Esther 7: The Devestating Defeat of Haman

Esther 7 ESV

1 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “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.” 3 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.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” 6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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.

Introduce:

A few weeks ago, we witnessed God cause King Ahasuerus’ sleep to flee from Him. We also saw how Mordecai’s victory and Haman’s defeat were foreshadowed. The week before that, we observed how Esther won favor with the king and had been promised that he would grant her request. Haman had plotted the destruction of Mordecai and his people. He had gallows built for Mordecai, but we just read that and will now ponder how someone else hanged on them instead. Our text this morning answers a question we have answered before: What happens to God’s enemies? To arrive at a complete answer, please ponder three aspects of our text.

Retell:

To begin, Brothers, sisters, and friends ponder the path of Haman’s devastating defeat (1-4).

After his humiliation earlier that day, Haman was paraded off to the Queen Esther’s seconded feast. He and the king arrived. As they did after the first feast, they sat and drank wine. The king had already promised to give Esther her request twice publically. She had postponed revealing what her request was both times. Now he offers to grant her request a third time. Look in verse two. He asked her, “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.”

We find the first part of the queen’s reply in verse three. Look there. She 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.” Esther answered the king point for point. Her wish is her own life. Her request is the lives of her people, which she does not name explicitly.

Her reason for this request is found in verse four. Look. She continued, “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.” Her and her people were sold for 10,000 talents, the sum Haman promised to pay. Their destiny was to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated, which is the exact phrasing of Haman’s edict. She then appeals to the king’s self-interest. She would not have bothered the king had her people only been sold into slavery, for that at least would have benefited the king. However, the annihilation and destruction of her people would bring him no benefit but significant loss, including His queen, manpower, and taxes. 10,000 talents would not cover the benefits of having these people alive even if they were enslaved.

The way she makes her request and gives her reasons is prudent. She leaves out the identity of the persons responsible for the plight of her people, which technically included the king. Instead, she states the situation to provoke an emotional response from the king. Rather than getting personal out of the gate by mentioning how the king and his right-hand man are to blame, she states the issue in a way that invites the king to be angry at the unnamed person responsible. As the prophet Nathan did with King David, respecting his dealings with Bathsheba and Uriah, Esther wanted the king angry and on her side before exposing the culprit of heinous evil (2 Samuel 12:1-15).

The path of Haman’s devastating defeat is the prudent maneuvering of Esther and, as we saw last chapter, the covenant faithfulness and controlling providence of Yahweh. You have pondered the path of Haman’s devastating defeat.

Also, ponder the proclamation of Haman’s devastating defeat (5-8).

The initial reply of the king comes out like bullets firing out of a machine-gun. Look at verse 5. The king said, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” Esther’s plan had worked. The king is furious and on her side. When you hear shocking and infuriating news, you likely respond similarly to the king with rapid questions, elevated volume, and an angry tone. Esther’s reply matches the questions of the king. It is swift and pointed. Look at verse 6. Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Can you imagine Haman’s mouth gaping wide and pale white face as the queen and king now both glare at him? He was definitely more terrified than some of you are of snakes, spiders, or anything you fear. He was trapped with only one end in sight, death.

King Ahasuerus stormed out of the ancient French doors of the banquet hall and into the garden within his palace. He had realized that not only was Haman at fault but so was he. He had by negligence signed off on the death of his beloved queen and her people. How could he save her and them while also saving face?

Meanwhile, Haman was in an even more difficult spot. He knew the king was determined to harm him. His only hope was the queen with whom he was now alone. Even by staying in the room, he was transgressing court custom, being alone in a room with one of the King’s women. He should have exited with the king rather than stayed alone with the queen. However, you can see why he would stay to get the favor of Esther. She held the heart of the king.

When the king returned, he came at the exact moment that Haman was falling on the couch on which Esther reclined. A man should not come within seven steps of the king’s woman in the presence of others. This sealed his fate and gave the king a way out of his dilemma. He could now save face for his negligence, signing off on Haman’s murderous scheme, and have Haman hanged for “assaulting” his wife. So he said in verse 8, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” Though it is doubtful that Haman intended to actually assault the queen, it is convenient for the king if he attempted to do so. Upon hearing this question, the king’s men knew what must be done; they covered his face in preparation for his execution.

The devastating defeat of Haman is proclaimed at once when Esther points out that it is he who is behind the murderous plot to kill her and her people. Haman recognizes his own devastating defeat when he bows down before the Jewish queen. Note the irony of this specific action. All of this began when Mordecai, a Jew, refused to bow to Haman, an Agagite. Now it is Haman, an Agagite, who bows before Esther, a Jew. Finally, the king likewise proclaims Haman’s devastating defeat when he goes out in anger and returns to accuse him of assaulting Queen Esther. You have pondered the path and proclamation of Haman’s devastating defeat.

Lastly, ponder the poetry of Haman’s devastating defeat (9-10).

Now, what would be done to Haman? The king, as usual, welcomes the advice of others. Look at verse 9. Harbona, the king’s eunuch, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” Harbona even threw in another reason for having Haman killed, namely in desiring to kill Mordecai Haman could be considered to side with those who desired to kill the king.

The large 75-foot wood stake or gallows, as the ESV translates it, had been prepared by Haman at the advice of his wife to have Mordecai hanged upon it. These gallows likely had no noose from which a criminal hanged and was strangled. Instead, it was a large stake upon which the criminal was impaled.

Now at the king’s word, Haman would hang on the cursed tree. Read the remaining portion of verse 9 and verse 10 with me. The king said, “‘Hang him on that.’ So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.”

The type of poetry I want you to ponder is not verse but poetic justice. The death of Haman fits the crime of Haman. As the proverb says, “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling” (Proverbs 26:27). Or, in this case, “Whoever builds gallows will hang upon them.”

Transition:

In the beginning, I posed a question. What happens to God’s enemies? We encountered the answer as we pondered the path, proclamation, and poetry of Haman’s devastating defeat. God’s enemies lose. That is the main point of the text. It is a point that is true at all times and for all of God’s enemies. Everyone everywhere, whether human or demonic that stands against God and His people will lose. In chapter seven, what happens to Haman, illustrates what happens to all who come against God and his people. God’s enemies lose. This is a truth that is taught in Scripture, confirmed throughout the history of God’s people, and promised to happen in the future at the final judgment.

God promised Abraham that He would protect and preserve him and his offspring. We saw last in the last chapter that God caused the king’s sleep to flee him. He orchestrated events so that the king would be reminded of Mordecai’s good deed in saving the king. He guided events so that Haman would be the one who had to parade Mordecai through the city and call all to admire him. This subtle and sovereign providential working of God is couched between the diligent working of one of his servants, Queen Esther.

In chapter 5, Esther went to the king without his invitation. She won his favor, and he promised to grant her a request. She prudently did not tell him her request immediately but invited the king and Haman to a feast. She again refused to make her request known at this first feast and instead invited the king to another feast.

In our text this morning, she hosts the second feast and prudently makes known her request, entraps the enemy, and accomplishes the first step to saving her people from genocide.

God’s absolute governing of all things, including His creatures and their actions, does not free rational creatures like us from our responsibility to do God’s will. God ordains both the means and the ends. In this case, it was through Esther that God would deliver his people from genocide. She, however, had to labor with wisdom and haste. She sowed and watered, but God brought the growth. In the end, God’s enemy lost, and His people prevailed. The same will be the case at the end of days. God’s enemies lose.

With that being said, how should we respond to this truth? How should your respond to this truth? Two responses seem appropriate.

Apply:

1. God’s enemies lose, so flee from the last judgment.

As I said, the loss of Haman in our text points forward to the future final defeat of God’s enemies. This defeat was sealed in Christ’s first coming and will be consummated in His second. He endured the temptation of the Devil. He defeated death. He now overpowers Satan, the world, and the flesh by expanding His kingdom one conversion at a time through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the Gospel by His disciples. He will return in the last day in power and glory to execute judgment on all His and our enemies.

According to Scripture, the end of God’s enemies will be terrible and eternal punishment for their sins. Most commonly, we refer to the place where they go as Hell. It is also described as a lake of fire. All who go there are tormented forever and weep and gnash their teeth. This is the second death. This is the destination that all sinners deserve and will be the destination for all who continue in their sin, stand against God and his people, and refuse to turn to God’s Son Jesus. All other judgments from God point to this great and terrible day. The Exodus, the destruction of Babylon, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the holy war executed upon the inhabitants of Canaan, among other examples, all point to the greater and final judgment. God who sees all things, knows all things, and can do all things will settle His accounts. If you are left with only your works, then you will face the full force of His just wrath.

Church, the terrible and final judgment need not terrify you. It should motivate you to warn those who are lost and take comfort that all God’s and your enemies shall be defeated. God is for you, so none can stand against you.

Unbeliever, you should flee from the judgment to come. You should flee from it today. You should seek and find shelter that will shield you from the wrath of God. Your good works are not enough. Your family heritage is not enough. Your possessions are not enough. Your sins certainly are not enough. None of these things can rescue from the final judgment. You have no hope within yourself or the material world that can save you from God’s just and perfect judgment.

Moreover, you don’t know when it will happen. It could be today. It could be at the moment I finish speaking. Heck, even if it doesn’t happen today, and you wait until tomorrow, you could die. We only have one lifetime in which we may seek and find eternal life and salvation. Do you want salvation? Do you want eternal life? Listen to the next point.

2. God’s enemies lose, so flee to the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life instead of eternal judgment. In Esther 7, we find some pictures that point forward to Him.

Esther publicly identified herself with the Jewish nation so the king would not destroy them. Jesus publicly identified with His people of all nations so that His Father would not destroy them in the final judgment. Esther risked her life by identifying with the Jews. Christ gave His life as a substitute, bearing the punishment for their sins. Esther pled for her nation. Jesus intercedes for His people from heaven.

Also, Haman’s death also points to Jesus, but in an ironic way. Haman was destroyed on a tree he constructed for Mordecai. Like Haman, Satan plotted Christ’s destruction through the cross, only to have His power shattered by Christ’s death. But there is a contrast to be made. Though Haman hung upon the tree, it was not Satan but Christ who hung upon the tree to appease God’s righteous wrath by bearing the curse of God against lawbreakers.

Unbeliever, if you are to flee the last judgment, you must flee to the Lord Jesus. His righteous life and substitutionary death alone can pay for your sins and secure a place for you in heaven. His rule in and intercessions from heaven alone can protect you from your enemies and preserve you all the way to the end. His second coming alone can rescue you from the final judgment and place you among His people upon the New Earth. Jesus is better than Esther. He secures not a temporary reprieve from destruction but everlasting salvation for all who come to Him by faith. You must trust in Him, His holy life, His sacrificial death, His victorious resurrection, His glorious ascension, His royal session, His continual intercession, and His triumphant return for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Jesus says all the Father gives Him will come, and not a single person who comes to Him will be cast out (John 6:37). Moreover, He says, “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes (trust in Him) has eternal life” (John 6:47). Unbeliever, will you flee to the Lord Jesus today?

Believer, all I said is possible for the unbeliever who flees to Christ is not merely possible to you but is true. He has secured your redemption through His work. Therefore, take heart and be of good courage. The end of your enemies is destruction, and your end is eternal life. In the meantime, keep holding on to Jesus. Keep looking to Him and His promises. Furthermore, declare not only the bad news of coming judgment but also proclaim God’s free gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Conclude:

God’s enemies lose, so flee the last judgment and flee to the Lord Jesus. The big idea and responses are both found within or are pointed to in our text. We saw them when we pondered the path, proclamation, and poetry of Haman’s devastating defeat. Our God is in the heavens and does all that He pleases. He has established his throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules overall. The Lord Jesus is coming again. May he come quickly, and may we be ready. Let’s pray.