April 30 - Esther 1-3
Esther is different from most of the other books of the Bible in that it does not have direct teaching about God and spiritual matters. It is an historical narrative. The teaching comes from considering the meaning of the events. Therefore, it takes some thought to glean what God is saying to us. One thing is evident, though. The theme of the book is the providence of God. The word providence means that God can see things before they happen, so He can provide for what is needed to do His will. Keep the theme in mind as you read the book, and it will help you see the meaning of the events.
The king of Persia, Ahasuerus or Xerxes I, deposed Queen Vashti, when she would not come to him at a feast he was giving to show the glory of Persia. He and his advisors felt this was necessary to emphasize that the man was the head of the house, and the wife should obey her husband. This was not the Biblical belief that the man is the head of the family, and the wife should voluntarily submit to her husband. It was a forced submission in which the man was a tyrant. However, it is interesting that these pagans did understand God's basic order for society and the family without reading the Bible.
Esther, the beautiful step-daughter of Mordecai, eventually was chosen to take Vashti's place. God gave her favor with Hegai, the man in charge of the young women, who were being presented to the king for his approval, and God gave her favor with the king. What is favor? I believe it is when God uses something about you to open the eyes of another person and to make them notice you in a good way. They may not know exactly why they are treating you better than others, but they do it anyway. That is God's favor. We need to pray for God to give us favor with those we meet, so we can be a good witness to them.
Haman rises to power in Persia as the king's right hand man over all the princes of the provinces of Persia. People are supposed to bow to him, because of his position, but Mordecai is a Jew. He bows to no one, but God. Therefore, Haman develops a disdain for all Jews, because they are different, and they put God's laws ahead of the laws of the king. He sets out to destroy all the Jews in Persia. God already has a plan to save them, though. Therein, we see the providence of God. Nothing ever catches God by surprise. He knew what would happen before it happened, and He had everything in place so His will could be done. We will see how that plays out here in Esther, but I hope you can look back on your life and see how it has worked out there over and over. The realization of the providence of God should lead us to trust Him more and more.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Esther 4-6.
The king of Persia, Ahasuerus or Xerxes I, deposed Queen Vashti, when she would not come to him at a feast he was giving to show the glory of Persia. He and his advisors felt this was necessary to emphasize that the man was the head of the house, and the wife should obey her husband. This was not the Biblical belief that the man is the head of the family, and the wife should voluntarily submit to her husband. It was a forced submission in which the man was a tyrant. However, it is interesting that these pagans did understand God's basic order for society and the family without reading the Bible.
Esther, the beautiful step-daughter of Mordecai, eventually was chosen to take Vashti's place. God gave her favor with Hegai, the man in charge of the young women, who were being presented to the king for his approval, and God gave her favor with the king. What is favor? I believe it is when God uses something about you to open the eyes of another person and to make them notice you in a good way. They may not know exactly why they are treating you better than others, but they do it anyway. That is God's favor. We need to pray for God to give us favor with those we meet, so we can be a good witness to them.
Haman rises to power in Persia as the king's right hand man over all the princes of the provinces of Persia. People are supposed to bow to him, because of his position, but Mordecai is a Jew. He bows to no one, but God. Therefore, Haman develops a disdain for all Jews, because they are different, and they put God's laws ahead of the laws of the king. He sets out to destroy all the Jews in Persia. God already has a plan to save them, though. Therein, we see the providence of God. Nothing ever catches God by surprise. He knew what would happen before it happened, and He had everything in place so His will could be done. We will see how that plays out here in Esther, but I hope you can look back on your life and see how it has worked out there over and over. The realization of the providence of God should lead us to trust Him more and more.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Esther 4-6.