Esther 5:5 Comentariu

The last news we had of Haman left him in his cups, Est 3:15. Our last news of queen Esther left her in tears, fasting and praying. Now this chapter brings in, I. Esther in her joys, smiled upon by the king and honoured with his company at her banquet of wine (Est 5:1-8). II. Haman upon the fret, because he had not Mordecai's cap and knee, and with great indignation setting up a gallows for him (Est 5:9-14). Thus those that sow in tears shall reap in joy, but the triumphing of the wicked is short.

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, Est 5:1, 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, Est 5:9.

Then the king said, cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said,.... That is, he ordered some of his servants to make haste and acquaint Haman with the queen's invitation, and to press him to make haste to comply with it: so the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared; which was wisely done, to prepare for what she had to say to the king, when cheerful with wine, and when she had her adversary with him alone.

Notice how the will of the inviting queen and the order of the commanding king agree. But woe to the one who comes to the banquet of the Lord with an evil mind! Even though such a person has his heart defiled by hatred and a corrupt conscience, he is not ashamed to enter unworthily the banquet of the Lord. Even though he comes after being invited, he does not bask in the joy of the guests. But when the king comes and sees that he sits there without wearing a wedding robe, he will rebuke his temerity and will order him to be bound hand and foot and thrown into the outer darkness where he will be forced to suffer the evil of his deception which he was wickedly preparing against the innocent, as Solomon says, “The wicked will be caught in his snares.”

Notice that the will of the queen when she invites them is at one with the order issued by the king; but woe to anyone who approaches with evil intent the table of the Lord, who has a breast marred by hatred and an impure conscience and so does not fear to enter the feast of the Lord even though he is unworthy. And even when he has often been invited and has come, he will not linger amid the joyousness of the feasters because his faults force him to leave; but when the king comes in to see him lying there without having dressed in wedding clothes, he chastises him for his arrogance and orders his men to tie his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where he is rightly forced to suffer the harm he was wickedly planning to inflict on the innocent; as Solomon tells us: “The wicked are caught in their own traps.” So after the king once again gives Esther the chance to make a request, she responds as follows: “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to give me what I ask and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come to the feast which I have prepared for them, and tomorrow I will surrender my will to the king.” The fact that she puts off her request should be attributed not to the vice of laziness, but to the virtue of patience; it signifies, in other words, that in the future rewards will be given to the righteous, but punishment to the sinner. For tomorrow means here a future time, as it does in the Gospel passage “Do not concern yourselves about tomorrow.” And in Genesis, Jacob says to Laban: “Tomorrow my justice will appear.” In Exodus as well, where the commandment to eat the paschal lamb is given, it adds: “And nothing of it will remain till the morning.” When, moreover, the day of future judgment arrives, and the entire human race- i.e. both the righteous and the sinners—is stood in the presence of the supreme Judge, the intent with which a person has lived in this world will be revealed; and there the righteous are invited by a verdict of the judge who sits before them to partake in the kingdom of their heavenly homeland, and the sinners are expelled to be punished, together with the Devil, with the torments of Hell.

Esther presents herself before the king, and finds favor in his sight, Est 5:1, Est 5:2. He asks what her request is, and promises to grant it, Est 5:3. She invites him and Haman to a banquet, which they accept, Est 5:4, Est 5:5. He then desires to know her request; and she promises to make it known on the morrow, if they will again come to her banquet, Est 5:6-8. Haman, though overjoyed at the manner in which he was received by the queen, is indignant at the indifference with which he is treated by Mordecai, Est 5:9. He goes home, and complains of this conduct to his friends, and his wife Zeresh, Est 5:10-13. They counsel him to make a gallows of fifty cubits high, and to request the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it, which they take for granted the king will not refuse; and the gallows is made accordingly, Est 5:14.

ESTHER INVITES THE KING AND HAMAN TO A BANQUET. (Est 5:1-14) Esther put on her royal apparel--It was not only natural, but, on such occasions, highly proper and expedient, that the queen should decorate herself in a style becoming her exalted station. On ordinary occasions she might reasonably set off her charms to as much advantage as possible; but, on the present occasion, as she was desirous to secure the favor of one who sustained the twofold character of her husband and her sovereign, public as well as private considerations--a regard to her personal safety, no less than the preservation of her doomed countrymen--urged upon her the propriety of using every legitimate means of recommending herself to the favorable notice of Ahasuerus. the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house--The palace of this Persian king seems to have been built, like many more of the same quality and description, with an advanced cloister, over against the gate, made in the fashion of a large penthouse, supported only by one or two contiguous pillars in the front, or else in the center. In such open structures as these, in the midst of their guards and counsellors, are the bashaws, kadis, and other great officers, accustomed to distribute justice, and transact the public affairs of the provinces [SHAW, Travels]. In such a situation the Persian king was seated. The seat he occupied was not a throne, according to our ideas of one, but simply a chair, and so high that it required a footstool. It was made of gold, or, at least, inlaid with that metal, and covered with splendid tapestry, and no one save the king might sit down on it under pain of death. It is often found pictured on the Persepolitan monuments, and always of the same fashion.

Esther's Gracious Reception by the King. Haman's Rage against Mordochai - Est 5:1-14 On the third day Esther betook herself in her royal apparel to the inner court of the palace, and was so kindly received by the king, that he promised to grant her any petition she might make; whereupon she requested the king to come with Haman that day to a banquet which she had prepared (Est 5:1-8). On returning from this banquet, Haman saw Mordochai in the king's gate, and when the latter did not bow before him, was so enraged, that, upon the advice of his wife and friends, he resolved to induce the king to permit the execution of Mordochai on the following day (Est 5:9-14).