Sermon Tone Analysis

Esther 5 (CSB)

1 On the third day, Esther dressed in her royal clothing and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace facing it.

The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom, facing its entrance.

2 As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she gained favor with him.

The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

3 “What is it, Queen Esther?” the king asked her.

“Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be given to you.”

4 “If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for them.”

5 The king said, “Hurry, and get Haman so we can do as Esther has requested.”

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.

6 While drinking the wine, the king asked Esther, “Whatever you ask will be given to you.

Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”

7 Esther answered, “This is my petition and my request: 8 If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and perform my request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet I will prepare for them.

Tomorrow I will do what the king has asked.”

9 That day Haman left full of joy and in good spirits.

But when Haman saw Mordecai at the King’s Gate, and Mordecai didn’t rise or tremble in fear at his presence, Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

10 Yet Haman controlled himself and went home.

He sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh to join him.

11 Then Haman described for them his glorious wealth and his many sons.

He told them all how the king had honored him and promoted him in rank over the other officials and the royal staff.

12 “What’s more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she had prepared.

I am invited again tomorrow to join her with the king.

13 Still, none of this satisfies me since I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the King’s Gate all the time.”

14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows seventy-five feet tall.

Ask the king in the morning to hang Mordecai on it.

Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.”

The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows constructed.

every situation has a turning point- right?

fight or flight?

3rd response sit there and do nothing.

the decision of what to do is crucial- as is why you do it

The Turning Point: The Text In Its Context

Esther’s Wise And Strategic Shrewdness

Why would Esther need to be strategic?

Xerxes already offered her up to half his kingdom, why not just go for the win?

Well, the answer is Xerxes obviously hadn’t offered her half the kingdom.

This was a figure of speech that was often used, and not meant to be taken literally.

If the phrase sound’s familiar to you, King Herod used the same phrase in

Mark 6:23 (CSB)

23 He promised her with an oath: “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

speaking with Herodia, which resulted in John the Baptist’s head being served on a silver platter.

This “formula of generosity” follows the “ritual of acceptance” (i.e., extending “the gold scepter,” v. 2).5 Were this phrase to be taken literally, the king would be divested of his kingdom in only two uses of the phrase!

There were several other reasons for Esther to be careful with how and when she made her request.

(1) She was asking for the reversal of an irreversible law, which had been sponsored by the most powerful advisor in the empire and signed with the king’s own signet ring.

(2) Xerxes needed money to replace the enormous funds and resources lost in the failed attempt to conquer Greece.

Granting her request would cost the king ten thousand talents—as much as half the annual tax revenue of his empire, and that isn’t pocket change.

(3) Xerxes was nothing if not vain and it would be hard for the king to grant her request without losing face, since the edict had been officially authorized by his own royal person.

(4) Finally, in order to make her request, she would have to reveal her hidden Jewish identity, risking a potential backlash from the husband she had been deceiving for the past five years

The feast would provide an opportunity for some of the formality to be diminished and would eliminate the risk of Esther embarrassing the king while on his throne and in his court.

Any of the reasons listed would be sufficient cause for some measure of strategy.

When they are considered all together, the feast does not sound foolish after all.

Now the moment we have been waiting for (again).

The king is full, the wine has flowed, and he’s ready to fulfill his wife’s request.

We are ready for Esther to spring her trap—and possibly admit she’s poisoned Haman’s food, though few of us would blame her if a little spilled in Xerxes’ bowl as well.

There is no admission of poisoning, however, just an invitation to another party.

What is it with these endless Persian feasts!

Esther!

What are you doing?

You had the moment and you missed it!

But did she?

Look carefully at her wording.

Esther 5:8 (CSB)

8 If I have found favor in the eyes of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and perform my request, may the king and Haman come to the banquet I will prepare for them.

Tomorrow I will do what the king has asked.”

Esther didn’t just invite the king to another feast; she connected his attendance with his answer to her as-yet-unnamed request.

If he really would grant her plea, then his presence the next day would be her assurance.

Both the king’s curiosity and his commitment level would be piqued.Not only would the king be present, but so would Haman.

She would be dining with the devil, again.

We should give special credit to Esther for having Haman attend these feasts.

Few enjoy confrontation.

Even fewer handle it in a biblical manner.

Talking about people is a lot easier (but not holier) if they are not in the room.

What Esther has to say about Haman she will say in his presence.

It would have been easy to just invite Ahasuerus and then have him handle Haman.

But Esther will confront her enemy (7:6).

She had spent some time in contemplation while fasting, I believe she sought to do what was right in God’s eyes and that she also consulted the people placed around her for ideas.

Esther gets a lot of grief from Monday morning QBs- people sitting somewhere drinking coffee (or better yet, Mountain Dew.)

Some of those wannabe QBs are even commentators who write books about her.

They criticize her choices, saying that she should have gone in, guns blazing, and been bold like Vashti.

Others suggest Esther resorted to worldly methods of scheming to get what she wanted.

Faith in God demands boldness of action and dependence on His power.

Boldness doesn’t have to mean stupid and dependence certainly doesn’t mean passivity or inaction!

Esther’s use of a plan was just as bold as Vashti’s refusal.

While Vashti reacted in anger and faced deposal, Esther risked death.

We are called to be in the world but not of it.

Esther and Mordecai had sinned in hiding that they belonged to God.

Subtlety and strategy, however, are not necessarily anti-gospel.

Jesus told his disciples

Matthew 10:16 (CSB)

16 “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves.

Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.

When we consider participating in missions in places where governments are not just opposed but hostile toward the gospel, strategy is not evil or worldly.

For example, we could get on a plane bound for North Korea and announce to everyone mid-flight that we are boldly taking the gospel to that communist nation.

Upon landing, however, if we were even allowed to deplane, it would only be for one of two destinations: detainment or deportation.

I am not advocating lying.

I am just saying that since the Lord called us to shrewdness, utilizing strategy does not make us children of the devil or the world.

Knowing when to say what is also important for gospel purposes, but it should not lead to unending silence.

Each of Esther’s words that are recorded for us are measured, but she would eventually give Xerxes the details of her request.

When seeking to see those around us come to Christ, we may be strategic with what, where, and when we share with them the gospel, but we cannot be silent forever.

There comes a time when the content of the gospel has to be shared.