Esther 5 -7

Est 5
So Esther goes before the King in her Royal Robes; the queen finds favor in the King's sight (Praise the Lord!) and is asked for her request. For some reason or another, Esther requests the king's attendance at a banquet she is hosting. When the king is full, Esther then requests for him to come to another banquet the next day. This is a strange set of circumstances, and I urge you that if you do read anything into why Esther was doing this, not to preach on it or to teach others, because as far as I can tell, there is no light on why she did this in the scriptures. We can all definitely agree that Esther took some time in getting it out that she wanted the king to protect her people from Haman.

Now between the first banquet and the second banquet, the writer of Esther tells of a few events that happened the next day:

Haman left the temple for home and noticed Mordecai's defiance of his command for all to bow to him, but he "controlled" himself and kept on his journey. At home, Haman brags to his friends and wife about all the respect he has earned in the King's court, but he confesses that this success does not satisfy him when he compares it against Mordecai's indignation. His wife and friends advise Haman to hang Mordecai, and Haman puts into motion his plan to do so.

Est 6
So the first line of this chapter is hilarious: "During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king." Maybe it's just me, but that's funny.

The king is reminded in his hearing that Mordecai saved his life and asks if any dignity had been given Mordecai. Finding none, the king asks Haman, who just walked in, his opinion on honoring someone for serving the king. Haman, being the prideful man that has been described thus far in this book, thinks the king is speaking of him and lays out an elaborate parading of the individual being honored. The king thinks Haman's idea to be good and tells Haman to do it for Mordecai (which you can imagine that Haman is furious).

So Haman is the one to parade Mordecai around the king's court, and when finished, he runs home, crying, to his wife and friends (this is not a man that I will hold up as a good example to my children). Haman then leaves for the banquet, which Esther prepared (the second).

Est 7
After the king drank, he asked Esther what she wanted; she then outed Haman's plot against her family, which enraged the king! Before the words even left the king's mouth, Haman was hanged on the very gallows he planned to hang Mordecai on.

Some good verses to consider:

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate" (proverbs 8:13)

"When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom" (proverbs 11:2).

"A man's pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor" (proverbs 29:23).

Haman's pride and arrogance were his destruction.

"LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD" (Jeremiah 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17)