What can children learn from the story of Esther?
The Esther Bible story teaches us that we can trust and follow God's plans for us even when we don't know where they may lead. Esther (Hadassah) was an orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai. After going through a year of beauty treatments, she was chosen to be the new queen of Persia.
Esther was an ordinary person, until God placed her in the palace as a queen. God would use Esther's royal position in an amazing way: to save his people! She just had to obey him. As you listen to this episode, think about where God has placed you and what he might be calling you to do.
The book of Esther is in the Bible to show us that the hiddenness of God is not the absence of God. Even though God is not even mentioned in the entire book, he sovereignly and mercifully preserves his people in the midst of adversity.
Jesus will never ask us to do something terrible, but he may ask us to humble ourselves, to sacrifice our pride. He is not a drunk king but a loving shepherd who has humbled himself first. He has done all of this first and is there to help us do the impossible.
It invites you to see how God can and does work in the real mess and moral ambiguity of human history to accomplish his divine purposes. “When we scrutinize the text of Esther for traces of God's activity, we are doing what the author has made us do.
- Obedient: one of the main characteristics of Esther in the Bible is her biddability. ...
- Brave: we often think that bravery is the absence of fear. ...
- Selfless: it's not every day that someone is willing to die so that others could be saved (Esther 4:16).
Esther is a true hero because of her undying courage and loyalty to her people. She didn't have to step forward and save the Jews. No one except for her uncle knew she was Jewish, but she still put her life on the line to save them.
Meaning: The name Esther means “star,” “hide,” “cover,” or “myrtle.” Gender: Esther is predominantly female, but sometimes used as a male name. Origin: The name derives from the Persian word for “star.” It is related to the goddess of love, Ishtar. Esther is prominent in the Hebrew Bible.
God is Sovereign
The Jews may have feared for their lives when they learned of Haman's evil plan, but God proved that He is sovereign overall. God used Queen Esther to stop Haman's plans. She invited Haman for a banquet with the king and exposed His evil plans of destroying the Jews.
As we continue through the book of Esther, we see that chapter 2 is a chapter about war and defeat, a girl who is orphaned, and Jews who do not return home when they could and should have. It's about girls being taken by force into a harem, about a beauty pageant, and about an assassination plot.
How does the Book of Esther apply to us today?
Whatever dark place you are in today, whether by hapless circ*mstances or by your own actions, God hasn't forgotten you. Esther's story invites us to cling to hope, however small, and to have confidence that whatever evil might currently reign, the story of God isn't finished.”
When studying the book of Esther, what is the main thing that Christians should look for? Evidence of God's providence.
Esther had to keep her Jewish identity a secret.
At Mordecai's request, Esther did not reveal her Jewish heritage to anyone. She kept her identity a secret, even after she became queen. (See Esther 2:10, 20.)
Because she literally saved the Jews in Persia from execution, Esther is regarded as a woman of faith, courage and heroism. An orphan, Esther grew up in the house of her cousin Mordecai, a Jewish exile who was a high officer in the Persian government in Susa (or Sushan), where the king's winter palace was located.
Esther courageously invited the king and Haman to two banquets, where she begged the king to spare her people's lives. Surprised, King Xerxes granted her request. Haman was punished, the Jews were saved from genocide, and Mordecai was promoted.
The wise Mordecai encourages Esther to bravely risk her life by pleading the case of the Jews before King Xerxes, saying, “…if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish.
Esther was shown respect and deference because, in obedience to Mordecai's charge to her, she had not admitted her Jewish lineage. A Jewish maiden would not have experienced such friendly treatment. Even after her selection as queen, she continued to keep her racial identity secret at the request of Mordecai (see v.
This chapter records the royal banquets of the Persian king Ahasuerus until the deposal of queen Vashti.
Once Queen Vashti made up her mind, she was ready to deal with the consequences. She teaches us about the role of integrity and courage; integrity takes courage. Although the women at her banquet overhear the conversation between the eunuchs and Vashti, she stands alone. She speaks up, and she speaks for herself.
Ḥanina, Vashti declined the invitation because she had become a leper (Meg. 12b; Yalḳ., l.c.). Ahasuerus was "very wroth, and his anger burned in him" (Esth.
What happened to Vashti as a result of her disobedience?
Ahasuerus summons Vashti to appear before the company with her royal crown upon her head, so he can show off her beauty. When she refuses, the enraged king sends her away permanently, thus setting in motion the chain of events that will make the Jewish Esther the queen of Persia.
She went to see the kings without an invitation, which was a grave offense. Another important leadership quality exhibited by Esther is patience. She took her time and never rushed into decisions. Even after entering the king's inner court without an invitation, she did not verbalize her quest right away.
The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
The wicked Vashti would bring Jewish women, strip them naked and order them to perform work on the Sabbath. Consequently, she was punished by being commanded to appear in the nude at the banquet of Ahasuerus, on a Sabbath day (BT Megillah loc.
Esther's Age
According to one tradition, she was forty years old, while another places her age at seventy-four, which is the numerical value of the name “Hadassah” (Esther's second name), or, according to another calculation of this numerical value, seventy-five (see above).
Mordecai urges Esther to go before the king and save her people. Esther fears to reveal herself, because she is a Jew and also because the penalty for going to the king's inner court uninvited is death, unless the king raises his scepter in approval.
There is no reference to known historical events in the story; a general consensus, though this consensus has been challenged, has maintained that the narrative of Esther was invented in order to provide an aetiology for Purim, and the name Ahasuerus is usually understood to refer to a fictionalized Xerxes I, who ruled ...
