WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An
international Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday April 19, 2020
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AN
EXECUTED SCOUNDREL
(Speaking
out courageously against injustice)
(The
Book of Esther)
The
Almighty GOD in Heaven has always, throughout the history of HIS Creation, used
that Creation to judge and discipline “the greater segment”, mankind, for his
sins against HIM. Sometimes HE uses “pestilence” or “famine”, while at other
times HE uses the “weather”, and even “beasts”. Here in the Book of Esther we
see an example of how GOD uses “human beings” to accomplish HIS purpose, rather
than doing it directly HIMSELF.
The book of Esther, even though it does not
mention GOD, is ironically Scripture’s greatest example of “divine providence”,
and GOD’s divine intervention using “people of great courage” to achieve HIS
Will here on earth. Here we see the courage and national pride of Esther and
Mordecai, neither of whom seem to be particularly religious, on display in a
remarkable way.
In the Hebrew, the two most commonly used
words for “courage” are “chazaq” (khaw-zak), which is courage displayed in a
physical sense, such as being “manly” or “physically stout” when facing
adversities or crises (i.e. Samson). The other is “amats” (aw-mats), which is
courage, not only in the physical sense, but perhaps, even more so, “from a
mental standpoint”.
A less commonly used Hebrew word for
courage is “ruwach” (roo-wach), which also means “spirit”, and, more or less,
refers to “a spiritual courage” that does not necessarily apply here in the
book of Esther. In fact, here Mordecai hides both, he and Esther’s Jewish
heritage in order to gain favor with the ungodly King Xerxes, before later
claiming it, and using it as an excuse not to acknowledge Haman by bowing down
in his presence.
The biblical account of Esther takes place
in the ancient Persian capital of Susa, a city located in what is now present-day
Iran. All of the events in this book occur during the reign of King Xerxes, the
son of King Darius, and the grandson of King Cyrus. King Cyrus was the first
king to allow the Jews to return to their homeland for the express purpose of rebuilding
the Temple of GOD in Jerusalem. This permission by Cyrus in 539 B.C. would unofficially
signal the end of the Jews captivity in Babylon, which ultimately lasted 70
years.
This story tells of a plot by a man named
Haman, King Xerxes’ Prime Minister, to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire,
simply because one Jew, Mordecai, repeatedly refused to bow down to him, or at least,
it seems that way on the surface. However, if we dig deeper into the background
of these two men, perhaps we can see another reason for this deep seeded hatred
between these two, come into focus.
In Esther 3:1, Haman is called an “Agagite”.
Jewish tradition identifies Haman as a descendant of Agag, the Amalekite King
whose people, King Saul of Israel, failed to destroy, as GOD had directed him
to do, through HIS prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 15). Mordecai, on the other hand,
was a direct descendant of King Saul (Esther 2:5), who lost his kingship as a
direct result of this incident.
And so we see, coming into focus, that this
current situation may very well be just the latest episode in an ongoing feud between
hereditary enemies. Here we see Haman’s quest for revenge, and Mordecai’s
pride, endangering the lives of an entire nation of people.
In this passage of Scripture, Esther, is
the orphan girl who was raised by Mordecai, who was her cousin, following the
death of her parents. Esther, who was also called “Hadassah”, rises to
prominence through the careful planning and guidance of Mordecai. She was a
very beautiful woman who, through divine providence from GOD, ended up in the right
place at the right time to fill the vacancy left by Queen Vashti, who was deposed
by her husband, King Xerxes, for her refusal to obey his royal summons.
In this account (Esther 3:8-15), Haman
seeks and obtains a written edict from King Xerxes to kill all the Jews living within
the Persian Empire. After learning this, Mordecai then calls on now, “Queen
Esther” (Esther 4:1-9) to use her new-found royal influence to stop the order
from being carried out. The order was to take affect exactly one year later.
Esther responded to his request by telling
him that she had not been able to see the king in over a month (Esther 4:11),
and that, it could mean death to go to the king without an appointment. However,
Mordecai convinced her that death for all Jews, including her, was probably
eminent, if she did not, at least, try.
And so, Queen Esther summons up enough
courage, and decides that she would go before the king. She tells Mordecai by
messenger to “gather up all the Jews in Susa and fast for me for three days,
and I will do the same. And then, though it be against the law, I will go in to
see the king. If I must die, I am willing to die” (Esther 4:15-16) (NLT).
Esther’s fears turned out to be for naught,
as the king not only received her, but he also told her to ask anything she
desired of him, up to half his kingdom (Esther 5:3). In the meantime, Hamon,
after another rebellious encounter with Mordecai, is encouraged by his wife and
his friends to build a 75-foot high gallows and ask the king to hang Mordecai
on it. This suggestion pleased Haman very much, and he ordered that the gallows
be built immediately (Esther 5:9-14).
Divine intervention continues to manifest
itself in chapter 6, as it is put on the king’s mind to review the historical
records of his kingdom, by which he is reminded that the Queen had told him of
Mordecai’s heroic deed of foiling an assassination attempt on his life by his
palace guards. And so, the king set into motion a plan to honor Mordecai for
his heroics at a banquet that was staged by Queen Esther.
From there Esther is able to devise a plan
to make King Xerxes aware of the fact that Haman’s plan to kill the Jews also
included her and Mordecai. This infuriated the king and he ordered that Haman be
hanged on the gallows that he had built to execute Mordecai on (Esther 7).
And so, we see that, because of GOD’s
divine providence, and Esther’s courage and willingness to step out, she was
able to save her people from destruction. And even though GOD is not mentioned
in this book of Esther, one can sense HIS Spiritual presence every step of the
way. Many events happened in this book that were beyond anyone’s control except
GOD’s. It is a book that is filled with irony, and with ways in which things
mysteriously turned out in favor of GOD’s chosen people.
The “Feast of Purim” is celebrated annually
by the Jews because of the many divine events that occur in the Book of Esther.
It is observed as a reminder to the people to “be of good courage”. And, even
though we cannot physically see GOD, just as we can’t see HIM mentioned in this
biblical account of Esther and Mordecai, GOD is still everywhere, and in
control of all things, at all times, from a Heavenly vantage point.
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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