📅 June 21, 2026
📚 BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
📖 Daily Bible Reading: 👑 Esther 5
👑 The First Step of Courage
✨ When God Opens Doors That People Cannot Open
🌐 Read online here
📍 Introduction
After three days of fasting, the decisive moment arrives. Esther has chosen to risk her life in order to save her people. No one knows how the king will react. Chapter 5 shows how God begins to guide events, even though His intervention is not yet openly visible.
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🧵 Commentary
On the third day, Esther puts on her royal garments and enters the inner court of the palace. There she stands before the king’s throne room. This step is life-threatening, because no one is allowed to come before the king without being summoned.
When Ahasuerus sees Esther, the unexpected happens. She finds favor in his eyes. The king extends the golden scepter to her and, by doing so, grants her life.
Then he asks her what her request is. He is even willing to give her up to half of his kingdom. But Esther does not yet present her request directly. Instead, she invites the king and Haman to a banquet she has prepared.
During the banquet, the king again asks about her wish. Once more, Esther postpones her actual request and invites both of them to a second banquet the following day. Only then will she reveal her petition.
This delay may seem surprising, but it becomes part of God’s plan. The right timing plays a decisive role in the events that follow.
After the banquet, Haman leaves the palace full of joy and pride. He feels honored because only he, together with the king, was invited to Esther’s banquet. In his own eyes, his importance continues to grow.
But when he sees Mordecai at the city gate and notices that he still does not bow down before him, his joy immediately turns into anger. Despite all his wealth, power, and position, he cannot tolerate the one man who refuses him the honor he desires.
At home, Haman tells his family and friends about his success. He lists his wealth, his children, and his high position. Yet he admits that Mordecai’s behavior constantly troubles him.
Then his wife and his friends give him fatal advice. They suggest that a gallows be built and that the next morning he ask the king for Mordecai’s execution.
Haman is pleased with this proposal. He immediately has the gallows built, without realizing that this very plan will later lead to his own downfall.
The chapter ends with apparently favorable prospects for Haman. But behind the scenes, God is already preparing a surprising turn of events.
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🧺 Summary
In Esther 5, Esther courageously appears before the king and finds favor. She invites the king and Haman to two banquets. Meanwhile, Haman’s pride and hatred toward Mordecai grow so much that he has a gallows built for his execution.
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🔦 Message for Us Today
God’s guidance often happens step by step. He does not always show the whole solution immediately. Sometimes He first calls us to take a courageous step and then opens the next doors at the right time.
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📝 Thought for Reflection
Is there an area in your life where God is calling you to take a first courageous step, even though you cannot yet see the whole path?
