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Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general.
Esther: The Deliverance of Israel in Captivity
Risk is part of the territory of the leader. Esther proves that in this book of political intrigue and conspiracy. Until one is ready to sacrifice their life for the lives of others, accomplishment is just a thing of dreams. Esther can be studied in two clear segments. Today we will look at the second of those …
- The Potential Jewish Holocaust Prevented By Esther (Esther 5-10)
In this section we can see that:
- Having received grace from the King, Queen Esther prepares elaborately for staging her request. (Esther 5)
- Having difficulty sleeping, the King honors Queen Esther’s uncle Mordecai by elaborately parading him publicly. (Esther 6)
- Having revealed her request, the King hangs Haman conspicuously for conspiring to exterminate the people of God. (Esther 7)
- Having immediate success, the King grants the Jews defensive rights against their enemies. (Esther 8-9)
- Having total success, the Queen celebrates the victory with the Feast of Purim. (Esther 9-10)
This concludes the second route of the Old Testament. We have now covered the entire history of the Old Testament as revealed by God in His Word. As you conclude reading this section, reflect again on the reality that your spiritual condition totally affects your physical condition! This reality will be more clearly expressed in the next routes, as Israel’s poets and prophets explain this truth with emotional strength.
There is a key lesson from this section of God’s Word: Despite the darkness of the circumstances, God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all! Trust Him with all your heart and courageously move forward.
It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible.
For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.
You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.
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