Esther 7
Esther 7 recounts the climax of the story where Queen Esther finally reveals Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews to King Ahasuerus. The king reacts with fury, and Haman's fate is sealed. The chapter highlights divine providence and justice as Haman, who sought to destroy the Jews, meets his downfall.
Esther 7:1-5 (NKJV)
1 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther.
2 And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
4 For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”
5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”
At this second banquet, King Ahasuerus urges Esther once more to express her request. Esther finally reveals her true petition: the preservation of her life and her people. She explains that they have been condemned to destruction, but would have remained silent if it were a matter of enslavement. The king, shocked by this revelation, demands to know who would dare harm his queen and her people.
Esther 7:6 (NKJV)
6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
Esther exposes Haman as the mastermind behind the plot to annihilate the Jews. Haman is immediately stricken with fear, realizing the consequences of his actions and the wrath he is about to face from the king.
Esther 7:7 (NKJV)
7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.
The king, overwhelmed with rage, leaves the banquet to gather his thoughts. In desperation, Haman pleads with Esther for his life, understanding that the king has already decided his fate. This moment reflects the sudden reversal of fortune for Haman, from being the king's favored advisor to a man condemned.
Esther 7:8 (NKJV)
8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Upon the king's return, he finds Haman in a compromising position, appearing to assault Esther as he begs for mercy. This fuels the king's fury even more, and he interprets Haman's actions as an insult to the queen. Haman’s fate is sealed as the guards cover his face, a sign of his impending execution.
Esther 7:9-10 (NKJV)
9 Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.
One of the king’s eunuchs points out that Haman had constructed a gallows to hang Mordecai, the man who had saved the king’s life. In a fitting twist of justice, the king orders that Haman be executed on the very gallows he had prepared for his enemy. The chapter concludes with Haman’s death, and the king’s anger is finally calmed.