Greetings everyone and thanks for joining me for this edition of our Sunday School preview. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Injustice Will Be Punished” and is found in the Book of Esther 7:1 10.
The Book of Esther is unique among the Old Testament books. It and the Song of Solomon are the only books that don’t mention God by name. Esther, while not specifically mentioning God, is included in the Hebrew bible because God can be seen working behind the scenes in what unfolds in the book.
Esther is the story about how a Jew’s refusal to bow before a man lead to a plot to destroy all Jews in the land of Persia. The Persians had conquered the Chaldeans who had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and led the nation of Israel captive into Babylon. The Persians then freed the Jews and allowed those who wanted to return home to do so.
Esther, a young Jewish virgin among the Jews who remained, became the Queen of the Persian King Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes I. Her Jewish heritage was concealed from those who didn’t already know.
One of the things this Book reveals is the power of the King over His subjects. There was no one to check the power of the King. The King’s word was the law. The king could by his word execute whoever he chose and by his word could pardon whoever he chose. It was death to insult the king or to violate established protocol concerning the king.
Esther was the queen and her cousin Mordecai was a high-ranking official in the king’s court. Mordecai refused to pay homage to another high-ranking official in the king’s court named Haman which led to the plot to kill Mordecai and all the Jews.
Mordecai sent word to his cousin Queen Esther to intervene on behalf of herself and all the Jews. The problem was she had to be careful how to go about revealing the plot the kill her by the King’s trusted aid Haman. She therefore fasted for 3 days along with the rest of the Jews.
Her plan was to win the favor of the King and reveal the plot in an intimate setting with Haman presence and hope that the King would side with her and her people. In order to get this intimate setting she would have to approach the king. But it was death to approach the king uninvited. But the stakes were so high that she famously said “if I perish, let me perish”.
Esther put on her royal garment and when to the palace to see the king. Before she approached the king, the king saw her and extended his royal scepter which granted her permission to approach him. She requested a banquet at which time she would execute her plan to reveal the plot to kill her.
The aide who wanted to kill the Jews, was unaware that Esther the queen was also a Jew as was the King. It was a shock and surprise to both Haman and the king when Esther revealed that Haman plan would also kill her. The king was furious and torn. He realized he had been manipulated by Haman into destroying people he loved and cared about.
He left the room to cool off and when he returned, he found Haman in a compromised position with the queen and immediately order him hanged on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Some translations say he was impaled.
The king issued a new order which allowed the Jews not only to defend themselves on the day they were to be slain, but to slay all their enemies with his permission. So the Jews in Persia was spared from destruction and some see the hand of God working to deliver them from their enemies and in everything that happened.
Mordecai’s refusal to bow is seen by many as an act like that of Daniel and the three young Hebrews who also refused to compromise their faith in God as the only one deserving of reverence.
We too may be called upon to be uncompromising as a matter of faith in something we are asked or ordered to do. Let us hope and pray we will have the faith and courage to take the right stand if and when that time comes.
Well, I hope you will be able to attend SS this coming Sunday and share your thoughts with your class. If you cannot attend your own Sunday School, you are invited to join us online at 9:00 am live and interactive at our website. If you have any comments or questions, be sure to place them in the comment section of this preview. So, until next time remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
