1. After three days of praying and fasting, she probably feels strong spiritually but weak physically…I bet she almost feinted walking in to the court with Xerxes on his throne.
2. Whew…the scepter. Yet another reason to almost faint?
3. The whole, I’ll give you half my kingdom thing was probably a figure of speech. Maybe this is where divorce attornies got the idea from? Either way, Xerxes is in a giving mood. Oh…isn’t he a nice “god-king”?
4. I love the subtlety of Esther’s approach. She doesn’t come straight out with the news and her plans. She’s stealth about it. First step, throw a party for Xerxes and Haman. What does Xerxes like to do? Come on… Party!
5. See…to me, this is kind of a risky thing. Allowing Xerxes to get a little tipsy off wine is rarely a good idea. Oh…and I bet Haman thought he was the junk to be invited to this “private” and “exclusive” party.
6. Xerxes is still in a giving mood. What does she want? Again, Esther says she would like to throw both of them another feast. Man… She’s really buttering them up.
7. I bet Haman did feel like the man. And nothing wrecks that euphoric feeling of feeling like you’re on top of the world more than realizing that you’re NOT on the top of the world. Seeing Mordecai refuse to bow or tremble probably infuriated him.
8. Looks like Haman’s trying to remind himself that he IS on top of the world. Throwing a party to remind everyone how awesome he is? Hmm… Oh, and he’s all over being the only one invited to eat with the king and queen.
9. He’s so mad that he can’t recognize all that he has. One little thing is about to cause a world of hurt for him. Isn’t it interesting that everyone else comes up with the plan to construct the HUGE gallows to hang Mordecai from?
How are we feeling about Esther’s approach here?
How about Haman’s issues?
ripple effect: vacaville 