Esther 7:1-10
1 So the king and Haman came to banqueta with Esther the queen.
2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.
3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed,b to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.
5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
6 And Esther said, The adversaryc and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
7 And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.
8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.
9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallowsd fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
So Haman came in, but he was really troubled by this whole experience. And so, Esther prepared another beautiful banquet for the king, and again, the king in his generous mood said, "Esther, what do you want? Half of the kingdom, whatever it is. Your petition, your request."
And so Esther said, All I want is my life and my people [the life of my people]: For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold as slaves, I wouldn't have said anything. [I would have kept quiet]. Then king Ahasuerus answered and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that dares to presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, The adversary, the enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his anger went to the palace garden: and then Haman stood up to make a request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. And then the king returned out of the palace garden and into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen upon the bed where Esther was. And the king said, Are you going to rape my wife before me in my own house? As the words went out of the king's mouth, they took and covered his head with a cloth, [which signified, of course, his impending death]. And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold, there are seventy-five feet gallows, that Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke the good for the king, and they're there in his back yard. And the king said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified (Esther 7:3-10)).
God turning the tables. And it so often happens. You remember when Joseph was sold by his brothers to slavery, to the traders going to Egypt. And he was weeping; he was crying. He said, "No, don't do this!" And as the traders were taking him off towards Egypt, he was just a teenage boy crying, begging his brothers, but they had steeled their hearts against him. Years later, when they had to come down to Egypt to buy provisions in order to survive, and they didn't recognize Joseph, the man who was in charge of the provisions of Egypt. But Joseph recognized them and began to give them a bad time, speaking roughly to them through an interpreter. And they turned to each other talking in their own language (which, of course, Joseph could understand) and they said, "You know, this sin has happened to us because of what we did to our brother Joseph. Don't you remember his tears and all, and we didn't pay any attention? Now it's coming back on us."
But then later, when Joseph did reveal himself they were even more frightened, and they began to beg Joseph for mercy and so forth, and he said, "Look, I know that you meant it for evil, but God intended it for good." God is so often able to take those things that were intended for evil and turn them around for good. It happens over and over and over again. That is why the Bible says concerning you as God's child: "No weapon that is formed against you will prosper" (Isaiah 54:17). This is the heritage of the children of the Lord!
God won't allow any weapon formed against you to prosper. God is going to take care of you. God is going to watch over you. God is going to turn the tables on your enemies. And He is so clever. And I love the book of Esther, because it has all of this interesting intrigue, and table-turning, and the whole bit. "