Introduction
‘So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favour with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.” King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?” Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen.’ Esther 7:1-6
It appears that this second banquet lasted for at least two days because it wasn’t until the second day that the king asked for a third time, what Esther’s request was and that he would grant it.
Esther didn’t come right out and say who was guilty of this, instead for the first time she reveals that she was a Jew, and her people have been sold out and they are to be destroyed.
She then says that she wouldn’t have bothered the king with this matter if her people were just going to be sold as slaves, but even if that happened there’s no way the king could be compensated for all the good people he would lose. In this case, they were sold into destruction by the promise of payment by Haman of 10,000 talents silver, Esther 3:9.
Esther’s reply to the king made it clear that the king had been deceived into carrying out a plot that would lead to the destruction of his beautiful queen.
The king was astonished that his beautiful queen was one of the people who would be destroyed in the massacre planned by Haman. He was astonished that it was a Jew, Mordecai, who saved his life from an attempted assassination.
When the king heard all of this he became furious and he wants to know who would dare to do such a thing. It’s at this point that Esther reveals that Haman is this vile man, Esther 3:10-11, no wonder Haman was terrified.
Haman didn’t realise that Esther was a Jew and now his decree that he made to kill all the Jews was an attack on the Queen. We can only imagine what’s going through Haman’s mind now, he has sealed his own fate.
Haman Impaled
‘The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?” As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!” So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.’ Esther 7:7-10
Some commentators suggest that according to tradition if a king rose up in anger, the person that made him angry would receive no mercy.
When Haman learned that Esther was a Jew, he immediately realised that he was in serious trouble and so, while the king was out in the garden, Haman begins to beg the Queen for his life and in desperation, he lay down on the couch the queen was sitting on and started pleading with her for his life, James 4:10.
However, when the king walked back in, he thought that Haman was trying to assault the Queen, and so, he had Haman’s face covered. The covering of the face was the sign of an official arrest and sentence of death, as was the practice of the Macedonians and the Romans.
Haman had gallows built to hang Mordecai on and now he would be hung or we could say crucified on his own gallows, Psalms 7:14-16 / Proverbs 26:27 / Galatians 6:7-8. After Haman was impaled the king’s fury subsided.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Very well, so far, so good! But the danger was far from being averted. That evil decree sent forth in the authority of the Law of the Medes and Persians that altereth not, was still out there, in every province of the Empire, Esther 3:12-18 / Daniel 6:9. The great danger of wholesale slaughter of the Jews still persisted.’
