Eat This Book – Proverbs 24
Esther 5
King James Version (KJV)
5 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.
4 And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.
5 Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
7 Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is;
8 If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.
9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.
10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife.
11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
The POFW Daily Bible Reading 
I
Love to eat lunch with Jesus
Esther was a great example.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 KJV)
The Voice of a Woman
A voice of a woman can be used to influence for the good or for the bad as it is shown in multiple scriptures in the bible. Here Esther’s voice is used for the good of her people. She had a choice to ask up to half of the kingdom but she remained loyal to her people and to her upbringing, remained submitted to her uncle. As the outcome thousands of Jews were saved including her uncle.
2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.
As a comparison here Herod’s step daughter influenced by the voice of her mother Herodias as her mother seeks her personal revenge against John the Baptist could of asked for anything she wanted but by the voice of her mother she asked for the head of John the Baptist.
Matthew 14:6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”
9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
Women how will you use your voice? For the good by leading others to Christ? or Will you choose half of the kingdom of the world? The choice is ours.
Be obedient
Be submissive
Be honest
Be humble
and your voice will scream loud and clear by your actions.
wanted and try to post this morning but website had some problems and would not allow me to do it.
This chapter spoke to me about preparation. Sometimes we want everything done “now” and “quick”. Esther prepared herself before coming into the presence of the king. Whenever a situation arises within our lives, do not be so quick to take action without seeking the Lord with prayer and fasting. The Lord will answer in HIS time and in HIS manner.
9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.
13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate
To me it seems that Haman represents pride. He had many riches and much favor in the kingdom, and yet Mordecai continued to be his stumbling block. Because of his pride, he became overcome by a spirit of bitterness, which will later become his undoing. We must be careful not to let a spirit of bitterness creep in because in the end it will destroy us.
PREPARED TO APPROACH THE KING
1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
This scripture establishes a pricipal I believe in. Esther did not take just any ordinary approach to the King and his presence. She put on her best. I feel this should be our approach to the King of Kings! Put on your best:
Atttiude
Smile
Praise
Worship
Clothes
Approach the King with respect and reverance.
iPray
iWork
iGive
iReap
THROW A PARTY FOR YOUR ENEMY
4 And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.
5 Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
When all else fails. Invite your enemies to CHURCH!
Vashti would not come before the King and his friends at banquet, but Esther invited Haman to eat with her and the King
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
No doubt in his eyes, Esther gave him the same reverence that she offered the King. Poor Haman, pride comes before the fall
11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
The statement, Bless those that curse you, comes to mind. What would happen if we did good things towards our enemies. The Bible says that it keeps Hot Coals on their heads. So as Pastor just stated lets invite our enemies. Who knows they may just become one of your closest friends.
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. One day they may be standing next to you when you walk through the door of victory and they are left in defeat.
v1 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and STOOD in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal house, over against the gate of the house.
v2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen STANDING in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that wasin his hand. So Esthter drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
When we have done all we can do. We just stand tall and confident and wait on the LORD.
” Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today:” Exodus 14:13
Esther trusted GOD to do the expected……
While she waited on the LORD.
Our GOD can and will handle anything or anyone even our Hamans ( enemies )
GOD IS THE MASTER of every situation turn it over to JESUS HE will fight your battles
GOD CAN handle even the king because inthe hand of the LORD any heart is like water according to Proverbs 21:1
“The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD He turns it wheteever He wishes.”. Proverbs 21:1
GOD IS GREATER than the Haman’s of our life .
iPray
iStand
iWork
iWait
iGive
iReap
Esther trusted GOD to do the unexpected
Thank you!
5 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
Into the presence of the King…
These verses showes us the imprptance of looking our best whenever we have a oppertunity to worship the King. Ester went the extra mile putting on royal garments and apparel to see the King. How much more should we be willing to look our best in the presence of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!!
In this scripture, Esther made her request/petition, “it was difinately someone’s last supper. Not Mordecai’s, but Haman’s and he even got to use the gallow designated for Mordecai. Must be something to do with being a good stewart. “You know, cost management”. Wow…how the tables turned! You see, you shouldn’t mess with the kings bride nor her familly. “If you know what I mean, Bride of Christ”……..Yeah…especially when it’s the Most High King’s Bride/Familly……
8 If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.
14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
***Additional Note***Haman’s hatred toward the Jewish People, drove him to his demise, and now as he confessed, “Vs. 13…Yet all this availeth me nothing” and he was right. “But Church, we have to remember that Israel is the apple of God’s eye, and we must always remember to bless her at all times.”
This same hatred exists today, but the only way it’s ever going to change, is only by the completion of God’s word. All these events has been prophesied in the bible. When these nations rise up against Israel….check the following.
Revelation 19:11
King James Version (KJV)
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Revelation 20
King James Version (KJV)
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
“Be Church”…iwork…igive…ipray…ireap……………
20 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
The Bible says Matthew 7:2
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
When we wish evil on another we set up ourselves to receive that kind of evil.
When we wish good we setup ourselves to receive that kind of good.
If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.
Timing is very important in any conversation we have and in our relationships. The timing needs to be right and the atmosphere. Esther needed to be sure she had favor before stating such a heavy accusation on someone in hamans position. If conditions were not right then she could have faced dire consequences.
……………be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. -Matthew 10:16
Esther used wisdom in fighting her battle. The Lord gave her insight in how to defeat her enemy.
No weapon form against shall prosper. Haman didn’t have a chance 🙂
Esther made great preparation to go before the king . She didn’t take this situation lightly, many lives were at stake. We too must make preparation when going before our King. Too many times people haphazardly come into the presence of the Almighty and don’t cherish that precious time in His presence. We must prepare ourselves mentaly and spiritually to approach Him, and be about ministering to Him.
Haman didn’t even know he was being set up. Pride had him in its clinches. His pride drove him to ask for the Jewish people to die. Now his pride is allowing him to brag to his friends and show off.
If Hamon would get out of the me, me, my my way of thinking he might have been able to save himself and his wife.
When Pastor used this passage in the sermon “the garment of praise” is when I went shopping for new clothes. I never saw the reverence Ester had for the king. How much more should we revere the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is worthy of our very best. This revelation just destroys the come as you are churches. We come with our best because we love and respect our King. Jesus sees how much we put in preparing for him and his favor will resemble the effort we put in it. If you took a girl on a date and she came out of her house wearing some ratty clothes and her hair was all undone, you might wonder how in to you she is. If she came out looking like a million bucks, you would think she really wanted to be there and she was looking forward to your time together. I believe that Jesus sees us the same way. If we are his bride then we need to prepare ourselves for courtship with him.
Esther 5:10-13 NLT
However, he restrained himself and went on home.
Then Haman gathered together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, and boasted to them about his great wealth and his many children. He bragged about the honors the king had given him and how he had been promoted over all the other nobles and officials.
Then Haman added, “And that’s not all! Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us. And she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow!” Then he added, “But this is all worth nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew just sitting there at the palace gate.”
Hurting people hurt other people. The best thing to do if we find ourselves in a depressed or hurtful situation is to go find someone in need and minister to their needs. It does something to you when you lose sight of your own situations and help someone else. Your situations don’t seem so important anymore.
John 3:30 NLT
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Invitation-Only
3 Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.
I find it interesting how Vashti lost queenship by not going when invited, yet here in contrast Esther receives favor when she goes uninvited. The king offers to go so far as to offer Esther up to half the kingdom (to me, dominion = power/authority, this move makes me think he’s saying, “I honor you equal to me in the kingdom, with the exception that I am still your king”), which seems a bold move considering the history of king Xerxes. History paints him to be hardly a godly man and he seemed fairly hot-tempered over the matter of Vashti, also displaying perhaps a tendency to act before thinking (it seemed he got rid of Vashti before really thinking about what to do after that.)
Yet Esther quickly receives a soft answer and favor. For one who is possibly quick-tempered, his favor towards her seems proven in the feasting process that follows her initial appearance. Twice they feast before she finally states her request. Yes, some say this shows her honoring the king and doing him a service before presenting her request, but if I were the king, I’d count my time especially precious and might think to answer “ok, what’s your request? go ahead and say it, lets just get straight to business…” The fact that he endured her coming uninvited and spent two days in a row coming to feast with her and he didn’t lose patience or favor towards her speaks volumes to me. It seemed Esther was provided with an invitation-only sort of opportunity to go to the king, one provided not by the king but by God.
Sometimes the doors God opens seem so very unlikely that we are tempted to reject them before we really inspect them and get a chance to realize they’re already open. Mordecai was used to push Esther towards the open door she didn’t seem to even consider as being a possibly open door prior to Mordecai’s prompting. God uses leadership to show us things of potential we might not otherwise give a second thought to. We must be ready and willing when a divine invitation comes, as some things will be invitation-only and may not come with a second round if we miss taking up the offer the first time. Just think what could have happened if Esther had passed up the invitation?
Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:13, 14 KJV)
Prepare to be with the King
Do we realize when we come to the house of God, we are presenting ourselves before the King? Esther was perfect in her approach to the King. She put on her royal apparel. She had also prepared a feast for the King and Haman. That took planning and preparation; sacrifice. Do we prepare a sacrifice before we enter into the presence of the King? Look at the reward she received; “…What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.”
This chapter illustrates wisdom. Esther did not burst directly into the king, and therefore she was shown favor and allowed too approach him. One must be wise on how one approaches situations, all the more why one should be wiser on how one reverences the Lord and the Word. May the good Lord Bless you all in Jesus name, Amen
Delay
There is no way to know for sure why Esther asks the king to a second banquet, rather than simply making her request, Does she lose courage at the last moment? Has this been part of her strategy all along? Does she sense during the first banquet that the time is not yet right to petition the king? The delay adds more suspense to an already powerful story, but more than that, it draws us to examine how we conduct ourselves in diffilcult and frightening situations. Esther moves through the events of this story with quiet dignity. We can sense she is listening to God’s wisdom in the midst of circumstances that do not have simple solutions. God’s timing is everything, and being sensitive to it is so important.
9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.
Haman thought himself some great person and thought everyone else should as well. He got a rude awakening when he came upon a servant of God. God’s people will give honor to whom honor is due. Respect is something that is earned, you must give it to receive it.
5 Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
First she got dressed. Then she entered his inner court. How many times do we come as we are, and stay that way? we just show up for church how ever we feel with all kinds of baggage and cares? In clothes not fit for an earthly court, much less God’s heavenly court room?