Esther 3:5 "And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath." See also Daniel chapter 3.
Haman is one of the kings men who was promoted to the top spot under the king. The people were required to bow to him when he passed as they would bow for the king. Mordecai refused to do so.
v3 "Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transfressest thou the king's commandment?"
They let this go on for a while but finally reported the disobedience to Haman. Haman took personal offence instead of actually being offended for the king's commandment. Instead of getting mad at Mordecai, Haman got mad at the whole race of Jewish people.
v8 "And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws; therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them."
Haman carried his offense to the king, not for the kings sake (actually) but for his own ego because Mordecai would not bow to him. The king turned the lions lose on the Jewish people and made a decree that they could be killed and their possessions taken for spoil.
v15 "The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed."
Haman seems to have accomplished his purpose. He has convinced the king to allow the Jews to be killed and he is now having a drink with the king.
But we should not forget about Esther. Remember she has not yet revealed that she too is a Jew. Mordecai will ask for her help in the next chapter.
Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."
Haman plots to kill the Jews.
Esther and the King.
Showing posts with label Shushan India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shushan India. Show all posts
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Esther and the King Esther 2
Esther 2:17 "And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti."
Esther's Hebrew names was Hadassah. Hadassah means myrtle. Esther means star. She was of the tribe of Benjamin, an orphan and adopted by her cousin Mordecai.
Esther did not go to the palace to be crowned queen so far as those who took her were concerned. She was one of many who were kept in a house for the king's pleasure. However, she found great favor with the king and was made queen.
v3 "And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:"
Mordecai taught Esther well. She was fair and beautiful v7. She found favor with Hege and he gave her 7 maidens and the best place in the house v9.
v10 "Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it."
So Ester did not tell them she was Jewish. She waited her turn to be called by the king and no doubt she was very afraid. After all, she was there against her will and in our day would have been considered kidnapped.
The decree to gather the young women was in the kings ( about the) fourth year of his reign and Esther went to him in the seventh year of his reign. v16. There is a greater purpose in all this but Esther did not know it at the time.
v18 "And the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces and gave gifts according to the state of the king."
The king had found his queen.
Mordecai stayed around the gate to see if Esther was alright. He irritated the guards but managed to stay anyway. He discovered a conspiracy against the king and told Esther saving the kings life. Mordecai was not rewarded then but the event was recorded and will show up later.
v23 "And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree; and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king."
The stage is set now and a new name will appear in the next chapter. He is a power seeker and has a big ego. His name is Haman. He and Mordecai become foes.
v14 "And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her."
Psalm 147:6 "The LORD lifteth up the meek; he casteth the wicked down to the ground."
Esther becomes queen.
Ester Intro
Esther's Hebrew names was Hadassah. Hadassah means myrtle. Esther means star. She was of the tribe of Benjamin, an orphan and adopted by her cousin Mordecai.
Esther did not go to the palace to be crowned queen so far as those who took her were concerned. She was one of many who were kept in a house for the king's pleasure. However, she found great favor with the king and was made queen.
v3 "And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:"
Mordecai taught Esther well. She was fair and beautiful v7. She found favor with Hege and he gave her 7 maidens and the best place in the house v9.
v10 "Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it."
So Ester did not tell them she was Jewish. She waited her turn to be called by the king and no doubt she was very afraid. After all, she was there against her will and in our day would have been considered kidnapped.
The decree to gather the young women was in the kings ( about the) fourth year of his reign and Esther went to him in the seventh year of his reign. v16. There is a greater purpose in all this but Esther did not know it at the time.
v18 "And the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces and gave gifts according to the state of the king."
The king had found his queen.
Mordecai stayed around the gate to see if Esther was alright. He irritated the guards but managed to stay anyway. He discovered a conspiracy against the king and told Esther saving the kings life. Mordecai was not rewarded then but the event was recorded and will show up later.
v23 "And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree; and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king."
The stage is set now and a new name will appear in the next chapter. He is a power seeker and has a big ego. His name is Haman. He and Mordecai become foes.
v14 "And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her."
Psalm 147:6 "The LORD lifteth up the meek; he casteth the wicked down to the ground."
Esther becomes queen.
Ester Intro
Monday, March 23, 2009
Esther Intro
Esther 1:1 "Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:) v2 That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, v3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants, the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him: v4 When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days."
Shushan was known to the greeks as Susa, a chief city of Persia. It was the winter palace of the kings.
Ahasuerus(king): king of Persia 529-521 between Cyrus and Darius. I think this is the same as Artaxerxes (great king) because the events in Jerusalem correspond. i.e. the rebuilding of the temple was interrupted. However CI Scofield says that Artaxerxes was the secular Cambyses of 529-521 and Ahasuerus of Esther's time was Xerxes of secular history 485 BC.
Although the Bible uses the title, the full name would be Ahasuerus Cambyses and Artaxerxes Xerxes according to Scofield. For our purposes and the purposes of the Jews under their rule it is enough to know that they were in charge as far as the world was concerned.
Ahasuerus had a wife named Vashti who was queen with him. The king threw a party and paraded his riches before his guest for a 180 days. Obviously, he had a lot of riches. At the end of this parade of riches, the king wanted to show off his wife, a beautiful women, as if she were one of his treasures. I don't know how the king meant this, I expect it was an honor he wished to bestow on her. Vashti was having a party of her own with the wives that came and did not show up when the king ordered it. She was dethroned as a result. That is where Esther comes into the picture. The king got lonesome.
The king had an advisor named Haman who rises to the kings most trusted advisor.
The Jews had a man who refused to go along with everything Haman insisted on and so incurred the wrath of Haman. Mordecai was the Jews name and he would not bow to Haman.
Mordecai was faithful to the king though and discovered a plot to kill the king and reported it.
So that is how the stage is set for this beautiful book of the Bible. Esther had to take the station of wife of the king and her position in the kingdom was used to save the lives of the Jews, albeit at the risk of her own life. Esther was a young virgin who was taken from the kingdom to be the wife of the king after Vashti was banished.
v10 "On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he comanded...the seven chamberlains ...v11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on. v12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment..."
To get a picture of how the government was set up we can go to Daniel 6:1-3 if Darius was following the example of Ahasuerus: "It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in hi; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm." So there are some thoughts to add to our study of Esther.
Vashti refuses to obey king Ahasuerus and Esther comes on the scene.
Welcome
Shushan was known to the greeks as Susa, a chief city of Persia. It was the winter palace of the kings.
Ahasuerus(king): king of Persia 529-521 between Cyrus and Darius. I think this is the same as Artaxerxes (great king) because the events in Jerusalem correspond. i.e. the rebuilding of the temple was interrupted. However CI Scofield says that Artaxerxes was the secular Cambyses of 529-521 and Ahasuerus of Esther's time was Xerxes of secular history 485 BC.
Although the Bible uses the title, the full name would be Ahasuerus Cambyses and Artaxerxes Xerxes according to Scofield. For our purposes and the purposes of the Jews under their rule it is enough to know that they were in charge as far as the world was concerned.
Ahasuerus had a wife named Vashti who was queen with him. The king threw a party and paraded his riches before his guest for a 180 days. Obviously, he had a lot of riches. At the end of this parade of riches, the king wanted to show off his wife, a beautiful women, as if she were one of his treasures. I don't know how the king meant this, I expect it was an honor he wished to bestow on her. Vashti was having a party of her own with the wives that came and did not show up when the king ordered it. She was dethroned as a result. That is where Esther comes into the picture. The king got lonesome.
The king had an advisor named Haman who rises to the kings most trusted advisor.
The Jews had a man who refused to go along with everything Haman insisted on and so incurred the wrath of Haman. Mordecai was the Jews name and he would not bow to Haman.
Mordecai was faithful to the king though and discovered a plot to kill the king and reported it.
So that is how the stage is set for this beautiful book of the Bible. Esther had to take the station of wife of the king and her position in the kingdom was used to save the lives of the Jews, albeit at the risk of her own life. Esther was a young virgin who was taken from the kingdom to be the wife of the king after Vashti was banished.
v10 "On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he comanded...the seven chamberlains ...v11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on. v12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment..."
To get a picture of how the government was set up we can go to Daniel 6:1-3 if Darius was following the example of Ahasuerus: "It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first; that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in hi; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm." So there are some thoughts to add to our study of Esther.
Vashti refuses to obey king Ahasuerus and Esther comes on the scene.
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