Courage for Life for Women - Flipbook - Page 16
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EsthEr 5
there in the inner court, he welcomed her
and held out the gold scepter to her. So
Esther approached and touched the end
of the scepter.
3
Then the king asked her, “What do
you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half
the kingdom!”
4
And Esther replied, “If it please the
king, let the king and Haman come today
to a banquet I have prepared for the
king.”
5
The king turned to his attendants and
said, “Tell Haman to come quickly to a
banquet, as Esther has requested.” So the
king and Haman went to Esther’s banquet.
6
And while they were drinking wine,
the king said to Esther, “Now tell me what
you really want. What is your request? I
will give it to you, even if it is half the
kingdom!”
7
Esther replied, “This is my request
and deepest wish. 8If I have found favor
with the king, and if it pleases the king to
grant my request and do what I ask,
please come with Haman tomorrow to
the banquet I will prepare for you. Then I
will explain what this is all about.”
Mordecai gave Hathach a copy of the decree issued in Susa that called for the
death of all Jews. He asked Hathach to
show it to Esther and explain the situation to her. He also asked Hathach to direct her to go to the king to beg for mercy
and plead for her people. 9 So Hathach returned to Esther with Mordecai’s message.
10
Then Esther told Hathach to go back
and relay this message to Mordecai: 11“All
the king’s officials and even the people in
the provinces know that anyone who
appears before the king in his inner court
without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter.
And the king has not called for me to come
to him for thirty days.” 12 So Hathach* gave
Esther’s message to Mordecai.
13
Mordecai sent this reply to Esther:
“Don’t think for a moment that because
you’re in the palace you will escape when
all other Jews are killed. 14If you keep
quiet at a time like this, deliverance and
relief for the Jews will arise from some
other place, but you and your relatives
will die. Who knows if perhaps you were
made queen for just such a time as this?”
15
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews
of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or
drink for three days, night or day. My
maids and I will do the same. And then,
though it is against the law, I will go in to
see the king. If I must die, I must die.” 17So
Mordecai went away and did everything
as Esther had ordered him.
8
Esther’s Request to the King
On the third day of the fast, Esther
put on her royal robes and entered
the inner court of the palace, just across
from the king’s hall. The king was sitting
on his royal throne, facing the entrance.
2
When he saw Queen Esther standing
5
Haman’s Plan to Kill Mordecai
9
Haman was a happy man as he left the
banquet! But when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or
trembling nervously before him, Haman
became furious. 10However, he restrained
himself and went on home.
Then Haman gathered together his
friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 and boasted
to them about his great wealth and his
many children. He bragged about the honors the king had given him and how he had
been promoted over all the other nobles
and officials.
12
Then Haman added, “And that’s not
4:12 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads they.
for such a time as this
4:1-17
P R A Y • Abba Father, your ways are best. Give me the courage to put your will and purposes
above my own.
O B S E R V E • Mordecai gave Hathach, Queen Esther’s attendant, a copy of the decree that
called for the death of the Jews and asked him to tell Esther to beg the king for mercy on behalf
of her people. Esther hesitated, since the king had not summoned her and could put her to death
for approaching him uninvited. But Mordecai challenged her, saying that perhaps she was made
queen “for just such a time as this” (4:14).
I N T E R P R E T • Mordecai realized that God might have put Esther in her royal position to
thwart the plans of Haman. In the same way, God has placed each of us in our jobs, families, and
communities to fulfill his purposes. Nothing about our lives or circumstances is random.We have
a gospel assignment (Matt 28:18-20). Let’s make sure we surrender our lives each day to God’s
purposes so we don’t miss it.
A P P LY • Commit to change:
What is God calling you to do
in your current situation (Esth
4:14)? Journal a prayer of surrender to the Lord, and commit
to doing what he calls you to
do. • Overcome obstacles: In
the margin, list the fears that
hinder you from surrendering
to God’s will for your life (4:16).
How will you overcome them?
As you seek God’s will, what
other COURAGE steps will you
take?
