star of Haman already falling falls deeper and deeper.

Part of our weak prayer life is that we do not distinguish the enemy. Esther knows how to identify him by name. She can bring the danger directly to the king’s attention. If we could and did that more, we would have more answers to our prayers. Haman is a picture of what the enemy will do to the people in the future as an oppressor.

The king also immediately realizes what a terrible man Haman is and becomes angry (Esther 7:7). That is a messenger of death, but there is no one here to reconcile (Proverbs 16:14). As if to consider the situation, the king removes himself from the dining room and goes into the garden. Immediately Haman uses the opportunity to make another desperate attempt to avert doom. He wants to beg the queen for his life. Here we see that the roles are reversed. He who seeks the life of the Jewish people to kill them now begs a Jewess to spare his own life. Just as Haman had to humiliate himself before for Mordecai, so he humiliates himself now before Esther.

He sinks on his knees in front of a Jewess, a woman. To save his skin, he’s not ashamed of that now. Demons can also behave very pitifully (Matthew 8:31). What Haman does, those who have distressed the Jews will once do to the same Jews (Isaiah 60:14). Something similar we read in the promise to the church in Philadelphia: “ Behold, I will cause [those] of the synagogue of satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will [make them] come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9). The day will come when those who now hate and persecute God’s elect will want to stand with them in favor, but must then discover that it is too late, forever too late.

When the king returns from the garden to the dining room, he sees that Haman has fallen down on Esther’s couch (Esther 7:9). The bed on which Esther sought rest and now has found it cannot be a rest bed for Haman. That he falls down there symbolically represents the even deeper fall he will make. He no longer stands up, but sinks even deeper.

Esther’s resting bed is in any case already an extremely inappropriate place for a subject, no matter how distinguished he may be. Moreover, in these circumstances, it is an act that grieves the king to the depths of his innermost being. He makes a direct judgment on Haman and lets it be carried out without delay. Haman’s attempt to save his life is counterproductive, as it accelerates his judgment.

For Haman the judgment is irrevocable. For him there is no golden scepter to touch, it is not given to him. From that moment on it becomes dark for him. His face is covered because he is not worthy to behold the king and the king does not want to see him anymore. He has seen nothing more of the king and of Esther. The darkening of his face is the harbinger of eternal darkness. Thus, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished (Proverbs 13:9; Proverbs 24:20).

Then Harbonah comes forward (Esther 7:9). He is one of the seven eunuchs who had to fetch Queen Vashti to appear at the feast of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10). He has important information, with which he now comes forward. He is pointing out to the king the gallows that Haman had erected for Mordecai. He also knows how high it is and tells that to the king as well.

Then he gives a beautiful testimony of Mordecai. Harbonah also knows that Mordecai “spoke good on behalf of the king”, which means that Mordecai spoke in the interest of the king. He also appears to be aware of the discovery of Mordecai’s conspiracy and royalism (Esther 2:21-23).

Harbonah speaks to the king about what Mordecai did out of love for him. Thus, we may speak to God about what the Lord Jesus did out of love for Him. Everything the Lord Jesus has done has been for the good of God. Let us also seek the interests of the Lord Jesus and not those of ourselves.

In what Harbonah says, for the king lies the solution to the question of what to do with Haman. A brief and powerful command sounds from his mouth toward Haman: “Hang him on it.” Ahasuerus gives Haman the place that Haman thought for Mordecai. In the next chapter Mordecai gets Haman’s place.

The change in fate between Mordecai and Haman can also be seen in the men who have let Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den. They end up there themselves, after Daniel has been taken out (Daniel 6:24-25). Evil returns on the head of the one who invented it (Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:17). Man is trapped by his own works.

The hanging of Haman at a great height is an open exhibition of the execution of the enemy of God’s people. This public execution of the judgment of the enemy can be seen in the work of Christ on the cross: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

When Haman is hanged “on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai” the king’s anger subsides (Esther 7:10). God’s anger over sin is appeased by what Christ did on the cross and where He bruised satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). How great is His work and how glorious are its results for everyone who believes! How great is He!

Job 17:9

Haman Unmasked and Judged

Her veiled way of speaking forces the king to ask the next question. Because Esther has introduced the king into her great distress in what she has said, it is as if the king asks his question with suffocated breath: “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” (Esther 7:5). The first part of the question concerns the person, who and where he is. The second part is a condemnation of that person’s inner motives. In order to come to an actual conviction, it is necessary to know who that person is and where he is, so that he can be arrested and punished.

Esther’s answer is now straightforward and with absolute precision. She says, as it were, with her finger pointed at Haman: “A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” (Esther 7:6). With these names we must remember that they are mentioned in the king’s palace. Esther unmasks at the place of the greatest majesty someone who has penetrated into the inside of the palace, not as a friend, but as an opponent and enemy. The words Esther uses evoke the thought of a palace revolution. Only the death sentence can be pronounced on such a person.

Haman realizes this immediately. He becomes terrified. He is unmasked as someone who threatens the king by trying to kill his wife. He also threatens the queen by trying to kill her people. The star of Haman already falling falls deeper and deeper.

Part of our weak prayer life is that we do not distinguish the enemy. Esther knows how to identify him by name. She can bring the danger directly to the king’s attention. If we could and did that more, we would have more answers to our prayers. Haman is a picture of what the enemy will do to the people in the future as an oppressor.

The king also immediately realizes what a terrible man Haman is and becomes angry (Esther 7:7). That is a messenger of death, but there is no one here to reconcile (Proverbs 16:14). As if to consider the situation, the king removes himself from the dining room and goes into the garden. Immediately Haman uses the opportunity to make another desperate attempt to avert doom. He wants to beg the queen for his life. Here we see that the roles are reversed. He who seeks the life of the Jewish people to kill them now begs a Jewess to spare his own life. Just as Haman had to humiliate himself before for Mordecai, so he humiliates himself now before Esther.

He sinks on his knees in front of a Jewess, a woman. To save his skin, he’s not ashamed of that now. Demons can also behave very pitifully (Matthew 8:31). What Haman does, those who have distressed the Jews will once do to the same Jews (Isaiah 60:14). Something similar we read in the promise to the church in Philadelphia: “ Behold, I will cause [those] of the synagogue of satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will [make them] come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9). The day will come when those who now hate and persecute God’s elect will want to stand with them in favor, but must then discover that it is too late, forever too late.

When the king returns from the garden to the dining room, he sees that Haman has fallen down on Esther’s couch (Esther 7:9). The bed on which Esther sought rest and now has found it cannot be a rest bed for Haman. That he falls down there symbolically represents the even deeper fall he will make. He no longer stands up, but sinks even deeper.

Esther’s resting bed is in any case already an extremely inappropriate place for a subject, no matter how distinguished he may be. Moreover, in these circumstances, it is an act that grieves the king to the depths of his innermost being. He makes a direct judgment on Haman and lets it be carried out without delay. Haman’s attempt to save his life is counterproductive, as it accelerates his judgment.

For Haman the judgment is irrevocable. For him there is no golden scepter to touch, it is not given to him. From that moment on it becomes dark for him. His face is covered because he is not worthy to behold the king and the king does not want to see him anymore. He has seen nothing more of the king and of Esther. The darkening of his face is the harbinger of eternal darkness. Thus, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished (Proverbs 13:9; Proverbs 24:20).

Then Harbonah comes forward (Esther 7:9). He is one of the seven eunuchs who had to fetch Queen Vashti to appear at the feast of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10). He has important information, with which he now comes forward. He is pointing out to the king the gallows that Haman had erected for Mordecai. He also knows how high it is and tells that to the king as well.

Then he gives a beautiful testimony of Mordecai. Harbonah also knows that Mordecai “spoke good on behalf of the king”, which means that Mordecai spoke in the interest of the king. He also appears to be aware of the discovery of Mordecai’s conspiracy and royalism (Esther 2:21-23).

Harbonah speaks to the king about what Mordecai did out of love for him. Thus, we may speak to God about what the Lord Jesus did out of love for Him. Everything the Lord Jesus has done has been for the good of God. Let us also seek the interests of the Lord Jesus and not those of ourselves.

In what Harbonah says, for the king lies the solution to the question of what to do with Haman. A brief and powerful command sounds from his mouth toward Haman: “Hang him on it.” Ahasuerus gives Haman the place that Haman thought for Mordecai. In the next chapter Mordecai gets Haman’s place.

The change in fate between Mordecai and Haman can also be seen in the men who have let Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den. They end up there themselves, after Daniel has been taken out (Daniel 6:24-25). Evil returns on the head of the one who invented it (Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:17). Man is trapped by his own works.

The hanging of Haman at a great height is an open exhibition of the execution of the enemy of God’s people. This public execution of the judgment of the enemy can be seen in the work of Christ on the cross: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him” (Colossians 2:15).

When Haman is hanged “on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai” the king’s anger subsides (Esther 7:10). God’s anger over sin is appeased by what Christ did on the cross and where He bruised satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). How great is His work and how glorious are its results for everyone who believes! How great is He!

Job 17:11

The Exaltation of Mordecai

King Ahasuerus gives the possession of Haman to Queen Esther (Esther 8:1). All that the wicked have built up shall be possessed by the saints (Job 27:16-17; Proverbs 13:22b). Haman wanted to capture the possessions of the Jews, but the opposite happens. Haman, the opponent of the Jews, loses his possessions to a Jewish woman. We will often get that in this chapter. We have seen the same with Haman, who has been given the place he had assigned to Mordecai (Proverbs 11:8), while Mordecai is now given Haman’s place.

Thus, the power of satan as the ruler of the world will soon come to an end. Christ, as the true Mordecai, will take control of the government of the world. Now satan still has the power over all the kingdoms of the earth (Luke 4:6). When Christ returns, satan will be thrown bound into the abyss and Christ will reign in peace for a thousand years and the saints with Him (Revelation 20:1-6). Then the final reversal of affairs will take place. The now persecuted saints will then share in the glory of Christ. Those who are now persecutors will then suffer the judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7).

Then Mordecai comes to visit the king. Esther has told the king “what he was to her”, that is, in what relationship he stands to her. Now there is complete openness. This leads the king to give his signet ring, which he first gave to Haman, but took back, now to Mordecai (Esther 8:2). This is where the official change of power takes place.

In picture God, when the adversary has been dethroned, hands over the authority over the world to Christ. The same happens to Joseph when he becomes viceroy. Pharaoh appoints him over all Egypt: he takes off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand (Genesis 41:41-42).

Then it is not the king, but Esther who appoints Mordecai over the house of Haman. That is the reason for the king to make Mordecai great. This shows us in picture that God is using the remnant of His people for the glorification of the Lord Jesus. The remnant will in the future, after the deliverance out of the great tribulation, will volunteer freely in the day of the power to honor their Savior (Psalms 110:3a).

Christ will be glorified by a willing people. It is as if He is overcome by their willingness: “Before I was aware, my soul set me over the chariots of my noble [or: willing] people” (Song of Solomon 6:12). This is how He wishes to experience it. He does not want to violently take His place in the hearts and lives of His own. Surely it is true that He is made great by God. At the same time it is true that He also likes to be made great by His own people (cf. 1 Chronicles 11:10; cf. Philippians 1:20). This also applies to the church in all places where they come together. Christ desires to be the center of the assembled church, a place which He does not compel, but which we may give Him.

Job 17:12

The Exaltation of Mordecai

King Ahasuerus gives the possession of Haman to Queen Esther (Esther 8:1). All that the wicked have built up shall be possessed by the saints (Job 27:16-17; Proverbs 13:22b). Haman wanted to capture the possessions of the Jews, but the opposite happens. Haman, the opponent of the Jews, loses his possessions to a Jewish woman. We will often get that in this chapter. We have seen the same with Haman, who has been given the place he had assigned to Mordecai (Proverbs 11:8), while Mordecai is now given Haman’s place.

Thus, the power of satan as the ruler of the world will soon come to an end. Christ, as the true Mordecai, will take control of the government of the world. Now satan still has the power over all the kingdoms of the earth (Luke 4:6). When Christ returns, satan will be thrown bound into the abyss and Christ will reign in peace for a thousand years and the saints with Him (Revelation 20:1-6). Then the final reversal of affairs will take place. The now persecuted saints will then share in the glory of Christ. Those who are now persecutors will then suffer the judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7).

Then Mordecai comes to visit the king. Esther has told the king “what he was to her”, that is, in what relationship he stands to her. Now there is complete openness. This leads the king to give his signet ring, which he first gave to Haman, but took back, now to Mordecai (Esther 8:2). This is where the official change of power takes place.

In picture God, when the adversary has been dethroned, hands over the authority over the world to Christ. The same happens to Joseph when he becomes viceroy. Pharaoh appoints him over all Egypt: he takes off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand (Genesis 41:41-42).

Then it is not the king, but Esther who appoints Mordecai over the house of Haman. That is the reason for the king to make Mordecai great. This shows us in picture that God is using the remnant of His people for the glorification of the Lord Jesus. The remnant will in the future, after the deliverance out of the great tribulation, will volunteer freely in the day of the power to honor their Savior (Psalms 110:3a).

Christ will be glorified by a willing people. It is as if He is overcome by their willingness: “Before I was aware, my soul set me over the chariots of my noble [or: willing] people” (Song of Solomon 6:12). This is how He wishes to experience it. He does not want to violently take His place in the hearts and lives of His own. Surely it is true that He is made great by God. At the same time it is true that He also likes to be made great by His own people (cf. 1 Chronicles 11:10; cf. Philippians 1:20). This also applies to the church in all places where they come together. Christ desires to be the center of the assembled church, a place which He does not compel, but which we may give Him.

Job 17:13

Esther’s Pleading

Esther appears again in the presence of the king to speak to him (Esther 8:3). When she is with him, she falls down at his feet and weeps and implores. She comes to him in this way, because of the plan Haman devised against the Jews. Haman may have been killed, but not what he devised. The creator of the annihilation has been judged, but the threat of annihilation has not been removed. Evil can survive a human being and the evil he devised can be carried out after his death. What people plan and write can be very useful or very harmful after their death.

Esther can’t really be happy with the threat of annihilation still hanging over her head. She lives for her people and also wants to die for them, to which she goes again in the presence of the king. By going to the king to plead for her people, she shows true brotherly love (1 John 3:16). The king again grants her the golden scepter as a sign that she is in favor with him (Esther 8:4; Esther 5:1-2). This time she does not touch the scepter, but takes the liberty of standing before the king without giving up the place of complete dependence.

Her approach to the king shows both trust and dependence. She appeals to him in the awareness that everything depends entirely on his goodness. This is apparent from a fourfold appeal to the king’s mind with which she introduces her question: “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter [seems] proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight” (Esther 8:5)

There’s no sign of any posturing. She’s modest. Nor is there any reproach as to why the king has still not answered that part of her question in which she asked for the life of her people (Esther 7:3).

Then Esther makes her proposal. She suggests that the king will write a letter to revoke the letters from Haman with his plan for the annihilation of the Jews (Esther 8:5). She avoids any thought of reproaching the king that those letters were written in his name and sealed with his signet ring (Esther 3:12). She places all the responsibility for the evil plan with its inventor, “Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite”.

In the motivation of her request, Esther identifies herself fully with her people in a penetrating, emotional way (Esther 8:6). She asks the question in a way that the answer is clearly and unequivocally contained in the question. By doing so, she takes the king into her feelings. She wants it to penetrate deeply within him: “For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see it? And how will I be able to see the destruction of my family?” She’s saying that she’s absolutely not going to be able to do that.

She is the advocate of her people here with the king par excellence. We hear a similar way of speaking from the mouth of Judah when he pleads with Joseph to take Benjamin back home. Judah does this in view of his father’s grief if they would return to him without Benjamin (Genesis 44:34).

Job 17:14

Esther’s Pleading

Esther appears again in the presence of the king to speak to him (Esther 8:3). When she is with him, she falls down at his feet and weeps and implores. She comes to him in this way, because of the plan Haman devised against the Jews. Haman may have been killed, but not what he devised. The creator of the annihilation has been judged, but the threat of annihilation has not been removed. Evil can survive a human being and the evil he devised can be carried out after his death. What people plan and write can be very useful or very harmful after their death.

Esther can’t really be happy with the threat of annihilation still hanging over her head. She lives for her people and also wants to die for them, to which she goes again in the presence of the king. By going to the king to plead for her people, she shows true brotherly love (1 John 3:16). The king again grants her the golden scepter as a sign that she is in favor with him (Esther 8:4; Esther 5:1-2). This time she does not touch the scepter, but takes the liberty of standing before the king without giving up the place of complete dependence.

Her approach to the king shows both trust and dependence. She appeals to him in the awareness that everything depends entirely on his goodness. This is apparent from a fourfold appeal to the king’s mind with which she introduces her question: “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter [seems] proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight” (Esther 8:5)

There’s no sign of any posturing. She’s modest. Nor is there any reproach as to why the king has still not answered that part of her question in which she asked for the life of her people (Esther 7:3).

Then Esther makes her proposal. She suggests that the king will write a letter to revoke the letters from Haman with his plan for the annihilation of the Jews (Esther 8:5). She avoids any thought of reproaching the king that those letters were written in his name and sealed with his signet ring (Esther 3:12). She places all the responsibility for the evil plan with its inventor, “Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite”.

In the motivation of her request, Esther identifies herself fully with her people in a penetrating, emotional way (Esther 8:6). She asks the question in a way that the answer is clearly and unequivocally contained in the question. By doing so, she takes the king into her feelings. She wants it to penetrate deeply within him: “For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see it? And how will I be able to see the destruction of my family?” She’s saying that she’s absolutely not going to be able to do that.

She is the advocate of her people here with the king par excellence. We hear a similar way of speaking from the mouth of Judah when he pleads with Joseph to take Benjamin back home. Judah does this in view of his father’s grief if they would return to him without Benjamin (Genesis 44:34).

Job 17:15

Esther’s Pleading

Esther appears again in the presence of the king to speak to him (Esther 8:3). When she is with him, she falls down at his feet and weeps and implores. She comes to him in this way, because of the plan Haman devised against the Jews. Haman may have been killed, but not what he devised. The creator of the annihilation has been judged, but the threat of annihilation has not been removed. Evil can survive a human being and the evil he devised can be carried out after his death. What people plan and write can be very useful or very harmful after their death.

Esther can’t really be happy with the threat of annihilation still hanging over her head. She lives for her people and also wants to die for them, to which she goes again in the presence of the king. By going to the king to plead for her people, she shows true brotherly love (1 John 3:16). The king again grants her the golden scepter as a sign that she is in favor with him (Esther 8:4; Esther 5:1-2). This time she does not touch the scepter, but takes the liberty of standing before the king without giving up the place of complete dependence.

Her approach to the king shows both trust and dependence. She appeals to him in the awareness that everything depends entirely on his goodness. This is apparent from a fourfold appeal to the king’s mind with which she introduces her question: “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter [seems] proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight” (Esther 8:5)

There’s no sign of any posturing. She’s modest. Nor is there any reproach as to why the king has still not answered that part of her question in which she asked for the life of her people (Esther 7:3).

Then Esther makes her proposal. She suggests that the king will write a letter to revoke the letters from Haman with his plan for the annihilation of the Jews (Esther 8:5). She avoids any thought of reproaching the king that those letters were written in his name and sealed with his signet ring (Esther 3:12). She places all the responsibility for the evil plan with its inventor, “Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite”.

In the motivation of her request, Esther identifies herself fully with her people in a penetrating, emotional way (Esther 8:6). She asks the question in a way that the answer is clearly and unequivocally contained in the question. By doing so, she takes the king into her feelings. She wants it to penetrate deeply within him: “For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see it? And how will I be able to see the destruction of my family?” She’s saying that she’s absolutely not going to be able to do that.

She is the advocate of her people here with the king par excellence. We hear a similar way of speaking from the mouth of Judah when he pleads with Joseph to take Benjamin back home. Judah does this in view of his father’s grief if they would return to him without Benjamin (Genesis 44:34).

Job 17:16

Esther’s Pleading

Esther appears again in the presence of the king to speak to him (Esther 8:3). When she is with him, she falls down at his feet and weeps and implores. She comes to him in this way, because of the plan Haman devised against the Jews. Haman may have been killed, but not what he devised. The creator of the annihilation has been judged, but the threat of annihilation has not been removed. Evil can survive a human being and the evil he devised can be carried out after his death. What people plan and write can be very useful or very harmful after their death.

Esther can’t really be happy with the threat of annihilation still hanging over her head. She lives for her people and also wants to die for them, to which she goes again in the presence of the king. By going to the king to plead for her people, she shows true brotherly love (1 John 3:16). The king again grants her the golden scepter as a sign that she is in favor with him (Esther 8:4; Esther 5:1-2). This time she does not touch the scepter, but takes the liberty of standing before the king without giving up the place of complete dependence.

Her approach to the king shows both trust and dependence. She appeals to him in the awareness that everything depends entirely on his goodness. This is apparent from a fourfold appeal to the king’s mind with which she introduces her question: “If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter [seems] proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight” (Esther 8:5)

There’s no sign of any posturing. She’s modest. Nor is there any reproach as to why the king has still not answered that part of her question in which she asked for the life of her people (Esther 7:3).

Then Esther makes her proposal. She suggests that the king will write a letter to revoke the letters from Haman with his plan for the annihilation of the Jews (Esther 8:5). She avoids any thought of reproaching the king that those letters were written in his name and sealed with his signet ring (Esther 3:12). She places all the responsibility for the evil plan with its inventor, “Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite”.

In the motivation of her request, Esther identifies herself fully with her people in a penetrating, emotional way (Esther 8:6). She asks the question in a way that the answer is clearly and unequivocally contained in the question. By doing so, she takes the king into her feelings. She wants it to penetrate deeply within him: “For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see it? And how will I be able to see the destruction of my family?” She’s saying that she’s absolutely not going to be able to do that.

She is the advocate of her people here with the king par excellence. We hear a similar way of speaking from the mouth of Judah when he pleads with Joseph to take Benjamin back home. Judah does this in view of his father’s grief if they would return to him without Benjamin (Genesis 44:34).