Esther 5:5b–8

Esther's plan

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.”

Esther’s request was simple—that the king and Haman join her for a banquet. Her request was readily granted, but for some reason she failed to act decisively. When the king asked what she wanted, Esther stalled by asking that the king and Haman return for another banquet. She may have had a good reason for thinking that another occasion would offer a better chance of success, or she may simply have lost her nerve. When we look ahead in the story, we realize that regardless of what Esther’s motive may have been, the delay was a result of God’s providence. This delay was necessary so that the events recorded in the next two sections of our text could take place and prepare the way for Haman’s downfall.