Esther: Silent but Sovereign

30 Undated Bible Readings

Carolyn Lacey

• Publisher: 10Publishing
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781910587157

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Known as the book where God's name isn't even mentioned the book of Esther can be overlooked as simply a story about an antiquated beauty queen, and not much use for us today. As Carolyn Lacey takes us through these 30 undated readings you'll discover that although God's name is absent from Esther He is very much present directing the events that take place for the good of His people. Read through these devotions and be encouraged that even when we feel that God is absent, He is still sovereign, in control and loves His people with a love far more active than we often imagine. Each reading contains questions to help facilitate private reflection and application to our lives. These studies can be used either personally or for group devotions.

DAY 1

READ Esther 1:1–3

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The story of Esther is set in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire. Verse 1 tells us that the Persian Empire extended from India to Cush (Ethiopia), over 127 provinces. That made it the largest and most powerful empire in the world and King Xerxes, who ruled over the empire, the most powerful man in the world at that time.

Many years before Esther’s story begins, the Jews experienced civil war and the Jewish nation was divided into two kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom was called Israel, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Most of the kings of Israel and Judah didn’t walk with God consistently, so God judged them because of their unfaithfulness. First, Israel was attacked by Assyria and captured. Then, over 100 years later, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, deported the King to Babylon and removed the temple treasures –we read about this in 2 Kings 24. Eleven years later Nebuchadnezzar returned, destroying Jerusalem and taking most of the Jews into captivity.

It could have seemed to the Jews, and to the surrounding nations, that God had finally deserted them. But although invisible He was active, ordering the events of history in such a way as to preserve His people and keep them from being completely destroyed by the Babylonians.

In 539 BC Babylon fell into the hands of the Medo-Persians and around 486 BC – 100 years after the fall of Jerusalem – Xerxes became king of the vast Persian Empire.

The book of Esther records a small piece of history, spanning ten years, of the life of the Jews living in exile in Persia. It may have seemed to the exiled Jews that God had completely turned His back on them and was no longer working to deliver and save them from their enemies. But as the story of Esther unfolds, we will see that God is always working for His people’s good; He is never inactive.

Maybe you’ve experienced devastating blows in the past that you’ve not yet recovered from. Maybe fears about the future overwhelm you. Perhaps you’re currently experiencing trials that threaten to pull you under a rising tide of despair and doubt. In the midst of such desperation, God is there. The book of Esther shows us that He doesn’t stand by passively, watching His people suffer, but He is actively working to bring about their deliverance.

REFLECTION

What issues and cultural trends do we face in contemporary society that might cause us to doubt God’s concern for His people? What truths about God’s character can we call to mind in times of doubt or uncertainty?

DAY 2

READ Esther 1:4–9

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Xerxes was in the third year of his reign, having defeated Egypt at war, when he gave a great banquet. Verse 4 tells us that the banquet lasted 180 days and was an extravagant exhibition of King Xerxes’ greatness and wealth. This banquet was probably given as a reward to military officers and noblemen from all over the kingdom and was possibly also an opportunity to plan for the upcoming invasion of Greece.

At the end of the six-month-long banquet, King Xerxes gave another banquet that lasted seven days. This banquet was for everyone who lived in the citadel of Susa. No-one was excluded, from the greatest to the least. Again, it was a lavish banquet. Verse 7 records that: ‘Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.’ The guests could drink a little or a lot, or not at all if they chose. Everyone was free to do as they wished.

Verse 6 describes the garden of the king’s palace in Susa and shows that life in the Persian Court during King Xerxes’ reign was luxurious. They feasted on fine foods and drank from gold cups. The Persian court was dripping with wealth and extravagance.

King Xerxes was an incredibly powerful and proud king. At the beginning of his reign he was the most powerful man on earth. Archaeologists excavating at Susa have found inscriptions from that time in which King Xerxes refers to himself as, ‘The great King, The King of Kings; The King of the lands occupied by many races; The King of this great earth.’ He obviously thought a lot of himself and very little about the God of Israel.

In contrast, read Philippians 2:5–11. Compare Xerxes’ pride with the humility of Jesus, the true ‘King of kings’. In his pride, Xerxes believed that he was greater than God Himself. How do you view yourself? Does your attitude reflect the humility of Jesus or are you tempted to believe that you are more important than God and others?

True greatness is demonstrated in humble self-sacrifice. Jesus said,

‘… whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mk. 10:43–45).

REFLECTION

What does your lifestyle say about your priorities? Are you using every resource God has given you for His kingdom and glory or do you live for your own pleasure and satisfaction?

DAY 3

READ Esther 1:10–12

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How do we respond when we’re asked or pressured to behave in a way that opposes God’s design for us?

Unsurprisingly, the seven-day garden party led to excess and inappropriate behaviour on the part of King Xerxes. He wanted to show off his beautiful wife, Queen Vashti, for all his drunken guests to enjoy (vv. 10–11). It’s unclear whether the king was ordering Vashti to appear in just her royal crown and no other clothing or whether he wanted her to appear unveiled before his male guests to show off her beautiful face. To appear in court without her veil would have been scandalous in those times and Vashti would have suffered a loss of dignity and respect from the palace staff and royal officials who were all present. Either way it was a demeaning request for Xerxes to make of his wife, and Vashti courageously refused (v. 12).

Was Vashti right to disobey Xerxes? More importantly for us, in light of the New Testament commands for wives to be submissive to their husbands, are there circumstances in which it would be right for a Christian wife to disobey? The apostle Paul is clear in his letters that God’s design for marriage is that husbands should love their wives ‘as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her’ and that a wife is to submit to husband ‘as … to the Lord’ (Eph. 5:22–25). But God’s command for a wife to submit to her husband is not without limits; she submits to him ‘as … to the Lord’. He hasn’t given a husband the right to fulfil any sinful or self-serving desire he might have through the unthinking obedience of his wife. He doesn’t require a woman to lose the dignity she has as a human being made in the image of God by allowing her godly principles to be trampled underfoot by an ungodly husband. The authority that a man has is given to him by God. So when he disobeys or dishonours the Lord with that authority, there is a higher authority to which a woman must submit. She must obey and honour Jesus.

We can’t assume that Queen Vashti was a godly woman; it’s unlikely that she had a relationship with God. If she practised any sort of religion, it’s likely that she was Zoroastrian. But despite not belonging to the people of God, Vashti’s refusal to obey her husband’s order was a dignified response to an undignified request. It demonstrated great bravery for her to oppose the powerful king in this way and verse 12 tells us that ‘the king became furious and burned with anger’.

Xerxes wanted to flaunt his queen’s beauty in the same way he flaunted his wealth and power. She was a trophy; an object to add value to his status. Modern attitudes towards women are often just as degrading and devaluing. But God’s design for manhood and womanhood is both good and loving. He gives dignity to men and women and in Jesus both find equal worth and significance (Gal. 3:28).

REFLECTION

Pray that you will have a biblical understanding of manhood and womanhood that will result in behaviour and choices that are consistent with God’s perfect design.

Think of a scenario in which obedience to God’s Word may mean refusing to obey someone in a position of authority over you. Are you willing to face adverse consequences for the sake of being obedient to the Lord?

DAY 4

READ Esther 1:13–22

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Queen Vashti’s refusal to obey the king’s order angered Xerxes and triggered a vengeful response. He sought counsel from his closest advisors, who are listed by name (v. 14) to distinguish them from the eunuchs who had been sent to bring Vashti before him earlier (v. 10).

These advisors are described in verse 13 as ‘wise men who understood the times’, but their advice on this occasion sprang from fear that they, along with all other men in the kingdom, were about to lose control of their wives and suffer disrespect and discord once news of Vashti’s ‘conduct’ was made public.

The proposed solution was twofold: fi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• Day 11
• Day 12
• Day 13
• Day 14
• Day 15
• Day 16
• Day 17
• Day 18
• Day 19
• Day 20
• Day 21
• Day 22
• Day 23
• Day 24
• Day 25
• Day 26
• Day 27
• Day 28
• Day 29
• Day 30
• References
• More in this Series