Bible Study - Thrive (1) - Purpose Questioned - Ecclesiastes 1:1-14 - September 1, 2024

 

Bible Study – Thrive (1) – Purpose Questioned – Ecclesiastes 1:1-14 – September 1,2024

Apart from GOD, Life is meaningless.

Our focus scripture is Ecclesiastes 1:1-14.

Living with a purpose in our lives.

This is a new series of study. Our first study focuses on King Solomon -King David, and Bathsheba’s son. GOD calls HIS Children, but the question is, “Will the person called by GOD respond and what is that person’s motive for responding?”

Let’s consider King Solomon as revealed in 1 Kings.

Let’s read 1 Kings 3:3

³ Solomon loved the Lord by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

(This was a temporary place for worship until King Solomon had the temple built. “High places” were where pagans went to worship their gods. When King Solomon went to the high places, he did so until the Temple was built, and he demonstrated his love for the one true GOD of the Israelites by his extravagant sacrifices.)

⁴ The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask. What should I give you?”

WOW!!! What an opportunity. How would you or I answer this question? Such a response comes from the most intimate core of our being, “the eyes of our heart, where truth resides.”

⁶ And Solomon replied, “You have shown great and faithful love to your servant, my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity.^[b] You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.

We know that King David was not perfect, yet the lineage of JESUS came through David. He committed grievous sins as he lusted after Bathsheba. Once David sinned, he took action to cover it up and protect himself and Bathsheba. King David attempted to cover his sins until GOD led the Prophet Nathan to deliver GOD’S message to him. King David repented, once confronted.

How important is a child’s parents’ walk with JESUS? Vital!!!

It is estimated that King Solomon was about 20 years old when he became King. He reigned for 40 years.

⁷ “Lord my God, you have now made your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership.^[c] 8 Your servant is among your people you have chosen, a people too many to be numbered or counted. ⁹ So give your servant a receptive heart to judge your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?”

When we realize that our responsibility exceeds our ability, to whom or where do we turn? Solomon turned to GOD. How did GOD respond? Let’s read on -----

¹⁰ Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. ¹¹ So God said to him, “Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life^[d] or riches for yourself, or the death^[e] of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to administer justice, ¹² I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again. ¹³ In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no king will be your equal during your entire life. ¹⁴ If you walk in my ways and keep my statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.”

¹⁵ Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.

How did Solomon respond to what GOD had told him in this dream? He was humbled and rejoiced in what GOD had revealed to him. He went to where GOD resided; to Jerusalem where the “ark of the Lord’s covenant was located.”

Has GOD ever spoken to you in a dream? It is an experience that remains with you throughout your life. HE still speaks to HIS chosen today.

Keep in mind that King Solomon wrote Proverbs, which reflects the wisdom of GOD. What is wisdom?

Wisdom is knowledge applied to GOD’S plan. When we read GOD’S Word, the Holy Spirit speaks to us and reveals truth. If a person has not received JESUS as his/her Savior, the Holy Spirit reveals truth and his/her need for salvation through faith in JESUS.

Let’s read Ecclesiastes 1:1-7:

 The words of the Teacher,^[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem.

The Teacher is King Solomon, and King Solomon is also confirmed in verse 12.

² “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.
“Absolute futility. Everything is futile.”
³ What does a person gain for all his efforts
that he labors at under the sun?
⁴ A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it hurries back to the place
where it rises.
⁶ Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,
and the wind returns in its cycles.
⁷ All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.

 

After GOD created earth, HE rested. It was in the exact location for all life, as we know it, to exist and be maintained. Earth was performing as GOD had designed it. But there is more to life than what can become mundane. GOD determined the order and performance of earth in its space.

Creating earth to be inhabited by the life HE created was step one in GOD’S plan. Life upon earth has its limits and becomes mundane.

GOD is love and HE has a redemptive plan for all mankind to have the option to have eternal life and become eternally involved with HIM as we read in 1 Corinthians 2:9 - ⁹ But as it is written, What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived—
God has prepared these things for those who love him.^[a]

Folks, the best is yet to come for all who place their faith in JESUS and HIS redemptive power, as revealed by HIS crucifixion and HIS bodily resurrection. That is the Good News that is to be shared with all people.

Often, we as humans get caught up in the mundane of the things living on earth. Is earth all we have to look forward to?

Let’s read Ecclesiastes 1:8-10:

⁸ All things^[b] are wearisome,
more than anyone can say.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing
or the ear filled with hearing.
⁹ What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.

 

Life upon earth can be mundane. What does a person have to look forward to? GOD gave all people hope that is available through faith in JESUS.

 

As a young child, I used to think, “There is nothing to invent because we have all we need as humans.” Wow, I look back and think how wrong I was to think that. We as humans love to create and do new things and explore new frontiers. GOD created humans in HIS Own image.

Why do we explore? To keep us busy until we exit life upon earth and enter Heaven, through faith in JESUS or Hell, by refusing to accept JESUS as our Savior. Every human has a choice. How do you choose?

 

Let’s read Ecclesiastes 1:11-14:

¹¹ There is no remembrance of those who^[c] came before;
and of those who will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.

 

God made humans to be creative and productive to benefit themselves and fellow humans upon earth. Earth is GOD’S vineyard and as HIS chosen, we are to be at work in HIS vineyard.

The Limitations of Wisdom

¹² I, the Teacher, have been^[d] king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ I applied my mind to examine and explore through wisdom all that is done under heaven. God has given people^[e] this miserable task to keep them occupied. ¹⁴ I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.^[f]

When our hope is built upon material things we will discover as recorded in James 14:14 - ¹⁴ Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

When we set our desires upon the things that earth has to offer, we will be disappointed but when we place our faith and hope in JESUS we will be rewarded.

If you have not asked JESUS to come into your heart, now is that moment. Dear JESUS, here I am as I am, and I ask YOU to save me by YOUR shed blood and come into my heart. Thank YOU and thank YOU for confirming YOUR presence in me by the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Help me to grow Spiritually as YOU lead me by The Holy Spirit. Welcome into GOD’S eternal Family. Blessings!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bible Study (6) - Sidekicks - Baruch and Jeremiah - Jeremiah 36:4-8, 16-18; 45:1-5 - August 25, 2024

 

Bible Study (6) – Sidekicks – Baruch and Jeremiah - August 25, 2024

GOD will reward your faithful Service.

Focus scripture is Jeremiah 36:4-8, 16-18; 45:1-5.

In our Bible Study I will include scripture found in the Book of Jeremiah. Also, I have included a mention of the Apocrypha which includes the Book of Baruch and found in the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible.

The Apocrypha - The term "apocrypha" comes from the Greek word meaning "hidden" or "secret". Originally, the term was applied to sacred books whose contents were too exalted to be made available to the general public. Gradually, the term "apocrypha" took on a disparaging connotation, since the orthodoxy of these hidden books was often questionable.

"The Apocrypha" includes 15 books, all but one of which are Jewish in origin and found in the Septuagint (parts of 2 Esdras are possibly Christian and Latin in origin). Influenced by the Jewish canon of the Old Testament, the custom arose of making the Apocrypha a separate section in the Protestant Bible, or sometimes even of omitting them entirely.

I want those who read this study to be aware that there is a book written by Baruch which is published in the Apocrypha, but our focus will be on what is written in the Book of Jerimiah, which gives us insight into the life of Baruch and his calling to serve the One True GOD.

Some background on Jeremiah:

Jeremiah was known as the “weeping Prophet,” because he was broken hearted over the lack of response of the Israelites to his messages from GOD. When a fellow believer knows what GOD has revealed to him or her as truth and others either do not get it or reject it when the message is revealed to them or refuse to listen. It breaks the heart of the person delivering GOD’S Message.

Jeremiah 7:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord and there call out this word: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord.

³ “‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to live in this place. ⁴ Do not trust deceitful words, chanting, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” ⁵ Instead, if you really correct your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,^[a] 6 if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, ⁷ I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors long ago and forever. ⁸ But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.

The temple was the physical place where a person came to have an encounter with GOD. But uttering the words, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord” is of no effect unless a person comes to GOD in true repentance and seeking GOD’S redemption. It is all about a person’s true heart and not uttering empty words.

Since the passion of JESUS, the temple is located in the hearts of all who place their faith in JESUS and HIS Passion. The miracle of Spiritual birth is a miracle of transformation confirmed by Spiritual Gifts. It is at the death of the physical body of a Spirit-born believer that he or she will experience the release of his/her Holy Spirit conceived eternal body.

 

Let’s read Jeremiah 36:4-8:

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Take a scroll, and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah’s reign until today. ³ Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster, I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

Jeremiah had been banned from the temple because of his messages of gloom and doom. Religious and political leaders opposed such messages. Such messages keep people away from where they can hear the truth.

As we approach the second coming of JESUS, JESUS told us in Matthew 24:24: ²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).

So, Jeremiah, the prophet, had to deliver his messages from GOD to Baruch because Jeremiah was banned from the temple.

⁴ So Jeremiah summoned Baruch, son of Neriah. At Jeremiah’s dictation,^[a] Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah. ⁵ Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the temple of the Lord, ⁶ so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation^[b]—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. Read his words in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities. ⁷ Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord, and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are intense.” ⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything the prophet Jeremiah had commanded him. At the Lord’s temple he read the Lord’s words from the scroll.

Let’s read Jeremiah 36:16-18:

¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you write all these words? At his dictation?” ^[c]

¹⁸ Baruch said to them, “At his dictation. He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

¹⁹ The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide and tell no one where you are.” ²⁰ Then, after depositing the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, the officials came to the king at the courtyard and reported everything in the hearing of the king. ²¹ The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. ²² Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning in front of him. ²³ As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll^[d] with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the fire in the hearth until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the hearth. ²⁴ As they heard all these words, the king and all his servants did not become terrified or tear their clothes. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he did not listen to them. ²⁶ Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah, but the Lord hid them.

Destroying what you do not like to hear or read does not mean it is not truth.

Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll

²⁷ After the king had burned the scroll and the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,^[e] the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸ “Take another scroll, and once again write on it the original words that were on the original scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned. ²⁹ You are to proclaim concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, asking, “Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without people or animals?” ³⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. ³¹ I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the people of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about, but they did not listen.’”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation^[f] all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

Destroying GOD’S Words does not mean GOD’S message will not take place. GOD’S Word gives those who listen and respond to HIS message a heads up, when change takes place. To be forewarned, is to be forearmed.

Let’s read Jeremiah 45:1-5:

The Lord’s Message to Baruch

45 This is the word that the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at Jeremiah’s dictation^[a] in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: ³ ‘You have said, “Woe is me, because the Lord has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with^[b] groaning and have found no rest.”’

⁴ “This is what you are to say to him: ‘This is what the Lord says: “What I have built I am about to demolish, and what I have planted I am about to uproot—the whole land! ⁵ But as for you, do you pursue great things for yourself? Stop pursuing! For I am about to bring disaster on all humanity”—this is the Lord’s declaration— “but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war wherever you go.”’”

GOD was telling Baruch, “You have served well, it is time for you to stop pursuing, relax and enjoy life. Even though disasters are taking place around you, rejoice, because you have done your part and now it is time for ME to reveal MY hand to MY chosen people.”

Blessings!!!

 

Bible Study - Side Kicks (5) - Haman - Esther 3:1-9, 6:10-14 - August 18, 2024

 

Bible Study – Side Kicks (5) – Haman – Esther 3:1-9, 6:10-14 – August 18, 2024

Whatever you do, do it with humility.

Our focus scripture is Esther 3:1-9, 6:10-14.

This is great scripture which reveals the hand of GOD working to preserve HIS chosen people. I encourage you to read the entire book of Esther. My attempt is to add enough scripture to give you an overview of Esther and for us to see the hand of GOD at work.

Background – Esther 2:7:
Mordecai (A Jew) was the legal guardian of his cousin Hadassah (Myrtle) – Hadassah was also known by her Jewish name Esther. Her Persian name means “morning star.”. She had a beautiful figure and was extremely good-looking. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.

When GOD has a plan for our lives, HE directs our path and we have to take action when we have the opportunity. We have witnessed this in this series of study. GOD has a plan for every life. The question is. “Do we seek to do GOD’S will, through faith in JESUS, HIS only Son?” Let’s explore!

In this study, GOD is visible in HIS actions through the lives of those in these events.

GOD so orders our path along the road of life.

Queen Vashti Angers the King

Esther 1: 1 These events took place during the days of Ahasuerus (Xerxes in Greek), who ruled 127 provinces from India to Cush. ² In those days King Ahasuerus reigned from his royal throne in the fortress at Susa. ³ He held a feast in the third year of his reign for all his officials and staff, the army of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the officials from the provinces. ⁴ He displayed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the magnificent splendor of his greatness for a total of 180 days.

As an uncle of mine used to say, “If you got it, flaunt it.” King Ahasuerus flaunted it.

This is a beautiful study of the hand of GOD working through the lives of HIS chosen to preserve HIS chosen people, the Israelites.

The Israelites left Egypt traditionally dated 1446 BC. The time period for our study was roughly (483 BC-473 BC).

King Ahasuerus wanted to show off his beautiful wife, Queen Vashti as recorded in Esther 1: ¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the king was feeling good from the wine, Ahasuerus commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—the seven eunuchs who personally served him— ¹¹ to bring Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and the officials, because she was incredibly beautiful. ¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command that was delivered by his eunuchs. The king became furious, and his anger burned within him.

So, on the surface this seems like a normal request, but was it?

No! The King wanted her to appear to his guests wearing only her royal crown. Queen Vashti refused which was her death warrant. It also opened up a vacancy for a new Queen.

Her refusal to obey the King sent a shock wave throughout the kingdom. So, they sought counsel from Memucan, who is one of the seven princes of Persia and Media who served King Ahasuerus. 

Memucan is notable for his role in advising the king to depose Queen Vashti after she refused to appear before the king and his guests at a banquet¹².

Queen Vashti’s refusal to obey the King rocked manhood throughout that known part of the inhabited world. Why? Because it might encourage and embolden women to rebel against their husbands. Oh, my potential trouble in the kingdom.

GOD puts HIS people in key positions to obediently serve HIM to accomplish HIS plans. So, in Esther 1: ¹⁹ “If it meets the king’s approval, he should personally issue a royal decree. Let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be revoked: Vashti is not to enter King Ahasuerus’s presence, and her royal position is to be given to another woman who is more worthy than she. ²⁰ The decree the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom, so all women will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least.”

²¹ The king and his counselors approved the proposal, and he followed Memucan’s advice. ²² He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each ethnic group in its own language, that every man should be master of his own house and speak in the language of his own people.

To fast forward, Esther becomes Queen because of her beauty but her ethnicity was not known.

Keep in mind that Queen Esther and Uncle Mordecai were Jews.

In Esther 2: ¹⁰ Esther did not reveal her ethnicity or her family background, because Mordecai had ordered her not to make them known.

Esther was in training be queen as recorded in Esther 2: ¹² During the year before each young woman’s turn to go to King Ahasuerus, the harem regulation required her to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months. ¹³ When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the palace. ¹⁴ She would go in the evening, and in the morning, she would return to a second harem under the supervision of the king’s eunuch Shaashgaz, keeper of the concubines. She never went to the king again unless he desired her and summoned her by name.

In Esther 2: ¹⁷ The king loved Esther more than all the other women. She won more favor and approval from him than did any of the other virgins. He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. 

In Esther 2: ²¹ During those days while Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, became infuriated and planned to assassinate^[c] King Ahasuerus. ²² When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she told the king on Mordecai’s behalf. ²³ When the report was investigated and verified, both men were hanged on the gallows. This event was recorded in the Historical Record in the king’s presence.

Let’s read Esther 3:1-9:

Haman’s Plan to Kill the Jews

3 After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials. ² The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage. ³ The members of the royal staff at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” ⁴ When they had warned him day after day and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman in order to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him homage, he was filled with rage. ⁶ And when he learned of Mordecai’s ethnic identity, it seemed repugnant to Haman to do away with^[a] Mordecai alone. He planned to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout Ahasuerus’s kingdom.

⁷ In the first month, the month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus’s twelfth year, the pur—that is, the lot—was cast before Haman for each day in each month, and it fell on the twelfth month, the month Adar. ⁸ Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, keeping themselves separate. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. ⁹ If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction, and I will pay 375 tons of silver to^[b] the officials for deposit in the royal treasury.”

Satan’s work is subtle. America pay attention! It is the hidden agenda of those in power that must be revealed.

Esther 3: ¹³ Letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.^[c]

Esther 4:1 When Mordecai learned all that had occurred, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went into the middle of the city, and cried loudly and bitterly. ² He went only as far as the King’s Gate, since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate. ³ There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict reached. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ Esther’s female servants and her eunuchs came and reported the news to her, and the queen was overcome with fear. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear so that he would take off his sackcloth, but he did not accept them. ⁵ Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who attended her, and dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what he was doing and why.^[a] 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the King’s Gate. ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened as well as the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay the royal treasury for the slaughter of the Jews.

⁸ Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa ordering their destruction, so that Hathach might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and command her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead with him personally for her people. ⁹ Hathach came and repeated Mordecai’s response to Esther.

Queen Esther had to make a decision whether or not to approach the King on behalf of the Jewish people. To approach the King without an invitation from the King could mean her death. It depended upon whether the king extended his golden scepter to her or not.

Esther 4: ¹⁰ Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to tell Mordecai, ¹¹ “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—the death penalty—unless the king extends the gold scepter, allowing that person to live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last^[b] thirty days.” ¹² Esther’s response was reported to Mordecai.

In Esther 4: ¹³ Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. ¹⁴ If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

This is a key statement. GOD places HIS chosen to be in the right place at the right time to accomplish HIS will and purpose.

Esther 4:15 Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷ So Mordecai went and did everything Esther had commanded him.

In Esther 5: On the third day, Esther dressed in her royal clothing and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace facing it. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom,^[a] facing its entrance. ² As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she gained favor with him. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

³ “What is it, Queen Esther?” the king asked her. “Whatever you want, even to half the kingdom, will be given to you.”

⁴ “If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for them.”

⁵ The king said, “Hurry, and get Haman so we can do as Esther has requested.” So, the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.

There is much discussion about why there was a second banquet. The Jews believe it was the day the Israelites were freed from Egypt.

We read that Haman was ecstatic that he was invited to this intimate banquet consisting of Queen Esther, the King and Haman. As Haman left this first banquet, he passed by Mordecai who did not bow down to him. This infuriated Haman who was in a hurry to go home to tell his wife and family the good news of his private invitation to dine with the King and Queen.

After Haman told his story to his wife, in Esther 5: ¹⁴ His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows seventy-five feet^[d] tall. Ask the king in the morning to hang Mordecai on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows constructed.

In the meantime, GOD was at work.

Let’s read Esther 6:1 that night sleep escaped the king, so he ordered the book recording daily events to be brought and read to the king. ² They found the written report of how Mordecai had informed on Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, when they planned to assassinate King Ahasuerus. ³ The king inquired, “What honor and special recognition have been given to Mordecai for this act?”

The king’s personal attendants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.”

⁴ The king asked, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman was just entering the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

⁵ The king’s attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.”

“Have him enter,” the king ordered. ⁶ Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king wants to honor?”

Haman thought to himself, “Who is it the king would want to honor more than me?” 

Assumptions can be devastating and our ego often blinds us.

Haman told the king in glowing detail what should be done for this person, who Haman thought was himself.

The great reveal.

Let’s read Esther 6:10-14:

¹⁰ The king told Haman, “Hurry, and do just as you proposed. Take a garment and a horse for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the King’s Gate. Do not leave out anything you have suggested.”

¹¹ So Haman took the garment and the horse. He clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, calling out before him, “This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor.”

¹² Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman hurried off for home, mournful and with his head covered. ¹³ Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai is Jewish, and you have begun to fall before him, you won’t overcome him, because your downfall is certain.” ¹⁴ While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.

Esther 7: ³ Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if the king is pleased, spare my life; this is my request. And spare my people; this is my desire. ⁴ For my people and I have been sold to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

⁵ King Ahasuerus spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?” ^[b]

⁶ Esther answered, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman.”

·       Haman stood terrified before the king and queen. ⁷ The king arose in anger and went from where they were drinking wine to the palace garden.^[c] Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his life because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him. ⁸ Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall,^[d] Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually violate the queen while I am in the house?” As soon as the statement left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Trouble in the King’s house. Why did they cover Haman’s face? Haman was considered a Deadman.

Esther 7: ⁹ Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “There is a gallows seventy-five feet^[e] tall at Haman’s house that he made for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved^[f] the king.”

The king said, “Hang him on it.”

¹⁰ They hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s anger subsided.

In the words of Dr. Vance Havner, “We must practice in the dark what we learn in the light.” GOD is in control.

We must keep this in mind as we travel along the highway of life.

Blessings!!!