On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, opposite the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne inside the palace opposite the entrance to the palace. As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won his favor and he held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. The king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet that I have prepared for the king.” Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” Then Esther said, “This is my petition and request: If I have won the king’s favor, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and then I will do as the king has said.” Esther 5:1-8
Every Sunday at Faith Lutheran we all get an insert in our worship folder from Vibrant Faith Ministries called “Taking Faith Home“. Along with suggestions for faith based family activities, it includes a list of suggested daily Bible readings. I’m using that list for our daily devotions.
Imagine my surprise to look at today’s reading and see a selection from Esther. I’m assuming it was chosen because it continues the theme of the banquet we read yesterday from Luke. But Esther is planning an utterly different kind of dinner.
Esther is an often ignored book of the Bible. (OK, completely ignored.) Voices from the past, including Martin Luther, questioned Esther’s place in scripture. It seemed, to Luther anyway, more of a celebration of “Jewishness” as a national identity than it did as the Word of God. Luther was wrong in that and Esther is firmly rooted in the canon.
All I really want to say about Esther this morning is READ THE WHOLE BOOK. It is a great story of intrigue and ingenuity. Esther is one of the true heroines of the Bible. The story reads like a Shakespearian comedy. I think everyone should know this story, especially girls who wonder why it seems that boys always get top billing in the Bible.
This reading from the 5th chapter marks a sneaky little turning point in the story. Esther has a plan to rescue her people from the evil intentions of Haman. But that is all I’m going to tell you. READ THE WHOLE BOOK.
Let us pray: Dear Lord, thank you for the gift of wonderful stories. Thank you for the heroes and heroines who teach us about life, about honor, about sacrifice, about using our wits, and about relying on you. Thank you for the encouragement that comes to us in the stories of those who have gone before us. May we live well in the legacy that is ours. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Daily Devotions 
October 11, 2011 at 12:54 pm |
Our church often uses Veggie Tales to reinforce Bible stories for our children. There’s a great Veggie Tales based on the book of Esther. 🙂
October 11, 2011 at 1:06 pm |
I don’t want to brag, but I’ve not only read the whole book, I’ve read various translations and done research on it as a professor of Spanish. I was intrigued by numerous 16th and 17th century dramas based on Esther. She was portrayed as a prefiguration of Mary (obedient and saved her people) while Vashti was Eve, (disobedient and banished). Haman is portrayed as the devil.
Vashti gets blamed for modestly refusing to come to display herself to her drunken husband’s guests wearing a crown….and many early commentators suggest that was ALL she was supposed to wear! If that is true…and some translations do say “only”, then it puts quite a different spin on the story.
I sort of agree with Martin Luther. Esther is the only book of the Bible not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, so I hesitate to believe it belongs among the canonical texts.