Maranatha Grace Church

Book of Esther: "Divine Providence At Work In History."

Outline:

• Vashti Deposed, Ch1
• Esther Made Queen, Ch. 2
• Haman's Plot, Ch. 3
• Esther's Courage, Ch. 4 -- 7
• Vengeance  Executed, Ch. 8
• Purim Kept, Ch. 9
• Epillogue, Ch. 10

Hello:

Book of Esther Challenge – Day 28 Esther 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁹ She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.

¹⁵ When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. ¹⁶ She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷ Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality. (Esther 2:9, 15-18)

And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her (v. 15). Esther was very beautiful indeed, she made it to the King Xerxes’ contest for a queen to replace Vasthi. But she needed something more to stand out amongst all the other beautiful women in the contest. It was her confidence in God which gave her an interior beauty that no one could resist. She won the favor of all.

We don’t have to fight our way up when we are sure that we do everything unto the Lord. The psalmist said, “⁶ For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. ⁷ But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalms 75:6-7). We must realize that in the proper time God will promote us to our place of destiny. All we need to do is to be faithful in little things.  

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Esther Challenge – Day 1 Esther 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹³ And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

¹⁴ The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day.

¹⁵ The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.  (Esther 3:13-15)

It is like déjà vu. Before Haman, Pharaoh had tried to destroy the people of God, passing a decree to kill all the male children born of the Israelites. There was a promise made to Abraham by the Lord in Genesis 12, that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his seed, speaking of Jesus. The adversary since had been trying every possible scheme to totally destroy the descendants of Abraham by using evil men to do his work. He schemed to block the accomplishment of the promise of redemption of humanity, but failed every time.

In this chapter it was the turn of Haman to come with a devious plan to exterminate the Jewish people. He wanted to “to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day (v. 13). For what reason? Because he felt disrespected by one sole Jewish person, Mordecai. To want to destroy millions of lives because of one person is pure evil.

The Lord is sovereign. His love endures forever. God who is omniscient already knew the heart of Haman, and to counteract Haman evil plan, God had prepared in advance for himself Queen Esther and placed her inside of the palace to fight off Haman plans of de destruction.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Esther Challenge – Day 2 Esther 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹² And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. ¹³ Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”^{[c] 17} Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. (Esther 4:12-17)

Do you complain when someone from Haiti calls you to ask for help? Or do you see yourself as a Joseph sent on a mission to America in order to bless your people? The question of Mordecai to Esther can be readily applied to us, “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” People who lack spiritual insight attribute all their successes to their own effort.

The Bible tells us that it takes more than personal effort to be successful. Some people work hard but have nothing to show for their effort, others get wealthy even in their sleep (Psalms 127:2). Robert Frank in “Success and Luck” shows that chance plays a much larger role in important life outcomes than most people imagine. Christians should not believe in the myths about personal success that harden the heart regarding the less fortunate.

Mordecai had to bring Esther to the reality that “her position was a gift from the Lord.” We too at times need to be brought to the reality that “our position in Christ is purely a gift from God.”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Esther Challenge – Day 3 Esther 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁹ And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. ¹⁰ Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. ¹¹ And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. ¹² Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. ¹³ Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” ¹⁴ Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows^[d] fifty cubits^[e] high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made. (Esther 5:9-14)

“Quiconque  s’élève sera abaisse”. This saying was taught to every primary school children when I was growing up in Haiti. Our teachers, our parents, our Sunday school teachers constantly repeated it to us with the goal to ingrain in us a sense of humility. Unfortunately some people never learned simple children truths, or they simply choose to forget them. Haman had forgotten that whoever exalts himself will be brought low.

“And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king (v. 11).”  Haman had it all, but he was not satisfied. “Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate,” He said (v.13).

Be careful! Pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Esther Challenge – Day 4 Esther 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁶ When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” ⁷ So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, ⁸ have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. ⁹ Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”

¹⁰ “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”

¹¹ So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!” (Esther 6:6-11)

A lot of powerful people have the illusion that life is going to stop if they die or no longer in their positions. It is very painful indeed for us humans to admit that we are expendable, to come to term to our finitude, but it is the wise thing to do.  We should say as the psalmist said, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom (Psalms 90:12).”

Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me? (v. 6)” That was a big mistake. We should pay attention to Apostle Paul, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (Romans 12:3).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Esther Challenge – Day 5 Esther 7 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁷ And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. ⁸ And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. ⁹ Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows^[b] that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits^[c] high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” ¹⁰ So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated. (Esther 7:7-10)

I entered the question in my search engine, “Can you be friends with your boss?” The search produced over twenty two million hits. Can you be friends with your boss? A lot of experts say yes, and as many say no. What does the Bible say about friendship between a boss and an employee, between a king and a subject?  Not much. But the Bible shows that friendship is a progression in relationship, it entails a deeper level of disclosure (John 15:15).

 “When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what^[a] is before you (Proverbs 23:1)” would seem to be applied to friendship between a superior and a subaltern. We should always remember who the boss is? Avoid raising suspicion and jealousy of the boss. Haman made multiple mistakes in his leadership approach. He had forgotten that the king was the boss. He miscalculated the jealousy of the king toward him.

And lastly, Haman’s pride blinded him to the fact that he was working in direct opposition to God. He was trying to destroy God’s people. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Esther Challenge – Day 7 Esther 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁵ And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. ⁶ For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” ⁷ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows,^[a] because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. ⁸ But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.” (Esther 8:5-8)

Verse 8 is a blank check. Everybody would like a blank check from a billionaire, or the king of an Empire such as King Ahasuerus? The king told Esther, “But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked (v. 8).” Queen Esther believed the king, and took him at his word.

Do we trust the word of a king more than the word of the King of kings? “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13), said Jesus. That’s a blank check! But, which blank check would you prefer? The word of a billionaire or the word of the Lord Jesus? In our choice, we need to remember that there are a lot things that money cannot buy. Money cannot buy Love, Joy and Peace

May the Lord richly bless you!