Esther Lesson Six
Saturday, May 19, 2007 at 08:03AM Esther Study Week 6
Esther 9:16-10:3
Bible Verse to be recited for this week:
Esther 8:17
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.
The remainder of the Jews in the king's provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
Why did they assemble for the extra day?
What day did the Jews gain victory over their enemies in the provinces?
Upon what day did the Jews in the provinces rest?
What day did the Jews gain victory over their enemies in the city of Sushan?
Upon what day did the Jews in the city rest?
Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another.
Who are these Jews of the villages? Can you figure it out by the day that they rested upon? Why do you think they sent presents to one another?
And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,
to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar,
as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.
Why did they send gifts to the poor? What kind of gifts do you think they probably sent?
So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them,
Why do you think it is important that the writer of Esther mentions that the Jews accepted the custom?
because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them;
but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them,
the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time,
that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.
Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim.
These verses tell us why the book of Esther was written. Why do you think it is so important to the Jews that there is a written record of this observance? What makes it different from other Jewish religious days and holidays?
And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,
Why is it important that it records that the letters Mordecai sent were words of “peace and truth?”
to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting.
So the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.
AND King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea.
What does it mean to impose tribute? Why do you think this was mentioned here and why do you think he imposed this tribute?
Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
What is pur? What is Purim? Who established it? Why was it made perpetual?
Why is Haman said to be the enemy of all the Jews? (3:10; 8:1; 9:10, 24-25)
Who delivered the people?
Can you think of any other Jewish men who, like Mordecai, gained authority, influence, and honor in the service of a foreign King?
These lessons were written for elementary aged students. You can find all of the Lessons in Esther here.
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