Context
YHWH had permitted the Assyrians to destroy Jerusalem and his temple, humiliating himself, before the gods of the nations, and have his people taken into exile. The Assyrians are succeeded by the Persians [ever read the book of Daniel?] and now about 100 years later some Jews have returned to Jerusalem [read Ezra-Nehemiah] and built the second temple but the arc of the covenant is long lost, and YHWH’s presence has not returned. Many Jews remain in exile in Susa, the capital city of the Persian Empire.
The protagonist_Esther
At face value, we have a young, beautiful Jewish girl put into the king’s haram, to sleep with him once and be put in the other haram of discarded women or if she pleases the king sexually, a drunken older man, to be chosen as his new queen. As queen she would, according to Uncle Mordecai, use her position, risking her very life, to save her people, the Jews!
God is not mentioned once in the book yet there are a series of strange coincidences and as hearers of the story. We can only conclude that God is behind these events.
The antagonist_Haman
Haman is a Persian official who hates the Jews. He is not a Persian but an Agagite, a descendant of the ancient Canaanites [1 Samuel 15].
Genre
Dark comedy [16+ due to drunkenness, violence and sexual exploitation].
Esther’s second banquet
1 So the king [Ahasuerus] and Haman went to dine1 [lit. “to drink”] with Queen Esther.
What does the drinking say of Ahasuerus’ character? How will Esther exploit this to her advantage?
2 And the king again said to Esther, on the second day while they were drinking, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.”
This sounds like a line from a fairy tale, but the expression comes from the bible and is the empty words of drunken, infatuated tyrants [Ahasuerus [5:3, 7:2] and Herod [6:22-23]].
3 Then Queen Esther answered, and she said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it is good to the king, let my life be given to me at my petition and my people at my request; 4 I and my people have been sold to be destroyed and killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold as male and female slaves I would have kept quiet, because this is not a need sufficient to trouble the king.”
Esther had risked her life by appearing without permission in the presence of her husband Ahasuerus [5:2].
Describe Esther’s character.2
5 And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who gave himself the right to do this?”
What is Ahasuerus’ mood at this point?3 Who has engineered this? Who is ultimately “behind the scenes”?
6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman!” And Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
What a play! Brilliant! But it gets better…
7 The king rose in his anger from the banquet of wine and went to the palace garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he realized that the king was determined to make an end to his life . 8a And the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall [lit. “house of the meal of wine”], where Haman was lying prostrate on the couch that Esther was on, and the king said, “Will he also molest the queen with me in the house?”
Why is the wine mentioned again and again? What is the king’s mood now?
8b As the word went from the king’s mouth they covered Haman’s face.
Do you agree with the “dark comedy” genre label?
9 And Habrona, one of the eunuchs in the presence of the king, said, “Look, the same gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai who spoke good for the sake of the king stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.”
What is the awful irony here?
And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the anger of the king was abated.
What are the lessons from the story of Esther? You may want to think about, or discuss 1. Why is this scroll even in the bible? How did a book that doesn’t mention God make ever make it into the canon? How was God ruling over your life even when you did not acknowledge him? What came out of Esther when she was squeezed?
More
Translations may have “to dine” but it is literally “to drink”. I’m sure there were incredible nibbles, but this was a drinking party.
Brave. Incredibly brave. She has engineered this moment, but so has God, as directed by her uncle Mordecai, to set a trap for Haman.
Ahasuerus is drinking, he’s merry and infatuated with his new queen Esther. In that moment he’ll do anything for her.