Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 8-10.

I have a tendency to view today’s passage as just the wrap up of the story being told in the Book of Esther.  I suspect that many others join me in that.  We do that because the “exciting” stuff happens before today’s passage.  However, there really is some stuff for us to think about in today’s passage.  The first thing I always think about is how many people of other nationalities became Jews in response to these events.  We should always think about how God’s saving power can draw others to worship Him.

Further, at Mordecai’s prompting, the Jews took it upon themselves to establish an annual festival where they would give presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor in remembrance of God’s deliverance.  They committed themselves, their descendants, and those who would join them to continuing this reminder of God’s goodness.  We should similarly celebrate the ways in which God has delivered us from disaster and include those who join us after the events we are celebrating.  Perhaps we should join the Jews in celebrating Purim, remembering not just when God rescued his people from Haman’s plot, but every occasion when God has rescued His people.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 4-7.

Usually when I read this passage I like to focus either on the fact that Esther had been put in her position in order to bring about salvation for the Jews from Haman’s plot, or about how the Jews of Susa prayed and fasted for Esther before she approached the king.  However, today I want to look at how Haman’s lack of humility led to his evil behavior and downfall.  Until today I only ever really saw part of what the story about Mordecai being honored had to do with the overall story.  Previously, I had seen how Haman’s arrogance led to him being humiliated, in his own perception if in no one else’s, when the king chose to honor Mordecai.  However, I had not realized how the writer included it to show us how Haman’s lack of humility led to all of his evil.  It was arrogance and lack of humility which led Haman to become so angry at Mordecai’s failure to bow before him that Haman decided it was insufficient to punish Mordecai, but it was necessary to kill him and all of his people.  It was Haman’s arrogance and lack of humility which led him to become so angry when he once again saw that Mordecai would not honor him that he decided to build the pole upon which he would himself be impaled.  It was Haman’s arrogance and lack of humility which led him to propose honoring Mordecai in a manner which led to his own humiliation.   So, let us learn the lesson that arrogance and a lack of humility will lead to our own humiliation and downfall.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 1-3.

The Book of Esther can be tricky to interpret because at no point does the writer make mention of God, or indicate that any of the individuals act out concern for Him.  Nevertheless, I choose to believe that Mordecai was a deeply religious man whose actions were motivated bu his faith.  On the basis of that, I see an interesting lesson about our interaction with government from Mordecai’s actions as recorded in today’s passage.  First, while waiting at the king’s gate to gain news of his cousin Esther, Mordecai overheard a plot to assassinate King Xerxes.  He chose to report the plot to Esther to pass on to the king, and the king took action to thwart the plot.  Perhaps he did so in order to protect Esther from what might happen to her after such an assassination, but I believe he did so out of loyalty to an authority, the king, he felt had been established by God.  Somewhat later, Mordecai refused to bow down before Haman in defiance of an order given by that same authority.  So, while Mordecai respected and supported the authority of the government, he held that there were limits to that authority.  The passage does not tell us why Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, but I believe because he felt that he should only bow before God.  In that view, bowing represents a form of worship.  In the same way, we should respect and support the authority of government, as an institution established by God, but we must resist its efforts to put itself in the place of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 8-10.

I always struggle to understand how the edict Mordecai wrote managed to offset the one which Haman had written.  However, perhaps in a way I can.  Haman had written his edict ordering the government officials to attack the Jews, but Mordecai wrote his edict allowing the Jews to defend themselves.  So, those choosing to follow the edict from Haman would have had the force of government behind them, but the Jews would have had all who would choose to side with them.  It serves as a reminder of the principle that a government can only govern with the consent of the governed, or by dividing them up.  So, Haman’s edict worked in two ways.  First, it united the people against an abuse of government power.  Second, it gave those government officials not already committed to antipathy to the Jews an excuse to refrain from attacking them.  In many ways it shows us that it does not take much to stop evil, even government sponsored evil.  Yet, the Book of Esther also reminds us that we need to be willing to take risks to face down evil.  While things ended well for those who took the risks in this account, it does not always work out that way, but it is always better to take the risks then to stand idly by.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 4-7.

When the Jews in Susa, and then later in other parts of the Persian Empire, learned of the edict against them they went into mourning by fasting, weeping, and wailing.  Then, before Esther takes the risk of going before the king without being summoned, she asks Mordecai to have all of the Jews in Susa fast for her.  Nowhere in the Book of Esther does the writer mention God, or prayer.  Yet, I find it hard to believe that the writer did not mean to imply that the Jews were praying to God for deliverance when they mourned and fasted.  I am also convinced that when Mordecai told Esther that deliverance would come from somewhere else if she did not act that the writer meant us to understand that Mordecai was expressing his faith in God.  My main point is that deliverance came to the Jews because they fasted and prayed.  We live in a nation facing great problems brought upon us by those who rule over us.  As Christians within this nation, we need to fast, pray, and pour out our hearts in mourning before God for the wickedness around us and ask for His deliverance.  There is much more to this passage than this, but this is what calls out to me.  I fail to pray as I ought and fasting has rarely been part of my spiritual discipline.  I feel called out by this passage today to change that.  Perhaps it is time for Christians to fast before God in prayer, seeking His guidance in the face of the terrible violence which occurs around us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 1-3.

I noticed a couple of things I find interesting today when I read the beginning of the Book of Esther.  In his anger after Queen Vashti refused his order to appear before him, Xerxes consulted his experts into the law to see what he could do.  That reads to me as if he was seeking an existing precedent in law to take action against her.  His advisers were unaware of any such precedent, but they wanted there to be one, so they gave Xerxes advice to create one.  I am unsure that there is any significance to that, just something I found interesting.  Also interesting, Haman did not notice that Mordecai refused to bow down or otherwise give him honor.  He only became aware of it when other officials reported it to him.  We do not know why Mordecai refused to give honor to Haman, but the writer seems to link it to him being a Jew.  Or, at least, the fact that Mordecai was a Jew was why the other officials wanted to see if his actions would be tolerated.  So, Haman felt it necessary to make Mordecai pay for failing to honor him, even though Mordecai never did so in a way which brought itself to Haman’s attention directly.  Not only that, but Haman wanted to punish all of the Jews for Mordecai’s refusal to honor him.  In doing so, Haman demonstrated an ambition which exceeded his grasp.  A wise official would have chosen to ignore Mordecai’s “insubordination” so long as they did not observe it themselves, an official who was not a fool would have satisfied themselves with bringing suffering to just Mordecai for the slight he had committed against them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 8-10.

So, Haman had issued an edict in the king’s name and with the king’s seal (which made the edict official) that the Jews should be killed and their property plundered on a specific date. Under Persian law, such edicts could not be revoked.  After it was revealed to the king that Esther was a Jew, and thus subject to that edict, the king gave Mordecai his signet and told him to issue whatever edict he could devise to counter that edict.  The edict which Mordecai issued in the king’s name granted the Jews the right to assemble and do to those who attacked them what Haman’s edict had ordered be done to the Jews.  Mordecai’s edict turned the tables on those who had planned to use Haman’s edict to wipe them out.  Afterwards Mordecai sent out a letter instructing the Jews to annually celebrate their success in defeating Haman’s plot against them, a celebration which the Jews carry out to this day.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 4-7. When Mordecai sent word through Esther’s emissary about what Haman had initiated, she replied with her concern about approaching the king.  Mordecai’s response is perhaps one of the most important lessons any one of us can learn.  Mordecai told Esther that “keeping her head down” would not save her from the coming genocide.  More importantly, the reason she had been blessed with her position was likely just so that she could act against this coming atrocity.  When we see something happening, or about to happen, that we are uniquely positioned to be able to stop, we should consider that God likely put us into that position in order to do so.  Actually, it is not just atrocities which we should see this way.  When we find ourselves in a position to help someone, we should consider that God likely put us in that position for a reason.  This entire passage shows us how God’s providence works.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Esther 1-3.

There are a lot of different things which we can focus on here, but I am going to write about a few things which I never noticed before (or, implications of them which I never noticed before).  The Book of Esther starts out with the story of King Xerxes divorcing Queen Vashti. One can look at it and learn some lessons about marriage and about respecting one’s spouse.  However, I realized today that the story is here for two reasons.  The first is obvious: it explains how and why Esther could become Queen.  The second is more easily missed.  I realized that I missed it because I have always read the Book of Esther in parts.  Perhaps someone who was studying the Book of Esther would more quickly recognize this reason.  What happened to Queen Vashti explains Esther’s trepidation about approaching King Xerxes later in the book.  It also explains why she does not just come right out and confront Xerxes with the fate he has allowed Haman to decree for her people.

Another point of interest is the fact that God is not directly referred to anywhere in the Book of Esther.  It is the only book in the Bible where this holds true.  However, we indirectly learn that Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman because he was a Jew.

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.

Clearly the implication here is that Mordecai told them he was a Jew as a means to explain why he would not bow down to Haman.  Further the implication of that is that he would only bow down before God. This is not the only place in the book where Mordecai’s faith in God is implied without being mentioned outright.  Mordecai neither advertised his faith in God, nor did he hide it.  Some of us are called to live in a similar manner.  Yet, when the time came Mordecai stood up and served God.  The same is true of Esther, who initially hid her faith because Mordecai instructed her to do so.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Esther 8-10.

In a way, the Book of Esther is about the contrast between two men who rose to great power, Haman and Mordecai.  Haman spent his entire life seeking power in anyway that he could find it.  Mordecai, on the other hand, spent his life doing what he believed was right.  Haman sought continuously to expand his power.  When he discovered that Mordecai did not live in fear of him, Haman sought to destroy not just Mordecai, but all of his people.  In contrast, when Mordecai discovered a plot against the king, he reported it, and then returned to his regular duties without seeking reward or honor.  Even before that, he never made any effort to capitalize on his cousin and adopted daughter becoming Queen.  Both men rose to the highest rank short of becoming king.  Haman had sought that power for his own benefit.  Mordecai sought that power for the benefit of his people.