Week of Nov 18th - ESTHER CHAPTER 5

Esther's Request to the King
Esther Chapter 5

This chapter is the turning point in our story.
Chapter 4 ended grimly....Esther is ready to risk her life, going unannounced into the presence of the king, to plead the king to help save her people.
And that is where we pick up our story - in verse one chapter 5 - we see Esther bravely and courageously approach the king:

"On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”

AH!!  We can all take a deep breath - she has been received with pleasure.  If we are honest with ourselves, I believe that many of our greatest fears are never realized.  We cannot allow fear to grip and disable us, and the Bible warns us about worry (Phil 4:6-7  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus).  Esther acted bravely and did not dwell in her fear.

Not only has the king received her graciously, but beyond that, he offers to give her almost anything she requests!!

Will she immediately demand that Haman be punished and that the decree he established be overturned??  Read on:

4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.”

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

No, Esther does not make a hasty request, in fact, to our surprise she doesn't make her request AT ALL.  Do we too often rush into things, especially when things are tough or we are frustrated or upset?  I know that I certainly do.  I immediately want to complain.  Often times it is my own family who receives my complaints and nagging.  Perhaps I can learn from Esther, and offer my children a snack before I proceed to kindly ask them to focus on their homework, clean up their rooms, do their chores, etc.  

But why does Esther delay her request until the next day?  I believe when we read chapter 6, we will see it is all part of God's plan.

And why does she invite Haman to her banquet?  Isn't he the enemy?!

Let's see, in these next verses, how he responds to Esther's actions:

9 Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.

Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. 13 But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”

14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.

Haman, the evil character in this story, can easily be the target of our greatest disgust.  And yet, if I am honest with myself, do I also not seek man's approval, instead of Gods?  Do I not find it easy to see my pride grow when things are going well?  Do I sometimes allow something simple, which I am unpleased with, to wreck what would have been a perfectly lovely day?  HMMMM....if I am truly honest with myself, yikes, I am much like Haman myself.  It is an ugly admission.  One that I would prefer not to face.  Yet so true, and what a warning here.

Some extra optional questions to consider regarding chapter 5:

Why do you think Esther delays her request to the king?

What might be the benefits of delaying an important decision or pausing during a critical moment?
Why do you think Haman's bitterness towards one person prevents him from enjoying all his blessings?

If you reflect back on your life to times when you struggled, faced hardship or very difficult times, can you see in hindsight that God was indeed at work?  What lessons of God's faithfulness did you experience in emerging from those hard times?  How can those times encourage you to face difficulties which may be in your future?

Week of November 11th

Threat to the Jews

Study 7

Esther 3&4

In this part of our study we meet the wicked Haman.  We learn about his background (from the province of Agag in Media) and know that there is a long standing hatred between his ancestry and the ancestry line of the Jews.  Haman, with his manipulative and self-serving ways, has become elevated above all the nobles in the kingdom and is now 2nd only to the king himself!

Mordecai refuses to pay such a man honor, and will not obey the law in bowing down to him.  Thus begins the seed of fury in Haman whose wrath reaches the point in which he decides he wants to wipe out all of Mordecai's people.  He has the king sign a decree to wipe out all the Jews.  The king trusts him completely and doesn't even inquire about WHO it is that Haman is ordering to be destroyed (3:10).

Now Mordecai learns of this decree.  In the beginning of Chapter 4 we see how he puts on sackcloth and ashes, wails loudly throughout the city and goes to the gate of the palace.  The whole city is "bewildered" (3:15) by the decree, clearly this seems irrational.  And yet as we know, kings could do what they wished, and often did destroy people even within their own kingdoms.

Wearing sackcloth was customary in Judea and the East; tearing of one's clothes and wearing sackcloth and ashes is mentioned in Genesis 37:34 and Ezekiel 27:30:33.

Eventually he is able to communicate with Esther and they are able to discuss this crisis.  Mordecai urges her to act in 4:14 "and who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this".   What makes her jump to action in the next section?  What courage and bravery is this, in this humble queen, to say, "if I perish, I perish".  In verses 15-16 in Chapter 4 we suddenly see a determined, wise woman with a plan:

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

After taking guidance from Mordecai all these years, she is now going to guide him - she will help lead him to help her try to save their people.

During the wrap up talk Jill stated "God puts people in positions to do his work" and "God puts people in positions to get on their knees for him".  Beautiful calls to us to SEEK to examine just where in our own lives does God want us working on his behalf?  For whom do we need to be in prayer and TO whom do we need to be sharing God's love and salvation?

For further thought:
In what ways do you see God giving free reign to evil in Esther?  in our world today?
In what ways do you see God exercising control over evil in Esther?  in our world today?
Would your faith grow stronger or weaker in Esther's situation? 
How difficult is it to trust God that he is in control over your circumstances?
How do you respond in times of crisis?

Homework for next week:
read the commentary on pp 37-38; complete the questions on pp 39-40

THANKFULNESS in November

An extra post - remembering to be intentional about being grateful in November.

We are grateful to all the service men and women who serve to protect, secure and defend our countries.  I say countries because we are such a diverse group of women - many of our class members have more than one "home" country.  May God bless and protect all those who are in the line of duty and may we remember to pray for them regularly, not just at this time of year.  May peace and comfort be upon all those who have family members and loved ones serving actively.  And may we honor those who have fallen while in duty on our behalf.

As November tends to carry a theme of gratitude around the globe, what are some ways you seek thankfulness in your life?  Please share ideas in the comments if you would like!

Recently my sister shared this great idea from a website:

http://www.aholyexperience.com/free-tools-for-you/
click on "When You're Tired of Missing Jesus"

http://www.aholyexperience.com/free-tools-for-you/

It's a beautiful idea of creating a "Thanksgiving Tree" from branches and printable leaves with Bible verses.

Week of November 5th

Esther 2:12-23

Although I usually dive right into the topic covered during classtime, today I'd like to start off by expressing my gratitude to all the members of our Community Bible Study and especially to the Servant Team.

This new Bible Study group in Northwest London is truly a testament to God working in the lives of the women in this area!  Each week, as we gather in worship, prayer, and learning together, we see God at work.  Every week we sense his presence and his call and his everlasting love.  There are stories of answered prayer and fellowship in examining God's word together.  We laugh, we ponder, and we cry together.

THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF THIS GROUP!! 

We feel very strongly that this is God's class and He is our ultimate teacher.

This week's passage was brief - only 11 verses.

We picked up with Esther in the harem.   She receives 12 months of "treatments" which included 6 months of oil treatments and then 6 months of perfumes and cosmetics.  What was this, a spa??
When she is called to spend the night with the king, she could take anything she wanted.  Esther, wise and humble, asks Hegai, the king's principal eunuch, for suggestions.  She wins the favor of the king, and he prefers her over all the other young women.  She is crowned queen, and there is a great banquet.
Some time afterwards, Mordecai, ever faithful at the gate of the palace, perhaps holding a rank in the government or public office, overhears a plot to murder the king.  He tells Esther, who tells the king, and they investigate to confirm the findings.   The two men plotting to murder the king are then killed.

There is so much we want to know!  So many missing details!!  My husband sometimes gets frustrated because I get caught up in details.  It's true - I want to know it all!  Was she nervous?  Did she pray?  Was she scared?  How did she win everyone's favor?  Was she happy to be queen?

For us as believers, what kind of "treatments" might make us more favorable to God?

Have we specifically asked for God's favor in our lives?

Was it right for her to hide her faith and background?  

Do we sometimes need to "hide" our faith and background, in order to be in situations where God can use us?  Think of missionaries working in anti-Christian countries.  Probably they cannot be very overt about their faith, and often need to keep their following "underground" or "undercover".