Leader's Notes Study 6. Recognizing Unrighteousness. Esther 6. Purpose: To identify those areas of our character which are displeasing to God and to present those before him, asking him to rid us of these traits. Question 2. The book of Esther is full of examples about God's working through circumstances to bring about his purposes. Esther 6 has plenty of seemingly coincidental incidents that again show us that God is in control and is working everything out for his good. The king happens to have trouble sleeping that night and happens to read the exact section of the book of the annals which recorded Mordecai's good deed. At the same time Haman happens to be in the court when the king decides to honor Mordecai and he ends up being the one who must honor Mordecai. God uses insignificant things to his glory and for his plans. This is a major theme in the book and is seen very clearly in this chapter. Question 4. The construction of this book is incredible. The author uses repetition, irony, contrast and humor to communicate the story. It will be helpful to the group if they can see some of the irony contained in the story. The king, on this particular night, is preoccupied with how to honor someone who has done a good deed and has gone without recognition for five years. His intentions on this night were to honor. Haman's intentions were to destroy. He has also spent the night awake; however, he has occupied himself by building gallows on which to execute Mordecai. It is ironic that the very person both men are thinking about is Mordecai. Adding to the irony is the fact that Haman enters the court to approach the king about executing Mordecai, but he has no idea that he will leave the court to honor his adversary in front of the whole city. Question 6. At this point have the group summarize the things they have already seen in Haman's character. The observations made in this question will add to the portrait. Help the group look through these three verses and discuss the motivations for suggesting such a reward. Haman was already wealthy, but he desired popularity and recognition. He was obsessed with prestige. Haman did not suggest giving the honored man money or jewels, because he craved public acclaim. Again Haman's pride and arrogance are revealed. Question 8. The response of Haman's wife and friends provides some interesting insight. First, Zeresh affirms Haman's downfall. Perhaps she realized the power of the God of the Jews, or she recognized the perseverance of the people through so much. Perhaps she was acknowledging the ultimate victory of the Jews over the Amalekites. But whatever the reason, she provides a gloomy picture. Second, Zeresh and the friends in essence abandon Haman. They initially suggested building the gallows but now leave all the responsibility in the hands of Haman. Even their language indicates their abandonment of Haman. They say you or your three times in one sentence. They are assuming no part in his humiliation or downfall. Question 9. This is an important question for the group to discuss because it leads into the application questions. Haman's pride and desire for recognition worked against him to place him in a very humiliating situation. The people in Susa would have known about the rivalry between Mordecai and Haman because of Mordecai's refusal to bow down to him at the king's gate. In this way Haman suffered the consequences of unrighteousness in his life. We too fall prey to our unrighteousness. We can be prideful, hateful, impatient, unloving and so on. And there are many times when we act according to our sin nature. We then suffer the consequences, whether they be broken relationships, physical tragedy or unrest in our hearts. Esther 6 IV. 'On That Night, the King Could Not Sleep' Esther 6:1 1 That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. mišteh) in the Hebrew Bible, translated) מ ְשׁ ֶתּה Of the forty-six occurrences of the Hebrew word in the NIV of Esther as "banquet" (1:3,5,9; 2:18 [twice]; 5:4,5,8,12; 6:14; 7:8), "feasting" (e.g., 8:17; 9:17,18,19,22), "drinking" (5:6; 7:2,7 [wine]), or "dinner" (5:14), twenty are in Esther. This fact suggests the importance of this concept for the book. Eight banquets are celebrated throughout the book. The banquets are all paired, as the following diagram demonstrates. A 1 Xerxes' banquet for the nobility of the empire (1:3,5-8) A 2 Vashti's banquet for the women (1:9) B 1 Esther's coronation banquet (2:18) C 1 Esther's first banquet for the king and Haman (5:4-8) C 2 Esther's second banquet for the king and Haman (7:1-9) B 2 The Jews' feasting in celebration of Mordecai's promotion (8:17) D 1 The first feast of Purim (9:17,19) D 2 The second feast of Purim (9:18) The first two feasts (A 1 and A 2), which were hosted by royalty—Xerxes and Vashti, correspond to the final two (D 1 and D 2), which celebrate the Jews' victory over the royal decree of Xerxes and Haman. B 1 and B 2 celebrate the exaltation of Esther and Mordecai, the former to Queen, the latter to Prime Minister. These two feasts are separated in the text by C 1 and C 2. The "C" feasts mark the climax of the story—the downfall of Haman. Haman's downfall begins between the first and second of Esther's banquets (C 1 and C 2) when the king has a sleepless night (6:1)! The three pairs of feasts which are closely knit (A 1 /A 2, C 1 /C 2, and D 1 /D 2) mark the beginning, the climax and conclusion of Esther's story. The scene of highest narrative tension in the story of Esther comes during Esther's second banquet, when the Queen confronts Haman to his face. Notice, however, that the pivot point in the overall structure of the book—the king's insomnia—is not found in the scene of narrative climax. Jobes has noted the significance of this observation: By making the pivot point of the peripety an insignificant event rather than the point of highest dramatic tension, the author is taking the focus away from human action. Had the pivot point of the peripety been at the scene where Esther approaches the king uninvited or where Esther confronts Haman, the king and/or Esther would have been spotlighted as the actual cause of the reversal. By separating the pivot point of the peripety in Esther from the point of highest dramatic tension, the characters of the story are not spotlighted as the cause of the reversal. This reinforces the message that no one in the story, not even the most powerful person in the empire, is in control of what is about to happen. An unseen power is controlling the reversal of destiny. 6:1 What will become of Mordecai? His life is hanging in the balance. There appears to be no time for human initiatives to save Mordecai. Everything must be providential. The king's sleeplessness (v. 1), the finding of the passage about Mordecai's loyalty (v. 2), the fact that he had not already been rewarded (v. 3), and the arrival of Haman to give his advice (v. 4) all testify to God's providence. Why does Xerxes have trouble sleeping? Did he eat too much at the queen's banquet? Was he preoccupied with the queen's request? Was it the cares of state? Or is this the hand of God? (cf. Dan 6:18). The Septuagint at 6:1 reads, "But the Lord removed sleep from the king that night." Why does Xerxes decide to have a book read to him to deal with his insomnia? Could he not have called for a woman from his harem? Could he not have called for the court musicians? Why does Xerxes ask for the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign? Did he not have other books at his disposal? And why was the volume that contained the record of Mordecai's service selected? This was five years ago. Certainly volumes of more recent events were available. V. Mordecai's Triumph Over Haman Esther 6:2-7:10 A. The King Is Reminded of Mordecai's Loyalty Esther 6:2-4 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 3 "What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?" the king asked. "Nothing has been done for him," his attendants answered. 4 The king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows he had erected for him. 6:2-3 Since Persian kings were known for their eagerness to reward well-wishers (Herodotus 3.138,140; 5.11; 8.85; 9.107), why was Mordecai's good deed written down but forgotten? "Did an office memo go astray? We don't know; but this we do know, that God was in charge and already had the day selected for Mordecai to be honored." 6:4 The king wants to consult with any statesman he can find at this very early hour.