Esther 4 v 4 - 17

Again, I'm still mega busy so sorry for the lack of normal blogs! However, here is the next instalment in the Esther series.

Esther 4 v 4 – 17

⁴ When Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
    ⁵ Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
    ⁶ So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate.
    ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.
    ⁸ He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king's presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
    ⁹ Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.
    ¹⁰ Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai,
    ¹¹ All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold sceptre to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.
    ¹² When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai,
    ¹³ he sent back this answer: Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape.
    ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?
    ¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
    ¹⁶ Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
    ¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.

Esther 4 v 4 – 17

So last week we heard about the law passed that meant that all the Jewish people would be killed. We heard of the confusion and mourning that was going on amongst the people and this week we see Esther’s response.

(Verse 4)

As queen, Esther was not told about anything outside the palace that may cause her to be unhappy. This meant that she wasn’t told about the law that had been passed and was therefore very surprise and confused to hear of Mordecai’s mourning. In response, she sent him new clothes to try cheering him up. Not unlike how we tend to offer people cups of tea to cheer them up. She had no idea what had been ordered and so was very confused and distressed by her cousin’s behaviour.

(Verses 5 – 11)

When Mordecai sent back the clothes, Esther sent back a personal servant to find out what was troubling him. Hathach found out the problem and Mordecai sent back a copy of the law so that Esther would be in no doubt of what had been ordered. This wasn’t because he didn’t think she would believe him but to make sure that nothing would be lost in the passing on of information.  With this, he sent a request: Go to the king and beg for mercy and plead for the Jewish people.

This was a very risky request. If things had stayed as they were, it was unlikely that Esther would have stayed alive as she was not known to be a Jew. However, this request meant that she had to put her life in the hands of the king’s mercy. In Esther’s day, even the queen could not enter the king’s presence without being called for and if she did appear uninvited, unless the king extended his golden sceptre to show that he was happy for her to be there, she would be put to death. Her choice was between saving her own life and losing the lives of the Jews or risking her own life to save her fellow Jews.

Esther’s reluctance is understandable in this situation and there is no doubt that she would have been very scared! Similarly, we can be scared of how people may respond to our beliefs and be afraid of standing up for our faith. However, we should pray to God to be with us and remove our fear. There is no reason to fear people if we are on God’s side!

(Verses 12 – 14)

Mordecai’s response was firm but fair. He had confidence in God that he will, somehow, bring deliverance for the Jewish race whether Esther acted or not. However, he also suggested that Esther had been put where she was by God for a time like that. He saw how God could have been working for the good of the Jewish people by putting Esther in such a dangerous position.

Although Mordecai didn’t mention God specifically, it is clearly implied that he believed that Esther’s becoming queen had been God’s plan all along so that she would be in a good position to help her people when the time came and that time was now! He told her with urgency that she must act and it was clear that he fully believed that everything happened for a reason.

Remember, we too may have times that initially don’t make sense and we don’t understand why they have happened. However, if we trust God, he will use these situations for good and eventually reveal to us why we have gone through what we have.

(Verses 15 – 17)

Esther listened to Mordecai and her first request was for her people to pray and fast for her as she would be doing also. I know it only says ‘fasting’ in the passage but the whole point of fasting was to spend time praying to God rather than getting distracted by trivial things like preparing food. When people fast, it shows that they are truly earnest in the cause they are praying for, to the point of coping with hunger and thirst so they can dedicate that time to God and prayer instead.

Of course, fasting is hard and takes a lot of dedication but that doesn’t change the fact that prayer is very important. How can we expect God to help us through difficult times if we never ask God earnestly to help us, assist us, and comfort us? God likes for us to turn to him and talk to him and he also has the power to help us. God’s wisdom is perfect and although he may not help us in the way we want and expect, if we ask he will help us in the best way. Like Esther, we should turn to God first, not last, and pray to him whenever we have hard decisions or are going through tough times.

Once three days of prayer and fasting was over, Esther said she would go to the king. She said “If I perish, I perish” showing great resolve to make the stand and leave the outcome in God’s hands. She trusted God with her life and her trust was with God, nothing else.

We are now left with a bit of a cliff-hanger and next week we will find out the king’s response to Esther’s uninvited visit.

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Esther 3 v 8 - 4 v 3

Another week has passed with no time to do hardly anything, I'm behind on NaNoWriMo, have so much to do, but don't fear! Another week of Esther is here! Again, it's just literally my notes for CU pretty much copied and pasted but remember, "In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose" so although everything seems manic, God is in control.

Esther 3 v 8 – 4 v 3

(Chapter 3 v 8 – 15)

⁸ Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. ⁹ If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”

 ¹⁰ So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹ “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”

 ¹² Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. ¹³Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. ¹⁴ A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.

 ¹⁵ The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.

(Chapter 4 v 1 – 3)

¹ When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. ² But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. ³ In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 3 v 8 – 4 v 3

Do you remember last week where we met Haman who didn’t like the fact that Mordecai wouldn’t bow down to him. He then got really angry and came up with a plan to kill the whole of the Jewish race. Now we see how he goes about making this plan happen.

(Chapter 3 v 8 – 10)

Haman may have been terrible but he was very clever. If you look again, you will see how vague he was when telling King Xerxes his request.

-          He never mentioned which group of people he had a problem with

-          He didn’t say why their different customs would be a problem to King Xerxes

-          He didn’t mention which laws the people had disobeyed

-          He did not say why it was not in the king’s best interests to ‘tolerate’ these people

-          He also offered the king a large amount of money

Although, if you remember, neither Xerxes nor Haman knew that Esther was a Jew, Haman would have been worried that Xerxes may have close advisers that were Jews and he didn’t want the king to turn against him. Haman also realised that he didn’t really have any evidence that the Jews were actually causing Xerxes any trouble. He was taking a big risk.

Think about it, this isn’t a small request. Haman was asking for a whole race of people, women, men, children, all to be killed. He wasn’t just asking for the Jews to be given higher taxes but wanted them all to be destroyed. However, King Xerxes treated the situation as if it was only a small request. He readily agreed without asking many questions suggesting that he didn’t care about life and that life is cheap. He gave the impression that it didn’t matter, one way or the other. This is a very dangerous person to have as king.

Unlike Haman, we should be tolerant of others, even if they are different. God sent his son to die for us so how can we expect to be an example of our faith if we don’t love others? We may not be as extreme as Haman but we all have a tendency to hold prejudices. Don’t judge people on their culture or assume that, because one person in their culture is bad, they will be too. They may be different but that shouldn’t mean we hold grudges against them.

(Chapter 3 v 10 – 15)

So, not only was King Xerxes happy to agree for a whole race to be killed but also to seal the order with his own ring. This means that no one, not even the king himself could reverse the order. The king also refused the offer of money however this was the custom when money was first offered for a favour.

So the order went out and everyone would have known what was being ordered for that terrible day. While the king and Haman were happily drinking away, the city of Susa was shocked by the news. This chapter ends with two people who had just ordered the destruction of a whole race just sitting down to have a party without a care in the world. Thankfully, the story doesn’t end here!

(Chapter 4 v 1 – 3)

So this seems like an impossible situation. God had previously promised the Jews that he would provide a messiah who would save his people yet, if Haman’s plan succeeds, God’s people would be totally wiped out. God probably seemed far away to the Jews and not in control however remember this:

“It is doubtful whether God can bless a person greatly until he has hurt them deeply.”

Basically, God uses the hard times we face for our good. He uses them to further us as people more than it would be possible if he didn’t let us face hard times.

So, Mordecai would have heard about this command early on and he immediately dressed in sackcloth and ashes, wailing loudly.

So, why did he do this? Well, obviously the Jews would have been pretty depressed about the situation and dressing like this was a sign of mourning in bible times. The sackcloth was a very rough and itchy material and the ashes were literally from a burnt fire that the mourners would put on their head. It would have been clear that Mordecai was in distress and it’s likely that Mordecai was so obvious in his distress so that the guards would notice and relay this to Esther. And as we will see next time, this is what happened.

So, why did Haman pick on the Jews? Because they stood out and were different. If you’re a Christian, you too should want to be different and stand up for God. It may be easier to blend in but we shouldn’t lower our standards just to avoid being picked out as different.

At this point, things don’t seem like they can get any worse. The whole Jewish race is on the verge of death and it seems that God is just letting it happen. However, we will see in the following weeks that God is in control of everything, despite how bad the situation seems. 

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Esther 3 v 1 - 7

Again, another week has passed an I've been too busy trying to keep up with NaNoWriMo to write any blogs. I've had a few ideas and, if I didn't feel guilty about not doing NaNoWriMo, you would have also had a blog about the student protests in London however I just haven't had time! So, here's this week's notes for Christian Union instead and to be honest, this sort of blog is much more worthwhile for you. I promise a more normal service will resume in December!

Esther 3 v 1 – 7

This week, we’re going to begin by reading the whole passage all in one go!

" ¹ After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. ² All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

 ³ Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” ⁴ Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

 ⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. ⁶ Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

 ⁷ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar. "

In this chapter, we are introduced to a man called Haman. He was a thoroughly evil person and we are told absolutely nothing good about him. Despite this, King Xerxes seemed to take a liking to him and raised Haman up to a position that would have been similar to the position of prime minister.

It is most likely that Haman got this position as he was the best at sucking up to the king and inflating his ego and in return, the king decided on a course of action that would also inflate Haman’s ego.

Haman was to be bowed down to and this was most likely to be a sign of respect. However, Mordecai refused to bow down. However, this wasn’t an obvious protest. He quietly refused to bow down and Haman actually had to be told that Mordecai wasn’t bowing down to him.

Now, it probably seems a bit silly that Mordecai refuses to bow down to Haman if it is only a sign of respect but there is more to the situation than can be seen at face value. Firstly, Haman, as we are told in verse 1, is an Agagite which is another name for an Amalekite. He was part of a race of people who had a long history of being against the Jewish people who Mordecai had clearly declared himself to be a part of.

Read Exodus 17 v 16 –  He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”
 Back in the time of Moses, he declared that God would be at war with the Amalakites from generation to generation.

Also, in 1 Samuel 15 (which is a bit long to put all of it here) we hear of how Saul, Israel’s first king, was ordered to wipe out the whole Amalakite race. However, he spared King Agag and not only did one of his descendants claim to have killed Saul but Haman was one of his descendants.

So, Mordecai was refusing to bow down to someone who was part of a race who were enemies of God. Also, I don’t expect that was Mordecai’s only reason for not bowing down as Haman hadn’t earned his position and therefore hadn’t earned Mordecai’s respect. Furthermore, there was also an element of Haman demanding worship from those below him and - as a Jew - Mordecai would only worship God, not man!

So, in verses 5 – 6 we see Haman’s reaction. He was more than a little displeased at Mordecai’s refusal to bow down to him and this was probably elevated by the fact that he was a Jew. Haman was more than just angry, he was absolutely furious and planned to not just kill Mordecai for revenge but to kill the whole Jewish race.

We can learn from this. It is easy to become proud, easy to think we’re better than others. We may have a position that places us higher up than someone else but that doesn’t mean that we’re any more important. The gifts and abilities we have that have put us in that sort of position all come from God and we should be giving him the praise, not taking it ourselves. Unlike Haman, we need to be humble and not get angry if we don’t get as much recognition as we maybe thought we should get for something we’ve done. Instead, thank God for giving you the gifts and abilities to get there in the first place.

Verse 7 takes place around five years later so Haman has had time to think of a way to get rid of the Jews so verse 7 really shows us where Haman’s faith was as he cast a lot to determine a date for the annihilation of the Jewish race.

Casting lots would have involved a bag or pot of dice or stones, each with different marks on to signify different decisions. Often, a spell or incantation would be said before a dice or stone would be removed so basically, the decision would then be considered lucky. Therefore, Haman chose this date this way thinking that using that date would mean success for him.

This sounds silly but even today people believe in luck in the form of horoscopes and things like that. However, why look to the starts for help with decisions when we can look to God, the creator of the stars for guidance? We should totally avoid things like horoscopes and looking to the spirit world as Satan uses these things to draw us away from God. We may think it’s OK to have a look just for a laugh but, just with anything sinful, it’s much better to avoid it totally. This sounds a bit like a lecture but it’s important. Satan isn’t the cute cuddly creature cartoons often depict but he’s out to draw us away from God at every opportunity. The best thing is to avoid temptation where possible and obviously, pray to God for help!

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Esther 2 v 19 - 23

So, BEDESO is over and I'm sure you're missing my daily presence *cough* and I'm now busy with NaNoWriMo, but I still have other important things to do which means that, despite it being gone ten and I still need to write around 1500 more words for today, you still get what I have prepared for this week's Christian Union.

I'm following the structure of a DayOne book called "Esther: God's invisible hand" by Helen Clark and, fitting nicely with the theme of Esther, it was amazing to see that, on my busiest Wednesday, I have one of the shortest chapters.

Anyway, as it's such a short section, I'll paste the passage here and leave you to it (and I thought I'd leave the highlighting for you seen as they correspond to the bits in the main text):

Esther 2 v 19 – 23

 ¹⁹ When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ²⁰But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.

 ²¹ During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.²² But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. ²³ And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.

Esther 2 v 19 – 23

This next bit is quite short and doesn’t seem to follow on from last time.

(Who can remember what we looked at last time?! - The king wanting to find a new queen; Esther being one of the many young girls chosen to go through a vigorous routine before spending one night to try please the king; Esther being chosen as the new queen; God’s unseen hand in all of this – Remember now?)

This chapter goes from celebrating Esther’s coronation as queen and the next we are with her cousin at the king’s gate. However, this small section becomes vitally important later on in the book so we’ll have a look and you’ll have to try and remember it for another week.

Mordecai at the king’s gate (v19-20)

Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate which was the official place where people in office sat. It would have been similar to today’s law courts. Issues would have been raised there and decisions made by people in authority. This suggests that Mordecai held a position of authority and also suggests why (particularly later) he can so easily swap messages with Esther while she was in the palace.

This again is God working his hand in what is happening. Although this seems insignificant now, later on it’s very handy that he’s in such a position and is still able to contact Esther.

We’re also reminded again (v20) that Esther had obeyed Mordecai and not revealed her Jewish heritage. Her allegiance was still with him and it would be tested to the limit later.

A plot uncovered (v21-22)

Mordecai’s position also enabled him to find out about the plot to kill the king. We don’t know why these two officers wanted to kill the king or why they held such a grudge against him but that doesn’t matter as Mordecai was able to get word to Esther and the two officers were arrested before any damage could be done.

Again, God’s positioning of Mordecai in the right place at the right time is showing through and later we will see just how important this is.

The investigations prove the plot to be true (v23)

Just like today, in Persia, any charges brought against a person were always investigated first before they were convicted. When Esther told the king about the plot he didn’t just take her word for it.

Similarly, we need to get the facts first before we go about spreading news. It’s unfair to gossip as we could be spreading an untrue rumour and be the cause of making someone’s life unfairly miserable.

Nevertheless, in this case, the two officers were found guilty and their punishment was the death sentence.

As we go through there are still probably a number of point that still seem like coincidences. However, remember, they are being guided and put in place by God. In particular, re-read the last sentence in verse 23.

Mordecai was not immediately rewarded for saving the king’s life, which, in those times, was very unusual. You might not have thought much of it and it may still seem insignificant now but trust me, it will be important later on revealing this to be more than just a ‘coincidence’.

In the next chapter, we start to see what Esther will have to come up against and things start to get worse and worse for her and her people. However, God has his hand in it all as we will see.

In the meantime, remember these points:

• -          Esther still hasn’t revealed her Jewish roots
• -          Mordecai is yet to receive a reward for uncovering the plot and saving the kings life
• -          What happened was written down in the palace records. It would have also have been recorded that no reward was given

These points may seem irrelevant now but these are the beginnings of God setting up situations that turn out to be more than just a little beneficial later on.

Think about your life: are there some things that make no sense, that seem pointless and you’re not sure why they’re happening. It may not be clear now but if we trust God we can be sure that he is using those situations and working for the best in our lives. We may not see it now, but it will be clear eventually.

(Also, modified set of information at the end!)

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