A Tale of Two Suppers

Ray Stedman on Esther 7: The chapter opens with an intimate supper in a private banqueting room where Queen Esther, the king, and Haman, the evil prime minister, are gathered, and it closes with a man nailed, screaming, to a tree until he is dead. Here is one of those frequent timeless foreshadowings of the … More A Tale of Two Suppers

Sleepless in Susa

Bob Deffinbaugh comments at Bible.org: A sleepless night for the king changed the course of history and resulted in the deliverance of the Jews throughout the Persian Empire. In reality, it was a divinely orchestrated sequence of events. Those events nullified the law wicked Haman had passed by deceiving the king and spared the lives … More Sleepless in Susa

Esther: Better do my duty and die for my people than shrink from my duty and die with them.

Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, … More Esther: Better do my duty and die for my people than shrink from my duty and die with them.

When life is at stake

Pastor Ray Stedman, “A Pair of Queens,” on Esther 2: The chapter closes with an account of how the entrance of Mordecai and Esther into the life of this king involved also deliverance from a plot which threatened the very life of the king: When the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting … More When life is at stake

Irony and Providence

Donald Curtis, in an article “Irony and Providence,” comments on the structural elements of the book of Esther: Paired Events Nearly every event in Esther happens twice, the second time being a variation of the first. In the first chapter, there is a long banquet and a short banquet. In the second chapter, there is a … More Irony and Providence

Last Suppers

Ray Stedman on Esther 7: The chapter opens with an intimate supper in a private banqueting room where Queen Esther, the king, and Haman, the evil prime minister, are gathered, and it closes with a man nailed, screaming, to a tree until he is dead. Here is one of those frequent timeless foreshadowings of the … More Last Suppers

Sleepless in Susa

Bob Deffinbaugh comments at Bible.org: A sleepless night for the king changed the course of history and resulted in the deliverance of the Jews throughout the Persian Empire. In reality, it was a divinely orchestrated sequence of events. Those events nullified the law wicked Haman had passed by deceiving the king and spared the lives … More Sleepless in Susa