Study 14: Esther 7:1-10

Haman at last meets his ironic doom, and the story takes great pains to show how completely his fortunes have reversed: Haman was prompted to annihilate the Jews because Mordecai refused to bow in reverence to him; in 7:7-8 he’s grovelling at the feet of Queen Esther, begging for his life. Haman built a 75-foot impaling pole for Mordecai; in 7:9 this plot to murder someone “who spoke up to help the King” becomes the decisive evidence, sealing his own fate. So far, so good. But there are some strange things going on in chapter 7 that I never noticed before. For instance, in 7:9, it’s a eunuch named Harbona who presents the evidence against Haman. This is interesting, because back in 1:10, Harbona was one of the eunuchs involved in the Queen Vashti scandal that led to Esther becoming Queen. Similarly, it says that after Haman was impaled, “then the king’s fury subsided.” This also harkens us back to the Vashti affair, because right after they’ve removed Vashti from the throne, it says almost the exact same thing: “the anger of King Ahsuerus subsided.” Why this sudden glance back to the start of the book, and Queen Vashti’s deposal in particular? I’m not sure, but I think that Esther is inviting us to connect some dots here, and see how God’s invisible hand was at work back then, using those seemingly random events to bring about salvation for his people now. Like some beautiful Mouse Trap board, Vashti’s defiance, the King’s anger, the machinations of Haman, each event precipitated events that would eventually ensnare Haman and deliver God’s people. This is the threshold of mystery, of course, because it’s so seldom possible for us to see, in the moment, which spring or domino or rolling marble this event right now is, in the grand Rube Goldberg machine of God’s saving plan. As I’ve said before, ours is simply to play our part faithfully and trust the outcome to God. But at the very least, the Esther confirms for us what Paul says, over in Romans 8, that God works all things together for the good of those who love him. 

Discussion Questions 

1. Have you ever dreaded having a certain conversation with someone? Put yourself in Esther’s shoes. How would you have approached this difficult discussion? 

2. After reading 7:1-6 and 7:7-10, is there a lesson you have learned. Is there a command to obey? A promise to claim? A condition to that promise? Is there a warning to head? An example to follow or avoid? State the lesson in one simple sentence. 

3. How does the lesson (in question 2) apply to me? Is this a new lesson or does it reinforce something I already learned? Or know? What does it challenge me to do? Does it point out errors in my attitude or actions? What changes does it require? What course of action will I take? 

4. Do the wicked prosper? Read Proverbs 4:19, Proverbs 5L21-23 Proverbs 16:5, Psalm 37:1-11 Look for instructions or warnings. 

5. In practical terms what can we do to resist the enemy? Read Psalm 119:11, Philippians 4:6-8, Ephesians 6:13-18.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Study 17: Esther 9:1-20

Three times in Esther 9 it points out that in defending themselves from their enemies, the Jews did not “lay their hands on the plunder” (9:10, 9:15, 9:15), even though back in 8:11, King Ahasuerus explicitly granted them the right to do so. This is one of those off-hand comments that doesn’t look like much, but actually has the weight of redemption behind it, when you scratch the surface. Because Haman, the one who hatched the original plot to destroy the Jews, was an Amalekite—a descendant, of King Agag, in fact, and three times in chapters 8-9, the story takes pains to remind us of his lineage (8:3, 8:10, 9:24). The reason Haman’s family tree matters so much here, is because Mordecai is a direct descendant of King Saul, Israel’s first and failed King (2:5). And here’s the point: in 1 Samuel 15, the reason Saul failed—specifically—and the reason God rejected him as King over Israel, is because he fought a battle against King Agag of the Amalekites, and, instead of completely des...
Read more

Study 7: Esther 3:11-15

From what I understand, in the Jewish tradition whenever the Book of Esther is read (once a year at the Feast of Purim), it's customary to boo, hiss and/or heckle whenever Haman's name get's mentioned. There's something very visceral in this that seems appropriate. The genocidal plan, as it’s described in verses 3:14-15, is about as absolute as it can get: an order sent to “every province in every language of every people-group” to “destroy, kill and annihilate them all, young and old, women and children, in a single day” (did we miss anything, Haman?) And then in verse 15, just to send a cold chill down the spine, like a chaser of whiskey after a long, deep swig of utter doom, it says that after the couriers left, “The King and Haman sat down to drink.” Having sealed the fate of God’s People, they sit down to clink their glasses together over some fine Merlot.  Reading in slow bites like this keeps you from jumping to the end of the story too soon. I was going to...
Read more

Study 16: Esther 8:11-17

God’s deliverance of his people is breaking in to the story at last, with light, and joy and happiness and honor (8:16). Ahasuerus issues a new decree, one that empowers the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies, and, incidentally, perfectly reverses his decree back in 3:12-13, word for word, right down to the letter. But here’s the verse that fascinated me this morning. In 8:17 it says, “Many people of the land ‘became Jews’ because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.” What we’re seeing here is a relatively rare instance of Gentiles converting to Judaism, in the Old Testament. There are similar instances of Gentiles coming to recognize, acknowledge, even worship the God of Abraham, but this is the only place where it’s actually framed in terms of Gentiles becoming Jews—converting to and adopting the Jewish way of life. The Hebrew word that’s used there-- yâhad —is a verbal form of the noun yehûd , “Jew”; that is, it’s a verb that means “to become Jewish,” and ...
Read more