Day 267, September 24: Bible reading & prayer
Esther 6-10 (chronological); Isaiah 1-3, Galatians 2 (OT/NT)
We are reading the story of Esther, which happened in Persia, after the return of the exiles to Jerusalem recorded in Ezra. We’ll finish Ezra tomorrow.
Esther’s uncle Mordecai, a Benjamite, had been taken from Jerusalem to Babylon with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah under King Nebuchadnezzar. He was raising Esther, his uncle’s daughter, as his own daughter because she was an orphan. By this time, the Babylonians had lost the kingdom to the Medes and the Persians and King Ahasuerus was reigning. His queen, Vashti, had disobeyed a summons of King Ahasuerus and lost her crown, so all the beautiful young virgins of the kingdom, including Esther, had been summoned to the king’s harem in order to find her replacement. “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” While Mordecai sat daily at the king’s gate to check on the welfare of Esther, he learned of a plot to kill the king which he revealed to Esther, who informed the king, and the two conspirators were killed.
When King Ahasuerus promoted Haman over all his princes, Mordecai refused to bow down to him as the king commanded, revealing as his reasons that he was a Jew. Haman then sought to destroy all the Jews, convincing the king to issue an edict to kill and annihilate all the Jews in the kingdom on one particular day in the twelfth year of the king’s reign, five years after Esther became queen. The king did not know that Esther was a Jew because Mordecai had instructed her not to reveal this. Mordecai asked Esther to appeal to the king on behalf of her people, but she said she could be killed if she went in to the king without his permission. Mordecai told her, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” She asked all the Jews in Susa to fast for three days for her, and she and her maidens fasted as well, and then she went into the king with the resolution, “if I perish, I perish.” The king granted her favor and she simply asked for a banquet with the king and Haman. At this banquet, she asked for another banquet with them the following day. That night Haman planned to ask that Mordecai be hanged, even building a gallows to do so.
An overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all summaries so far, can be found here. My appeal for the resolution to read your Bibles is here.
September 24 chronological reading: Esther 6-10
Esther 6
v1-9 “During that night the king could not sleep so he gave an order to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. It was found written what Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. The king said, ‘What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?’ Then the king’s servants who attended him said, ‘Nothing has been done for him.’ So the king said, ‘Who is in the court?’ Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared for him. The king’s servants said to him, ‘Behold, Haman is standing in the court.’ And the king said, ‘Let him come in.’ So Haman came in and the king said to him, ‘What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?’ And Haman said to himself, ‘Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?’ Then Haman said to the king, ‘For the man whom the king desires to honor, let them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; and let the robe and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble princes and let them array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, “Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.”’
v10-11 “Then the king said to Haman, ‘Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have said.’ So Haman took the robe and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king desires to honor.’
v12-13 “Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered. Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, ‘If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.’
v14 “While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hastily brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.”
Esther 7
v1-6 “Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.’ Then Queen Esther replied, ‘If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.’ Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?’ Esther said, ‘A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!’ Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.
v7-10 “The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king. Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, ‘Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?’ As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, ‘Behold indeed, the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai who spoke good on behalf of the king!’ And the king said, ‘Hang him on it.’ So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.”
Esther 8
v1-2 “On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had disclosed what he was to her. The king took off his signet ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
v3-7 “Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. The king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. Then she said, ‘If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’ So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, ‘Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews.
v8 “Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.’
v9-14 “So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors and the princes of the provinces which extended from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every people according to their language as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language. He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horses, riding on steeds sired by the royal stud. In them the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate the entire army of any people or province which might attack them, including children and women, and to plunder their spoil, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar). A copy of the edict to be issued as law in each and every province was published to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies. The couriers, hastened and impelled by the king’s command, went out, riding on the royal steeds; and the decree was given out at the citadel in Susa.
v15-17 “Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For the Jews there was light and gladness and joy and honor. In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.”
Esther 9
v1-10 “Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on the thirteenth day when the king’s command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm; and no one could stand before them, for the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples. Even all the princes of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and those who were doing the king’s business assisted the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. Indeed, Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai became greater and greater. Thus the Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
v11-15 “On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa was reported to the king. The king said to Queen Esther, ‘The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall even be granted you. And what is your further request? It shall also be done.’ Then said Esther, ‘If it pleases the king, let tomorrow also be granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.’ So the king commanded that it should be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman’s ten sons were hanged. The Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.
v16-17 “Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces assembled, to defend their lives and rid themselves of their enemies, and kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.
v18-19 “But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth day and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a holiday for rejoicing and feasting and sending portions of food to one another.
v20-22 “Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
v23-28 “Thus the Jews undertook what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is the lot, to disturb them and destroy them. But when it came to the king’s attention, he commanded by letter that his wicked scheme which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. And because of the instructions in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established and made a custom for themselves and for their descendants and for all those who allied themselves with them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days according to their regulation and according to their appointed time annually. So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of Purim were not to fail from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their descendants.
v29-32 “Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. He sent letters to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their descendants with instructions for their times of fasting and their lamentations. The command of Esther established these customs for Purim, and it was written in the book.”
Esther 10
v1-3 “Now King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. And all the accomplishments of his authority and strength, and the full 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 only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his whole nation.”
September 24 OT/NT readings: Isaiah 1-3, Galatians 2
We finished Song of Songs in the Old Testament reading plan yesterday, which we read in its entirety on Day 153 of the chronological reading plan. Today we start Isaiah. This inspires a little introspection on what we have covered so far in the Old Testament reading plan. We read the Pentateuch, or the first five books written by Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy); the historical books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job); the poetic and wisdom literature (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs; and now we are starting the Prophets, which will take us through the end of the Old Testament. These books were obviously placed in our Old Testament by category, not by chronological order (I’ve listed them in the their chronological order in this document). That is part of why we can get confused about the chronology of the Old Testament stories, and why reading chronologically (as in the plan above) helps with understanding.
I used blueletterbible.org to do a word search for prophet in Old Testament. The LORD considered these men, before the time of the kings, prophets: Abraham, Aaron, Moses, and Samuel. The people of Israel asked for a king and Samuel appointed Saul and then David on behalf of the LORD. Prophets appear prominently after that, sharing the word of the LORD with the kings and the people of Israel (Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Jehu, Elijah, Elisha, Shemaiah, Iddo, Oded, Azariah, and other prophets whose names we don’t know). Obadiah and Jonah were two prophets that spoke before Isaiah who have books named after them. Interestingly, Obadiah spoke about Edom (descendants of Esau) and Jonah spoke to Nineveh (of Assyria, who ultimately conquered the kingdom of Israel). Isaiah was the first of the prophets to speak to the kings and the people who has a book named after him.
It’s a long book, so a little perspective is helpful before plunging in. Isaiah the son of Amoz prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (113 years of reign), kings of Judah, regarding the consequences of God’s people’s unfaithfulness to Him and the promises of His faithfulness to them. It has 66 chapters (as many chapters as there are books of the Bible). It contains prophesies realized (e.g., exile of kingdom of Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon, return from exile, punishment of Israel’s enemies, coming of the Messiah) and yet to be realized (e.g., establishment of the new heaven and the new earth). I learned perseverance in mining its treasures is helped by noting themes and events that repeat throughout the book as God is gracious to teach and re-teach, warn and re-warn. He is just and will punish iniquity, but His promises are good for those who are faithful to Him.
We read Isaiah 1-3 on Day 190 of the chronological reading plan, so you can find the text of these chapters there.
We started Galatians in the New Testament reading plan yesterday. It was the first letter written by the apostle Paul, after his first missionary journey, when he established the church in the region of Galatia, after he had returned to Antioch, from where he had been first sent out with Barnabas and John Mark (see the timeline of the book of Acts). The early Christian church, initially made up of Jewish believers, had to wrestle with the necessity of following the rituals of the Mosaic Law now that they were under the New Covenant in Christ, made possible by Jesus’ death and resurrection. This wrestling became all the more necessary as the Lord gave His Spirit to Gentile believers. What has come to be known as the “Council at Jerusalem” on this question took place after Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 11:1-31, see Day 184). Paul’s letter to the Galatians deals with these new Christians being falsely taught that they must follow rituals of the Mosaic Law. Paul exposed the motivation for this false teaching in Galatians 6:12, “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.”
In chapter 1 yesterday, Paul shared his concern for the new Galatian Christians that “there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” He gave an uncompromising warning: “even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.” He told how he became a believer, an apostle, and a bond-servant of Christ: “the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it;….But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother….Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, ‘He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.’ And they were glorifying God because of me.”
Galatians 2
v1-10 “Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of a revelation that I went up [see Acts 11:27-30]; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.
v11-14 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, ‘If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
v15-21 ‘We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.’”
Dear Lord,
on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them.
Help us to understand that, by Your sovereign hand, events can be changed very quickly. May this give us hope.
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Thank You that it is not works but faith in Christ Jesus that saves us.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
"By [His] sovereign hand, events can be changed very quickly." That gives me hope and peace.
"Help us to understand that, by Your sovereign hand, events can be changed very quickly. May this give us hope." & "Thank You that it is not works but faith in Christ Jesus that saves us." Amen! Amen! Thank you Dr. Milhoan. Peace.