Learning
to Trust God - Part III: Book of Esther
Learning
to Trust God - Part III: Book of Esther
“Our Goal for this bible study is to
learn to trust God with every area and aspect of our life.”
Key
Scripture:
Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths.
After this king Ahasuerus (Gentile) promotes Haman the
Agagite and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. The king commanded his servants to bow and
reverence Haman. But Mordecai did not bow to him, nor did he reverence him
because he was a Jew and obeyed God’s commandments.
After the king’s servants told Haman that Mordecai did not
hearken to them, nor the king’s commandment, Haman
was filled with wrath and he thought to kill Mordecai, but when the
servants showed Mordecai’s people to him, he sought to destroy all of the Jews
that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
Mordecai the Jew was of royal blood and was a member of God’s
chosen family who inherited the promises.
He was of the Tribe of Benjamin. He took his cousin Hadassah (Esther)
and raised her as his daughter after the death of her parents. In raising Esther, Mordecai, taught her the
commandments and laws of God, which she did obey. As we obey God, which demonstrates our trust
in him, he uses events and people to fulfill his promises. Remember, as we trust God with our life as
Mordecai and Esther did, there is always a bigger picture. (Jeremiah 29:11; Matthew 6:10, 26:36-42)
In Deuteronomy 28 God clearly states the blessings of
obedience and the consequences of disobedience: sin. This is not an all-inclusive list. Mordecai and Esther knew the commandments and
laws of God and obeyed them, evident by Esther 3:2-5, 8.
It was customary for the Jews to bow before their king (2
Sam. 14:4; 18:28; I Kings 1:16) as God’s chosen servants. When the Persians
bowed before their kings, they paid homage as to a divine being: god. This is
why Mordecai and the Jews customs and laws were different from the Persians;
they served the one and only True God (Exodus 20:1-3 ; Deuteronomy 6). Mordecai was
faithful to God and could not give the King, nor Haman such honor.
Although, the Jews were scattered throughout the provinces
of king Ahasuerus kingdom, they remained faithful to the laws and customs that
God had commanded of them. Today, we are
to remain faithful to the Word of God, although the world is living contrary
(Romans 12:1-2).
Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews was because of his pride
and wrath, and his ancestors’ hatred for Israel (Jews). It was also a strategic plan of the enemy to
destroy all Jews, to stop the Messiah from coming.
James 1:19-21
King James Version (KJV)
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
History:
Haman was an Agagite from I Samuel 15 when Saul was
reprimanded for sparing King Agag. Saul’s disobedience help create this future
situation in the Book of Esther. All
disobedience is sin and sin is like a wild fire or weeds: sin gets out of
control easily. King Agag’s descendant
killed Saul. Agag was the king of the
Amalekites. The Amalekites hated
Israel. The descendants of Simeon smote
the rest of the Amalekites.
Ø
Exodus
17:8-16;
Ø
Deuteronomy
25:17-19
Ø
I
Chronicles 4:43
Ø
Deuteronomy
25:18*
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Ecclesiastes 12:12-14
King James Version (KJV)12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
1 Chronicles 16:21-23
King James Version (KJV)21 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes,
22 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
23 Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation.
So, what does this have to do with
our goal, “to learn to trust God with every area and aspect of our life.”
Let’s take a closer look:
1)
God is the same
yesterday, today and forever (what he did back then, he’ll do it again)
2)
When God makes a
promise, he always fulfills his promise
3)
God is trust
worthy
4)
When we trust
God, which is through obedience to his word, he moves on our behalf
In the following chapters of Esther we’ll see how God moved for the Jews who trusted him.
Questions:
1)
What are you doing
because everybody else is doing it?
2)
When people look at
you, do they see a difference in your character as the people saw in Mordecai?
3)
What or who have you
bowed down to, instead of obeying God’s word?
4)
The bible tells us
to count the cost, if your life was threatened as the Jews lives were, would
you continue to trust God to deliver you?
5)
In the past, you
found yourself in a situation you knew there was no way out, who did you turn
too?
a.
Your mother
b.
Your father
c.
Your friend
d.
Your Sister or
Brother
e.
Your own abilities
f.
God Almighty
Now Esther 3:7-15:
Haman had the magicians and astrologers cast lots to determine which day he would destroy Israel, God’s chosen people. And he made these plans before speaking to king Ahasuerus. The lot fell on the twelfth month, which gave Haman time to prepare. It also gave the Jews time to thwart his plans and God shows his overruling providence. God reigns supreme over all kings. Little did Haman realize, the lot was cast into his lap. (Proverbs 16:32-33)
Kings, love money, riches, wealth, honor and Haman appealed to the king in that manner, although he subtile, as the serpent was in Genesis 3:1. Haman told the king, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of the kingdom: and their laws are diverse (different) from all people: neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the kings profit to suffer them.” Haman volunteered to pay ten thousand talents of silver (12 million ounces) to those who would take care of this business and bring it to the king’s treasuries. The money pleased the king, and he granted Haman’s request and sealed it with his ring.
The king’s scribes wrote the decree down and it was sent to every province and to the rulers of every people in their language in the name of king Ahasuerus and sealed with his ring. The command was to destroy, kill, and cause all Jews, women and children, young and old, to perish on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar and to take the spoil of them for prey.
Wicked Haman sat down to drink; he was satisfied with his progress. The city of Shushan was perplexed. But God is still in control and will deliver his people because they trust him and obey his commandments.
King Ahasuerus, a Gentile, was indifferent to the fate of millions of people who would die, just as our modern day parallels: Hitler, Stalin, and Khrushchev.
This is one of the reasons we need to pray for the leaders of our nation, our state, our county/parish, our city. They are in need of God’s guidance.
1 Timothy 2:1-3
King
James Version (KJV)
1 I
exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in
authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty.3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Please visit my prayer blog: www.PureGoldEvangelisticMinistriesPrayer.blogspot.com
Next week we’ll continue our study of Esther Part IV, Chapter 4; where will see the providence of God Almighty for his people and we will learn the importance of trusting God in our lives.
For those attending the bible study in person:
- Read Esther Chapter 3
- Be prepared to answer the above questions
- Be prepared to share what you learned in this chapter
Follow
my Bible Study Blog:
www.PureGoldMinistries.blogspot.comFollow the Weekly Prayer Blog: www.PureGoldEvangelisticMinistriesPrayer.blogspot.com
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