Devotionary

Esther has just been informed by Mordecai about the king's decree authorizing the mass extermination of all the Jews in his kingdom. This had been the brainchild of Haman. Now Esther finds herself in a tenuous position of having to use her access to the king to beg for mercy for her people.

In this episode we begin to explore the behind-the-scenes nature of God's involvement in the events recorded in the story. He is there and nothing that happens does so without His divine approval and providence.

As the king's edict legitimizing the kingdom-wide extermination of the Jews makes its way around Persia, it would be easy to assume that God is silent and unseen. But it is always dangerous to rule God out just because it seems He has failed to show up.

Haman plots the extermination of the Jewish people and receives the approval of the king. But these two powerful men are not the arbiters of their fates or those of the people of God. There is a greater Sovereign at work, even thought He appears to be silently absent.

This lesson will introduce us to Haman the Agagite, a powerful man who will become a formidable enemy of Mordecai and the Jewish people. But we will also see the sovereignty of the king come face to face with the sovereignty of God Almighty.

In this episode we begin to see how God is working behind the scenes, weaving together a series of seemingly disparate and disconnected events in order to accomplish His divine will.

Esther, a young Jewish girl, finds herself part of a competition to audition for the role of queen of Persia. And the amazing thing is, she won. But was this just a case of good genes and good looks? Or is something bigger going on than even Esther could imagine?

King Ahasuerus is having second thoughts about his decision to banish his queen, but with the help of his counselors, he comes with an ambitious plan to find her replacement. And what happens next is far more than a case of fate or coincidence.

King Ahasuerus gets the royal snub when his queen refuses to put herself on displayh for the benefit of his drunken party guests. But this domestic dispute is going to have long-term and empire-wide ramifications that the king and his wise men could never have imagined.

What happens when King Ahasuerus has his sovereignty challenged by his own queen? And now will this one woman's seemingly independent actions impact all that is to come?