Chapter 5 shows us that Esther obtained favor in the King's sight when she approached him. But instead of confronting him immediately with the situation, she decided to get to his heart first. (There is an old saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach") thus, came the banquet. She tactfully invites both the King and Haman to a banquet.

The king loved Esther so much he would do anything for her. At the banquet, he let her know this. (Ah! The beauty of timing...)

She had just been calculating her time. The moment had to be right for her, just as when we bring something up before our husbands. You know when the perfect time is to talk, and when to be silent, when to confess you bought that outfit, and when to bite your tongue, when to request that trip to Europe or your mother's (or wherever), and when to be patient, when to do anything with your spouse. (I am sure they do the same with us for that sailboat, that new pick up, and that trip to the Amazon.) If we get off the schedule, things often can go awry.

The rest of the story follows with Esther's request for the lives of her people, and as she sought for it, her own life was granted. Esther pointed to the wicked Haman as the instigator of the evil who had been instigating destruction to her people in the kingdom and everything began coming to light for old King Ahasuerus. He hung Haman on the gallows that Haman had built, gave his queen Esther Haman's home and presented his ring to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman and raised up Mordecai to take Haman's place. The king reversed his decree to have the Jews destroyed as was requested by Haman, and we read in chapter 8:16, 17 the following:

The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day...
Esther 8:16,17a

Comparing Esther's Life with You Own...How do you fit in?

• Her belief in the power of Prayer (fasting)
• Her faith
• Her respect for good counsel
• Her care for others
• Her Belief System as a whole

Think about what keeps you going...

• Where do you stand when it comes to the power of prayer and fasting?
• Where do you stand today in your faith?
• What is your response after receiving good teaching and counsel?
• Do you have sincere care for others?
• How solid is your Belief System?

So often in our own trials, our Lord takes us to the wire before he shows us the answer we seek. The book of Esther is full of times like these. God is always at work in your life and mine just as he was with Esther during this time of her crisis. He was at work in the life of the Jews at this time as well, but He came through for them.

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