Esther 5:1-8 — Procrastination? Or Wisdom?

READ THIS: Esther 5:1-8

1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” 

4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.” 5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.” 

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” 

7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?
 
Um, was there a weird error with our verses today? Why didn’t Esther say what she was supposed to say?! It can be easy to look at this passage and think that Esther is putting off her bold request to King Xerxes out of fear or an unwillingness to do what she knows she must. You might even think she’s procrastinating in a way… but I don’t believe that’s actually the case! Remember, we just read yesterday that Esther fasted and likely prayed over these exact actions for days before this moment. None of these actions are just coincidental or careless.

Rather than boldly coming up to the king and making demands, Esther simply invites Xerxes and Haman over for a meal she’s prepared for them! She’s serving them! Even though Xerxes has stated that she can have basically anything she wants, she starts the conversation off by not only serving the king, but also by serving her own enemy. After spending time with God for days, the answer that she received was clear: care for your enemies, even if they don’t care for you! God wanted Esther to model the love she was going to ask Xerxes for… a love that is willing to serve others without benefiting yourself. This is a kind of love we haven’t seen Xerxes show yet, but perhaps as we keep reading, we may see God and Esther begin to change his mind!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Think about what Esther just did… serving Haman and Xerxes even though they likely felt more like enemies to her than friends. Who else does this make you think of in Scripture?
 
2. Who is someone in your life that you might not be very willing to serve? What makes it hard to serve them?

TRY THIS:

Go out of your way to serve one of the people you thought of for question number 2! If you don’t think you’ll see them today, then take some time to serve them by praying for them!

NEW SONG OF THE WEEK:
 
Over the next week, we will be reading about some crazy turns of events where it feels like what's supposed to happen to one person gets traded for another. Be on the lookout as that happens! But, for today, listen to the NEW SONG of the week and think about the times when you've said Yes, Lord even when the plan didn't really make sense and it might've felt like a weird thing to do!

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