Esther is one of only two books in the Bible that bears a woman's
name. Some have questioned whether it should even be in the Bible because
God's name is not mentioned in it. Edward J. Young, in his book An Introduction
to the Old Testament, wrote the following about this subject. "The book
of Esther serves the
purpose of showing how divine providence overrules all things; even
in a distant, far country, God's people
are yet in His hands. But since they are in this distant, far country,
and not in the land of promise, His name
is not mentioned. By causing us to behold the workings of providence,
the book does, after all, open our eyes
to God who determines the destinies of men and nations."
Song of Solomon
This book celebrates the dignity and purity of human love and
it is moral in its purpose. It comes to us in this sinful world, where
lust and passion are on every hand, where fierce temptations assail us
and try to turn our minds aside from the God-given stand of marriage. It
reminds us of how pure and noblo true love is. It also reminds us of a
love which is purer and nobler than any love that humans can have and that
is the love of God
for His creation even to the point of scrificing his son for us.
GUESS WHO IS LEADING THE HORSE?
by Paul D. Fisher --July 8, 2001
There are many interesting lessons to be learned from the book of Esther
and one of the most interesting
I found was that of Haman wanting the king's favor. It seems the King
of Persia couldn't sleep one night,
so he called for the royal reader to read him a story. The reader read
of how Mordecai, a Jew, revealed
a plot on the king's life saving him from certain death. The
king remembered well that day and asked,
"How did we reward Mordecai for saving my life?" Sadly, they had done
nothing to reward Mordecai, so
the king wanted to correct this quickly. He looked around for someone
to go and reward Mordecai and
Haman just happened to be walking into the king's court. The king called
him and asked him, "What do
you think I shouId do to show great honor and dignity to someone whom
I have delight in?" Haman
thought of what to him would be the greatest honor the king could show
a person. He told the king that this person should be clothed in the king's
clothing and placed on the king's own even the king's crown placed
on this person's head and parade him around the city proclaiming that
this is the reward people receive for being a person that the king delights
in! This, of course, is the way Haman wanted to be rewarded, he wanted
everyone in town to know that he was a big shot and that even to the king
he was a great guy. The only trouble
in this, Haman was not the person in whom the king was delighted!
Just think of the shock it must have been to Haman when he heard the
king say, "That is a great idea,
Haman, take the clothes, my crown and my horse and do all those things
to Mordecai the Jew which sits
at my gate.Be sure to do all these things and Haman, I want you to
lead the horse and to proclaim before Mordecai, this shall be done
to every man whom the king wants to honor," said the king. Wouldn't the
look on Haman's face have been worth seeing from pride and dignity to shock
and horror. What contrast must have taken place when Haman heard the king's
words. Even though Mordecai was Haman's enemy and even
though Haman had built a 75 feet high gallows to hang Mordecai from,
Haman now had to go and help dress this man, get him on the
king's horse and lead him around the city proclaiming the king's proclamation.
How
humbling this must have been for Haman! Truly, pride goeth before the
fall. Haman was trying to get to the top and he didn't care whom he stepped
on getting there. In the end he got to the top of his gallows and was hung.
Mordecai was looking out for the other's best interest and he received
great reward.