Esther

Date Written: approximately 470 B.C.

Author: Unknown, but possibly Mordecai. Some have suggested Ezra or Nehemiah because of the similarity of the writing style.

Setting: This story is set in the Persian empire & most of it takes place in the king’s palace in Susa, the Persian capital. The book begins with Queen Vashti refusing to obey an order from her husband, King Xerxes. She was banished & the search began for a new queen. The story begins 103 years after Nebuchadnezzar had taken the Jews into captivity that we read about in II Kings chapter 25, 54 years after Zerubbabel led the 1^st group of exiles back to Jerusalem (Ezra 1-2) & 25 years before Ezra led the 2^nd group to Jerusalem (Ezra 7). Esther’s parents must have been among those exiles who chose not to return to Jerusalem even though Cyrus, the Persian king, had issued a decree allowing them to do so. The Jewish exiles had great freedom in Persia & many stayed because they had established their lives there.

Key People: Esther, Mordecai, King Xerxes I, Haman

Purpose: To show that in all circumstances, God is in control. It also shows His loving care for His people.

Key Verses: For if you remain silent at this time, relief & deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you & your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? 4:14

Chapter Outline:

1-2 Search for a New Queen

3 Haman’s Plot

4-6 Esther’s Plan

7 Haman’s Downfall

8-10 Esther Saves the Jews

Importance of reading Esther:

What we read: Esther was an ordinary girl who saved a generation through her bravery. She was an orphan & probably never dreamed of being queen. What can we learn: God can use anyone for His plans. You just need to submit to His will & go when & where He calls you.  Fight your fear & let God use you.

What we read: Chapter 3, Mordecai refused to kneel down before Haman. He was a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites. The Amalekites were ancient enemies of the Israelites.  What we can learn: When people demand things from you that doesn’t honor God, don’t give in. Take a stand for what is right before God. Look to God as your authority.

What we read: Esther risked her life by coming before the king. No one, not even the queen, was to approach the king without being asked. But after prayer & fasting for 3 days, she knew God would protect her & that what she was doing was in His will. She realized her strength would come from God alone. What we can learn: We need to rely on God’s wisdom & protection & His strength.

What we read: When Esther found out about Haman’s plan to kill the Jews, she didn’t jump up & run to the king immediately. Instead, she prayed, fasted & waited on God to let her know when to approach the king & how to do it. While they were all fasting & praying, God was keeping the king up at night & led him to read the book of the kingdom. If Esther had immediately went to the king, he wouldn’t have read the book that reminded him of Mordecai’s good deed of saving his life. What we can learn: God’s timing is perfect. There may be things He is doing that we are unaware of so it’s important to wait on Him.  

What we read: Mordecai was a wonderful mentor & father figure to Esther. He gave her good & timely advice. What we can learn: We all need God-loving mentors in our life who will advise, correct & when needed, rebuke us.

What we read: God is in control of all that happened, yet Mordecai & Esther had to act. Esther saved a nation. Her obedience saved God’s people from destruction. What we can learn: God chooses to work through those willing to act for Him. We should pray as if all depends on God & act as if all depends on us. 

What we read: Chapter 7:6-10, Haman’s hatred & evil plotting turned against him when the king discovered his true intentions. He was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai. What we can learn: Proverbs 26:27 teaches that a person who digs a pit for others will fall into it himself.

Things to think about as you read Esther:

• What can you learn from the lives of each of the main characters? Have you ever thought that you too have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? What is God calling you to do?
• Consider why Mordecai was unwilling to bow before Haman. Have you “bowed” to someone or something & in so doing compromised your calling & position as a child of God?
• Esther & Mordecai relied heavily on prayer & fasting to turn things around. Do you?

Job

Date Written: Unknown, but guessed to be approximately 2000-1800 B.C.

Author: Unknown, but thought to be Job. Some have also suggested Moses, Solomon or Elihu.

Setting: This took place in the land of Uz, probably located northeast of Palestine, near desert land between Damascus & the Euphrates River. It’s believed that Job probably lived during the days of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) before God gave His written law or appointed priests to be religious leaders. During this time, the father was the family’s religious leader. 

Key People: Job, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite, Elihu the Buzite

Purpose: To show God’s sovereignty & the meaning of true faith. This book gives us one of the reasons to the question “Why do the righteous suffer?”

Key Verses: Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless & upright, a man who fears God & shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited Me against him to ruin him without any reason.” 2:3

I know that my Redeemer lives & that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. 19:25-26

Chapter Outline:

1-2 Job is tested

3-31Three Friends Answer Job

32-37 Elihu’s Speech

38-41 God Answers Job

42 Job is Restored

Importance of reading Job:

What we read: Job is a wealthy man who loves God. Yet God allows Satan to destroy his flocks, his possessions, his children & his health. Even though Job didn’t understand why this was happening to him, he still trusted God. What we can learn: God didn’t explain to Job what was happening. And there will be times that we will go through things that we just don’t understand why. That is when we will be faced with what we really believe. Do you really believe that God is faithful & that you can trust Him? If you really know Him, know His character, you will know that He is trustworthy. Faith shouldn’t be built on rewards or prosperity. That is a very shallow faith. Faith must be built on the confidence that God’s ultimate purpose will come to pass & that His ways are higher than ours.

What we read: Chapter 1:9-11, Satan tells God that the only reason Job fears Him is because God had blessed him & his life was so good. He had no reason to turn against God. Satan wanted to prove that Job didn’t worship God because he loved Him, but only because God had given him so much. What we can learn: Satan goes to God & accuses believers as an attempt to discredit us before God. If he accuses you of not being a true worshiper, of not being faithful to God even during the trials & tribulations in this life, would he be right? When storms come, heartaches & suffering, put the roots of your faith even deeper in God so that you can withstand it. Spend even more time in His presence, in prayer & in the Word.   

What we read: All 3 of Job’s friends made the mistake of assuming that Job had committed some great sin that had caused his suffering. What we can learn: Not all suffering is because of sin or because of our own fault, so don’t assume that about people. Sometimes God is discipling us, sometimes we do suffer because of our own foolish mistakes & decisions, but sometimes we can be doing everything right & we are just going through a test. Make sure you learn every lesson God is trying to teach you during that time. 

What we read: Job’s friends & wife didn’t encourage Job. His wife tried to get him to curse God & die. What we can learn: Satan will use those close to you to discourage you, try to make you feel that God doesn’t love you & that He doesn’t care about you. Don’t believe those lies. You have to know God & His character for yourself so that you recognize those lies. Also, we can learn what kind of friend not to be. We are to encourage one another in the Lord.

What we read: Chapter 13, Job compared his 3 friends to doctors who didn’t know what they were doing. They were like eye surgeons trying to perform open heart surgery. Many of the ideas about God were true, but they didn’t apply to Job’s situation. They were right to say that God is just. They were right to say God punishes sin. But they were wrong to assume that Job’s suffering was a just punishment for his sin. They took a true principle & applied it wrongly. What we can learn: We must be careful in how we apply Biblical principles to others. We must be slow to judge & pray for discernment.

What we read: Chapter 38-41, instead of answering Job’s questions directly, God asks Job a series of questions that no human could possibly answer. Job responds by recognizing that God’s ways are best. What we can learn: It’s foolish for people to think they can stand up against God. We won’t know the reasons for everything that happens. Will you trust God with your unanswered questions? Or are you using what you can’t understand as an excuse for your lack of trust?

Things to think about as you read Job:

• What did you learn about Satan & his relationship to God & to Job?
• What did you learn about Job? What does God say about him? What does Satan say about him? How does he respond to God, his pain, his friends, & the counsel of his wife?
• Chapter 42:7, God says that Job’s friends didn’t speak what was right concerning Him. Keep a list of what was said wrong in respect to God & Job’s suffering.
• Think about Job’s end compared to his beginning & then ask yourself if Job’s suffering was worth it. What about your suffering? What can it produce if you will respond the proper way? What is the proper way? What did you learn from Job?
• What have you learned about Satan & his relationship to God? How can those insights comfort you?
• As you read chapter 31, pay attention to every “if” & every “if I have”. Think about how Job appealed to his own integrity in these various matters of life. How does your own integrity measure up in those areas? What do you need to remember, do, hold onto, let go of, begin or stop?

Link to Video: https://youtu.be/IMmDiaZK1Y4?si=f6fQAOuFPnjKWwQl

Blessings,

Nichole Henson, Fullness of Joy Ministry