Studies In Intercession from the Book of Esther

"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

In the last lesson we traced the power of God in action. We saw how God revealed things to the King as he read at night. We saw how God began to break the power of the devil's strategies against God's people, honoring God's own and bringing shame on the devil's representatives (Esther 6:6,12-13).

In this chapter we glimpse the complete fall of Haman, which instructs intercessors on their power over the enemy through prayer.

The Second Banquet

Esther waited patiently until the second banquet (Esther 7:1). She understood the value of perseverance. Esther, in this book, is a type of the intercessor. Her experiences demonstrate the value of continued intercession. Sometimes the Lord may seem to ignore or refuse a first request, but scripture tells us to keep asking. The bible emphasizes the need to keep on praying. Jesus taught us to keep seeking in Luke 11:5-10 . Jesus said (verses 8-10), "But I'll tell you this-though he won't do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you everything you want- just because of your persistence. And so it is with prayer- keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened. Everyone who asks, receives; all who seek, find; and the door is opened to everyone who knocks." (TLB)

The bible has other examples of a waiting period between the first request and when God's answer is received. Sometimes God makes us wait a while, before He answers our petitions or fulfills His promises. Solomon was promised that his kingdom would be established forever. The Lord first appeared to him in a dream at Gibeon (1 Kings 3). But Solomon had to wait through the years of building the temple before the Lord appeared to him a second time to "establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father." (1 King 9)

Esther was given a second chance for the king's undivided attention because of her patience and persistence. She obtained his attention and his interest. We see that "seconds" play an important role in the bible. For instance, Israel was given a second blessing in Isaiah 11:10-11. The prophet Jonah was given a second chance to preach (Jonah 3:1-2). Joseph dealt with his brothers on their second visit: Acts 7:13 "And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh." KJV

Christ will appear a second time to bring salvation to his people (Heb 9:27-28). God honors persistence and repetition. If we don't get what we ask immediately, we need to remain patient before Him and ask again.

Never be too proud to ask God again!

Special Recognition

Esther received a special recognition from the king, her husband. We see this in Esther 7:2, which says, " 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."

Did you notice that the king her by her personal name? They were in relationship with each other. He knew her and recognized her. This is a model of how God knows each of His intercessors personally and desires to be in relationship with them. He even calls them by name. The Lord Jesus called Mary Magdalene by name at that critical time just after His resurrection, to show here that He was not the gardener (John 20:16). Jesus talked knowing God and being known by Him. As our shepherd, Jesus calls His sheep personally (John 10:3) and gives us the ability to hear and recognize His voice.

The Lord knows and loves His intercessors, like Daniel (Dan 9:22, Dan 10:11). The is aware of their every action and their every prayer. He knows when they put Him first, when they stretch their faith and honor Him through obedience. In fact, God specially commends some of His intercessors, citing them by name in His word. We see an example of this in Ezekiel 14:14, "Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD."

Special recognition by God is worth so much more than human reputation. And God does indeed recognize His faithful intercessors.

Stating Her Request

The King asks Esther what she wants, and in Esther 7:2-4, she tells him. "Then Queen Esther answered, 'If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.'" RSV

Esther took the King at his word. The had promised her he would grand her request, so she asked. We should speak the word of God in our praying. Her prayer here is both petition and request:

petition. Derived from Latin, this word means to ascertain and will of the one to whom the petition is addressed. The root idea is demanding.

request. Derived from Latin to strive or search after, containing the idea of continuous prayer.

The lesson from this is that we need to find the will of God first and then ask Him to grant what is according to His will. Scripture states this principle point blank in 1 John 5:14-15, "And we are sure of this, that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we really know he is listening when we talk to him and make our requests, then we can be sure that he will answer us. TLB

She uses the words that she is "sold" in reference to money offered. She obviously has knowledge of the document and deal by which they are to be slain. She goes on to plead that if they were reduced to slavery, they would not be so valuable to the King as free men and women would be, but went on to show that the decree was worse in that it aimed at their extinction.

Satan Directly Attacked

The king asks Esther who is plotting against her and she identifies Haman by name (Esther 7:5-6). In verse 6 she says, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." Her description of Haman as an "adversary" reminds us of our own Enemy, Satan (1 Peter 5:8).

Notice that Esther's initial prayer strategy was not to stand up to the bully Haman directly. She did not directly engage the enemy, she engaged her husband King. There is a popular teaching going around that as intercessors, we are to confront principalities and powers directly. But that is not the strategy that Esther (representing intercession) initially took against Haman (representing a principality). We do not see Esther sending spies to have Haman killed, we do not see Esther making any sort of demands of Haman directly. Rather we see Esther going to the King and asking for his action on her behalf. You see, our authority in spiritual warfare comes from our deep and personal relationship with the living God. And there is great power in this intimate relationship. In Esther's case, her petition caused the king to mobilize himself on her behalf, become angry at the strategies of her enemy against herself and her people, then he took action on her behalf. At this point, Esther did not take any action other than to seek God for help.

When Haman saw royal anger, he fell in terror, but he did not exhibit an repentance (Esther 7:6b-7). He was only concerned about his own punishment and life. He was not sorry for his deed. By contrast, Esther was not only concerned for herself, but her people as well. She models how the intercessor must have a large heart! The enemy's motives are always selfish and self-seeking. But as intercessors before God, we must approach Him with pure motives and genuine concern and love for those on whose behalf we pray.

Haman acts desperately, caring only for his own preservation. He pleads to be spared. He is not sorry for his wrong doings, but he is sorry for the consequences and is desperately trying to escape them. Because of this he acts unwisely. He falls on the queen, pleading for his life, as she is reclining on a couch (verse 8). This was not smart, as Haman soon learned. The king had been so upset that he went outside and paced around. He came in to find Haman on top of Esther in bed. Doubtless Esther was resisting. The king interpreted what he saw as a sexual assault and in a fit of rage, he gave Haman's death order.

Haman's desperate actions are similar to enemy counter-attack against the intercessor. One person put it this way, "as the divine intervenes in his plans, he sees that his downfall is eminent. He becomes like a wounded animal, desperate and striking out at anything in his desperate attempt to regain control and prevent his defeat." So we see Satan desperately striking out at Esther, falling on top of her as she reclined. The good news is that as intercessors, we do not need to fear enemy retaliation, because our "husband king" will come in and defend us. Haman's retaliation against the queen (representing spiritual warfare counter attack) was short lived and it caused his immediate and permanent defeat in this situation. As intercessors, we can rest in God's sovereignty, that His greater power and authority than the enemy and that He will cause Satan's counter attacks against us (which may seem terrifying at the time) to have no lasting effect on us.

Harbonah, one of 7 Chamberlains (Esther 1:10) was there to reveal the gallows planned for Mordecai, which guided the King to hang Haman on his own gibbet! Likewise the Holy Spirit is there to work in all situations to turn it for God's glory. Satan often overplays his hand and falls right into fulfilling God's plans. For instance, he thought to eliminate Jesus by having him murdered (crucified). But that fulfilled God's plans for a spotless lamb to become a sacrificial substitute for man's sin, forever breaking the power of sin and death over man.

In the end, God assures that all works out according to His plan. Through prayer and intercession, we can see the tables turned against the enemy's plans and we can see God's kingdom advance and His glory shine forth. God will not let the unjust trample upon the righteous when the intercessor cries out to Him in persistent prayer. We have bible precedents for this, giving us confidence to pray through until we see God's deliverance. We have the promise in Proverbs 26:27 "Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him." James 2:13 says, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." And Galatians 6:7 says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." This gives us confidence to call out to God when the enemy is trying to bring death and destruction to God's people. Through prayer and intercession, we can see the enemy's strategies against us destroyed.

Subsidence Of Wrath Of King

Christ's Intercession through death on the Cross has delivered us from the wrath of God. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." (KJV)

We know God as loving and patient. But God is also a righteous God and He will pour out is wrath against those who resist Him and remain in rebellion against Him. The death and resurrection of Jesus deliver us from God's wrath, but it will one day fall on all of those who are not "under the blood."

In Septuagint, the word here for "gallows" is same as that for the Cross.

the tree being the stauros, the upright pale or stake to which Romans nailed those who were thus to be executed, Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29; Gal 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24; (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

This gives us a key lesson. On the basis of the cross, the intercessor can also plead for the destruction of Satan. Christ has won the victory and declared "It is finished," triumphing over all Enemy power (John 19:30, Col 2:15). That power is now made available to us through prayer and intercession. So, urge the victory of Calvary in your praying!