Esther 5:9-7:10

Teaching Outline
I.

5:9-14 Hamans Bad Good Day

A. Why was Haman joyful and glad of heart? Because, as we see him boasting
later to his wife and friends, Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the
king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with
the king.
B. What is Mordecais state when we seem here in vs. 9? He was no longer in
sackcloth and ashes, because he is back at the kings gate.
C. Even though he and his people were condemned to death, notice that Mordecai
was still not bowing to Haman. What does this tell us about Mordecais
character? It could mean that he is resolved, or it could mean that he is stubborn.
D. From what does Haman restrain Himself? Killing Mordecai right then?
E. What seems to be the most important thing to Haman? He begins a list of his
great achievements by talking about the splendor of his riches, and only then how
many sons he has. He even mentions the many promotions from the king. But
none of this would satisfy him as long as he was not recognized as being great by
others.
F. What do Hamans wife, Zeresh, and his friends advise Haman to do? Kill
Mordecai. Was this wise advice? Yes, if you do not have a worldview where there
is some outside-creation moral law. If there is no God telling us that murder is
wrong because we are created in His image, or if there is no notion of Karma even,
then all we have is our own made up rules, not one of which is actually binding past
what one can get a way with due to ones power and authority. In this kind of world,
might makes right. If survival of the fittest is the name of the game, and only
the strong survive, then why not kill all who get in your way?
G. These gallows are not actually gallows. What does your study Bibles say
Haman actually built? A stake, or a spike. The practice of execution in the MedoPersian empire was impaling on a stake. Gallows were a foreign idea to them.
Why do you think the modern translators translate this as gallows?
Contextualization. Missionaries do this all the time. We must be careful, though,
because it is very easy to manipulate, even unknowingly, the Gospel message. E.g.
the slaughtering of the Seal.
H. How big was this stake? 50 cubits. How big is 50 cubits? 18 inches, or the
length of your forearm. That means this stake was 75 feet high. Does this seem a
bit tall for simply killing a man? The ceiling in the auditorium is only 23 feet
high. The hallway is only 65 feet long. What was the point? Haman had an ego
problem. And he, by the direction of his wife and friends, creates a means of death
the size of his ego super-sized. Think of the irony that the stake the size of his ego
would eventually be the death of his ego.
I. How long did it take Hamans people to build this stake? One night!
J. Do you remember the decree at the beginning of the story of Esther, the one the
king made regarding men be honored by their wives, i.e. doing everything they
command? That every man be master in his own household? Does Haman
seem to follow this decree? No. Now, Im not saying that we should follow this
decree and women not give advice or whatnot, but it is interesting that the author
includes this part. He did not have to include her name, especially as the first
person.

Esther 5:9-7:10
Teaching Outline
II.

Esther 6:1-13 What, no Ambien?

A. Now we get to the pivot point of the book, the story of Ahasuerus not sleeping and
opening the books of the chronicles of the Medes and the Persians.
1. What is odd is that this is the point on which the plot turns, but it is
also not a plan by anyone. No one strived to keep the king up and
maneuvered to have him read this book. And more than that, no one
said, Hey, why dont you read the one about Mordecai.
2. The kings servant just happened to read the story of Mordecai the
night before the queen asked for his and her peoples deliverance
from the decree, which was also the night before Mordecai was to be
killed by Haman, unbeknown to the king.
3. It is interesting that the most important event in the story is the one
solely provided by providence.
4. The Greek translation (LXX) makes this implicit truth explicit with
the statement, The Lord took sleep from the king that night (LXX
of 6:1).
B. Now, the king would have been very upset that he had not rewarded Mordecai.
Why? Rewarding those who do good to the king is the best form of treason patrol.
1. It is interesting to note that even Heroditus took account of the
importance to the Medes and Persians that they reward those who do
them good. And to note the severity of Ahasueruss oversight, notice
what Heroditus said that he did for the man who saved his brothers
life he was given the governorship over the whole of Cilicia.
2. Now, this Mordecai did much more by saving the life of the king
himself, so dont you think the king would do much more for him?
C. Now we see the irony a comin. Haman was in the court to tell the king about his
plans for killing Mordecai, while at the same time the king was looking for a way to
honor and reward Mordecai, and would use Hamans pride as the means of doing
so.
D. How do you think the author knew Hamans inner-thought? ???
E. Here we see again, Hamans pride lurking in his mind. Out of all the people in the
empire, Haman thought that he was the one who the king would want to honor.
F. Now, why do you think Haman asks for these things to wear the royal robes,
and to ride the royal horse?
1. Well, Haman could not ask for a promotion because he was already
second in command under the king himself.
2. Also, he apparently had much wealth.
3. His request to wear the royal robes and ride the kings horse served a
two-fold purpose.
a. First, to honor the king. He knew the only way he would get
anywhere in the kingdom was by kissing-up to the king, and
a good way to do that in this instance was to show that the
only thing he would ask is to be close to the king, to be
identified with him.
b. And this leads to the second purpose of his request, to be
seen by others as being identified with the king.

Esther 5:9-7:10
Teaching Outline
G. We see the author again punching home the irony here in vs. 10: Leave out nothing
that you have mentioned. All of this came from Hamans pride.
H. Now we see another role reversal. This time, Mordecai returns to the kings gate
(thus not in morning), but Haman returns home and mourns.
III.
Esther 6:14-7:10 To everything, turn, turn, turn
A. The plot quickens as this point. Even as Haman is mourning with his wife and
friends, he is taken to the Queens banquet.
B. How does Esther draw the kings attention and get him interested in her
request? Before she tells the details of the story, she gets him riled up that
someone wants to kill her and her people. Remember, if she comes out too quickly
with her request, she takes the chance of alinating the king, because he, ultimately,
allowed this to happen. She almost takes on the role of Nathan the prophet when
confronting David. She makes him indignant that such a thing would happen. And
then, after his justice is aroused, springs the truth of the situation. It may also be
like Hosea, when he makes Israel upset by the actions of his whore of a wife,
Gomer. But then he turns the table on them and points to the fact that they are the
adulteresses against God.
C. Who sold Esther and her people? Haman, but the king bought.
D. How does Esther play the king to make it look like a loss to Him if the decree
be fulfilled? Notice the end of vs. 4 for our affliction is not to be compared with
the loss to the king.
E. Why would Haman be terrified? I mean, he is the second in command. He
realizes that his deception will be found out, because remember, he did not tell the
king who it was that he was killing and selling.
F. Why do you thing the king left the party? Could it be that he realized that he,
too, played a part in this, and was looking for a way to punish Haman without
implicating himself?
G. How does Haman beg for his life? By staying to beg the queen for mercy.
H. Why is it interesting that Haman falls before the queen? This whole thing
was started by a Jew not being willing to bow to Haman, and his pride being too big
to handle that. But now, he not only bows before a Jew, but a Jewish woman!
I. In what way is Haman condemned any way he goes at this point? If he follows
the king in his wrath, he will surely be killed; and if he stays in the room with
Esther, he will be killed because of the strict Harem laws; but if he leaves the
presence of the queen (as Harem law commands), then he will surely be killed
because the king will think he is trying to run away.
J. How is Hamans action of begging misconstrued by the king? It looks as though
he may try to rape her?
K. Then, we see Harbona filling in the last bit of condemning information. Why was
this information important? The man the king has just publicly recognized was
about to be killed publicly, very publicly, by Haman. It would seem that Haman
was trying to go against the king. Also, the king may be thinking that if this man,
Haman, is trying to kill the man who saved my life from traitors, then he too may be
a traitor.
L. Notice that Esther is still the queen of the Persian empire. That means she was also
queen of the Jews in the land of Israel. That mean she is the Jewish monarch of

Esther 5:9-7:10
Teaching Outline
Israel. What does she do to fulfill her role? She does what a previous Jewish
monarch would not do she kills the Amalekite.
M. Why was Haman killed and was he killed justly? To the later, no. The king
killed Haman because, 1. He thought he was trying to rape her, which he was not
(but Esther didnt stop the king from thinking so), and 2. He was intending to kill
her, which he was not (he didnt know she was a Jew). It was just for him to be
killed for other reasons, but no these.
IV.
Application
1. It is important to note Esthers courage in all of this. Esther did not have the
historical perspective that we have in reading this story. When making the decisions
as she did, she had no reason to think that she would make it out alive, let alone
saving her race. Let this remind us, that we should make decisions not based
necessarily on how things look around us, or even on the prospects of what we think
might happen, but let us look to always do the right thing, and leave the rest to Gods
providence. Be wise, but be good.
2. Let this story remind us, that while it is not wrong to plan and think ahead,
ultimately divine providence guides the course of history. This can only be true in a
monotheistic world. If there were multiple gods (polytheism), then, as we see in the
Greek and Roman pantheon, there would constantly be fighting, jealousy, and
pettiness. Whoever could muster enough power could thwart the will of any other
god. But, since there is one God, YHWH, and three persons of that godhead, who
always are working for the same purposes, there is but one stream of power, will, and
provision.
3. The peripety (sudden change of events) of this story should point us to redemptive
historys ultimate peripety salvation by grace through faith alone. We all deserve
condemnation for our offence to the Law and character of God. The one person who
did not deserve punishment for breaking Gods Law is not only condemened, but was
punished on our behalf. And we, the ones deserving of eternal punishment, do not
only not receive punishment, but we are given the righteous persons righteousness.
A sudden change of events where the outcome is not expected.
4. Have you thought about how you have overlooked your sin? Do you, like the king,
become indignant when facing the sins of others against you, or even those deserving
justice in general? But then, when you are faced with Gods word, you realize that
you have done the same if not worse to others, let alone to God Himself? If not, I
implore you to take that step back and look at yourself through the lens of Scripture.
5. You may read this story and despair because it seems that Gods providence means
that we have no ultimate choice in our future. But remember, as Calvin said, Man
falls according as Gods providence ordains, but he falls by his own fault. We
choose to sin. Haman chose to sin. He was punished accordingly, even though it was
brought about by Gods providence over the kings sleep. There may be things that
happen to you in life that you may think unfair, or it is as though you can not escape.
But remember, you can only be responsible for you actions, and not Gods. Walk
uprightly, and however the cards may fall (or the Pur may roll) by Gods providence,
you will have done what you can to be righteous before that God.