What is Worth Celebrating - Esther 8 to 10

I am just a plain old country boy that was born in the Roaring Twenties that roared on out in twenty-nine and vanished in the thirties. I look back with pride and happily celebrate my up-bringing. I learned the value of parents with sacrificial love and believe some of it rubbed off on the recipient. I look back and celebrate the depression era—not because it was easy or a period of my life that I would enjoy living over, but because of the character of the people of the day, their determination and will to work, their pride and refusal to accept a welfare state. I feel so proud to have been one of those old-timers that Tom Brokow called the Greatest Generation.

My wife and I sat at our breakfast table recently and discussed things as they are with us. The river runs by and it was overflowing with two generators running as a result of more rain than usual. Our home is comfortable, even with the temperature below freezing outside and is paid for. We never dreamed that we would be able to enjoy a retirement so wonderful and extensive—more than twenty years have rushed by in what seems to be no more than ten. I continued talking, “We have had no real serious health problems—and are really blessed to still be able to live alone and care for ourselves. I think we have done quiet well for ourselves.” As she usually does, Juanita chose to correct me. She said, “I think you are forgetting the most important person that has made all this possible. Just think back to your first teaching job, when you made only $720 your first year…and we paid our tithe first from each check…and God has been our blessing every since.” That is something worth celebrating!
Here is the way that you can be humble and thankful at the same time. Reduce the I to i…
and then increase the importance of God in your life by the same ratio.

WHAT IS WORTH CELEBRATING as you study these last chapters? I can tell you the answer. God keeps his promises! God has promised the Jews many times that he will not leave them or forsake them and that even though, as a nation they have been a disappointment to him many times, he will always spare a remnant of the faithful. In this study of Esther, just a few days ago, Haman sent out an edict under the seal of the king that would have resulted in the complete eradication of every Jewish man, woman and child in this vast Persian nation with 121 provinces…which was most of the known world at that time. Had this edict stood and carried out to completion…there would have been NO remnant of Jews left to go back and rebuild the city wall of Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Do you want to know what these Jewish people were celebrating? A few days ago they received an edict that guaranteed that they would all die on the 13th day of Adar. Now, a few days later: couriers riding beautiful Arabian horses that were bred for the king’s use arrive in every province announcing that on the same 13th day of Adar the king will support them as they kill all of their enemies. These people had something WORTH CELEBRATING.

Mordecai wrote a message and had it delivered throughout the 121 provinces telling his people that they were to establish a day of thanksgiving and call it Purim.

I realize that my thinking may be too earthy here to be of any help to you in understanding how important Esther and Mordecai have become in the lives of their people. But, any way, I like to think of what has happened in the book of Esther as being compared to what Christ did for us. They provided the salvation for this remnant of God’s people. They were willing to die rather than stand by and do nothing. Any time I read of a sequence of events that takes place where we can see the hand of God at work in the lives of his people…It portrays a picture of my salvation—by grace—through faith in Christ Jesus.

I hope you will take the time to answer each one of the following questions. Don’t peak back at Esther…answer them and then look at your bible to see how many you have correct.

1. Haman was a wealthy man, and then just a day or two before he was hanged on Mordecai’s scaffold, his holdings grew by $55.000.000.00. Why?

2. What happened to all the wealth that Haman controlled?

3. When did the transfer of the estate take place?

4. When did Xerxes learn that Esther was a Jew?

5. When did Xerxes learn that Mordecai was Esther’s relative?

6. What happened to Mordecai when the king learned that he was a Jew?

7. After Haman was hanged, what did Esther request of the king?

8. Who was appointed to be over the Haman estate?

9. Who made the appointment of the one to manage the estate?

10. When a Persian King extended his golden scepter—what signal was given?

11. Haman wrote a decree signed Xerxes’ name and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. What was the decree?

12. Was the decree official? Or, could it be revoked? Who could revoke it?

13. When Xerxes realized he had made a mistake, what did he have to do to reverse his decision?

14. A second decree was written. Who decided on the wording of the new document? Who wrote it?

15. What was the relationship of the second decree to the first one?

16. How many provinces were in Persia at this time in history?

17. One of the provinces size could be thought of as about the size of: which are probable answers? Township? County? State? Judah? Egypt? Iraq?

18. Who ruled in each province?

19. Who was ruler over all the provinces?

20. What was the common language of the Persian Empire?

21. How could each province ruler understand what the new edict required?

22. How was the message delivered to the provinces?

23. What was the central message of the new edict?

24. Did the new order allow for murder and plunder to take place?

25. Did murder and plunder take place? If so, by whom?

26. Going back: On a yesterday morning, Morenci rent his clothing—dressed in sack-cloth and with ashes over his head and face and wept at the palace gate. On the next day…Where was he? From there, where did he go? And how was he dressed for the trip?

27. Going back to the time before the first banquet was planned by Esther…What was first planned to happen on the 13th day of the 12th month of Adar? Did it take place?

28. When the new plan was drawn up, what was to happen on the 13th day of the 12th month of Adar? Can you explain why this date was so important?

29. What is name of that date on the Jewish calendar? And why is it still important to them?

30. How many sons did Haman have? What happened to them?

31. Study carefully: Were they killed? Were they hanged? Or were they killed and then hanged? Who was responsible for the lives of these men?

32. The Jews established a holiday. The name is? What holiday do we Americans celebrate that is very similar?

33. How did the Jews decide the name of their holiday?

34. There are only three verses in the last chapter [10] of Esther. What message does this chapter convey?

Our study for this spring will be in first and second Peter. Don’t know about you but I am so thankful for the story of Peter in the Bible…he has probably been my best example. He reminds me a bit of David…who was so sinful but still accepted by God. He was unpredictable…in the garden he was angry and ready to kill or be killed for Christ. A couple of days later he trembled at the voice of a young lady, and denied that he ever knew Christ. God bless!