Jewish Wisdom Acted Out

Introduction

The book of Ester is a book that shows how to live according to God’s wisdom even during the most trying of times. Chapter 5 is all about that wonderful thing of pride. A sin that we all struggle with.

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) wrote, "'Pride is the commencement of all sin'6 because it was this which overthrew the devil, from whom arose the origin of sin; and afterwards, when his malice and envy pursued man, who was yet standing in his uprightness, it subverted him in the same way in which he himself fell. For the serpent, in fact, only sought for the door of pride whereby to enter when he said, 'Ye shall be as gods.'"

Philip Schaff, ed., A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Volume 5 St. Augustin: Anti-pelagian Writings, chapter 33.

But sin shows it self in many ways. some it is lust or sloth, or envy, and some struggle with Pride. which is what we are talking about today.

The sin of pride is a preoccupation with self. It is thus very fitting that the middle letter in the word is "i." Pride is all about "me, myself, and I."

Esther 51-14

Esther 5:1–14 LEB

And it happened, on the third day, and Esther put on royal clothes, and she stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace, opposite the king’s palace; the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room opposite the doorway of the palace. When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard she found favor in his eyes, and the king held out the gold scepter that was in his hand to Esther, and Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.” And Esther said, “If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” And the king said, “Bring Haman quickly to fulfill the request of Esther.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And the king said to Esther while they were drinking wine, “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even half the kingdom, it will done. And Esther answered and said, “This is my petition and my request. If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it is good to the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them tomorrow, and I will do according to the word of the king. And Haman went out on that day rejoicing and feeling good. But when Haman saw Mordecai at the gate of the king, and he did not rise or tremble before him, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai. But Haman controlled himself and went to his house, and he sent for and brought his friends and Zeresh his wife. And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his wealth and the number of his sons and all the ways that the king had honored him and promoted him above the officials and king’s servants. And Haman added, “Esther the Queen did not let just anyone come to the banquet that she prepared with the king except me, and I am also invited tomorrow to her banquet with the king. But all this fails to satisfy me when I see Mordecai the Jew setting at the gate of the king.” And Zeresh his wife and all of his friends said to him, “Let them make a gallows fifty cubits high, and in the morning tell the king, “Let them hang Mordecai on it; then go with the king to the banquet happily.” The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

The Story

At the end of chapter 4 Esther had decided to approach the king on behalf of her people. She commanded Mordecai to direct all Jewish citizens of Susa to fast for three days before she would go to the king.

According to Persian law, and uninvited visitor to the king could be put to death at the king’s pleasure. if, however, the king wished to welcome his unannounced guest he would extend his golden scepter.

Chapter 5 begins on the third day of the Jewish fast.

Esther dressed carefully in her finest royal garb in order to delight the king and to remind him of her standing as his queen. She stood in “the inner court of the king’s palace” in a place where he could see her from his throne (v. 1). When the king saw Esther he did not condemn her to death, but instead “she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter” (v. 2). She received his gesture of welcome by touching the top of his scepter.

The Jewish scholars who translated the Old Testament into Greek (called the Septuagint, written a century before Jesus’ birth) added their own commentary to the original text in an attempt to make this story a little more believable:

Esther’s heart was pounding with fear. When she had passed through all the doors, she stood before the king. Raising his face, flushed with color, he looked at her in fiercest anger. The queen stumbled, turned pale, and fainted. He sprang from his throne in alarm, and took her up in his arms until she revived and comforted her with reassuring words.2

Archeologists have confirmed that standing just below the throne of that Persian monarch would have been a man holding an axe in his hands.

Can you imagine walking past an enormous guard with a battle-axe, whose job included executing intruders?.

She doesn’t just tell the king the problem she offers to take him and Haman to a dinner.

Some commentators believe Esther simply choked. Staring at the king and Haman—the two most powerful men in the country and the arbiters of the soon-coming Jewish genocide—she just couldn’t say it. Frankly, we can understand why.

Ancient Jewish rabbis suggested twelve possible reasons for Haman’s inclusion without agreeing on any one of them.

Upon arriving home Hamen gathered his friends and his wife together in order to brag about his great achievements (v. 11). This boasting provided solace after his encounter with Mordecai by quenching Haman’s anger in a sea of pride. Before his friends and his wife, he proceeded to highlight his many virtues: riches, progeny, royal favors, and promotions (v. 11). His bravado is ironic, however, in that his audience certainly knew all of this already. The purpose of his boasting was obviously to bolster his own ego, not to communicate information. However, at this point, he provided new information for his admirers—he told them of his privileged status as the only one invited to join the king at Esther’s banquet

A cubit was the length of the forearm from elbow to fingertip, ranging from seventeen to twenty-one inches. Mordecai’s gallows, therefore, would rise to the ridiculous height of approximately seventy-five feet

To the Persians, a gallows referred to being impaled on a sharpened pole and publically displayed. There would be a raised platform or hillside which would support the pole so everyone could see the disgraced victim

Jewish Wisdom

Esther’s way of approaching the king adds to the suspense of the story, it also reflects her faithfulness to Jewish wisdom. She did not bowl the king over with her request; rather, she approached him patiently, as recommend by the sages: “By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, / And a gentle tongue breaks a bone” (Prov. 25:15).9 She shows understanding of one of Jewish wisdom’s fundamental doctrines, which Gerhard von Rad calls “The Doctrine of the Proper Time.”

Proverbs 25:15 LEB

With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

Ecclesiastes 8:4–7a CSB

For the king’s word is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” The one who keeps a command will not experience anything harmful, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. For every activity there is a right time and procedure, even though a person’s troubles are heavy on him. Yet no one knows what will happen because who can tell him what will happen?

Ecclesiastes applies this doctrine specifically to the case of approaching a king

Proverbs 22:11 LEB

He who loves purity of heart and has gracious speech, his friend is the king.

Even when she had secured the king’s favor, Esther continued to communicate graciously: “He who loves purity of heart / And has grace on his lips, / The king will be his friend” (Prov. 22:11). By means of her caution and rhetorical grace Esther earned the king’s friendship, thus showing herself to be a paradigm of wisdom.

Proverbs 16:5 LEB

An abomination of Yahweh are all who are arrogant of heart; rest assured, he will not go unpunished.

The Jewish sages condemn pride as worse than folly. It is an abomination: “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; /Though they join forces, none will go unpunished” (Prov. 16:5). Not only is pride evil, but ruinous: “Pride goes before destruction, / And a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). Thus, from the perspective of Jewish wisdom, Haman is portrayed as an increasingly boastful fool with the logical implication that his pride foreshadows his fall, which begins in the next chapter.

1 Peter 5:5–7 LEB

In the same way, younger men, be subject to the elders, and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the right time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares for you.

The first letter of Peter provides an antidote to pride and to the obsessive need for approval:

Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Next Steps