Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Esther Chapters 4-6

4:4 - The Queen is actually more distressed about the embarrassment involved in her adoptive father wailing half-naked in front of the palace than she is about what is wrong with him. Did you notice that she didn't ask him what was wrong until he refused to put on the clothes she sent him? Sometimes we get so caught up in appearances that we fail to see the pain and hurt going on in peoples' lives.

4:14 - Is Mordecai offering a prophecy? A prediction? We do not know because fortunately, Esther responds to his call to action. I think we can see here that Mordecai is definitely a man of faith...he believes that Esther has been specifically placed as Queen "for such a time as this." I love that phrase - "for such a time as this"...which begs the question: why has God placed me where I am and what is He calling me to do for His kingdom? I am ready for "such a time as this?"

4:16 - Esther is also a woman of faith - she is willing to put her life on the line for her people, but she wants to make sure that she is covered in prayer by people who are fasting and crying out to God. She knows she needs God's strength to face the challenges before her.

5:14 - Haman's pride and arrogance lead to his downfall. He is blinded by his thirst for revenge and actually sows the seeds f his own destruction.

6:10 - This made me laugh...by trying to heap honor on himself Haman actually ends up personally showering gifts and honor onto his bitter enemy Mordecai.

6:13 - Haman's friends and family turn o him pretty quickly...they actually predict that he will fall because of his hatred of Mordecai. That actually become the prophetic mouthpieces of God, calling judgement down on Haman.

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