Lesson 25: An invitation to lunch

Read Esther 8

Queen Esther’s request of the king was not what most people would have chosen to make. Since she had the king’s permission to ask, and a promise that he would grant her wish up to half of his kingdom, most would simply have asked him to spare the lives of the people.

Queen Esther invited the king to have dinner with her, and asked him to invite Haman. The king agreed to come, and Esther returned to her quarters to have the meal prepared. The king called for Haman to pass on the invitation to him.

Haman left the king’s presence with great pride and joy. He was certain he was the most honored person in all the land – to be invited to a meal with the king and queen! But as he stepped outside the gates of the palace to go home to tell his wife the good news, he met Mordecai, and Mordecai again refused to bow to him in respect. Haman’s anger exploded. He hurried home. Then he told his friends and his wife about the dinner invitation, but said it all meant nothing to him because of the insults of the Jew, Mordecai. His wife and friends encouraged him to build gallows in his yard from which he could hang Mordecai on the day the king decreed the Jews to be killed. Haman immediately ordered the gallows to be built 75 feet high (nearly 23 meters).


The king and Haman joined Queen Esther for dinner. When the king again asked her what her request was, she asked them to have dinner with her again the next day.

That night, however, when the king could not sleep, he read through his journals and discovered Mordecai’s part in protecting him from the plot to kill the king. The next morning the king called Haman and asked how someone who had helped the king greatly should be honored. Haman, thinking the king meant to honor him, told the king the most splendid way he could imagine. The king accepted his idea and said to Haman he was to see that this was done for Mordecai, and Haman was to be the one to give the honor to Mordecai.

Haman very reluctantly did what he was told, but he determined to be rid of Mordecai forever.

When the king again asked Esther what she wanted, she asked for her own life and the life of her people. Surprised, the king asked who was threatening her life, and Esther said Haman – through the decree he had talked him into signing to kill the Jews. Angry, the king walked away to try to decide how he could recall the decree. But his answer didn’t come until he walked back into the room where he and Haman had been eating, and found Haman close to queen Esther. He feared Haman was trying to harm her.

We continue this story in our next lesson.

*Think of a time you were afraid and asked God for help – what happened?