Esther 5:8
If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.
Esther 5:8 belongs to the account under Ahasuerus and Medo-Persian rule in which Haman attempted to destroy all of God's people, but God frustrated that purpose. In that attempt Satan was working through Haman and Medo-Persia, the second head of the beast system of government, against the woman through whom the Man-child should come.
Although the king had offered to grant her request, Esther respectfully asked that the king and Haman come to another banquet she would prepare the next day. She promised to present her petition and request then, and thus delayed disclosure of the danger to herself and her people. The delay until events had prepared the way was providential guidance.
Haman's place of honor at the banquet contrasts with the honor given to the church party, and his demand for a gallows ended in his own downfall. Esther's tact, patience, intercession, and faith in approaching the king are an example of dealing wisely with difficult questions and of appealing to the King of the universe.