There’s something almost supernatural about the Bible in the way that you can read a story over and over but still be able to get new meaning out of it.I’ve been using an app, called Dwell, that I’ve been enjoying lately. It combines scripture with music and lets you change the speed and select the voice. It’s been a relaxing new way to listen to the Bible. And as I’ve been listening and re-listening to scripture, I’ve thought a lot about the book of Esther.For six months, in the glorious empire of Ahasuerus, the Medes and the Persians were celebrating. Everyone was there, the men hosted by King Ahasuerus and the women by Queen Vashti. To finish off the end of the 180 days, they had a seven-day feast.At the feast, King Ahasuerus (or Xerxes I), merry with wine, commands his men to bring Vashti before him wearing nothing but her crown, so that, by account of some versions, she can show off her beauty to all the other men. But when the men tell her what the king has commanded, Vashti is insulted and refuses. This is a dilemma for the king and his fellow men, who believe that when they request something of a woman she should be expected to do it. Allowing Vashti to say no would set an unfortunate precedent that women were allowed to disobey. To punish and and set an example of her, they take away her queendom. The king’s servants propose that they hold a contest to find the fairest maiden to take her place. Word spreads throughout the kingdom, promising that whoever is accepted would live a lavish life at the palace, having all their wishes granted and their needs met. Across the kingdom is a girl named Esther (also called Hadassah). Years earlier, when both her parents died, her older cousin Mordecai had taken her in as his own and raised her. Now, she has grown to be quite beautiful, and when Mordecai hears of the contest, he feels she may be the perfect candidate. He’s right; he brings her to the palace to meet the king and she is selected.During Esther’s meeting, however, Mordecai is waiting at the king’s gates when he happens to overhear two of the gatekeepers, Bigthan and Teresh, talk about their anger towards the king and their treasonous plan to assassinate him. Mordecai tells Esther about this plan and asks her to relay the warning to the king. She does, and the matter is confirmed. Both men are hanged. One would think that having saved his life, the king would honor Mordecai. But he does nothing. After the hanging of the would-be assassins, what the king does do is promote Haman, the son of Hammedatha. He gives him a seat above all other princes. And, being raised to such a position, Haman comes to expect all others to bow to him. All relent to this request but one man: Mordecai. Haman learns that he is a Sabbath-keeper, a Jew.Haman is filled with rage at the sight of Mordecai standing, but instead of laying a hand on him, he vows to destroy all Jews throughout the kingdom. He asks the king to pose his decree that all Jewish people be destroyed. In return, Haman promises to pay. The king, like most people, is not above money and agrees. He does not think about the fact that the majority of his kindgom is Jewish. Nor does he know that his new wife, Esther, is too. Word spreads of this proclaimation. Mordecai and his people mourn the news. They are terrified and confused.But, somehow, Esther hears nothing of this until Mordecai tells her. She tries to comfort him, but he warns her that she should not feel a false sense of security just because she seems to be in the king’s good graces: “‘Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’”Esther tells Mordecai to spread the word to all the Jews that they should fast for three days, and that she and her maids will fast with them. It’s unclear, at this point, why she specifies three days but we see later in the story how this becomes significant. She says that she will go before the king and make their claims. If she should die during her plight or be killed, so be it. There is no sign of weakness or hesitation in her because she has faith that God will guide her, that He is guiding her. She does not feel fear because she does not believe that He would let her people perish. Although she does not say this specifically, we can see this in her fearlessness and bravery.Fueled by her faith, Esther goes before the king, who asks her what she would request. But instead of simply telling him her plea, she asks for Haman to come to the banquet she will host.But at the banquet, she still doesn’t say what it is she really wants. She continues to fast, and when the king asks her again, she requests that he and Haman come to a second ...
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Mar 17 202141 mins