Category: Esther

Right Place. Right Time. Right Action.

Esther 3-4

Yesterday, we began to read the book of Esther. Let’s quickly summarize what happened in the first couple of chapters to bring us up to speed for today’s reading:

Chapter 1: King Xerxes, King of Persia, is having a pretty awesome party.  He is serving up an endless buffet with unlimited refills.  He has a few too many refills and calls for his wife, Vashti, because he wants to look at her. She refuses.  He consults with his friends (who might have had a few too many as well),and they decide to execute her as an example to prevent disrespect throughout the kingdom.  Buzzkill. Proclamation in Caveman Voice: Men Strong. Women Weak.  

Chapter 2:  King Xerxes decides it is time for a new queen.  Hmm. What’s a good way to pick my next wife? Personality. No. Virtuous qualities? No. Oh! Beauty contest.  Proclamation in Caveman Voice: Send Pretty Women. Enter Esther – fits the bill. Also, she’s Jewish, although Xerxes doesn’t know, doesn’t care because that doesn’t affect her looks.  Another party.  Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, uncovers a plot to assassinate Xerxes. Mordecai tells Esther who tells Xerxes. Esther trusted. Mordecai trusted. Conspirators impaled.

Have your plot uncovered and being impaled? Unfortunate. But having the car ahead of me pay for my weekly McDonalds run?  Being seated in the section at the ballpark that receives a free loaf of bread? Sitting down at a restaurant and having a meal served on the house? All of this, and more, has happened to me.  I’m a pretty lucky guy.  It seems that I find myself at the right place, the right time.  It’s either that or people just really think that I need food. Being in the correct location at a critical moment is important.  Ask anyone who has ever been late for an interview, or ended up at the wrong Starbucks. But in many circumstances, those two factors are simply not enough.   An equally important prerequisite that isn’t always taken into account (and makes the expression way too long like in the title) is the right action.  Many times you must DO something in order to take advantage of the golden opportunity that is being presented.  Just existing in a place or a moment isn’t enough.

When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 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.  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 your royal position for such a time as this?” – Esther 4:12-14

Christians are already in some of the prime real estate for evangelizing.  Christians are in schools. Christians are in workplaces.  Christians are on TV and radio. They make TikToks and podcasts.  I would say that for most of us, we err on the side of being in the world a little more than not.  Having a presence in each of these locations, at this time in history, is not in itself a bad thing.  In a caveman voice: School good. Work good. TikTok, umn, me no say.  But when you sit on your hands and let the world continue to spin in the same way it always has, then you are in the midst of the right location, the right time, but the wrong action.  Simply being an elevated, passive Jew in the kingdom of Persia was not going to save her people from being put to death.  Xerxes, didn’t even know. Being a passive Christian in the same manner is equally reckless. They may not even know. THEY. MAY. NOT. EVEN. KNOW. This is most definitely the correct time. Heed Mordecai’s warning. You MUST become an influencer, not in a manner that will get you more clout or draw attention to yourself, but in a manner that draws attention to God.  You most definitely were made for a time such as this.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light…Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. – 1 Peter 2: 9,12

–Aaron Winner

Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – Esther 3-4 and 1 Corinthians 14

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Love and Marriage

Ezra 7-10

Ezra, who was from the lineage of Aaron the high priest came up from Babylon. He was skilled in the Mosaic Law. King Artaxerxes gave the children of Israel the right to return to Jerusalem if they chose. In 7:10 it says, “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel”. A letter was given to the ones returning from the king. Interestingly enough, this would have been the stepson of Queen Esther. Maybe he had heard about God through her. He starts out “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of heaven:” He allowed the Israelites who wanted to return to go back, they were given gold and silver from the royal treasury, and then they were urged that if they needed anymore, that they were to pay for it from the king’s treasury. Ezra said in 7:27 “Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.” It sounds like Queen Esther must have talked about God to her family, and the king acknowledged that he was the God of heaven, and he did not want to have the wrath of God on him or his sons.

In chapter 8 they list those who returned, I love 8:21 “Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.” They fasted and prayed to God before making any decisions, just like we read in Esther as well. It is important that we follow these guidelines in our lives before we make decisions, pray about it and ask God to lead us in the direction that He would have us take.

In Chapter 9, we see the beginning of some problems, the children of Israel had taken pagan wives for some of their sons and daughters, even the religious leaders were included in this sin. Ezra was very upset at this and he prayed and wept before God because of their sin. They had been forbidden in Deuteronomy 7:3, to take foreign wives. Now, this was not a matter of being racist, because the foreign people could convert to Judaism, but the ones they married were pagans, which meant that they continued to worship idols. In 1 Kings 11:2b “the Lord said to the children of Israel “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love.” V.4 “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” This was when their idolatry began which eventually led to the kingdom being conquered by the Babylonians. It is a fact that if we marry outside our faith it makes it more difficult to love God with our heart, soul, and might. That’s why we are told in 1 Corinthians not to be “unequally yoked with an unbeliever.” I believe who we choose to marry is one of the most important decisions we can make in our lives. I have a friend who said that of her four children, only one remained in the faith. She said it was who they married that made the difference. One married someone who was an active participant in church, two would go on occasion, and one married an atheist. When we marry, we are to be one, and it works best to be in accord with one another, and to both be pulling in the same direction. You will not get very far if the two oxen are trying to go in opposite directions.

The assembly decided that they would put away the pagan wives and children that they had with them. They confessed their sin and repented of it. Ezra 10:2b “We have trespassed against our God and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.” 10: 10b-11 “You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. Now therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers, and to do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.” There was hope when the people repented because God will always accept us back when we return to him.

That is what is so encouraging to us as we read the history of the Old Testament. None of our patriarchs were perfect but God is able to use imperfect people to accomplish His will. We all need to be willing to let God use us in our imperfections. When we sin and make mistakes, that isn’t the end, if we return to God, he will return to us as we read earlier this week.

-Sherry Alcumbrack

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – Ezra 7-10

Tomorrow we will begin the book of Nehemiah (chapters 1-5) as we continue on our

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Haman’s Pride and Prejudice – Part 2 (The Rest of the Story)

Esther 6-10

When we left you yesterday, evil Haman was going to go in the next day and ask King Ahasuerus to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had built in anticipation. Now we will find out the rest of the story. During that night the King was having trouble sleeping so he asked for his book of records to be brought to him and read out loud. In it they read the story of Mordecai saving his life. He asked how they had honored him, and they said that nothing had been done for him. And Mordecai had not ever tried to get any special recognition for this act of bravery.

When Haman shows up that morning to visit the king, he asks Haman, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Haman, thinking he must be talking about him, says, dress him in a royal robe, put him on a royal horse with a crest, and then have a prince lead him through town, proclaiming before him. The King said, Quick, do everything you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who saved my life. Not quite what he envisioned.

The King and Haman go later that evening to the special banquet with Queen Esther. Once again, the King tells her she will receive anything she asks for, up to half of the kingdom. Chapter 7:3 “Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.” Our enemy will have us destroyed, killed, and annihilated. He asks, “Who is this enemy?” she replies, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” Haman pleaded for his life, but the king sent him to the gallows that he had built for Mordecai to be hanged. King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther Haman’s estate, and gave the signet ring that he took from Haman to Mordecai because the Queen appointed him to manage things. Then she begged the king to stop the decree that Haman had already sent out to kill the Jews. He had another decree sent out that allowed the Jews to protect themselves against anyone who would assault them. The Jews overpowered those who hated and wished to destroy them.  After two days of fighting, they enjoyed a day of rest, celebrating their victory with a feast. Mordecai made a decree that the Jewish people would celebrate this holiday every year as a time when, God through Esther, saved the lives of the Jewish people and the evil plot which Haman had devised failed and returned upon his head. His ten sons were also killed on the gallows. The days of Purim are still celebrated by the Jewish people today. King Ahasuerus advanced Mordecai in his kingdom until he was second only to the king. Chapter 10:3 says: “For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.”

This story reminds me of how faithful God is to his children. I am reminded of Genesis 50:20 when Joseph told his brothers, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” The things Haman had devised were evil, but God was able to turn it around for the good of His people. God had orchestrated so many things to be in place to save them. We need to trust God, even when we are going through hard times. We need to realize that we are not going through them alone, because God has promised that he will be with us.  It also brought Ephesians 3:20 to mind, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Queen Esther asked for her life and the life of her people. She was given that and more. The King gave her the estate of Haman and Mordecai was able to advance to the number 2 man in the kingdom, even though they were Jews. He became very powerful and influential, and it says in the last verse that even with all his power, “he was seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all of his countrymen.” Mordecai was a wise man and he used his life to lead people to seek God and live a life according to his will. What purpose have we been made for, let’s be courageous and trust God and let him use us as He wills, let’s seek good for others as we work for God’s glory.

-Sherry Alcumbrack

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to on BibleGateway here – Esther 6-10

Tomorrow we will finish up the book of Ezra (7-10) and then just 2 more books to read in the Old Testament before we get to start the New Testament next Wednesday.

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Haman’s Pride and Prejudice

Esther 1-5

When we read a good book, there are several things that we look for. A hero, a villain, a little romance, and some intrigue. We always enjoy a book with some plot twists to keep us guessing. The book of Esther has all that and more. Many scholars have mentioned that God is not mentioned in Esther, but the story is all about His faithfulness to His children.

Once upon a time in a land far away, King Ahasuerus, King of the Medes and Persians was throwing a banquet to show off his wealth and power. He wanted to show off his beautiful Queen Vashti, but she refused his summons. His advisors demanded he divorce her because the other wives in the kingdom would not honor their husbands. They decided to host a beauty pageant of all the young ladies in the land to choose the next Queen.

In the city of Sushan, lived a Jew named Mordecai, his father was one of the captives under Nebuchadnezzar. Mordecai was raising his first cousin, Esther, because she was orphaned. Esther was picked to be one of the candidates for Queen. Esther had not told anyone she was a Jew due to Mordecai’s advice. Some of the people looked down upon the Jews. Esther went before the King and found favor in the sight of all. 2:17a “The King loved Esther more than all the other women.” He made her his Queen.

Mordecai sat at the gate and heard Bigham and Teresh, the doorkeepers, plotting to kill King Ahasuerus.  Mordecai told Queen Esther, and she told King Ahasuerus in Mordecai’s name. It was checked out, found to be true, and both were hung on gallows and it was written down in the book of the chronicles, in the presence of the King. 

There was an evil prince named Haman whom King Ahasuerus promoted over the other princes. Everyone had to bow and pay homage to Haman. Mordecai would not bow to him, and it filled Haman with rage. He convinced the King that all the Jews were opposed to the King and that they should be destroyed. The King told him in 3:11 “to do with them as seems good to you.” Haman sent out a decree to kill, destroy, and annihilate all the Jews, both young and old on one day.  When the Jews heard of this, there was great mourning, with fasting, weeping, and wailing. Many wore sack cloth and ashes. Mordecai sent Esther a message and showed her the decree, and he suggested that she go to the King and plead before him for her people. She said she had not been called to visit the King in 30 days, and she would be killed if she went before him and he did not extend his gold scepter to her.” Esther promises to approach the King and asks all the Jewish people to fast and pray for the three days prior to the meeting. So, Mordecai did all that was asked of him.

On the 3rd day she went before the King in her royal robes and found favor. He held out his golden scepter. The King asked her request and in 5:3b “It shall be given to you, up to half of the kingdom.” She asked the King and Haman to come to a banquet that she would prepare. They went to the banquet, the King once again asked for her petition and said that it would be granted her. She asked for him to come back the next night along with Haman to another banquet. Haman went out joyful but when he saw Mordecai in the Kings gate, he was filled with hate in his heart. He told his wife that Queen Esther had invited him to a banquet with the King, and he was invited back for the next day. But he couldn’t enjoy it as long as Mordecai the Jew sat in the Kings gate. His wife suggested he build huge gallows and then suggest that Mordecai be hanged from it in the morning. This pleased him and gallows was built. You will need to come back tomorrow for the…. rest of the story.

When we read this story it’s easy for us to think we would do the same thing that Esther did because we know how it will end, but it took a lot of courage for her to even go before the King with her request because she knew that he could command to have her killed if he so chose. These are a couple of my favorite verses in this passage 4:13-14 “And Mordecai told them to answer Esther; ‘Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.’” And Esther sends this reply to Mordecai 4:16b “And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Mordecai totally trusted God to save the Jewish people, somehow, someway. He reminds Esther that maybe God put her in the position she is in for just this reason.

We need to trust in God to know that if we can do the right thing and glorify God in the process that God has us right where He wants us, and He will use us if we allow Him to. Esther didn’t go into this blindly, and she did things in the correct order. She asks everyone to fast and pray to God for her to find favor with the King, after they did that, she courageously put her life on the line, she was willing to lay down her life for a just cause. We need to be looking for our “such a time as this”, when we allow God to use us to fulfill His purpose.

-Sherry Alcumbrack

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – Esther 1-5

Tomorrow we will read the rest of Esther’s story as we continue on our

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How It All Goes Down

Esther 5-10

esther-8

Tuesday, December 13

Esther is accepted by the king.  After the fasting and praying period, Esther went before the king, he raised his scepter, and he spared her life. Xerxes was eager to grant Esther what she wished. Instead of telling the king about her problem, she invited the king and Haman to a banquet. At the banquet, Esther invited the king and Haman to another banquet the next day. Haman was still upset at Mordecai, and through the encouragement of his wife, he made a 75 foot pole to hang Mordecai.

God gives the king a sleepless night.  The night between the two banquets the king couldn’t sleep. The king’s insomnia was no accident. This is actually one of the main turning points of the story. God made sure that Xerxes was up that night so that he would be prompted to remember when Mordecai saved the king’s life. It turns out that Mordecai had never been rewarded for saving the king’s life. The king resolves to reward Mordecai immediately. And he puts Haman in charge of the celebration! (Insert face palm here.)

At the second banquet, Esther told the king, finally, that she was a Jew, and that she would be killed because of the law that Haman wrote. Filled with anger, the king walked out of the room. Haman, meanwhile, pled for his life with Esther. When the king returned, he believed that Haman was attacking Esther. Haman was arrested and hung on the pole he created for Mordecai.

In order to save the Jewish people, the king allows Mordecai and Esther to write a law that saves the Jewish people. The Jews are authorized to defend themselves with the protection of the government. When the day comes, the Jews fight their enemies and are saved. As a result of all of this, Mordecai becomes second in charge of Persia after the king, and Esther is the glorious queen!

God works in your life through the ordinary. What did God do in the story of Esther? There were no miracles. There was no verse that said, “God…” and explained God’s actions. But certainly, God was at work in this story. After all, his chosen people were saved through a series of improbable events.  This demonstrates just exactly how God works in our lives. God accomplishes his plans through everyday, ordinary means. We need to see how God is working in our lives through his providence. Think about things that almost didn’t happen in your life. Maybe you almost went to a different school. Or, you almost never became friends with your best friends. But you did, and it changed your life. The story of Esther teaches us to see how God works in the everyday, ordinary parts of our lives and to trust God’s heart when we don’t understand His hand.

-Julie Driskill

For Such a Time as This!

Esther 1-4

esther-4

Monday, December 12

Esther occurs at an interesting time in Biblical history. The Jewish people had been living in exile in Persia. The Persian king, Cyrus, allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem. Many went back to Jerusalem, but some stayed behind in Persia. Esther is the fascinating story of those people who stayed behind in Persia.

At this time God’s people were basically controlled by a dictator.  The king of Persia is a guy named Xerxes. In Esther chapter 1, we see he threw a huge party for all of his most important officials that lasted for 6 months. In the last 7 days of the party, Xerxes expanded the party to include everyone in the city.  After seven days of getting drunk, Xerxes called for his wife, Queen Vashti.  He wanted all of his friends to view his wife and see how beautiful she was. But Vashti refused, which made Xerxes angry.  (Uh-oh.) Vashti is removed as queen, and all the wives of Persia are told not to be defiant like the queen!

Enter Esther.  In chapter 2, Xerxes decides to find a new queen. He’s not romantic, however. He’s a sick dictator.  He has his servants go throughout Persia to find beautiful virgins. They are brought back to the palace, and then they are to spend one night with Xerxes.  One of the women brought to the king is Esther. In chapter 2, we are introduced to Esther, and her cousin Mordecai who raised her because she was orphaned. Esther is taken into the king’s harem. And when it is her turn to be with the king, he falls for her. Esther becomes queen, but we learn that she doesn’t tell anyone she is Jewish. (Psssst.) It’s a secret.


It is also in this chapter that we learn that Mordecai found out about a plot to assassinate the king. He told Esther, who told the king, and the perpetrators were executed. As chapter 2 ends, Esther is queen and Mordecai is responsible for saving the king. But remember, no one knows Esther is Jewish.
Chapter 3 introduces us to the true villain of the story -a man named Haman. He was the most powerful official in Persia after the king, and he was a jerk! Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. And Haman got mad. He didn’t just hate Mordecai, but all the Jews.  Haman came up with a plan to exterminate the Jews from Persia. He told the king that if he was allowed to kill this group of people, he would take their money and give it to the king. Xerxes agreed to this arrangement without hearing the details.


In chapter 4 Mordecai and the Jews began to be in mourning because of this decree. Esther wanted to know what was the matter with Mordecai, and why he was in mourning. Mordecai believed that Esther can help, but she was afraid to go before the king. If a person came before the king unannounced, they could be executed.

Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

Esther 4:13-14

God would save the Jewish people. He promised to do it in the Old Testament. But Mordecai saw that Esther might be God’s instrument of salvation for the Jews. You have to remember, neither Mordecai nor Esther knew how the story was going to end. Both of them could have been killed.

Finally, Esther decided to help, although death was a real possibility for her. She asked the Jews to fast and pray for her. This was a turning point in Esther’s life. She went from being a young woman who was at the mercy of the king and her cousin, to a person who was decisive and in control.

At the completion of today’s post I hope you realize that everyone faces turning points in their lives. Have you faced a turning point in your life yet?  Some possible turning points in your lives could be:

Will I cheat on this test or not?

Will I date a non-Christian or not?

Will I have sex with my boyfriend/girlfriend or not?

Will I let everyone know that I am a Christian or not?

Maybe you can see some turning points in your life where you didn’t follow God with your decision. There is good news. God forgives.

God uses unusual events to accomplish his plans. The story of Esther is like an elaborate chess board, and God is moving the pieces of the chess board into place to accomplish his purposes. He does this in our lives too. You might wonder why God allowed your parents to get a divorce, or why he allowed your family to move to a different state. You might wonder why God isn’t giving you the things you want in life.  He takes all of the experiences of your life and uses it for your good. As we continue tomorrow in Esther, you will see how this rings true!

-Julie Driskill