Beauty and Courage
Day 48: Esther
Esther 2:1-23, 4:1-5:8, 7:1-8:8
- whenever I think about Queen Esther, I remember the story from Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey audio tapes. This was one of my favorite stories.
- Anyway, so King Xerxes had banished his wife, Queen Vashti because she refused to be paraded around in front of him and his guests during a massive party.
- so his advisors told him to hold a beauty pagent to find a beautiful young lady to be the next Queen. They were to undergo 12 months of beauty treatments before being presented to the king. Esther beats out all the girls and becomes the next queen.
- her uncle Mordecai uncovers a conspiracy planned by a couple of the king's officials. Queen Esther reported it and credited Mordecai. Both conspirators were hung but Mordecai received no reward.
- later on, Mordecai learns of a plot by Haman to destroy all the Jews. He implores Esther to go to the king and plead with him to intervene. The problem was that nobody could enter the inner court of the king without being summoned. The consequence was death.
- anyway, she does finally go and the king extends his scepter to her to spare her life. She invites him and Haman to a couple dinners before finally revealing Haman's wicked plan to the king and her Jewish heritage. Also, Haman had built a 75 foot tall gallows to hang Mordecai who refused to bow before him when he passed by. Instead, king Xerxes had Haman hung on the gallows.
- although Xerxes could not reverse the decree, he gave Esther permission to send out another proclaimation saying that the Jews would be able to defend themselves against any attack. And in the end, the Jews were spared.
The story of Esther is definitely one of courage. It was God's plan to have her become Queen and to then save the Jews from near destruction. God has plans for all of us as well and we just never know what sort of purpose lies behind our jobs and life opportunities.
Esther 2:1-23, 4:1-5:8, 7:1-8:8
- whenever I think about Queen Esther, I remember the story from Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey audio tapes. This was one of my favorite stories.
- Anyway, so King Xerxes had banished his wife, Queen Vashti because she refused to be paraded around in front of him and his guests during a massive party.
- so his advisors told him to hold a beauty pagent to find a beautiful young lady to be the next Queen. They were to undergo 12 months of beauty treatments before being presented to the king. Esther beats out all the girls and becomes the next queen.
- her uncle Mordecai uncovers a conspiracy planned by a couple of the king's officials. Queen Esther reported it and credited Mordecai. Both conspirators were hung but Mordecai received no reward.
- later on, Mordecai learns of a plot by Haman to destroy all the Jews. He implores Esther to go to the king and plead with him to intervene. The problem was that nobody could enter the inner court of the king without being summoned. The consequence was death.
- anyway, she does finally go and the king extends his scepter to her to spare her life. She invites him and Haman to a couple dinners before finally revealing Haman's wicked plan to the king and her Jewish heritage. Also, Haman had built a 75 foot tall gallows to hang Mordecai who refused to bow before him when he passed by. Instead, king Xerxes had Haman hung on the gallows.
- although Xerxes could not reverse the decree, he gave Esther permission to send out another proclaimation saying that the Jews would be able to defend themselves against any attack. And in the end, the Jews were spared.
The story of Esther is definitely one of courage. It was God's plan to have her become Queen and to then save the Jews from near destruction. God has plans for all of us as well and we just never know what sort of purpose lies behind our jobs and life opportunities.
Labels: Bible Characters
posted by Matt at 7:31 PM
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