Esther

Esther 7: Haman falls into his own trap

Begin in prayer

Before we hear how Haman's plan falls back on him, let us pray to the LORD, who sees every wicked plan and every cry for help. Ask Him to show us Christ, who bore judgment for His people.

Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

Proverbs 26:27

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You save Your people and judge wicked plans, and lead us to Jesus, who pleads for sinners. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

At the second banquet the king again asks Esther what she wants. She asks that her life and her people be spared, for they have been sold to be destroyed. The king asks who has dared to do this, and Esther says it is this wicked Haman. The king rises in wrath and goes out to the garden, and Haman begs Esther for his life. When the king returns, Haman's face is covered, and Harbonah tells him of the gallows Haman made for Mordecai. The king says to hang Haman on it, and so Haman dies on the gallows he prepared. Then the king's wrath is pacified.

As you read Esther 7, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God brings Haman's wicked plan back on his own head, and Esther's plea for her people is heard.

At the second banquet Esther asks for her life and her people, for they have been sold to be destroyed (verses 3 and 4). The king asks who has dared to do this, and Esther says it is this wicked Haman (verses 5 and 6). The king goes out to the garden in wrath, and Haman begs Esther for his life (verse 7). When the king returns, Haman's face is covered, a sign that the king has condemned him (verse 8). Harbonah tells the king of the gallows fifty cubits high that Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king (verse 9). Hanging was how the king put criminals to death, as with the two doorkeepers (Esther 2 verse 23). Haman dies on the gallows he prepared (verse 10). Proverbs 26 verse 27 says that whoever digs a pit will fall into it. The chapter does not name God, yet Psalm 7 verse 16 says a wicked man's trouble returns on his own head.

How does Esther 7 show us that God brings Haman's wicked plan back on his own head, and that Esther's plea for her people is heard?

Esther asks for her life and the lives of her people.

Esther says she and her people have been sold to be destroyed, to be slain and to perish (verse 4). She asks the king for her own life and for her people's lives (verse 3). She stands between her people and the death planned for them, and she pleads. Jesus also pleads for His people before God, for He lives to speak for them (Hebrews 7 verse 25).

Esther names Haman, and the king sees his evil.

Esther calls Haman an adversary and an enemy, and Haman is afraid before the king and the queen (verse 6). The king rises in wrath and leaves, and Haman begs Esther for his life (verse 7). Haman had hidden his plan behind the king's ring, but now it is in the open. Evil that seems safe can be brought into the light.

Haman dies on the gallows he made for Mordecai.

The king says to hang Haman on the gallows, and the king's wrath is pacified (verses 9 and 10). The plan Haman made for Mordecai falls on Haman himself, as Proverbs 26 verse 27 says it can. This is God's justice, told plainly in the Bible. Haman was hanged for his own sin. Jesus had no sin, yet He hung on a tree and became a curse for His people (Galatians 3 verse 13).

Memorise

if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request

Esther 7:3

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, who will plead for me before God, because I am a sinner?

Esther stood before the king and asked, “let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request”. She pleaded for her people, and the king heard her. Haman, who had planned to destroy them, was hanged on the gallows he had “prepared for Mordecai”.

Haman was hanged for his own sin. Jesus died for the sin of His people. He hung on the cross, took the judgment their sins deserve, and cried out that it was finished. God raised Him on the third day, and He now pleads for them before the Father. His death is enough for every sin of everyone who trusts Him, and no accuser can overturn it.

So come to Jesus. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Him. Guilty sinners find forgiveness in Jesus, and no one who trusts Him is condemned.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God saves His people and judges wicked plans, and that Jesus pleads for sinners. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Verses 8 to 10 tell how the king accuses Haman and has him hanged, so please explain them in your own words.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He brought Haman's plan back on his own head, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed, hanging him on a tree. God exalted him with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.

Acts 5:30-31

Lord God, thank You that You save Your people and judge wicked plans. Thank You that Jesus pleads for sinners. Please help each child to turn from sin and trust Him, and keep our family from pride and hatred this week. Amen.