Esther 8:16-17 The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. 17 And in every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.
 
ARE you in relationships to serve and love yourself or to serve and love others? Perhaps, as an example, you chose to approve of everything your dad did and said because he had the car keys. Maybe you have often chosen to compromise your values, so you can have friends. Did you join a church because it was the most comfortable from your perspective? Is your marriage about, “What do I get from this?”
    In these examples, you are prone to be one who emotionally takes from others. You give to others only as it will benefit you.
    This sounds harsh, doesn’t it? But often, it seems, this is how we act. Disunity occurs in all forms of relationships. Certainly I can think of too many times I have been (still am) too self-focused to consider others. Humility, submission and obedience have been displaced with impatience and arrogance as I’ve insisted and persisted to draw people to my point of view.
    Certainly our relationship with God is often self-directed. Even when we say, “I’m saved.” we can be thinking, “What will you do for me, God?” In contrast, our God-focused approach to our salvation must be, “What, Lord, will you have me do for you?”  
    As the Jews received permission to fight back when attacked, the non-Jews in Persia formed a “yourself” relationship with the Jews. Suddenly the non-Jews’ lives were in jeopardy. In response, they became Jews not to worship the living God but to save themselves. Fear for their lives motivated many non-Jews to say, “I’m saved as one of you.”
    Yes, in some respects, we can see this as wisdom. After all, why would you oppose those who could harm you? Why wouldn’t you side with people who could get you want you want?
    But let’s ask these questions to those who are martyred for Christ. Men and women throughout history and today are dying for their faith. They live Jesus-focused lives, asking, “What, Lord, will you have me do for you?”   
    They see life from an eternal perspective. Such suffering saints recognize that a true relationship with Jesus comes in an unwavering focus on Jesus. Eternal life is the only life to be preserved. Such devoted Christians live into a Jesus-focused relationship. In full joy, faith and love they declare, “I am Jesus’ own. Now and forever.” Then they live and even die in their devotion.
     Are you wondering why it’s difficult for you to have good relationships? Perhaps you could ask yourself, “Am I in relationships to serve and love myself – or to serve and love others?”
 
Prayer: Lord God, teach me to love you and to love others as myself. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Esther 8:3-14 Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. 4 When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, 5 Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. 6 For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” 7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. 8 But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.” 9 The king's scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. 10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud, 11 saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods, 12 on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 13 A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. 14 So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king's service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king's command. And the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.
 
HERE is another lesson on how we are to approach our Lord in petition for our own lives and others’. Even though Esther has watched the king destroy her enemy Haman, she does not become casual with the king. As she goes to plead for the Jews’ lives, she continues to honor the king’s way to approach him. She waits for him to receive her. Then she pleads her case with a heart of compassion to save her people. The king responds. Mordecai now has the power to write what must be written to save the Jews.
    Our God is holy. I know we hear that we can pray to God at any time, in any place and any posture. Yes, we can. But we must have behind our prayers a heart that honors our Lord as the King of Kings. We must go to him with a worshipful heart, so he will hear our prayers through our love for him and for others we seek to save. 
 
Prayer: I come before you now, Father, with worship in my heart. Thank you for your great love and grace to hear my prayer. I pray now for …..

Esther 8:1-2 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. 2 And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
 
THIS is a remarkable change on the part of King Ahasuerus. The day before this, Haman had been his loyal associate, empowered to do as he pleased throughout Persia’s 127 provinces. But now the king has ordered Haman executed. Haman’s enemy Mordecai has taken Haman’s place in the court. In fact, Mordecai even has charge over Haman’s household. Mordecai has suddenly become powerful and wealthy. He even wears the ring of Haman’s authority. Haman had lost the king’s favor. Mordecai and Esther had gained the king’s favor. The king quickly judged those out of his favor. Then the king easily gave much to those he favored. In their humility Esther and Mordecai had risen to reign in the king’s court.
    Here in the pagan king’s disposition of material favor, we can see a truth of God’s eternal favor. Jesus says in Luke 4:19 that he had come “to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” Jesus said this as he read from Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.
    As King Ahasuerus saved Esther and Mordecai from his decree of death, God’s favor is his expression to save mankind otherwise condemned to sin’s eternal death. Mordecai and Esther gained status and wealth in Persia. We gain status as children of the living God and the wealth of his eternal riches.
    God used the evil Haman, the casual King Ahasuerus, the righteous Mordecai and the submissive Esther to demonstrate his favor to raise up men and women to destroy evil. As one day the accuser Satan will be thrown into the pit, the accuser Haman was “thrown down” into destruction. As God’s truth is our tool to overcome evil, Esther overcame the king’s evil in the harem. As Mordecai, Esther and the Jews fasted and prayed, they demonstrated a unified church will conquer evil.
    Yes, it’s true that many men and women who stand so fearlessly for Jesus today and have through the centuries become martyrs for their Lord. But we know by Scripture’s testimony that these men and women receive special favor from God. Surely the evil that destroys their physical bodies will be “thrown down” for all eternity.
    Often we refuse to offer a testimony of Jesus because we’re afraid we might offend someone. Really?
 
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for the example of martyrs throughout Scripture, from Abel to Revelation. Thank you that your favor is upon them. Receive such faithful servants with joy into your heavenly home. Amen.

Esther 7:7-10 And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. 8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits high.” 10 And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated. 
 
ONE of Scripture’s great references to the day when all the world will truly know Jesus as Lord is Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  
    Whether one has lived a life of belief or unbelief, on that day each soul will have the knowledge of Jesus as Lord of Heaven and Earth. This does not mean each soul will be saved in this belief. It will be too late for those who have denied Christ up to that point. As the prideful, unrepentant sinner recognizes the true Lord, he will also recognize the awful truth that his sins have entrapped him into eternal Hell. In anguish he will perish.
    Alas, this was Haman’s terrible recognition this day as he stood before Esther and his king. He had carried with him a prideful sin that aimed to destroy the entire Jewish population on earth. He did not recognize the God who had formed the Jews and who had even given him the breath of life. He had only time for bitterness and revenge but no time for forgiveness and love. His love was only for the kingdom’s riches and himself. Haman exalted himself.
    And then came the judgment. As he fell on the couch, he was in essence cowering before his accuser. His knee was bowing in fear and trembling. Haman’s soul was weak. And his body failed. You can see the eunuchs carrying away this man limp in his condemnation. He recognized his life had been a waste. He was doomed. No greater fear will consume a soul.
    When Jesus comes, how will your knee bow? Will it be in fear and condemnation, knowing you are in the presence of Jesus’ holy, eternal judgment? Or will it be in worship, joyful you are now in the presence of your living, holy Lord and Savior forevermore?
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, prepare my soul for that great day when all precisely know who you are. My desire is to bow in joy and gladness to worship you, my Savior. In your name I rejoice, amen.

Esther 7:6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
 
LET’S stretch our memories to go back one month to Esther 2:7. There Esther was introduced. And we learned her Hebrew name was Hadassa, which was a tribute to Esther’s beauty. And “Hadassa” also referred to, honor and refuge.
    How Esther lived into her Hebrew name and heritage? First, we have seen that her physical beauty was the reason she was brought into the king’s harem. God used his physical gift to her as a means to put Esther in the position to speak to the king. Second, Esther honored Mordecai, her spiritual and family authority. She obeyed his urging to go before the king on this life-saving mission. She also honored her God as she called for her people to pray and to fast. Honoring the king’s authority as she lived in the harem also placed her in a god relationship with the king.
    Third, Esther became a refuge for her people as she spoke the truth of Haman’s evil. None of her beauty and honor would have mattered if she had not spoken to the king to reveal Haman’s evil intent to kill her and her people. She became a refuge for her people as she spoke the truth against the evil that had planned their destruction.
    The Bible speaks in many ways of God as a refuge. He provided cities of refuge for people to be safe from false accusations. His law gave refuge to many people in need. He is where David often went to find safety as he wrote in Psalms 31:1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! And there are the beautiful words of trusting our refuge in God from the Sons of Korah in Psalms 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.
    Will you be a refuge for your family, friends, church and neighbors? Will you speak to defend them? Will you act in honor to protect them? Will you speak against evil? Will you honor the Word of God, so people know they can be safe with you?
 
Prayer: O Lord, may I be a refuge for those you have brought into my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 

Esther 7:1-5 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” 
 
HAVE you noticed within the word “please” is the word “plea”? The words have very different meanings, but even so, it is fascinating to understand their relationship. Esther shows the connection. As we plea – petition, request, pray – for a particular thing to happen, we are to speak in a way that pleases the one to whom we plea.
    Our Lord requires we pray to him with a contrite and loving heart. He commands our hearts be authentic to understand he is Lord. We must, then, plea our desires in submission to his will to be done in our lives. We plea that we may live lives pleasing to him.
    Although Esther’s plea was not to the Lord, Esther knew very well the power of the one to whom she was pleading. She certainly knew she was in the king’s presence that day because years before, he had become enraged when Queen Vashti ignored his request (See Esther 1.) Esther also knew she would be accusing Haman, the king’s hand-picked second-in-command. Even more, Esther is unveiling her true identity to the king. This will be his first knowledge that she is a Jew. One could say, I suppose, that she had three strikes against her.
    Esther, the girl from the country, is speaking to the man who reigns in extraordinary power over all the world she knows. Her plea goes to a king who can speak death and life to anyone he desires for any reason he claims.
    Graciously King Ahasuerus responded. Esther has approached the king in extreme humility as she said, “If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent.” She used the words of the decree: “to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated” (Esther 3:13a) Esther spoke in truth without exaggeration, and Esther was true to her ordained purpose to plea to the king that her people would be saved.
    Who do you know who needs to be saved? One good way to plea before God for the souls of loved ones is to use his true Word. Praying Scripture is an effective way to please God as you plea for your true desires. Esther was humble. She was focused on her people. Her purpose was lofty and life-giving. Your prayers are to be in this same form.
 
Prayer. In your name, Father, I pray you will turn __________’s heart to “believe in the Lord Jesus, so _____________ and all the household will be saved.” In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Esther 6:14 While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.
 
WE have learned earlier in Esther of the feasts God designed to help the Jews remember celebrate his salvation. Also, we’ve learned feasts were a common extravagant means for such kings as Ahasuerus to display his wealth and grandeur. Here in contrast, is a feast Esther arranged to be the place of condemnation for Haman. Little does Haman know he is about to experience his last meal.
    God is deliberately moving to bring judgment against Haman in order to save the Jews. This is an illustration of how our Lord is moving to one day judge unbelievers and to save his Church, the true believers in Jesus Christ. The eunuchs who come to Haman are as our Lord who will come one day to reap his harvest. Revelation 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”
    Haman unknowingly will stand at the feast before his accuser Esther. In contrast, God in his love is warning all mankind of sin’s penalty. We are warned, urged and told there will be the one day when we all must go to stand before the Lord. The day will come when no one will be able to say, “I didn’t know.”
    What will happen with you? Do you know? Will the Lord accuse you where the he stores his grapes of wrath? Revelation 14:20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.”
    Or will he welcome you to his eternal banquet? Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
    Haman was destructive in his power, arrogant in his position and bitter in his pride. As he set a snare for Mordecai, Haman would find himself in his own deadly trap. Sin does that. Proverbs 5:22 The evils of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
    Sin gives you the illusion of power and position. But ultimately it traps you and destroys you. Stand firm against evil. Hold fast to the Lord. Be ready to attend his feast of salvation at the table he has prepared for you. With a spirit of rejoicing, say, “I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.” Be assured you are his own forever.
  
Prayer: Father in heaven, fill my heart with you. Prepare me to feast with you forever. Amen.

Esther 6:11-13 So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.” 12 Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”
 
HAMAN is suddenly faced not with his own glory but with his own death! Here is the reality of sin’s penalty. Suddenly, irrevocably he has no hope for life. His doom is sure as the forces of his sins form against him. Haman’s wise men – counselors – and his wife who so urged him to destroy Mordecai now know Haman’s fate is sealed.
    What a terrible thing it is to be in such a place. Pridefully, he has followed godless advice. He is the sinner discovered. He is the criminal condemned. He is the merciless man who will not receive mercy.
    But before you rejoice in Haman’s condemnation, remember you were born under the same curse. Mankind’s plight has been so since Adam allowed Eve’s sin. Listen, for example to these hard words from James written to early church: James 4:1-5 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (underline mine) 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 
    Again, we see in a New Testament writer referring to “Haman-like” sin in the church. These words could easily be a summary of our lives, our church, our nation and our world.
    But know this: You can live in hope! What do we have that Haman did not have? Of course, we have the gospel of salvation. We have the good news of Jesus Christ, Savior and Redeemer. When we realize we are condemned as Haman by our sin, we do not have to live in that condemnation. Instead, as we confess our sins and call on Jesus, we are born again into the hope and joy of life forevermore!
    Consider your sins. Have you confessed them? Consider Jesus. Have you confessed him as your Lord? Speak these truths. Be saved in Jesus’ blood. Live in his grace. Stand in hope.   
 
Prayer: Lord God, I know too many people who go about their lives trampling over others’ lives. Awaken them to see the condemnation of their sins. Turn their mouths to confess, “I am a sinner. Jesus is my Lord.” In the Spirit’s power I pray, amen.

Esther 6:1-10 On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. 9 And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” 
 
WE are likely familiar with Jesus’ teaching of the two great commands to summarize the law. These are recorded in Matthew 22:37-39 “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
    Have you ever really thought about what it is to “love your neighbor as yourself”? Surprisingly and unwittingly, the evil Haman gives us an answer. See how Haman is eager and willing to describe a lavish procession for “the man whom the king delights to honor”. The arrogant Haman sees himself as the only possible person in Persia to be so honored. He loved himself more than any other person in the kingdom!
    Isn’t this an illustration of how we want to be loved? With pride-laden hearts we robe ourselves in self-love. Our eyes see, “Me.” as the most important person “in the room”. Yes, we love ourselves! What would it look like to love others in that way?
    Jesus showed us. His parade into Jerusalem was on a humble donkey. Yes, he rode that Palm Sunday in a chorus of celebration and praise from the crowd of his disciples. But his ride was to demonstrate how deeply he loves you. Lovingly, he rode to his crucifixion. He rode to point you not to himself but to your Father in Heaven. He rode not to be lifted up in praise, but he rode to be lifted up on a cross to die. He did this because he loves God, and he loves you. The Commander of Heaven’s Armies obeyed his Father’s commands.
    We must do as Jesus. Love God. Love others. Raise up your friends, family, church and neighbors to a place of love, encouragement and blessing. Think of what you desire for yourself. Then give those things to others.
 
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus for your great love. Stir me to love you and to love others more than I love myself. In your name I pray, amen.

Esther 5:14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let some gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.
 
ZARESH was made of the same substance as her husband. One can hear her say, “Kill that nasty Mordecai, Haman. Then you’ll be rid of your enemy. This blanket of bitterness will be gone. Then you’ll have a really good time at Esther’s banquet.” Little did she know she was sentencing her husband to his death.
    But let’s back up a bit. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so hard on Zaresh. Although her words are ultimately her responsibility and guilt, she may have given this evil advice because she longed for peace in Haman and her household. She saw her husband in a constant state of bitter despair and unhappiness. Try as she might, she could not come up with a way to bring Haman out of his unpleasant unhappiness. Who wants to be around such a despondent person?
    Then she had the idea. Surely this dramatic solution would bring her husband home happy. There would be peace in her household again. She would no longer have to hear about Mordecai and Haman’s great bitterness.
    Here’s our lessons. First, men, is your bitterness causing despair in your household? Is your wife willing to go to any length, even finding things to do, so she won’t have to be around you? Think about it. Do you need to be more pleasant, more congenial, more submissive and more forgiving in your home? Do you need to more often tell your wife you love her?
    Second, women, are you seeing an unpleasantness in your husband you can’t quench? Start speaking love and respect to him. You may not feel like it, but do so as an encouragement. Be godly in your language and in your love. Learn to tell your husband how you are grateful for the good things he does. Focus on the good, and you will see how good your marriage can be.
    If you need help for your marriage or other family relationships, get it. Don’t be ashamed. Instead, be hopeful and grateful God has gifted good people to care for marriages and parenting relationships. Life is too short to live in bitterness. Find true joy for your life in God’s true love.
 
Prayer: Lord, guard my tongue to be positive and loving. Help me to remember Proverbs 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. Give to me a righteous tongue. Amen.