I was burning the mid night oil late last night.
Not because I was working, watching movies or reading a good book. Not because I was up working on the mountain size pile of laundry sitting in the corner of my room that calls my name.
I was on the phone with a friend. My friend was hurting.
As my friend poured her heart out to me and ask questions I didn't really have answers to, as I sat there listening: I prayed. I prayed for my friend. That God would guide her and comfort her. I asked God to give me the words to say to bring encouragement and comfort to her.
Feelings of inadequacy flooded my heart as I failed at really offering her any scripture to stand on. I could have excused myself from her need for a friend. I could have brushed her off
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As a side note, I love the book of Esther. When others ask who I would like to meet one day, my answer is always Esther.
I'm reminded of her digging deep in prayer and fasting for her people. When a decree was sent out to have all the Jews killed, she asked everyone to fast and pray with her for 3 days and nights. (Esther 4:16)
She knew she'd have to go before the king to plea for her the lives of her people. I'm sure many were her extended family and friends.
She must have been filled with fear knowing that if you go before the king without him summoning you first, there was a possibility of being put to death. She showed true friendship and leadership. Knowing it was the right thing to do, she risked her life to go before the king to save her people.
She could have said no and let the massacre of the Jews happened but she didn't. She loved her people. Even through the hard stuff.
It's easy to be a friend when all is good but are we being a friend through the hard stuff?
I want to encourage you to dig deeper, stand above the crowd and be a true friend.
Let's be encouraged by the God's Word.
Luke 6:31
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Proverbs
What her reasons for it were I don’t know. But she did a good job. She raised twelve children. She led a good life.”
... lost she might as well just take what she was being given. This was definitely not the way sixteenth century families were run, and because of this she fought her father, her siblings and the council of Hall for her inheritance, and in the end she had come out satisfied.
worked against him for the good of her country. Her heroic life was especially shown by her
If the book of Esther could turn into a modern day movie the title could be called “Providence of Connection”. Why? Because it is shed’s light of how God’s chosen people were given retribution through Him by His divine protection from their enemies. The leading topic of Esther is deliverance of the Jews by Queen Esther. To describe Queen Esther let’s begin with her roots. She is a Jewish descendent whose cousin Mordecai raised her as his very own daughter. Her Jewish name was Hadassah. She was a young lady when King Xerxes decided he wanted another queen after his future wife to be; Vashti disgraced him publicly. The time was 518 B.C. Esther received favor from the King and was given preferential treatment. Verse 2:9; “He assigned to her seven maids selected from the kings palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.” Esther received 12 months of beauty treatments which included six months of oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetic. (vs. 12) She did not reveal her nationality and family background to the King because of what Mordecai requested of her. Another important or key figure in Esther’s life was the eunuch; Hagai. He was the one who guided her how to approach King Xerxes. In the process, she won so much favor with the King more than any other virgins. He made his decision to place the royal crown on her head and made her queen. (vs. 17-18)
Esther was a woman of principle who displayed great hope in a highly patriarchal period. Despite being a woman in a time where women were marginalized, she was able rise to a position of power and save her people from annihilation. She did this through the use of her beauty, her wits and her courage, attributes that at that time were greatly valued in a woman. As a female her story has much to offer to women of any faith, but particularly to a Jewish Women. Though her historical circumstances were very different
In relation to the other canonical books of the Old Testament, the book of Esther of the Hebrew version contains unique theological figure, which involves the removal of the name of God and the direct absences of various important religious elements essential to a Jewish or Hebrew religious writings. The book of Esther is never referred to either in the New Testament nor the Dead Sea Scrolls, neither did the early church fathers rarely even referred to it in their writings. The book of Esther seems to be “anthropocentric,” and other than fasting there does not seem to any references or any implied points to the religious perspectives on God, Law, covenants and many other important themes that play central role in the Bible as a whole. Due to the lack or deliberate omission of God and various other religious references from the book, scholars have approached and viewed the book as doubtful and question the validity and the canonicity of the book. The book is supposed to contain some theological references and objectives therefore the book is understood by Biblical scholars in light of the commencement of the festival of Purim. Biblical scholars have approached the book with hesitance and have not given a clear and concise understanding on the much neglected and misunderstood theology of the book of Esther. Biblical scholars throughout the ages have regarded the book of Esther as questionable in moral, religious, ethical and cultural values.
understand what she felt about her life and her family, since her views differed from the
turn the light of truth upon,”10 which is something she truly fought for and succeeded
because she was the first of her sisters to join the rebellion, she went to law school, and
... others to do what she needed them to do. Her subjects listed to what she had to say and were encouraged enough by her words not to give up and to continue their journey to freedom.
endured also gave her the strength and confidence to become a great humanitarian and a
The book of Esther tells of a courageous young woman who uses her mind to please God. She becomes the wife of a great king and allows for protection of her own people, the Jews. Esther is a great role model for women of modern day times because of her strength, nobility, and honesty. She portrays a woman with power that most women of that day did not have. The story of Esther has empowered women of all backgrounds and will continue to do so well into the future.
...o avoid disbelief from her audience. She was the first woman who dared to tell her experience of enslavement and how she was sexuallyabused.
...y appreciated. Her only request was to have more time to get ready, a request that was promptly shot down by the represenetives, saying that she must die at the exact time specified by Queen Elizabeth.
Do you like to talk out your problems with a friend? Do you like to hear other people’s problems? Why do we always need to share our problems with someone? The truth is, humans are weak. We’ve always known that we can’t live by ourselves. So, it’s not a question that we need to share our burdens with someone else. We want someone to feel what we’re going through. And we’re hoping that that friend of ours has a way out of it, right? Whatever it takes, we want our problems to be solved. Unfortunately, it’s not every time can we find someone who wants to hear our problems L. Well, that’s the way humans are. We’re not perfect. But our Father in heaven is. He will faithfully listen to everything we’ve got on our minds. He is the only one who has the way, the truth, and the life. Of course, He knows how to solve our problems and He will help us with them. Now, doesn’t that sound good? Well, don’t you want to learn to hear God’s voice? The question is…how does He talk to us? Here are a few ways: