On the third day Esther appeared before the king as she had promised; she went unasked, and if the royal scepter were not held out, she would be seized by the servants and put to death. But God, we cannot doubt, was behind the scenes, though all that we read of is of man. Esther "obtained favor" in the eyes of the king; he would grant her desires "to the half of the kingdom-. What did she wish? She was given wisdom for the occasion and she only invites the king and his counselor Haman to a banquet that day. There the monarch asks again what his queen desired, quite ready, it seemed, to give her anything she wished. Tomorrow, she said, she would tell, but first asks for the presence of the king and Haman at another banquet.
Haman then delightedly went home, his happiness only marred by the sight of Mordecai (verse 9). At the suggestion of his wife and friends, a gallows was made, on which, if Haman's plans did not fail, Mordecai should be hanged before the time of Esther's banquet. God willed otherwise, as the next chapter shortly discloses.
Faith looks to Him, and is not disappointed.