Haman obeyed the king and honored

[Mary Naeem]

Haman obeyed the king and honored the man he hated the most. He then told the events to his wife and friends. With more foresight than they probably realized, "his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, 'If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him'" (Esther 6:13). The king's eunuchs arrived and took Haman to Esther's banquet (verse 14). There, Esther told the king that her people had been sold to be annihilated. Showing great respect and humility, Esther said that had they only been sold into slavery, she would have held her peace, “because no such distress would justify disturbing the king” (Esther 7:4). The king was aghast that someone would dare to do such a thing to his queen’s people (verse 5). Esther revealed the man behind the plot to “this vile Haman” (verse 7). Xerxes exited the banquet enraged. Haman stayed behind to plead with Esther for his life. When the king reentered the room and saw this, he thought Haman was molesting Esther and ordered Haman to be killed on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai (verses 8–10).