Esther 5

1 And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed, having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face cheerful, and benevolent, but her heart straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before . But God changed the spirit of the king gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, What is , Esther? I thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is openly declared , Draw nigh.

2 And having raised the golden sceptre he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her, and said, Speak to me. And she said to him, I saw thee, lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy glory; for thou, lord, art to be wondered at, and thy face full of grace. And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her.

3 And the king said, What wilt thou, Esther? and what is thy request? even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be thine.

4 And Esther said, To-day is my great day: if then it seem good to the king, let both him and Aman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.

5 And the king said, Hasten Aman hither, that we may perform the word of Esther. So they both come to the feast of which Esther had spoken.

6 And at the banquet the king said to Esther, What is , queen Esther? , and thou shalt have all that thou requirest.

7 And she said, My request and my petition :

8 if I have found favour in the sight of the king, let the king and Aman come again to-morrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and to-morrow I will do the same.

9 So Aman went out from the king very glad merry: but when Aman saw Mardochaeus the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged.

10 And having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zosara.

11 And he shewed them his wealth, and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had caused him to take precedence and bear chief rule in the kingdom.

12 And Aman said, The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited to-morrow.

13 But these things please me not, while I see Mardochaeus the Jew in the court.

14 And Zosara his wife and his friends said to him, Let there be a gallows made for thee of fifty cubits, and in the morning do thou speak to the king, and let Mardochaeus be hanged on the gallows: but do thou go in to the feast with the king, and be merry. And the saying pleased Aman, and the gallows was prepared.

Esther 5 Commentary

Chapter 5

Esther's application received. (1-8) Haman prepares to hang Mordecai. (9-14)

Verses 1-8 Esther having had power with God, and prevailing, like Jacob, had power with men too. He that will lose his life for God, shall save it, or find it in a better life. The king encouraged her. Let us from this be encouraged to pray always to our God, and not to faint. Esther came to a proud, imperious man; but we come to the God of love and grace. She was not called, but we are; the Spirit says, Come, and the Bride says, Come. She had a law against her, we have a promise, many a promise, in favour of us; Ask, and it shall be given you. She had no friend to go with her, or to plead for her; on the contrary, he that was then the king's favourite, was her enemy; but we have an Advocate with the Father, in whom he is well pleased. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. God put it into Esther's heart to delay her petition a day longer; she knew not, but God did, what was to happen in that very night.

Verses 9-14 This account of Haman is a comment upon ( Proverbs 21:24 ) . Self-admirers and self-flatterers are really self-deceivers. Haman, the higher he is lifted up, the more impatient he is of contempt, and the more enraged at it. The affront from Mordecai spoiled all. A slight affront, which a humble man would scarcely notice, will torment a proud man, even to madness, and will mar all his comforts. Those disposed to be uneasy, will never want something to be uneasy at. Such are proud men; though they have much to their mind, if they have not all to their mind, it is as nothing to them. Many call the proud happy, who display pomp and make a show; but this is a mistaken thought. Many poor cottagers feel far less uneasiness than the rich, with all their fancied advantages around them. The man who knows not Christ, is poor though he be rich, because he is utterly destitute of that which alone is true riches.

Footnotes

• [a]. widely differs from the
• [b]. a tree cut.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 5

This chapter gives an account of Esther's going in to the king, and of his holding out the golden sceptre to her, on which she invited him and Haman to a banquet of wine that day, and to another the next day, Es 5:1-8, which highly delighted Haman; and he went to his house and family with great joy, and yet chagrined at Mordecai's not bowing to him; wherefore, at the advice of his wife and friends, he erected a gallows to hang him upon, proposing to get a grant for it from the king the next day, Es 5:9-14.