YEAR 3, WEEK 5, Day 2, Tuesday, 27 January 2025

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Esther+7

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 27 January 2025:

Esther 7:1-2 — So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. And on the second day, as they were drinking wine….

The chapter opens calmly, almost deceptively so. The feast continues. Conversation flows. Appearances suggest stability. Yet this moment sits at the crest of providence. God has been arranging events across sleepless nights, forgotten records, delayed recognition, and rising pride, and now the moment of truth arrives quietly, not explosively.

The king again invites Esther to speak. This repetition matters. God often provides more than one opportunity for truth to be spoken clearly. Esther is not rushed. Courage is not impulsive; it is patient and precise. Timing, not volume, is what gives her words weight.

• Proverbs 15:23 — To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

Esther 7:3-4 — Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor… let my life be granted me… and my people….”

Esther finally speaks, and she does so with wisdom shaped by humility. She does not accuse immediately. She appeals relationally. She places herself first not out of self-preservation, but identification: “my life… my people.” The queen aligns her fate with her people’s fate.

This is covenant solidarity. Esther no longer hides her identity. The silence that once protected her now ends. She risks everything not by force, but by truth spoken at the right time.

Her words expose the cost of evil without exaggeration. She does not dramatize; she states reality. The destruction of God’s people is not abstract policy; it is personal annihilation. Evil always minimizes its human cost. Esther restores clarity.

This moment anticipates the gospel pattern. Christ identifies with His people fully, placing Himself under the sentence meant for others. Salvation comes not through spectacle, but through identification, intercession, and self-giving truth.

Esther 7:4 — If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent.

All governments are unjust to some degree; yet the Bible commands us to obey government unless the commands of government go against the demands of Christian conscience. We should expect to incur abuses under government, but there is a limit to how much should be considered acceptable. In Esther’s situation, lives were on the line.

Esther 7:5 — Then King Ahasuerus said, “Who is he, and where is he…?”

This question is a pivot point. The king has unknowingly authorized genocide. Now, confronted with its personal cost, he is forced to reckon with responsibility.

Sin often remains theoretical until it touches someone we love. Esther brings the decree into the light. What was signed casually is now seen clearly. God frequently exposes evil not by argument, but by revelation.

Esther 7:5 — Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?”

Governments often don’t realize the destructive consequences of their policies.

Esther 7:6 — And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!”

The accusation is direct, restrained, and decisive. No theatrics. No revenge speech. Truth stands on its own.

Haman is named. Evil thrives in ambiguity; it collapses under clarity. Esther does not defend herself; she reveals reality. The book has avoided naming God explicitly, but God’s justice is unmistakably present here.

This moment echoes the final judgment theme throughout Scripture: evil is not merely defeated, it is exposed. What hid behind power and proximity is brought into the open.

Esther 7:7 — And the king arose in his wrath… and Haman was left alone with Esther….

The king’s departure signals separation and looming wrath. Haman is suddenly isolated. Power evaporates quickly when favor is withdrawn.

This verse is heavy with irony. Haman, who sought proximity to power, is now abandoned by it. The king’s wrath is real, but it is also restrained, initially. Haman’s fear now replaces his arrogance. Pride never prepares a person for accountability.

Esther 7:2, 7 — …as they were drinking wine after the feast…. And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking….

Drinking leads to rash and emotional decision-making. Remember, drinking led the king to dishonor his wife queen Vashti at the beginning of this book, which ruined his marriage and led to a national crisis. In Proverbs 31, King Lemuel is warned by his wise mother, “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.” Christians must never allow substances, emotions, or anything else control their decisions.

• Ephesians 5:15-18 — Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit….

Esther 7:8 — …Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was… “Will he even assault the queen in my presence?”

The final unraveling is swift. Haman’s desperation seals his fate. What he intends as pleading is interpreted as violation. He cannot control the narrative any longer.

Evil often collapses under its own panic. Sin accelerates at the end. The very man who abused authority now appears threatening when powerless.

The king’s words do not exaggerate; they reflect how compromised integrity always looks once exposed.

Esther 7:9 — Then Harbonah… said, “Moreover, the gallows… which Haman prepared for Mordecai….”

Providence speaks through a servant. The gallows re-enter the story at precisely the right moment. What Haman built in secret is now publicly named.

Evil engineers its own undoing. Scripture consistently shows that the instruments of oppression become the instruments of judgment. The cross itself follows this pattern — intended for humiliation, repurposed for redemption.

Nothing God allows is wasted. Even evil’s preparations become part of its defeat.

Esther 7:10 — So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

Justice is executed. The reversal is complete. What was meant for God’s servant becomes the end of God’s enemy.

God arranged circumstances such that Haman received the death he had planned for Mordecai. God will treat you in accordance with how you treat others. This way of God is revealed throughout the Bible.

This moment echoes the ultimate reversal fulfilled in Christ. What evil intended for destruction became the means of salvation. The cross stands as the final and greatest example: sin exposed, justice satisfied, evil defeated, and God’s people delivered.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 27 January 2025: Examine where truth may be delayed out of fear or self-preservation. Ask honestly: Where have I remained silent when clarity was needed? Where might God be calling me to identify with others rather than protect myself? Choose one concrete act today — speak truth graciously, stand with someone at personal cost, or renounce a hidden compromise — trusting that God’s justice does not require your control, only your obedience.

Pray: “Father, You are just, patient, and sovereign. Thank You that You expose evil without chaos and defend Your people without spectacle. Give me courage to speak truth when silence feels safer and humility to wait for Your timing rather than forcing outcomes. Guard my heart from pride, fear, and compromise. Teach me to trust that You see what is hidden, remember what is faithful, and bring about justice in Your perfect time. Thank You for Christ, through whom ultimate reversal has already been secured. Shape my life to reflect courage, clarity, and quiet faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, amen.”