Chapter 9: 20 - 32; 10: 1
- 3
The book of
Esther: A study of God in action when nothing appears to be
happening!
by Patsy Norwood (c) 2023
- 2024. All Rights Reserved.
In our last lesson we left the Jews celebrating their victory
over those who had tried to do them harm.
Let’s take a closer look at that celebration and then wrap up
this study with some insights …
20 And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all
the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King
Ahasuerus,
These letters were the beginnings
of what was to become known as the Jewish ‘Feast of Purim.’
(We will remember from earlier in
the study that the month of Adar correlates with our February-March calendar
and lasts some 29-30 days.)
21 to establish among them that they should celebrate
yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar,
Two days, the 14th and
15th of Adar were to be set aside every year for a time of
celebration.
22 as the days on which the Jews had rest from their
enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from
mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy,
of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.
Mordecai included in the letter the
reason for the celebration and what they should do. The festivities remind me of our modern-day
celebration of Christmas.
23 So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun,
as Mordecai had written to them,
The Jews liked the idea of a
yearly celebration.
Note: at this point it is quite possible that Mordecai’s
letters were only a ‘suggestion,’ possibly to see how it would be received. Albeit, at this point I’m sure that anything
Mordecai wanted or suggested to the Jews was as good as done.
24 because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the
enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them,
and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy
them;
What Haman meant for evil …
25 but when Esther came before the king, he
commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had
devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and
his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
… God turned to good!
26 So they called these days Purim, after the
name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what
they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them,
Pur is the Persian word for ‘lot,’
which is a reference to Haman’ casting lots to decide the day the Jews would be
destroyed.
The idea of ‘Purim’ carries with
it … Sorrow turned to joy; destruction turned to triumph and mourning into
dancing.
Purim was to be a reminder of what
could have happened but didn’t because God intervened.
27 the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and
their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they
should celebrate these two days every year, according to the
written instructions and according to the prescribed time,
The Feast of Purim was for the
Jews, their descendants and all who would join them now and in the future.
28 that these days should be remembered and
kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city,
that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the
Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their
descendants.
The Feast of Purim is still
observed by Jews today and is a reminder of their deliverance and of who was
responsible for it.
29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with
Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter
about Purim.
The letters Mordecai and Esther wrote
suggesting the idea of a celebration are now made an order!
30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews,
to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of
Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
This was a new letter, not the one
mentioned in verse 20.
31 to confirm these days of Purim at
their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had
prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their
descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting.
This second letter included a time
of fasting the day before the two days of feasting occurred. The day of fasting was called the Fast of
Esther in remembrance of the 3 days of fasting before Esther went unbidden into
the presence of King Ahasuerus. The Fast
of Esther was observed on the 13th day of Adar.
32 So
the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in
the book.
It is believed that the book
mentioned here is the Book of the Chronicles of the kings.
Chapter 10
1 And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land
and on the islands of the sea.
We go from Purim
to imposing tribute. Life goes on and it
seems that the resources of the empire needed to be refilled so the king
imposed a new tribute on the land and on the islands (War was still going on
and wars cost money.). Today, we would
call this a new tax!
2 Now all the acts of his power and his
might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the
king advanced him, are they not written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
‘Now
all the acts of his power and his might’ … refers to the king. His achievements have long been forgotten,
but what God did through Mordecai and Esther has and will continue to remain
forever.
Mordecai was next
to the king in authority and power in the king’s vast empire. He held great prestige even to being written
in the Book of the Chronicles of the Media & Persia (Medo-Persian
empire). It is believed that the Book of
the Chronicles of the kings and the Book of the Chronicles of the Media &
Persia are the same book.
3 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.
Mordecai
continued to look out for the Jews in word and deed promoting their good and
prosperity. Life for the Jews was far
better than they could have hoped for.
This is the last
we hear of Mordecai. We have no idea how
long he kept his position as ‘prime minister’ to the king or even how long he
lived.
History does tell
us though that at the end of King Ahasuerus’ reign, his chief advisor (prime
minister) was a man named Artabanus, the captain of the guard. This man, Artabanus, who at the time held this
position of closest to the king and who had easiest access to the him took
advantage of the position and later murdered him in 464 B.C.
And that is the
end of the story … or is it! Because of
Mordecai and Esther’s willingness to be used by God, and because of God’s
providence the Jewish people survived what was meant to wipe them out. Why is this important … because it was
through the Jews that the Messiah would come!
God’s redeeming plan was not thwarted and was still in place!
And finally, here
are some take-a-ways from the book of Esther I observed, what can you add …
God does not let man get in the way of His plan.
If we are a faithful child of God, we
can be assured that God is always working behind the scenes in our lives
through the good and bad.
God cares for and has mercy for His
children. Here are a few of many
Scriptures that tell us so …
I
Peter 5:6-7
Philippians
4:6
Matthew
10:29-31
Deuteronomy
31:8
Nahum
1:7
Romans
8:28
Isaiah
41:10
Psalm
91:4
This has
been an in-depth, digging deep kind of study and one that has at times humbled
me as it gave me glimpses of our great God in action. It gives me great pleasure to end this study
with a fortified knowledge that even when it doesn’t appear so, God is indeed
always working behind the scenes for His children. This study has been a great faith builder for
me, I hope it has for you as well.
This is
our last lesson in this study, I hope you have enjoyed it.
Links to previous lessons
can be found HERE.
I’m going to take a break
for about 6 weeks and then we’ll start our next study on another lady in the
Bible. I haven’t decided yet which one,
if you have a suggestion, I’d love to hear it.
In the meantime, share, share, share with other ladies and invite them
to join our next study.
patsy @ From This Heart of Mine; (c) 2023 - 2024 by Patsy Norwood ~ All Rights Reserved.
How about Mary, Lazaras's sister. She must have had a deep connection to Jesus. She was the only one that understood that HE was about to be sacrificied just before the "Triumphal Entry" of Jesus. She sat at His feet listening to His teaching instead of tending to household things.
ReplyDeleteAngelia, that's a good suggestion and you're right, it seems Mary had some insights that Martha did not.
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