Ladies Bible Class: Esther ... Lesson 1

Welcome back to Ladies Bible Class!

I hope you’ve had time to think about and maybe study the background information we looked over last week.  It’s been my experience that knowing the background of any situation helps understand what has or is about to happen better.  The same logic applies to Bible study.  

I hope you have your Bible, paper or some means of making a list, and something to write with as we begin delving into the first 4 verses of chapter 1. 

Open your Bibles and let’s begin … (Wait!  First go back and review last week’s introduction.  It will be easier to pick up with this lesson if you do.) 

Chapter 1 ... 

Verse 1:  Now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces,

As we learned last week, King Ahasuerus was an ambitious, proud, arrogant, and impulsive man who ruled over a massive area.  In fact, his empire was the most powerful empire at the time.  Consequently, he had a lot of power and influence which, when coupled with his character traits, led to a big upheaval in the palace!

Ahasuerus was also known as Xerxes the Great, King of Persia.  A little background on his ancestry will help us see how the Jews came to be in Susa (now modern-day Iran) at this time. 

Let’s go back to King Cyrus who conquered Babylon (remember Babylon had carried the Southern Kingdom (Judah) off into captivity).  King Cyrus reigned from 538 – 529 B.C. and after conquering Babylon allowed the Jews who wanted to, to return to their home of Jerusalem.   Not all Jews wanted to return though, after all some of them had been born in Persia or had lived there for as long as they could remember.  Those who didn’t want to go, stayed in Persia, hence the Jews in Susa.  (Susa, also known as Shushan, was made the capital city of the Persian Empire by Cambyses II.) Those who did return started working on rebuilding the Temple.

King Cyrus’ son, Cambyses II, took the throne at his father’s death and stopped the work on the Temple in Jerusalem.  He reigned from 529 – 522 B.C.

King Cambyses II’s son, Darius, took the throne at his father’s death and completed the work on the Temple.  He reigned from 521-485 B.C.

King Darius’ son was Ahasuerus, the King Ahasuerus that we read about in the book of Esther. He reigned from 485 – 465 B.C. about 100 years after the fall of Jerusalem. (Side note:  the book of Esther covers about a ten-year span of time.)

Bible Markings and Notes:  In verse 1, I underlined ‘from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces’ and made a note that it was the most powerful empire at the time.  I also noted that Ahasuerus was also known as King Xerxes.  

Verse 2:  in those days as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne, which was at the citadel in Susa,

In this verse we find King Ahasuerus sitting on his royal throne in the citadel.  This is pretty specific, isn't it?  According to research, the Kings of Persia, as a rule, conducted and ran almost everything, even some battles from their thrones.  I guess you could say that ‘sitting on the royal throne’ was much like going to our places of work in today’s times.

The citadel in Susa was the winter palace for Persian kings (one of 4 Persian King’s palaces located throughout the empire).  The word 'citadel' carries with it the connotation of a being a fortress. Dictionary.com says it 'is the fortified area of either a town or a city.  It could be a fort, a castle or a fortified center.'   When I think of a ‘fortress’ I think of a well-guarded place, a place of security, well-fortified or a place that was most protected.  In Susa, the citadel was the King’s palace.

Bible Markings and Notes: In verse 2, I underlined King Ahasuerus and right above it wrote 37-40 years old.  I also made a asterisk beside ‘Susa’ and made a note by the title that Susa is in modern day Iran. I also included Susa’s other name, Shushan.  

Verse 3:  in the 3rd year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his princes and attendants, the army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence.

There's a lot to unpack in this verse that’s important to setting the stage for what is about to happen.

King Ahasuerus is in his 3rd year of a 21 year reign as King of Persia ... this would put the date at or about 483 - 482 B.C.

He gives a banquet that was actually a gathering to plan an invasion of Greece. We might call it a ‘military banquet.’  It, the banquet, lasted 6 months!!!  This was a banquet with a serious agenda!

Look who the King invites ... all his princes, all his attendants, the army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his 127 provinces.  That's a lot of high-ranking men ... it gives credence to this being more than just an ordinary banquet, that indeed it was a six-month time period of intense planning and preparations for the invasion of Greece. (Side note:  the battles we read of in the book of Esther are always between the Persians and the Greeks.  These two were continually at war with each other during this period of time.)

It’s likely that they received their assignments regarding the troops each would supply for the invasion in and amongst the banquet happenings.

Bible Markings and Notes:  In verse 3, I underlined ‘third year of his reign’ and wrote out to the side in the margin, ‘about 483 – 482 B.C.

Verse 4:  And he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days.

While the princes and military men were there the King not only entertained them but also exhibited his power and riches. 

In keeping with what we've learned in verses 1 - 3, this is most likely the King's way of bringing to a close the 6-months of military planning and possibly his way of reassuring all these high-ranking men that he had the where-with-all to pull off this invasion.   Can't you almost sense his pride and arrogance as he gives these men the 'tour!'

It seems that King Ahasuerus was full of himself and wanted everyone to be impressed with him and all that he possessed.  Instead of this being a time of praying and seeking God’s will, it seems the King made it all about himself.

Bible Markings and Notes:  Beside verse 4, I wrote ‘military campaign’ in the margin.

All of my Bible markings and notes are intended to help me remember and better understand the text.  If you mark in your Bible, why?  (Not everyone likes to mark in their Bibles and that’s okay too.)

If you mark in your Bible, what markings and or notes are you making in these first 4 verses?

Now, let’s pull out our notebook, paper, etc that we’re going to make our ongoing list of ways we see God working behind the scenes on and look closely at these 4 verses.  Do you see anything that would indicate that God was providentially setting things in place to save the Jews?  (God working providentially means that He works for the good of His people through circumstances, both the good and bad, the negative and the positive.)

One thing that I see is a ‘build up’ that's going to catapult into the dethroning of the current queen … an ambitious, prideful king and a palace full of important men that the king wanted to impress (verses 3 and 4).  

What about you, do you recognize God working providentially behind the scenes in any of these verses?

Please share your thoughts and comments on today’s lesson.  I look forward to reading your thoughts.  Please feel free to comment on each other’s comments as well.   

Also, remember to share the link to this study with other ladies you know who might be interested in this type of verse-by-verse Bible studying.

Next week we’ll take apart verses 5 – 8.

Don't forget to leave a comment!

 Until the next class ...

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood ~ All Rights Reserved.

Ladies Bible Class: Esther ... Introduction

I’ve wanted to do an online ladies Bible class for quite some time and recently things have started to fall into place to make me think the time was right.  For the time being we will use this blog as the platform and maybe add in some videos at a later date.  We’ll see what kind of response we get.

If you like what you see in this first lesson, please share, share, share it with other ladies you know.  My goal is to post a new lesson here on Thursday each week.  We’ll call it our Ladies Bible Class.’  Of course, you can pop in at your convenience, follow along and leave a comment as you are able.

Also, please join me in prayer for this class.  Please pray that it will be a tool that God can use to further His Kingdom and that He will give me wisdom, guidance and discernment in my efforts to teach and write the lessons each week.  Thank you in advance.

We’re going to unpack the book of Esther verse by verse and squeeze as much out of it as we can.  We’re not going to rush through it, it will be a time of digging deep and learning as much as we can.  I hope you’ll join me.

By way of introduction to the book of Esther, let me ask you this question … did you realize that God is not mentioned anywhere in the book, not once.  One has to wonder what can be learned from a book in the Bible where God nor the name of God is ever mentioned?  Let’s find out …

The main characters are:

The Jewish people as a whole

A young girl named Esther … approximately 15 years old

A cousin named Mordecai

A queen named Vashti

Haman, a Persian Official

A proud and impulsive king named Ahasuerus … approximately 37-40 years old

God had the book written, but who penned it is unknown.   It stands to reason though that it must have been an eyewitness to the events as well as someone who had personal contact with all the characters. 

Before we delve into chapter 1, let’s look at what history tells us about King Ahasuerus as it is going to set the stage for understanding several things that happened.

From the book, The Histories by Herodotus we learn the following about King Ahasuerus and his personality:

He was a mighty king in charge of a huge, rich, wealthy empire.  He was known to be arrogant, ruthless, and impetuous. One never knew whether their request was going to be met with kindness or with immediate anger and rage. 

For example:  King Ahasuerus had a huge and mighty navy in addition to his army and had instructed his sailors to build a bridge out over it.  A storm came up and destroyed the bridge.  It made King Ahasuerus so angry that he ordered the anchors to be thrown over the sides and used as whips to punish the ocean.

Another example:  A man named Pythias had 5 sons and they all served in King Ahasuerus’ army.  Pythias was a very rich man and had given lots of money to the King.  Pythias was getting on up in age and sent a letter to King Ahasuerus asking that his oldest son be allowed to come home and be with him in his last days.  When King Ahasuerus read the letter, it made him so angry that he sent for the son, cut him in half and made his army march between both sides of the dead body.

King Ahasuerus was an unpredictable man with a violent temper!  We’ll delve more into the kind of man he was next week along with additional information about his wealth and empire as we jump into chapter 1.

In the meantime, let’s think about the kind of man 15 - 18-year-old Esther was going to have to deal with and what was at stake if she failed.  This couldn’t have been easy in any way … where was God in all of this?  

(I think I'll go ahead and tell you ... He was right there, working behind the scenes.  As we study this book, I challenge each of us to look for things that tell us God was working behind the scenes throughout the book.  In fact, as part of the study, we're going to make a list adding to it as we go along.) 

Have you ever wondered where God was as you went through really hard and sometimes scary things?  I think the book of Esther is going to show us exactly where He was then and where He is now when we’re faced with doing hard things.

I hope you’ll join me back here next Thursday for ‘Ladies Bible Class.’  We’re going to be making notes in our Bibles as well so make sure you have your pen ready along with a means of starting that list of ways God was working behind the scenes.

Don't forget to tell other ladies about Thursday's Ladies Bible Class!

Until the next class ...

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood ~ All Rights Reserved.

Devotional Thoughts: Psalm 23

This morning as I worked on the first month’s study in The Crown Bible study by Cindy Colley, I was touched by the reminder that our Good Shepherd cares.

We’re in Psalms 23 this month and as I read it, I was touched at how many ways this Psalms tells me that the Good Shepherd does indeed care!

Psalm 23

1  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

3  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I stopped and marked (yellow highlights in the picture) the ways He cares, the things He does that shows He cares listed in this passage of Scripture and added a ‘He cares!’ notation in the margin next to it.  (This would be a great passage to do a whole Bible study on, what David meant and possibly felt as he penned the Psalm and what it means for Christians today!)

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when the devil gets in my head, I need a reminder that the Good Shepherd cares and this passage is a good one.

Update:  later the same day ...  I listened to this sermon by Dan Winkler titled, Trust In Him Who Will Not Leave You based on Psalm 23.  If you are a Christian and you are carrying a heavy burden, I cannot recommend enough that you listen to this sermon as soon as you can.  There are many biblical nuggets of wisdom throughout the lesson that my heart clung to, this being one ... 'God will not play tug of war with your trials. You either give it to Him and let Him do His work with trust or carry on the way you are in misery.'   I needed to hear that, maybe you do too ...

May you have a blessed day!

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood ~ All Rights Reserved.

Ways to Strengthen Our Sometimes-Weak Faith

I'm pretty sure that all Christians experience bouts of weakened faith from time to time.  It can be tough to get through on our own, but even in this, we are not alone.  Jesus is still our good Shepherd and is just waiting for us to call for help, yes, even when our faith is weak or has taken a blow.

Here are some ways that I've employed to help me get through those difficult times ...

How to Strengthen Our Sometimes-Weak Faith

(in no particular order)

Admit that your faith is weak to God in prayer.  Just acknowledging it is the first step in dealing with it. He's not going to belittle you or scold you for needing help in this area.  He loves us and wants us to come to Him with everything!

Study your Bible! As Christians, I hope you're a faithful student of God's Word.  If so, you have a whole book of remembrances of how God has been faithful to His people throughout history.  If you're not a faithful student of God's Word, then this is a good time to delve in and learn about God's faithfulness.

Along the same lines, take a look at your life and acknowledge God's faithfulness in your past.  A thumb through my prayer journal is a faith builder.  Seeing how God has answered past prayers is another reminder that He is faithful.  

Listen to spiritual songs that build your faith.  Create a playlist of faith building go-to songs ready to hit the button and play.

Ask God to strengthen your faith ...  the father of a demon possessed child did and God did!

Mark 9:23-25 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What can you add to this list?  Let's build a resource to put into play when we're struggling with our faith.

May God be gloried in all that we do,

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood ~ All Rights Reserved.

What I Want in a Bible Study

I’ve reached a season in life where I’m done with the ‘fluff’ Bible studies that are common and readily available for women.

I’m done with the Christian motivational speaking women whose lessons have very little Bible in them.

I’m done with the preacher who stands in the pulpit and preaches what the congregation wants to hear instead of what God’s Word says.

I want the meat of God’s Word.

I want to hear faithful and true to God’s Word lessons from men in the pulpit and from women in women’s classes or at women’s speaking events.

I want something different than mainstream religion is offering.

‘Feel good religion’ has become an epidemic and we need men and women who aren’t afraid to say, ‘give me the meat of God’s Word, nothing more and nothing less.’

We need faithful men and women who aren't afraid to teach the meat of God's Word in their respective biblical roles.

I am one of those women!

I pray that you are too … so much is at stake.  If Satan can make us feel satisfied with fluff Christianity, then he doesn’t have to worry about us digging deep into the meat of God’s Word where he and his lies are exposed and where we truly find God's will for our lives.

Women are the hands that rock the cradle, they are the control center of their homes, they are the molders of the future ... think about that.  As women what are we, you and I, doing with our God given power?

patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine

(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood.  All Rights Reserved.