Esther - Summary

The S/savior of the Jews is…

Esther – Summary

Review

1. History Review
1. When : Time – Some say 486-465 B.C or 464-415 B.C.  Few say 135-104 B.C., during Maccabean period, but that disclaims/discredits the historical value of the story and assumes it’s an allegorical story.
2. When : Relative to Daniel – After.  Daniel was Babylonian to the start of Persian Empires. Esther is entirely within Persian Empire.
3. Who : about – Esther.  A Jewish girl.
4. Who: wrote it – Unknown.  A palace slave?  Mordacai?  Nehemiah?  Jew or Gentile?  Probably Jewish.  Probably Nehemiah.
2. Chapter 1
1. Potential sympathy for Vashti
2. No deep OBVIOUS theological message in Chapter 1 (yet).
3. Chapter 2
1. More character traits of King X.  See Esther move into the scene.
2. No deep OBVIOUS theological message in Chapter 2 (yet).  But maybe there’s a lesson about God works even when it’s not obvious to us that He’s working – like in Esther.
4. Chapter 3
1. Mort rebels against bowing to Haman and the other gate-visitors turn Mort in.
2. Death sentence for Jews
3. King X still a dope.
5. Chapter 4
1. Mort mourning is a concern for Esther.
2. Mort scolds Esther.
3. Esther is reluctant, but agrees with Mort’s request.
6. Chapter 5
1. Haman’s pride will be his downfall
2. Friends and family can be a powerful influence.
7. Chapter 6
1. God controls, even Haman.
2. Haman’s friends turn out not to be too friendly
8. Chapter 7
1. God gets His justice against Haman…but Jews aren’t safe yet.
9. Chapter 8
1. Jews saved again
2. Mort gets his (earthly) reward
3. King Xerxes still a dope.
10. Chapter 9
1. The actual day of the edicts
2. Jews have been delivered.
3. Feast of Purim commanded.
11. Chapter 10
1. The wrap-up.  Everything back to normal.
2. Mort is the man!

Introduction

1. What’s your opinion of Esther now?  Easy, hard, straightforward, confusing, basic, advanced, etc?  Compare it to Daniel or Romans, etc as well as your impression of it on its own.
2. How is your opinion of Esther different or the same compared to before we started this study?
3. Can you group any of these chapters together?  What are the themes that you see in Esther?
4. Are there lessons, stories, sermons, etc that you’ve heard in the past that mean more now or you TOTALLY don’t see how they got that from Esther?
5. (Bottom line: Has (and how has) Esther changed/impacted you?)

Lesson

1. Themes of Esther we’ve heard:
1. It’s a picture of the coming Christ and our Salvation
2. It’s a call to action to women – God doesn’t always use brutes and armies.
3. It’s an example for adoption discussions
4. Others…
2. Key themes for me:
1. Not hearing God’s name every day doesn’t mean He’s not involved.  He’s always involved.

                                                               i.      Esther, to me, is a picture of how WE live.  We don’t live as Daniel did (with scary prophecies, etc), as Moses did (burning bushes, miracles of food, God-scribed tablets, parting seas, etc) or as Paul did (imprisoned, beaten regularly, given fantastic dreams (ie Revelation)…  God rarely screams at us, although He probably screams AT us.

                                                             ii.      We don’t see this fancy stuff from God most days, but we can still see (some of) the pieces that God puts together to make things happen for Him.

2. Jews are it.

                                                               i.      God delivers the Jews time and time again.

                                                             ii.      At the beginning, Jews are slaves.  At the end, they’ve got at least some of their respect.

                                                            iii.      Do NOT cross them.  A VERY big God is behind them.

3. God’s justice isn’t always as we’d make it happen.

                                                               i.      God allowed Haman to experience a little pain by parading Mort around.

4. God uses the willing, not necessarily the best.

                                                               i.      Esther was a young, marginal Jew (in terms of adherence), at best.  She was reluctantly willing.

                                                             ii.      It’s the old “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.”

Summary

(My) Book Verse: Esther 8:6 – For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?

Second (and popular) Choice: Esther 4:14 – For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?

Print | posted on Saturday, January 21, 2006 1:52 PM |