Esther 5 Devotional

Favor at the Threshold

“As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.”Esther 5:2 (BSB)

On the third day of the fast, Esther puts on her royal robes and stands in the inner court, where the law says she may die. The moment the king sees her, she finds favor in his sight, and he holds out the gold scepter (5:1-2). She invites the king and Haman to a banquet, and then to a second one (5:4-8). The book never says why she waits, but the timing works out in ways no one could have planned.

Meanwhile Haman goes home glad, boasting of his wealth, his sons, his promotions, and his invitation from the queen (5:11-12). Then he admits that none of it satisfies him while Mordecai sits at the king's gate (5:13). His wife and friends suggest a gallows, and he has it built. Pride can own everything and enjoy nothing. Esther walked in with empty hands and found favor waiting, favor that in this book comes from a hand the narrator never names. Contentment grows from receiving what God gives, not from grasping for more.

To think about: What are you grasping for that has kept you from enjoying what God has already given you?