May 7 ~ Esther 3: 8-15
8-9 Haman then spoke with King Xerxes: "There is an odd set of people scattered through the provinces of your kingdom who don't fit in. Their customs and ways are different from those of everybody else. Worse, they disregard the king's laws. They're an affront; the king shouldn't put up with them. If it please the king, let orders be given that they be destroyed. I'll pay for it myself. I'll deposit 375 tons of silver in the royal bank to finance the operation."
10 The king slipped his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, archenemy of the Jews.
11 "Go ahead," the king said to Haman. "It's your money—do whatever you want with those people."
12 The king's secretaries were brought in on the thirteenth day of the first month. The orders were written out word for word as Haman had addressed them to the king's satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people. They were written in the script of each province and the language of each people in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.
13-14 Bulletins were sent out by couriers to all the king's provinces with orders to massacre, kill, and eliminate all the Jews - youngsters and old men, women and babies - on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar, and to plunder their goods. Copies of the bulletin were to be posted in each province, publicly available to all peoples, to get them ready for that day.
15 At the king's command, the couriers took off; the order was also posted in the palace complex of Susa. The king and Haman sat back and had a drink while the city of Susa reeled from the news.”
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
This is an amazing story. You may be thinking this could never happen today, but oh, baby, you’d be so very mistaken! This sort of thing happens ALL the time. Okay, so maybe we don’t go in and physically murder all people who believe a certain way if it is different from ours, but we have our own methods of separating and antagonizing anyone who is different. And maybe YOU are the one who is different. Maybe you have been singled out or isolated because of your lifestyle or your way of thinking.
Haman had a huge ax to grind. He absolutely hated Jews. And today, many people have their own huge axes to grind. They hate people of another race. They hate people of other religious beliefs. They hate people whose sexual orientation is different than theirs. They hate the poor, the oppressed, those whose political party is different. You can find just about any group to hate if you try hard enough. But the scary thing is how Haman got King Xerxes to agree to his plan to murder all of the Jews. And today, it is amazing how easily people jump on the “hate” bandwagon and target specific groups. AND… Haman got the King’s signet ring, and once he “sealed” the orders of the King with this ring’s signet (imprint), it was completely official and everyone in Susa believed that King Xerxes endorsed this project 100%.
This is NOT Biblical! This is not what Jesus taught. If you have a problem with someone whose beliefs and/or lifestyle are different than yours, try to work it out with that person, if you can. Maybe you can agree to disagree. But hate them? Not if you are truly a Christian. Jesus calls us to love others as we love ourselves and to love our enemies (real or perceived). And don’t we often hide behind our Christianity when we are cruel to others or turn our backs on them? “What they are doing (or believing) is not of Jesus,” we say, and we use that as an excuse to hurt them.
I encourage you to look at the people around you. Examine your attitudes toward others. Are there areas where you (and I) are behaving like Haman and Xerxes? Have we gotten caught up in the frenzy of promoting our own cause or agenda and forgotten to show love and compassion to others? I’m not saying you have to agree with everything others do and believe. But the first step toward winning others to Christ and HIS ways starts with an act of love and kindness. Are you willing to step out and represent Him?
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 6 ~ Esther 3:1-6
1-2 Some time later, King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, making him the highest-ranking official in the government. All the king's servants at the King's Gate used to honor him by bowing down and kneeling before Haman—that's what the king had commanded.
2-4 Except Mordecai. Mordecai wouldn't do it, wouldn't bow down and kneel. The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordecai about it: "Why do you cross the king's command?" Day after day they spoke to him about this but he wouldn't listen, so they went to Haman to see whether something shouldn't be done about it. Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.
5-6 When Haman saw for himself that Mordecai didn't bow down and kneel before him, he was outraged. Meanwhile, having learned that Mordecai was a Jew, Haman hated to waste his fury on just one Jew; he looked for a way to eliminate not just Mordecai but all Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
This passage reminded me of Rosa Parks. According to Wikipedia.org, “On December 1, 1955, Parks became famous for refusing to obey bus driver James Blake’s order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. This action of civil disobedience started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which is one of the largest movements against racial segregation. In addition, this launched Martin Luther King, Jr., who was involved with the boycott, to prominence in the civil rights movement. She has had a lasting legacy worldwide.” I assure you there were people in the UNITED STATES in 1955 who wanted to kill Rosa Parks for her “insolence.” Many of you are at least one generation removed from this event and others of its era. I am just old enough to remember “whites-only” water fountains in Little Rock, Arkansas. I can remember scooting over on the sidewalk as a child as we passed African-Americans while shopping in downtown Little Rock. The excuse was that “everybody did it,” and so did we, sadly.
So when I tell you that what Rosa Parks did was ENORMOUSLY HUGE, I am greatly understating how serious it was. When I tell you she acted out of a faith that I can’t begin to comprehend (but wish I could), I am not exaggerating. When I tell you that Mordecai’s faithfulness in refusing to bow down and kneel before the king was beyond incredible, I speak the truth.
Where did these people, and others like them, find such faith? I believe God gave them Supernatural strength. But He doesn’t bestow this lightly. We must do our part and trust Him. I don’t know why that is so hard, but sometimes it really is. We WANT to trust God completely to protect our steps when we follow Him and do what we know is right. But so often, we hesitate. You know the phrase, “he who hesitates is lost”? Think of that in terms of God. He (you and I) who hesitates is lost (separated from God – possibly for all eternity). When we put it that way, the consequences of NOT trusting God seem more dire than the risk of doing the thing we fear, right?
Never cave in to the will of man over the will of God. Learn from Mordecai and Rosa Parks and their courage and faith. Trust God to protect you when you do what you know is His will, and then do it!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 5 ~ Esther 2:19-22
19-20 On one of the occasions when the virgins were being gathered together, Mordecai was sitting at the King's Gate. All this time, Esther had kept her family background and race a secret as Mordecai had ordered; Esther still did what Mordecai told her, just as when she was being raised by him.
21-23 On this day, with Mordecai sitting at the King's Gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had it in for the king and were making plans to kill King Xerxes. But Mordecai learned of the plot and told Queen Esther, who then told King Xerxes, giving credit to Mordecai. When the thing was investigated and confirmed as true, the two men were hanged on a gallows. This was all written down in a logbook kept for the king's use.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Did I mention that I believe God placed Esther in Xerxes’ court for a purpose? Do you see His hand in all of this? Esther and Mordecai are Jews. Xerxes is not. Yet Mordecai hears of a plot to kill Xerxes, tells Esther, and Esther tells Xerxes, making sure she lets him know that Mordecai is responsible for this information. So, Mordecai, a Jew, has saved King Xerxes’ life. AND… it is recorded in the king’s logbook, so there is no disputing this! God has orchestrated this beautifully and perfectly… not only for the good of Xerxes, but for HIS specific purposes.
Have you ever had a situation where you said, “If this hadn’t happened and that hadn’t happened, then I would have been in trouble!”? Have you ever experienced a time when everything seemed to happen at the right place and the right time? Do you see now that this was no accident? God is continually working on our behalf. He is constantly orchestrating events in OUR lives, just as in Esther and Mordecai’s.
We serve an amazing, awesome God, don’t we? Does knowing that He is always working in the events of your life in any way change how you will live? Should it? I pray that you will carefully consider how you are conducting your life. If you are not living in a way that puts you in a position for God to use you for His purposes – and to bless you in the bargain – then maybe you need to consider making some changes. Ask God to show you where you need to be, then make any adjustments He shows you. It may not be a matter of life and death as it was for Xerxes, but it can have lasting consequences all the same.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 4 ~ Esther 2:12-18
12-14 Each girl's turn came to go in to King Xerxes after she had completed the twelve months of prescribed beauty treatments—six months' treatment with oil of myrrh followed by six months with perfumes and various cosmetics. When it was time for the girl to go to the king, she was given whatever she wanted to take with her when she left the harem for the king's quarters. She would go there in the evening; in the morning she would return to a second harem overseen by Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch in charge of the concubines. She never again went back to the king unless the king took a special liking to her and asked for her by name.
15 When it was Esther's turn to go to the king (Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had adopted her as his daughter), she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the harem, had recommended. Esther, just as she was, won the admiration of everyone who saw her.
16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of the king's reign.
17-18 The king fell in love with Esther far more than with any of his other women or any of the other virgins—he was totally smitten by her. He placed a royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. Then the king gave a great banquet for all his nobles and officials—"Esther's Banquet." He proclaimed a holiday for all the provinces and handed out gifts with royal generosity.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
If you watch the movie, “One Night With the King,” you will notice that there is a lot of time devoted to scenes depicting how this “courtship” played out in Xerxes’ court. In the movie, at least, it is shown that each virgin got to keep whatever jewels and adornments she chose to wear before the king, even if he didn’t choose her. Some of the young women put on so much that they literally could not stand up under the weight of all of the gold chains and jewelry! But Esther adorned herself simply and let her beauty do the talking. And Xerxes liked what he saw.
Do we do this? Do we put on everything we can find before we go to God? Do we pretend to be something or someone we are not? Do we load ourselves down with inflated ego, a ready list of our “good deeds?” Do we lay the praise on thick and try to “butter God up” in hopes He won’t notice our sins? Do we perfume ourselves with self-righteousness and blaming the other guy (or Satan) and even insincere remorse? Are we fake and phony with God? Or, like Esther before Xerxes, do we go before God simply, without pretense, humble and ready to fall at His feet and truly worship Him? Do we go before God in total honesty, baring ourselves and letting “the real deal” show?
We must learn from Esther. We must realize that God see us as we truly are, and any attempt to adorn ourselves is like what I like to call “lipstick on a pig.” All it does is weigh us down and make it even more evident that we don’t have much to show for our faith. God will not be fooled. Be like Esther. Be the real deal and come to God’s throne humbly and honestly. God will bless your efforts.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 3 ~ Esther 2:1-11
1-4 Later, when King Xerxes' anger had cooled and he was having second thoughts about what Vashti had done and what he had ordered against her, the king's young attendants stepped in and got the ball rolling: "Let's begin a search for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint officials in every province of his kingdom to bring every beautiful young virgin to the palace complex of Susa and to the harem run by Hegai, the king's eunuch who oversees the women; he will put them through their beauty treatments. Then let the girl who best pleases the king be made queen in place of Vashti."
The king liked this advice and took it.
5-7 Now there was a Jew who lived in the palace complex in Susa. His name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish—a Benjaminite. His ancestors had been taken from Jerusalem with the exiles and carried off with King Jehoiachin of Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon into exile. Mordecai had reared his cousin Hadassah, otherwise known as Esther, since she had no father or mother. The girl had a good figure and a beautiful face. After her parents died, Mordecai had adopted her.
8 When the king's order had been publicly posted, many young girls were brought to the palace complex of Susa and given over to Hegai who was overseer of the women. Esther was among them.
9-10 Hegai liked Esther and took a special interest in her. Right off he started her beauty treatments, ordered special food, assigned her seven personal maids from the palace, and put her and her maids in the best rooms in the harem.
11 Every day Mordecai strolled beside the court of the harem to find out how Esther was and get news of what she was doing.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
We think WE have problems! Esther’s parents were carried off in a raid by King Nebuchadnezzar. She went to live with her cousin Mordecai. Then, she was scooped up and taken to the court of King Xerxes to be groomed to possibly be his new queen. You could call it the Old Testament’s version of “The Bachelor.”
What I want you to notice is how many people were caring for Hadassah/Esther. First, there was her cousin Mordecai. He had cared for Esther since her parents were taken, and after they died, he adopted her. When Esther was taken to Xerxes’ court, she immediately caught the eye of Hegai, a eunuch servant who was somewhat Xerxes’ personal assistant. Now, this didn’t just happen! There is no question that God was orchestrating all of this… and that He cared greatly for Esther.
But you know what? God cares greatly for us, too. It may seem bleak. I can’t imagine how deserted and lonely and helpless Esther must have felt… and maybe you feel deserted and lonely and helpless. But God has not left you. He is still caring for you and orchestrating your future. Be faithful. Stay strong, and hold onto the promise that God will supply all of your needs. If He did it for a young girl named Esther, He will surely do it for YOU!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 2 ~ Esther 1:16-22
16-18 Memucan spoke up in the council of the king and princes: "It's not only the king Queen Vashti has insulted, it's all of us, leaders and people alike in every last one of King Xerxes' provinces. The word's going to get out: 'Did you hear the latest about Queen Vashti? King Xerxes ordered her to be brought before him and she wouldn't do it!' When the women hear it, they'll start treating their husbands with contempt. The day the wives of the Persian and Mede officials get wind of the queen's insolence, they'll be out of control. Is that what we want, a country of angry women who don't know their place?
19-20 "So, if the king agrees, let him pronounce a royal ruling and have it recorded in the laws of the Persians and Medes so that it cannot be revoked, that Vashti is permanently banned from King Xerxes' presence. And then let the king give her royal position to a woman who knows her place. When the king's ruling becomes public knowledge throughout the kingdom, extensive as it is, every woman, regardless of her social position, will show proper respect to her husband."
21-22 The king and the princes liked this. The king did what Memucan proposed. He sent bulletins to every part of the kingdom, to each province in its own script, to each people in their own language: "Every man is master of his own house; whatever he says, goes."
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
Xerxes did not like it one bit that Vashti had made him look bad in front of his entire Kingdom. The consensus of his counselors was that he should ban Vashti from his presence FOREVER! Imagine if you embarrassed your parents and they did this! Even worse, imagine if GOD did this! You know, we embarrass God all the time. We humiliate Him with our behavior, our sins, the way we ignore Him and do whatever we please. And yet, the LAST thing He wants to do is turn His back on US!
And did you catch what else Xerxes did? He made every man ruler of his household. In other words, what Vashti did caused trouble for EVERY woman, who was now under the complete rule of the man of the house. Imagine if every time you were punished for YOUR sin, every other female (or male) was punished, too! That is not a pleasant thought, is it?!
I have said it countless times, but I am so thankful that I do not live in Old Testament times! I am so grateful that God sent Jesus to die for my sins, so that I don’t have to worry about things that troubled Queen Vashti. I am so happy that I can think for myself and make my own choices (as long as they are in God’s will) and, hopefully, nobody else will suffer for my decisions.I challenge you to take a look at your own life and think about how it would be if you were like Queen Vashti and subject to the whims of a king. Think about how it would be if God turned His back on you and banished you. Thank God for loving you. Thank Him for being a grace-filled, merciful God who will go to incredibly great lengths NOT to turn His back on you. And make every effort to stay in His will and to humble yourself before Him, so that you are always assured a place at His table.
©2008 Debbie Robus
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May 1 ~ Esther 1:1-15
1-3 This is the story of something that happened in the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled from India to Ethiopia—127 provinces in all. King Xerxes ruled from his royal throne in the palace complex of Susa. In the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his officials and ministers. The military brass of Persia and Media were also there, along with the princes and governors of the provinces.
4-7 For six months he put on exhibit the huge wealth of his empire and its stunningly beautiful royal splendors. At the conclusion of the exhibit, the king threw a weeklong party for everyone living in Susa, the capital—important and unimportant alike. The party was in the garden courtyard of the king's summer house. The courtyard was elaborately decorated with white and blue cotton curtains tied with linen and purple cords to silver rings on marble columns. Silver and gold couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored stones. Drinks were served in gold chalices, each chalice one-of-a-kind. The royal wine flowed freely—a generous king!
8-9 The guests could drink as much as they liked—king's orders!—with waiters at their elbows to refill the drinks. Meanwhile, Queen Vashti was throwing a separate party for women inside King Xerxes' royal palace.
10-11 On the seventh day of the party, the king, high on the wine, ordered the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants (Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas) to bring him Queen Vashti resplendent in her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the guests and officials. She was extremely good-looking.
12-15 But Queen Vashti refused to come, refused the summons delivered by the eunuchs. The king lost his temper. Seething with anger over her insolence, the king called in his counselors, all experts in legal matters. It was the king's practice to consult his expert advisors. Those closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven highest-ranking princes of Persia and Media, the inner circle with access to the king's ear. He asked them what legal recourse they had against Queen Vashti for not obeying King Xerxes' summons delivered by the eunuchs.
(Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies of The Message call (800) 366-7788.)
If you have not seen the movie “One Night With The King,” I encourage you to rent it and see the story of King Xerxes and Queen Esther unfold on the screen. I know we think we have problems today, but honestly, our troubles pale in comparison to those of many persons chronicled in the Bible.
Let’s look at Queen Vashti. King Xerxes put on this huge, lavish party that went on an entire week! Can you imagine? And honestly, this party was all in preparation for war with Greece. Xerxes wanted to really build up his people and his army – to ply them with wonderful food, drink, entertainment and revelry, so that they would be more than ready to honor him by going to war. His queen – Vashti – saw right through this, and she didn’t like it. Let’s just say she was a little ahead of her time in the art of protesting war!
So, Vashti, at considerable risk to her own well being, refused to come to Xerxes’ party. More than that, she didn’t come when he called for her! This made him furious! How dare she refuse the king’s command! How would this look to his royal subjects and his army if he let this go? So he asked his counselors to help him figure out his recourse – how to punish Queen Vashti for her disrespect.
You know, I can’t help but think that we are so often like Xerxes – demanding our own way and “making nice” so people will like us and want to do things our way. And some of us are like Queen Vashti… determined to stand our ground and do things our way, no matter who we disrespect or what the fallout will be. And worse yet, we do this to God. We disrespect Him over and over with our actions and words. We make demands… “God, do this for me”… “God, fix this”… “God, I want that – and oh, yes, I want it NOW!” Or, we behave like Vashti… “God, I know you want me to do this or that, but I don’t want to, so I’m choosing my own agenda!”… “God, what you are asking is too hard… I can’t do it!”… “God, I would rather have FUN!”
Thankfully, God operates from a place of grace and mercy for those of us who have professed Him as our Savior. Thankfully He doesn’t consult counselors and plot His revenge! Today, stop and thank God for His love and generosity toward us. Thank Him for loving us in spite of ourselves and for His compassion and understanding when we misbehave and disrespect Him and demand our own way. Thank Him for gently reminding us Who is in charge and setting us on the right course again. We serve an awesome God… give Him praise today!
©2008 Debbie Robus
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