Sun.’s Devo - Esther’s Rise

Read: Esther 1:1-3:15; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 35:17-28; Proverbs 21:19-20 Esther happened about 50 years after the Jews were allowed to go back to Jerusalem. Xerxes was the king who ruled 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia. His throne was in Susa. Xerxes gave a lavish banquet for his nobles and officials that lasted 180 days. Then he gave a banquet for the people that lived in his fortress of Susa which lasted for seven days. The queen, Vashti also gave a banquet for the women of the fortress. *** On the last day of the banquet when the men were good and drunk, he asked for Vashti to come so the men could gaze on her beauty. She was busy with her banquet and refused to come. This embarrassed the king and made him furious. He consulted with his advisors who knew all the Persian laws to see what could be done legally to punish Vashti. *** They were cunning and knew that if Vashti got away with this, it would affect how their wives treated them. They advised him to send a letter to all the provinces saying that every man should rule his own home and what he says should be obeyed. He followed their advise and banished Vashti from his presence. *** After a while, the king regretted his decision and missed Vashti. His advisors came up with a plan to replace Vashti. They would bring all the beautiful women of his kingdom to his palace where they would go through beauty treatments. Then he would have his pick. This pleased him. *** Meanwhile, there was a man named Mordecai whose family had been taken with King Jehoiakim and the nobility to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. His family were from the family of Saul. He had a cousin named Esther who had become an orphan and he adopted her into his own family and raised her as his own daughter. *** Esther was beautiful and had been taken into the king’s harem. Mordecai told Esther not to share her nationality with anyone. Everyday, Mordecai would check up on Esther. Her beauty treatment lasted a year and a half. When it was time to go before the king she took the advise of Hegai who was in charge of the harem. God had given her favor with Hegai and he gave her good advice. *** The king was so delighted with Esther, he crowned her the queen right away. He held a great banquet in her honor. *** One day as Mordecai was on duty at the king’s gate he overheard two of the kings’ eunuchs plot to assassinate the king. He told Esther to tell the king and give Mordecai the credit of the report. The plot was investigated and the men were impaled on a pole. *** Later, Haman was promoted over all the other nobles making him the second most powerful man in the kingdom. Everyone was ordered by the king to bow before Haman whenever he passed them. Mordecai refused to bow to him or show him respect. The palace officers told on Mordecai and also told that he was a Jew. When Haman noticed this, he was outraged. He looked for a way to not only kill Mordecai but all the Jews throughout the empire of Xerxes. When he was casting lots or purim for the years events, he scheduled a day to get rid of the Jews. He told the king that there were some people in his kingdom that were scattered throughout his province who refused to obey his laws. He wanted permission to issue a decree to get rid of them. He would personally give 10,000 large sacks of silver to do this. The king agreed and gave him his signet ring to make it a law. *** On the 13th day of Nisan (two days before the Passover) the law went forth to all the provinces that on the 13th day of Adar, the next year the property of the Jews would be given to whoever killed them. This date was exactly a month after Nisan. So they had 13 months to worry about being killed by their neighbors for their property. *** The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa fell into confusion. *** Confusion was also going on in the churches in Corinth. Paul said that it sounded like it was more harmful when they met than when they didn’t. There were many divisions. The Lord’s Supper was being blasphemed. Some were getting drunk while others were going hungry. *** Paul went over with them the first Last supper Christ had with his disciples. He explained the significance of the supper. It was a covenant between God and his people confirmed with blood. It was to be repeated to remember that solemn covenant. They were to take this supper with extreme honor to God. Those who didn’t were eating and drinking God’s judgment upon themselves. That was why they were weak and sick and some had died. *** Lord, help us to put everything in your order in our churches and in our lives. Show us the things that do not give your honor. Help us to love the things you love and hate the things you hate. All for your glory!