A Sovereign Plot Twist

The chapter begins with another party scene. A small party - only 3 people present for it: The King of Persia, his queen and his right hand man, Haman. Now this day has been one of ups and downs for Haman.

Actually its been a long, long day for Haman. He didn’t really sleep last night, since he was up and overseeing a construction project - a gallows, or stake, 75 feet high, specially built for his most hated enemy, Mordecai the Jew, who has the nerve to stubbornly refuse to bow and pay homage when he walks by - it’s the law, you know.

Haman has already succeeded in whispering into the king’s ear and getting a law passed for the end of the year - an edict, decreeing a holocaust for the Jewish race in the kingdom - - the decree has gone out by royal courier to every corner of the empire and everyone is waiting for the calendar to flip to that date and for all of the Jews to be destroyed. The king even gave Haman the signet ring to seal the decree with his own imprint.

But that’s not enough for Haman. So filled with hatred for Mordecai is he, that he can’t wait to extinguish him with the rest of his race - he needs to do it now. So he’s had the giant stake built and arrived at the palace early this morning to beat the crowds and get an audience with the king, in order to get approval for his execution this day.

When he arrives at the palace, expecting to wander the courtyard for hours until the king wakes up and office hours begin … he gets a stroke of great luck - the king hadn’t been able to sleep and actually called him into his presence. What a great start to the day!

On top of it all, when he arrived in the throne room, the king wanted his advice: “What should be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”

“Well, this day just keeps getting better and better! Who could the king possibly delight to honor more than me?!” He’s already promoted me to second most powerful person in the kingdom … I’ve just been invited to an exclusive party the night before - just the king the queen and little old me … and I’ve been asked to do the same thing again tonight! It is so obviously me that the king is asking about ...

… and it just so happens that I have a list of things I would love to have done for me ...

And Haman recites his list - carefully, so as not to come across too eager, of course. But he gives an itemized list that basically shows that he wants to be seen as the king himself.

Of course, as we saw last week - the king was actually not thinking about Haman at all, but, of all people, he was thinking about that blasted Mordecai.

Mordecai had been responsible for saving the king’s life from an assassination attempt several years ago, and only now, because of a sleepless night for the king … and because of the material he chose to use to try to get back to sleep - - and because the scribe reading to him just happened to read the very volume of the king’s boring records that happened to mention Mordecai’s heroic deed … and just because the king happened to still be awake, and just happened to ask about the reward that had been given to Mordecai … and just because there hadn’t been anything done yet - which was hugely unlike the king .... just because of all of these ‘coincidences’ - Mordecai was now going to get his reward. Boy, that sure is a great number of coincidences, isn’t it?

And to rub salt even more deeply into the open wound of his hurt pride … Haman had the job of being Mordecai’s chauffer for the day … Shouting for all to hear, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.” Haman is barely able to spit the words out of his mouth.

He went home covered in mourning … day was ruined ...

.... but not quite .... no sooner does he get home that Haman needs to leave to go for another banquet. Again, it’s just the king, the queen and him. How bad can things really be, if you’re feasting at an exclusive party with the royal couple as the only other people there. They’ve invited you and you alone!

So Haman must be in better spirits when we join the feast in progress at the beginning of chapter 7.

The heaping trays of the king’s favorite roasted meats, prepared just the way he likes them, have been carried in, by silent servants - venison and beef and pork, surrounded with heaps of figs and dates, plums and apples, pears and walnuts and pistachios … tray after tray has come, been eaten to the full and then carried away when the feasters show their boredom …

… at the end of the meal, the finest of wines are brought and golden goblets are filled … the three party-goers all reclining on their couches.

Finally, the king’s curiosity takes over and he sits up straight, looks straight into the Esther’s eyes and asks the same question that he asked days ago, before any of this feasting began:

Verse 2, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”

It’s the very same question he asked, after Esther had risked her very life, daring to approach the throne of her unpredictable husband, uninvited, yesterday. Instead of ignoring her and leaving her to be carried away by his bodyguards for execution, which was the penalty suffered by any who would bother the busy king … he reached out the golden sceptre in his hands, a sign of invitation … to which the grateful queen approached and touched for refuge. He asked right then:

, “What is it Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”

Not just did he welcome her into his presence - but he offered her a present, just for showing up - a present of whatever she wanted - up to half of his kingdom. “Dream big and ask big” - that was his message to her.

But Esther wasn’t ready. She and all of the Jews in the kingdom had fasted and prayed for 3 days … and she is following the Lord’s lead now - and the time just wasn’t right when the king first asked.

So she asked him to bring Haman and come to a feast she’d already prepared. He did. He was only too glad to come. And while they reclined on couches around the dinner feast - he asks again, in chapter 5:6, ‘What is your wish? … What is your request? Even up to half of the kingdom.”

But still - the time wasn’t right. When you are following the Lord’s lead, there is no need to rush. No need for panic. Just follow … just trust and obey.

But now, when the king asks again, for the third time - Esther can’t postpone any longer.

This is where it’s going to get real. First of all, Esther may be the queen - but she’s already heard of the queen who preceded her, deposed because she insulted the king - and his advisors told him to throw her to the curb.

Now here she is, one woman, in the presence of two men - the king and not just any advisor - but Haman,, the second in command. Who will the king side with?

Not to mention - this genocide that she is going to complain about and try to stop - sure it may have been Haman’s idea, but the king is the one who gave the go ahead and handed over his signet ring. Is the king going to feel threatened when Esther complains about the law he gave the thumbs up to? How does she accuse Haman without incriminating the king, at the same time?

There is the king - the life of everyone in the entire empire is in his hands. There is Haman, second in power over the entire kingdom, who clearly has the ear of the king and has already whispered dastardly plans into his ears. This evening, he is asking for nothing. Only Esther has a request.

And on top of all of that - the king still doesn’t know that his queen, herself, is a Jew. Esther has been obedient to Mordecai and kept her Jewishness from everyone, including her husband, for all of this time. She has no idea how he’s going to feel about finding out now. Will he hate her for keeping a secret for all these years? Will he hate Jews more than he loves her? She can’t have any idea right now.

Put yourself in Esther’s place. Imagine the heart palpitations - this is it. All of the praying and fasting, all of the planning - - the fate of an entire race of people - GOD’S PEOPLE - rests on how the king responds to the very next words that are going to come out of your mouth ...

.... It’s ‘go-time’. Deep breath - trying to speak without shaky voice ...

, “Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. (4) For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”

Whoa! Wait a minute! “I’ve given you a blank cheque - ask whatever you want … and you aren’t asking for any THING for yourself … you are asking for your life to be spared! You and your people.” The king is in shock at Esther’s answer.

But it’s a brilliant answer. See how Esther has chosen her words so carefully. She starts in absolute humility … “If I have found favor in your sight, and if it please the king ...”. And then she quotes the king’s offer back to him: look back at v. 2, the king asks her: “What is your wish … it will be granted you. And what is your REQUEST … it shall be fulfilled.”

And in Esther’s reply, v 3, “You want to know my WISH and my REQUEST? My wish .... let my life be granted me for my wish. My REQUEST - my people for my request.”

And why do I need to ask for that? Because, , “For we have been sold, I AND MY PEOPLE, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.”

Do those words ring a bell to you, by any chance? They aren’t original to Esther - she’s quoting directly from the edict that Haman was responsible for … letter sent to every province in the empire. Back in chapter 3:13, “Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to … DESTROY, to KILL, and to ANNIHILATE ALL JEWS, young and old, women and children ...”

Esther quotes the exact words. Can you picture her, from the days of the fast until now - - - praying over this letter - lifting up the extermination order to the Lord. Of course she knows the words - she’s been praying about it.

APPLICATION:

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See how carefully Esther frames her request - so humbly … v. 4 - “IF we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent ...”.

“If we were only being sold as slaves, I wouldn’t even have bothered you with this …”. Verse 4, goes on, “… for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”

My own slavery wouldn’t have been worth troubling you about - but destruction and annihilation … why that’s a loss for you. So I have to plead ...

Notice how Esther is careful NOT to say who sold the people - that would implicate the king … “We have been sold … we will be destroyed … and you will lose a whole race of people … including your queen … in case that matters. I’m asking because I have YOUR interests at heart.”

Esther’s plea is brilliant. She is diplomatic; she is self-deprecating, she focuses on the king’s good. It’s a perfect speech. And brave.

But who knows what kind of response she will get. Bravery doesn’t guarantee success.

This week, we celebrate the Reformation, October 31, 1517, When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses onto the door of the church in Wittenberg. That was in Germany … but the Reformation quickly spread throughout Europe. Several years later, in Scotland, a Catholic priest named John Knox was converted to the Protestant Christian Faith … Marked by the essential doctrines that we are saved by GRACE ALONE, through FAITH ALONE, through CHRIST ALONE, with the SCRIPTURE ALONE as our sole, unfailing, complete authority, and all of this for THE GLORY OF GOD ALONE.

Well, John Knox was my kind of guy. He was a man’s man. He was converted by listening to the preaching of WISHART - and went all in - became the bodyguard to Patrick Hamilton (???????). It was dangerous to be a Protestant preacher in those days in Catholic Scotland. So John Knox carried around a massive broad-sword - the kind of sword that was almost as big as a person - - not the kind of sword to go ‘fencing with’ … this was the kind of sword to smash people with.

Knox and a number of other Reformers were captured and taken prisoner on a French ship … Catholic France was helping the Catholic ruler of Scotland.

Knox was made a galley slave … stuck below decks, in absolutely horrible conditions … chained to his fellow prisoners, side by side, forced to wield the huge oars and row the massive ship. Food was almost non-existent and Knox became so desperately ill - it didn’t look like he was going to survive.

The ship, at that time was laying siege to a castle on the coast of Scotland. When it seemed that Knox was going to succumb to his illness (there was no stopping the work, no matter how sick you were. You rowed until you died), a friend tried to keep him going by urging to look through the tiny crack windows where the oars fit through - to look at his homeland for inspiration.

So he did. He looked and saw the spires and towers of St. Andrews. He later recounted what he said at the time. He said, “I see the steeple of that place where God first in public opened my mouth to his glory … I am fully persuaded, how weak that ever I now appear, that I shall not depart this life till that my tongue shall glorify his godly name in that same place.”

Well, Knox didn’t die, that day … but he was still very sick. So sick, in fact, that the rest of his life was impacted.

Worst thing, as far as Knox was concerned, wasn’t the deplorable physical conditions … but the fact that the galley slaves were forced to attend Mass and hear such things as the French crew singing prayers to the Virgin Mary, every Saturday night, begging her intercession. Well, that’s just not going to go over well in a group of Protestants who believe the Scripture is God’s Word and trust its words in , that there is “One God and one Mediator between God and man … the man, Christ Jesus”

So the galley slaves would pull their caps over their ears in protest of the song.

At one point, the captors were frustrated with this rebellion against the prayers to the Virgin Mary so they brought in a statuette of the Virgin Mary and shoved it in the face of the slaves, trying to force them to kiss the statue.

When it got to Knox - he reached out with his shackled hands, grabbed the statuette and tossed it out the porthole into the water and shouted after it,

‘Let our Lady now save herself: she is light enough; let her learn to swim.”

That’s brave - those could have been the very last words uttered by that mouth - disrespecting an object so sacred to the people who had his life in their hands.

True bravery - whether shown by John Knox, Queen Esther, or you and me - true bravery carries no guarantees that everything will work out for your safety.

True, Christian bravery - trusts God and steps into the cloud of uncertainty.

After almost 2 years, Knox was released and went on to be used by God as the foremost leader of the Reformation in Scotland … and today there are millions of Presbyterians around the world who trace their history back to the life and leadership of John Knox.

So Esther waits for the king’s response. And the response comes in , “Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who has DARED to do this?”

The king’s blood starts to boil - someone has the gall to make plans against the life of my queen … “I WANT TO KNOW WHO IT IS!”

Can you see, out of the corner of your eye, Haman’s face is growing red? A few weeks ago we talked about whom you would choose to play the part of Haman if this story was a Hollywood movie. Alan Rickman, Anthony Hopkins … Mr. Bean. Whoever it is, see his forehead starts to break out in a cold sweat … he knows where this is going … trying to think of an escape out of this predicament.

But Esther doesn’t give him long to think - she immediately shoots back her response to the king, in staccato form, as if she was opening up machine gun fire: , “And Esther said, ‘A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!”

And she points her finger directly at the terrified Haman. “This WICKED man is not only an enemy of the Jews - he is a traitor to the king - a foe!”

And right about now, we want to stand up and cheer! Way to go, Esther! That’s what I call courage. That’s someone who’s not afraid to stand up when she stands alone - and fight for what’s right and just.

And we should cheer. Esther is a true hero. She could teach a lot of us what Godly courage looks like in action.

But hold on a minute - the story isn’t over yet. We still don’t know how the king is going to respond. Esther has no idea. She has done everything she can do. She’s done it perfectly … but for all she knows, the king could back down, when it’s his own right-hand man that’s charged. He could say, “Well, you know, boys will be boys ...”.

Esther has done everything she can and still - - it’s in God’s hands.

How will the king respond?

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, “And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.”

The king is furious. His own second in command, whom he has promoted ahead of everyone else … has plotted an extermination that will cost his own wife her life. The king puts down his golden goblet - and storms out of the door onto the garden terrace, under the evening stars. He needs to get some air … to clear his head …

Meanwhile, back inside, Haman is left alone with the queen. This day just keeps getting worse and worse. First he has to chauffer his enemy Mordecai through the city streets, proclaiming how great he is … now the queen herself is accusing him to the king.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Went to bed with gum in his mouth, woke up with gum in his hair … could tell it was going to be a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day … and at every turn, the day just got worse. Well, Alexander had nothing on poor Haman.

Haman knows that the gig is up … it’s looking like game over for him - he doesn’t have much time to save his own skin … so he jumps from his couch and bounds toward the couch where Esther is reclining. But Just when you think things can’t get any worse for Haman ...

, “And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, ‘Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.”

On his way to the queen’s couch, to bow low and plead for his life, his foot catches on a wrinkle in the carpet and he ends up, not beside the couch, but ON the couch, ON TOP of the queen, his smelly breath in her face, weeping and begging for his life.

Don’t miss the irony here - the one who just hours ago, held the lives of the entire Jewish race in his hands, now is on his face, begging the JEWISH queen for his life … how the tables have turned.

But as the king steps back into the room from the garden, eyes bulging in their sockets and his face red with rage at the sight of Haman on top of his wife,

“Is it not enough that this man has plotted against my wife - is he now going to grope her … try to take advantage of her first … in my own house?!”

We laugh because Haman could not possibly have gone from penthouse to doghouse faster if he had purposefully planned it. The day began with such giddiness - he was on top of the world and was going to finish off his enemy Mordecai, this very night. Now look at him.

The moment the king speaks, two of his aides step up, one of them grabs his arms, pull them behind his back, while the other throws a cloth over his head - the mark of a condemned man.

, “Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, ‘Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.’ And the king said, “Hang HIM on that.’ (10) So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.”

The whole time Haman is having the gallows built, he had visions of watching with delight as he saw Mordecai impaled up there - high above the ground so everyone could see his humiliation in death … Now Haman is on his way to die on the very gallows he had built. That’s irony.

That a surprising twist of the plot. But do you recognize that all of the ironies we have seen in this story - they are all God’s fingerprints on the world that Esther and the Jews live in? Every twist of the plot, every unexpected turn - They are all markers of God’s SOVEREIGNTY IN HISTORY.