Table of Contents
The Dramatic Climax
Esther chapter 7 is the dramatic turning point of the entire book. The tension that has been building for chapters culminates in a single, explosive scene at Esther’s second banquet. This chapter details Esther’s courageous accusation of Haman, the king’s furious reaction, and Haman’s swift and stunning downfall. The scene is a masterpiece of suspense and irony, where the villain is trapped in his own wicked plot and meets the very fate he had designed for his enemy. God’s hidden providence, which has been arranging events behind the scenes, now breaks forth into open and decisive action. The great reversal of fortunes, a key theme of the book, begins in this chapter as the enemy of the Jews is exposed and judged.
The Second Banquet and Esther’s Plea
(Esther 7:1-6) The chapter opens with the king and Haman arriving for the second banquet that Queen Esther had prepared. This was the moment Esther had been waiting for, the culmination of her fasting, prayer, and careful planning. As they were drinking wine, the king, for the third time, invited Esther to make her request, promising to grant it, “even to the half of my kingdom.” The king’s repeated offer shows his high regard for Esther and builds the suspense for her revelation.
Esther’s plea is a model of wisdom, humility, and courage. She did not begin with an accusation against Haman, but with a personal appeal for her own life. “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.” By identifying herself with her people, she immediately made the issue personal for the king. An attack on her people was an attack on his queen. She then revealed the terrible truth: “For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.” She used the exact, brutal language of Haman’s own decree. She added a shrewd political point, saying that if they had merely been sold as slaves, she would have kept silent, because such a trouble would not be worth disturbing the king over. This highlighted the extreme gravity of the situation.
The king was stunned and enraged, demanding, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” Esther’s moment had come. She delivered the devastating accusation: “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” The scene is intensely dramatic. Haman, who had arrived as the guest of honor, was suddenly exposed as a villain and a traitor who had plotted against the life of the queen herself. The text says that Haman was “terrified before the king and queen.” His world had collapsed in an instant.
The King’s Wrath and Haman’s End
(Esther 7:7-10) The king, overwhelmed with fury, rose from the banquet and went out into the palace garden to collect his thoughts. Haman, knowing he was doomed, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. In his desperation, he fell upon the couch where Esther was reclining. At that exact moment, the king returned from the garden. Seeing Haman in such a compromising position with the queen, the king’s rage exploded. “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” he roared. This was the final straw. The king’s guards immediately covered Haman’s face, a sign that he was condemned to die.
In a moment of perfect, poetic justice, one of the king’s eunuchs, Harbona, spoke up. He pointed out the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai, the very man who had saved the king’s life. “Behold, the gallows 75 feet high, which Haman has made for Mordecai… is standing at Haman’s house.” The king’s command was swift and final: “Hang him on that.” So, Haman was executed on the very gallows he had built for his enemy. The chapter concludes with the simple but powerful statement: “Then the king’s wrath subsided.” The immediate threat was eliminated, and divine justice had been served in a swift and ironic fashion.
Verse by Verse
(Esther 7:1-2) The king and Haman attend Esther’s second banquet. The king once again invites Esther to make her petition, promising her anything up to half the kingdom.
(Esther 7:3-4) Esther makes her plea. She asks for her own life and the life of her people, revealing that they have been sold for utter destruction.
(Esther 7:5-6) The king, enraged, demands to know who is responsible. Esther dramatically exposes Haman as the enemy. Haman is terrified.
(Esther 7:7-8) The king storms out into the garden in a fury. Haman stays to beg Esther for his life and falls on her couch. The king returns, misinterprets the scene as an assault, and Haman’s fate is sealed.
(Esther 7:9) Harbona, a eunuch, points out the gallows Haman had built for Mordecai.
(Esther 7:10) The king orders Haman to be hanged on his own gallows. The execution is carried out, and the king’s anger is appeased.
Cross References
Proverbs 26:27: “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.” This proverb is a perfect summary of Haman’s fate. He set a trap for Mordecai and the Jews and was destroyed by his own device.
Psalm 7:15-16: “He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.” This psalm describes the principle of divine justice that is so vividly illustrated in the execution of Haman.
Daniel 6:24: After Daniel was saved from the lions’ den, King Darius commanded that Daniel’s accusers and their families be thrown into the den, where they were immediately devoured. This is another biblical example of enemies suffering the very fate they had planned for God’s servant.
Luke 1:51-52: Mary’s Magnificat celebrates the character of God, who “has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.” The fall of the proud Haman and the impending exaltation of the humble Mordecai and Esther is a narrative fulfillment of this truth.
Genesis 41:39-44: Joseph’s rise from prisoner to second-in-command in Egypt is a story of dramatic reversal. Haman’s story is the opposite, a dramatic reversal from being the second-most powerful man in the empire to a condemned criminal in a single evening.