Esther and the Plot against the Jews

๐—ช๐—”๐—ฅ๐—  ๐—จ๐—ฃ

โ€ข Are you a risk-taker or are you someone who tends to stay on the safer side? Share an instance that shows this.ย 

โ€ข Was there a time when you had to do something even though it was inconvenient for you? Tell us about it.

โ€ข When making tough decisions, do you think twice or do you stick to your original choice? What causes you to do so?


๐—ช๐—ข๐—ฅ๐——

โ€œ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ธโ€”๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ, ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ. ๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด.โ€ย ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐Ÿฐ:๐Ÿญ๐Ÿญ


(Read also ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐Ÿฐ:๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฎ-๐Ÿญ๐Ÿณ.)


When the Persians ruled over the Israelites, a beautiful, young woman named Esther found favor in the eyes of the king and was chosen to become queen. Haman, one of the kingโ€™s officials, became angry with Mordecai, Estherโ€™s cousin, and plotted to destroy him and all the Jews by making a decree. Though all seemed lost, God providentially used Esther to save His people. Today, letโ€™s look at Estherโ€™s crazy faith to go and speak up anyway and do what was right, even if it could have led to her death.


๐Ÿญ. ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‡๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜€.

๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ช ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜Œ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฅ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ช ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜Œ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, โ€œ๐˜‹๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜‘๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ด. ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‘๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด?โ€ย ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐Ÿฐ:๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฎ-๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฐ


Mordecai was greatly troubled when he heard about the new law plotted by Haman. He sought help from his niece, Esther, and challenged her to speak to the king. Mordecai spurred Esther to maximize her position to save Godโ€™s people. Sometimes, when God places us in areas of influence, He sends people like Mordecai to challenge us and stir our faith so that we can fulfill what God has called us to do. Who are the people you listen to? How have they challenged you to walk in Godโ€™s ways?


๐Ÿฎ. ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‡๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐—ฎ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜Œ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ช, โ€œ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ, ๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‘๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜š๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ข, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ง, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ด, ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ. ๐˜ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ. . . .โ€ ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐Ÿฐ:๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฑ-๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฒ


Esther knew that this struggle was neither hers nor Mordecaiโ€™s alone. The lives of her fellow Jews were also on the line. It would take the whole Jewish community to stand in prayer so that the situation would be overturned in their favor. They fasted and put their faith in God together. How does your community help each other in times of need?


๐Ÿฏ. ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‡๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ.

โ€œ. . . ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ธ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ, ๐˜ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฉ.โ€ ๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐Ÿฐ:๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฒ


During Estherโ€™s time, those who entered the kingโ€™s court without being called upon would be put to deathโ€”unless the king would say otherwise. It was a risk that Esther was willing to take. But because she found favor with the king, she was able to speak to him and eventually told him about Hamanโ€™s plot. In response, the king reversed the law and the Jews were spared. As we go through life, we will face challenges in our resolve to do what is right, even when it could cost us everything. Thankfully, God is the author and perfecter of our faith who can bring reversals even in impossible situations. What is one risk you took as a step of faith? What was the outcome?


Though Godโ€™s name wasnโ€™t mentioned in the book of Esther, He was very much present all throughout and working in the background for the deliverance of His people. Even today, where overwhelming circumstances seem to drown out the presence and voice of God, we can put our faith and trust in Him, knowing that He is working in our hearts so that He may be glorified.


๐—”๐—ฃ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—–๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก

โ€ข Today, how can you step out in faith despite the risks you may face?

โ€ข Is there a place or position God is calling you to? How can you honor God and walk in faith through those areas?

โ€ข What are some things you can do to surround yourself with people who help provoke your faith? What community of prayer are you part of in this season?


๐—ฃ๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ฌ๐—˜๐—ฅ

โ€ข Thank God for giving each of us a unique calling and purpose. Thank Him for placing people in our lives to help us fulfill His purpose.

โ€ข Ask God to give you the faith to obey His word at all costs. Pray for boldness and a strong resolve.ย 

โ€ข Pray that God would use you to help the people around you in their time of need. Pray that you would not shy away from being salt and light to them.