In Esther, chapter four, verse fourteen, Mordecai believed that it was God’s purpose to use Esther to deliver Israel and that she had become queen for this very reason. However, Mordecai knew that Esther could fall short of that purpose if she did not do her part in God’s redemptive plan. If she refused to […]
If thou holdest thy peace Read More »
In Esther, chapter three, verse eight, one of God’s purposes in giving the law to Israel was to make them different from all the other people. Haman recognized something different in the people of God and hated them for it. He attempted to persuade King Ahasuerus by convincing Him. Haman was relating King Ahasuerus to the people
Their laws are diverse from other people Read More »
In Esther, chapter three, verse seven, they cast “Pur,” similar to dice. Haman used it to determine the “lucky day” on which to destroy the people of God after nearly one year intervened between the casting of the lot and the execution of the plan. The period gave Mordecai and Esther, under the providence of God, time to encounter
In Esther, chapter three, verse six, Haman, the prime minister of Persia, is the first political figure in the Bible to devise a sinister plan for exterminating all of the chosen people of God within his political sphere. Haman’s wrath was so excessive that to punish the man who excited it seemed to him as nothing. The
Haman sought to destroy Read More »
In Esther, chapter three, verse four, those around Mordecai wanted to know why he did not bow down. He gave them only one answer: he was a Jew. God sent them into captivity to purge them from idolatry. The discovery from Ezra and Nehemiah that the chosen people of God went back to Jerusalem had
In Esther, chapter three, verse two, Mordecai refuses to bow before Haman because of his loyalty to God, as in verse four. The honor paid to Haman by the king’s servants and others either was undeserved or bordered on conduct reserved by the Jews only for the worship of God. Therefore, Mordecai would not consent
Mordecai bowed not Read More »
In Esther, chapter two, verse twenty, although Esther had been chosen and crowned queen of the great Persian empire as in chapter two, verse seventeen, she was not puffed up with pride and self-importance because of her newly attained status and power. She did not despise her lowly cousin’s advice, nor did she disdain her
As Mordecai had charged her Read More »
In Esther, chapter two, verse seventeen, the Persian king appointed Esther as the queen. The illustration shows how God can turn the hearts of sinful people to serve His purposes, as in Proverbs twenty-one, verse one. Esther was now in a position to help her people when the need arose about five years later. God
In Esther, chapter two, verse four, the book of Esther, although it contains no explicit mention of God, shows His continuing providence over the Jewish people. He directs, overrules, and uses the actions of men and women to accomplish His purposes and to persevere His chosen people. The book displays God’s foresight and providence in
Let the maiden be queen instead of Vashti Read More »
In Nehemiah, chapter thirteen, verse twenty-five, Nehemiah contended with these people in chapter thirteen, verses eleven and seventeen. He cursed them, smote off their men, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God: Ye shall not give your daughters: On the recurrence of such marriages after the separations effected by Ezra of
I contended with them Read More »
