Who was King Ahasuerus? He was better known by the name Xerxes. It appears that he inherited the vast Persian Empire from his father, Darius. Darius was the king who ruled along with Cyrus after the Persians conquered Babylon. Now it is important to understand that the name Darius is translated “Lord” so it could be a title rather than a name and this sometimes gets confusing when reading historical writings such as Josephus and then comparing to scripture. I don’t want to get into the deep waters of that study because we would spend the next several weeks going through it, and still might end up with more questions than answers. Most commentators believe that this Darius was the same Darius that was tricked into signing the decree that wound up sending Daniel to the Lion’s den. With that being said, King Ahasuerus was the king in our study here in Esther.

As ambassadors, Paul is pleading with the church to not take it lightly. We are all workers or laborers in the kingdom of God, and recognizing the fullness of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we should not receive this grace in vain.

In this study we will see that while we are in this earthly tent, it is no longer our home, and when it is destroyed, we have an eternal home that awaits us.

Amos has two more visions. One of the basket of fruit on chapter 8 and a second vision of the Lord standing at the altar in chapter 9. Both of these visions reveal the final judgment coming upon Israel.

Paul is showing us here that in the liberties we have, we walk in this ministry given to us by the Lord, renouncing the hidden things of shame, and not mishandling the word of truth that we are entrusted with.

The New Covenant is not written on stone tablets but on our hearts. And for those who believe, the veil of blindness has been taken away and we now have access directly to God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Amos is given visions of the coming destruction and then we will see the response from the priest in Bethel who reports directly to King Jeroboam.

Where is your faith?

Paul is shifting gears and we will see his heart as he talks about his travels and knowing how some in the Corinthian church are upset with him, he defends his calling as an apostle letting them know that they themselves are a testimonial of His calling.

Amos continues to call them out for turning away from God and looking to other nations for their security.