Esther 1 - 5
Esther is another one of my favorite books. The first verse sets the time when the events recorded in Esther occurred. We get a picture of the expanse of his kingdom in the phrase “127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.” We also learn that he ruled his vast kingdom from “his royal throne at the fortress of Susa.”
Daniel 8:5 mentions that he saw in his vision himself in the fortress of Susa. The first verse of Nehemiah also mentions his being in the fortress of Susa. According to the internet, Susa is in Iran and some of the fortress is still there, though apparently falling apart.
The story in Esther begins with King Xerxes giving a banquet for all his nobles and officials as well as all the military officers of Persia and Media and the princes and nobles of the provinces. That had to be a pretty big group. The celebration lasted 180 days and really displayed the weal, pomp and splendor of his majesty.
At the end of this six-month period, the king gave a banquet for all the people who were in the fortress. This lasted a week and was held in the courtyard of the palace garden. No expense was spared and people were encouraged to drink as much wine as they wanted. Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace.
Can you believe the number of eunuchs mentioned? Seven. On the last night of the banquet, they were sent to fetch the queen, but she refused to come. He gets very angry and seeks advice on what he could do about it. They tell him if he lets her get away with this, “women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands and will start treating them the same way.
He makes an order that Queen Vashti be forever banished from his presence and will choose another queen more worthy than she. He also sends a proclamation that every man should be the ruler of his own home and should say whatever he pleased. Wouldn’t that go over well with modern-day feminists?
Later, he decides to search the empire for the most beautiful young virgins from which he will select a new queen.
At this point, we are introduced to a Jewish man of the tribe of Benjamin, who lives in Susa, whose name is Mordecai. His family had been exiled with King Jehoichin of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. As it happens, he had a “very beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadasseh, also called Esther. After her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her and raised her as his own daughter.
Esther was among the young women brought to the king’s harem at Susa. Hegai, the eunuch who cared for the harem was “very impressed by Esther and treated her kindly.” Now, no one knew that Esther was Jewish, because Mordecai advised her not to tell anyone. Mordecai kept a close eye on Esther, visiting her near the courtyard of the harem on his daily walk.
Each of these young women was given 12 months of beauty treatments before being taken to the king’s bed. After their encounter with the king, they were taken to a second harem for concubines. A eunuch named Shaashgaz was in charge of this harem. There they stayed until the king called them again.
When it was Esther’s turn to meet the king, Hegai advised her and she asked for nothing except what he suggested. The Word says “she was admired by everyone who saw her.” The king loved Esther more than any of the others and set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. He gave a great banquet (boy, did that guy love to party!) in her honor and declared a public holiday for all the provinces. Mordecai became a palace official, but Esther continued to keep her background a secret.
During the time Mordecai was on duty at the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs plotted to assassinate Xerxes. Mordecai told Queen Exther and she told the king, giving Mordecai credit credit for the report. The two eunuchs were impaled. Don’t you wish you could read The Book of the History of King Xerxes’ Reign mentioned in the text?
In chapter 3, we are introduced to Haman, who was promoted over all the other nobles. He loved that, as the king had commanded, all of the officials would bow down to show him respect, all that is except Mordecai. Mordecai had told those he worked with that he was a Jew.
Needless to say, Haman was enraged by this lack of respect and, having learned Mordecai was a Jew, decided to find a way to destroy all of the Jews in the entire empire.
This vile man Hama convinces the king that it is “not in the king’s interest to let them (the Jews) live and offers the king 10,000 large sacks of silver to the royal treasury. Imagine that! Unbelievably, the king goes along with it and issues the decree, even going so far as to offer Haman his signet ring. Decrees were written and went out to all provinces that all Jews were to be slaughtered on March 7 of the next year. All of their property would go to those who killed them. It was also proclaimed in Susa.
Mordecai’s response is interesting. He didn’t rally all of the Jews together and start a rebellion. He didn’t make plans to flee the area. He “tore his clothes, put on burlap and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail.” And he wasn’t the only one. There was great mourning among the Jews. They did the right thing: they fasted, wept and wailed, and many people lay in burlap and ashes.
Esther apparently had no idea what Mordecai’s problem was, for she sent Hathach (one of the eunuchs) out to him to find out what was bothering him. He sent her a copy of the decree and asked Hathach to explain the situation to her. He also asked her to go to the king and beg for mercy for her people.
Esther sent word to Mordecai that the king had not sent for her for thirty days and, if anyone approached the king without his request, if he didn’t hold out the golden scepter, they would die. Mordecai tells her “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 asks Mordecai to get all of the Jews in Susa to fast for her, not to eat or drink anything for three days, night or day. She and her maids would do the same. Then she would go to the king.
Mordecai and Esther responded as the godly people they were. Their first instinct was to fast and pray. This is always the most effective response to trouble and discouragement.
On the third day, Esther puts on her royal robes and goes in to see the king. He welcomes her by holding out the golden scepter. He even tells here he will “grant his request, even if it is half the kingdom.” She invites the king and Haman to a special banquet the next day.
On his way home from the fortress, Haman sees Mordecai and gets angry because Mordecai is not trembling before him. When he gets home, he brags to his wife and children about how the king has honored him and, even more, how Queen Esther invited only the king and himself to a special banquet the next day. But he tells them that Mordecai has spoiled it all by just sitting at the palace gate.
Haman’s wife Zeresh is every bit as vile as her husband. She advises him to set up a seventy-five feet tall pole and, in the morning, to ask the king to impale Mordecai on it.
We’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see how this turns out.
Tomorrow, we’ll read Esther 6 - 10.
Please Read This
Read this to the end - it will take your breath away Rev. Austin Miles
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (9/11/12) When the DNC came to Charlotte, area churches, 100 of them, offered hospitality, not knowing how much the Dems hate God and would actually boo God at the convention. They had no idea how that hatred would be directed at them and their churches.
The Sunday before the DNC, over 9000 people had come together to pray for the convention. Then, wanting to extend hospitality to the visitors to their city, 56 of the churches set out to “Adopt-a-Delegation.”
They put together gift baskets featuring Carolina Pralines and a letter welcoming them to the city and offering assistance in transportation, childcare or spiritual matters.
According to writer, Todd Starnes, The DNC banned the churches from distributing the gift baskets to delegates because, DNC said, the congregations hold values that are contrary to the party platform. Read that carefully.
David Benham, one of the organizers of the outreach said, “We were just trying to display Southern hospitality.” DNC officials, however, conveyed to city leaders that the Christians would not be allowed to present their gift baskets.
Even the Charlotte Mayor’s office jumped in to tell the churches not to participate, saying that their views on women’s rights are contrary to the platform. That’s right….the same platform that booed God later.
Benham then asked if they could send welcome letters to the delegates. Again, the DNC refused, because, they said, “The churches hold pro-life values.”
The baskets did not contain a single political or pro-life message. They just wanted to give them regional candles and a welcome letter. The DNC refused to return numerous phone calls seeking comment.
But it gets worse. When a gathering of 200 Muslims showed up to pray for the convention, the Dems welcomed them with open arms and the liberal media gave extensive national coverage.
It is ironic that this day, in the shadow of that Islamic prayer event, we commemorate the greatest tragedy in American History, when Muslims attacked America on September 11, 2001, brutally killing thousands.of innocent people.
Muslims who publicly state their hatred of our country with fierce determination to kill us all and put America under Sharia Law, are welcomed by the Democratic Party while Christians are pushed out of sight like criminals because they respect life and hold family values.
These are the same democrats who want you to vote them into office to direct the United States of America and every life from beginning to end.
It is obvious that we must not let this happen.
Our thanks to Rev. Ed Berkey (retired) who alerted us to this story.
Austin Miles
Have you decided where your core beliefs lie?
Don't forget to vote!!!
Until next time…
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