Esther goes to see the king (Esther 5:1). Remember that this was potentially dangerous. It was possible that he would not welcome her and if so, this could lead to punishment by death. It’s funny isn’t it that we tend to report and gloss over these facts in a matter of fact way. Of course, it was the law of the land, of course it was the royal custom that the King was the one responsible for inviting you int his presence and the king had the right to refuse an audience. Laws and customs meant that he could also sentence Esther to death. However, here was Esther, clearly favoured by the King, his chosen Queen, someone whose beauty and personality he was smitten by. Why should the King, in this context suddenly turn on his wife?
There are I think, two possibilities. First, that Esther’s actions may have been seen as presumptuous in the same way as Vashti’s. The issue at stake was the right of a wife to come and go as she pleased. Esther’s boldness in going to the king when not invited might have been seen as just as problematic as Vashti’s refusal to go to him when invited. This might be seen as an example to women in the kingdom if not stopped. Perhaps Esther was as much aware of those around the King who might be watching, might be jealous of her and looking for an opportunity to bring her down, might be concerned about how her actions might affect their family lives.
The other possibility -and it is possible that we are dealing with a combination of both – is that Esther knew the king’s personality well. Perhaps she had already experienced being on his wrong side. The fact that she had not been called in to him for some time might suggest that she was suddenly out of favour. Perhaps she had already experienced his anger.
We are reminded again that God is not like this. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have permanent access into his presence. God is “slow to anger and abounding in love.”
This should challenge us though about how others experience us, especially our own families. Would my wife be nervous about coming to speak to me, not knowing how I would react? How do those close to us feel about the company we keep and the advice we listen to?
On this occasion though, Esther is welcomed. The king takes delight and pleasure in her presence. He is willing to offer her whatever she requests, even half the kingdom. Such a grand, extravagant promise may well point towards an unstable temperament (4:2-3).
Esther plays the long game. She knows that at this time, she will not get a favourable hearing if she launches into an accusation against Haman. She knows though that the truth will eventually come out and so she sets up a strategy which could be described as “giving Haman enough rope to hang himself (4:4-8).”[1]
[1] Note the allusion to hanging here and the literal fate of Haman although the reference to a gallows in the text is probably a stake on which the victim would be impaled rather than a Western style gallows with rope.
Faithroots 