Learning
to Trust God - Part IX: Book of Esther
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Learning
to Trust God - Part IX: Book of Esther
“Our Goal for this bible study is to
learn to trust God with every area and aspect of our life.”
Esther Chapter 9
The Jews destroy their enemies
Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;) verse 1.
The Jews gathered themselves together in all of the one-hundred twenty seven provinces in each city to destroy all those who sought to destroy them. Fear fell upon all people. And all of the rulers of the king’s provinces and the lieutenants, and the officers and deputies of the king helped the Jews because of the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. Mordecai was great in the king’s house, he was the head prince and the Jews were his people.
The Jews destroyed all of their enemies with a great slaughter of destruction with the sword and did what they wanted to their enemies and all those that hated them. In Shushan the palace the Jews killed five hundred men. Their enemies were also destroyed in Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,Poratha, Adalia Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha. The ten sons of Haman the enemy of the Jews they killed also. But the Jews did not lay their hands on the spoil/plunder.
A report was given to king Ahasuerus on the number of those that were killed in Shushan the palace. The king said unto Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the tens sons of Haman who he granted to be hanged on the gallows prepared by their father for Mordecai the Jew. The king asked, “What have they done in the rest of the provinces? He asked Esther, What I thy petition? And it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? And it shall be done.” Verses 11-12
Queen Esther answered, “If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews which are in Shushan to do to morrow also according unto this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.” And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons.
Then on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews gathered again and slew three hundred men at Shushan and did not take the spoil. And the other Jews in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together and stood for their lives. They had rest from their enemies after killing 75,000. They made this day a day of feasting and gladness. They sent portion to one another.
The fateful day was March 7, 473 B.C. It was an obvious reference to the providence of God. God has provided for his people and the promise of the Messiah to come through the Jewish Nation. The Jews did not take the spoil shows the purity of their motives: to fight for the right to live. The thirteenth and fourteenth day of Adar is celebrated for their victory against their enemies and eventually Mordecai ordered the fourteenth and fifteenth days to be observed annually as the Feast of Purim see verses 20-28.
Fasts
The Fast of Esther,
observed before Purim, on the 13th of Adar, is an original part of the Purim
celebration, referred to in Esther 9:31–32. The first who mentions the Fast of
Esther is Rabbi Achai
Gaon (Acha of Shabcha) (8th century CE) in She'iltot 4; the reason
there given for its institution is based on an interpretation of Esther
9:18, Esther
9:31 and Talmud Megillah 2a: "The 13th was the time of
gathering", which gathering is explained to have had also the purpose of
public prayer and fasting. Some, however, used to fast three days in
commemoration of the fasting of Esther; but as fasting was prohibited during
the month of Nisan, the first and second Mondays and the Thursday following
Purim were chosen. The fast of the 13th is still commonly observed; but when
that date falls on Sabbath,
the fast is pushed forward to the preceding Thursday, Friday being needed to
prepare for Sabbath and the following Purim festival. Resource: Wiki
Food gifts and charity
Gaily wrapped baskets of sweets, snacks and
other foodstuffs given as mishloach manot on Purim day.
The Book of Esther prescribes "the sending of
portions one man to another and gifts to the poor" (9:22). According to halakha,
each adult must give two different foods to one person, and two charitable
donations to two poor people.[30]
The food parcels are called mishloach manot
("sending of portions"), and in some circles the custom has evolved
into a major gift-giving event.
To fulfill the mitzvah of giving charity to two poor people,
one can give either food or money equivalent to the amount of food that is
eaten at a regular meal. It is better to spend more on charity than on the
giving of mishloach manot.[30]
In the synagogue, regular collections of charity are made on the festival and
the money is distributed among the needy. No distinction is made among the
poor; anyone who is willing to accept charity is allowed to participate. It is
obligatory upon the poorest Jew, even one who is himself dependent on charity,
to give to other poor people.[30]
RESOURCE: WIKI
Purim (Hebrew:
פּוּרִים (help·info) Pûrîm "lots",
from the word pur,[3]
related to Akkadian
pūru) is a Jewish
holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish
people in the ancient Persian
Empire forming a plot to destroy them. The story is recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther
(Megillat Esther).
According to the Book of Esther, Haman, royal
vizier to
King Ahasuerus
(presumed to be Xerxes
I of Persia), planned to kill all the Jews in the empire, but his
plans were foiled by Mordecai
and his adopted daughter Queen Esther. The
day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing.
Purim is celebrated by giving reciprocal gifts of food
and drink (mishloach
manot), giving charity to the poor (mattanot la-evyonim),[4]
a celebratory meal (se'udat Purim), and public recitation of the Scroll of Esther (kriat
ha-megillah), additions to the prayers and the grace after meals (al
hannisim).[5]
Other customs include drinking wine, wearing of masks and costumes, and public
celebration.[6]
Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar
on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar (Adar
II in leap years), the day following the victory of the Jews over their
enemies. In cities that were protected by a surrounding wall at the time of Joshua,
Purim is instead celebrated on the 15th of the month on what is known as Shushan
Purim, since fighting in the walled city of Shushan continued
through the 14th.[7]
Today, only Jerusalem
celebrates Purim on the 15th. Source: Wiki
Scroll of Esther
Esther Summary Chapter 9 (KJV)
20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far,
21 To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
23 And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
24 Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them;
25 But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,
27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;
28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.
29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.
30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
God’s hand was against the enemy (Haman) of his people: the Jews. His hand was mighty for his people. What the enemy meant for evil, turned out for the Jews good. As we serve the Lord God, it does not mean we won’t suffer things, indeed we shall. But we know according to, Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. God has a purpose for our lives just as he had a purpose for the lives of Mordecai, Esther, and the Jewish Nation.
Discussion Scriptures:
Ø
Psalm 71:13-14
Ø
Psalm 21:10-13
Ø
Job 18:19-21
Ø
Nehemiah 8:12
Ø
Zechariah 2:8-13**
Ø
Psalm 128*
Questions for Discussion:
1. Explain how Proverbs 3:5-6 is the key
scripture for Esther’s life.
2. Explain how Proverbs 3:5-6 is the key
scripture for Mordecai’s life.
3. Explain how Proverbs 3:5-6 is the key
scripture for king Ahasuerus life, the gentile.
4. What destroyed Haman?
5. What purpose does fasting and prayer serve?
6. How often do you fast and pray? When do you
fast and pray?
7. How are we to look at Jews and Gentiles
today?
For those attending the bible study in person:
·
Read Esther Chapter 9 &10
·
Be prepared to answer the above
questions
·
Be prepared to share what you learned in this
chapter
·
Be prepared to discuss the scriptures
Contact Evangelist Waters:
Follow
my Bible Study Blog:
www.PureGoldMinistries.blogspot.com
Follow the Weekly Prayer Blog: www.PureGoldEvangelisticMinistriesPrayer.blogspot.com
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