Esther 5:6
And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
Esther 5:6 belongs to the account in Esther 3-9 of Haman's attempt, in the reign of Ahasuerus of Medo-Persia, to destroy all the people of God, a purpose God frustrated. That attempt was Satan working through Haman against the woman through whom the Man-child should come.
At the banquet of wine the king asked Esther for her petition and assured her it would be granted and her request performed, even to half of the kingdom. This favor gave Esther opportunity to ask for relief from the death sentence against herself and her people, but she was providentially restrained from revealing her request too soon. She instead respectfully invited the king and Haman to another banquet the next day, saying she would present her petition then.
The banquet setting leads into Haman's demand for Mordecai's execution, which brought Haman's own downfall. It illustrates that demanding a political gallows against the Mordecais ends in the opposite result from what was intended. Esther's course shows tact, diplomacy, intercession, and faith in bringing a difficult matter before the king and prevailing, qualities needed by mothers bringing perplexing questions before God, the King of the universe.