Plot against the Jews (Esther 3:1-2, 6, 8, 10)

Later, King Xerxes promoted Haman to the highest position in his kingdom. The king gave orders for his officials at the royal gate to honor him by kneeling down to him. All of them obeyed except Mordecai the uncle of Esther. And when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew, he knew that killing him was not enough. Every Jew in the kingdom had to be exterminated. Then Haman went to the king and said: Your Majesty, there are some people who live all over your kingdom and won't have a thing to do with anyone else. They have customs that are different from everyone else's, and they refuse to obey your laws. We would be better off to get rid of them! The king handed his official ring to Haman, who hated the Jews and the king told him, "Do what you want with those people. You can keep their money."

It is important to realize that this is not a fictional event, that it is a real occurence in history. Without a doubt, the Jews have always been a persecuted people, but their real hope is in Father-God. Mordecai's refusal to bow is similar to Daniel's refusal for the same thing because bowing before someone is reserved for God alone and now it will be up to God to deliver his people.

Daily Prayer: Father, I am not under legal persecution to obey you, but I have social pressures from the world for my relationship with you. The world does not know you, but I know you. When I walk by sight it leads to human error and decline. But when I walk by faith it leads to true life and responsibility to you alone. Nobody can deliver out of your hand. In your name I pray Amen.

Esther is chosen to be the queen (Esther 2: 8, 17, 20)

So it came about when the command and decree of the king were heard and many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king's palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the other virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai her uncle had commanded her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care.

In the midst of this powerful nation dwell members of a lowly and oppressed people - Jews deported from their land and now living scattered across the empire. Among them is a young girl of no property or prospects - Esther, an orphan, brought up by her uncle Mordecai. In her simplicity she has the beauty. The helplessness of the Jews contrasts sharply with the might of the empire. Given the resources each has, any conflict between the two would spell ruin of the Jews. Yet the Jews in their humility have the quality which can win people over. The king is very taken by Esther, who asks nothing of him, and soon she is made his queen.

Daily Prayer: Father, it is true that you demonstrate your strength through fragile vessels. The beginning of the story is surely not the end. Use me also Father for your glory and to accomplish your plans. In your holy name I pray Amen.

The banquet of the king (Esther 1: 1-3, 10-12)

King Xerxes of Persia lived in his capital city of Susa and ruled one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia. During the third year of his rule, Xerxes gave a big dinner for all his officials and officers. The governors and leaders of the provinces were also invited, and even the commanders of the Persian and Median armies came. By the seventh day, King Xerxes was feeling happy because of so much wine. And he asked his seven personal servants to bring Queen Vashti to him. The king wanted her to wear her crown and let his people and his officials see how beautiful she was. The kings servants told Queen Vashti what he had said, but she refused to go to him, and this made him terribly angry.
This created a special kind of problem for the king. The queen had broken royal law and had also provoked the men of the kingdom. They contended that when the conduct of the queen to her king became known, it will provoke similar response to all the men in the kingdom where their wife will look with contempt at their husband and follow the pattern of the queen. At the suggestion of the king's servants, they suggested that he issue a royal edict that would go throughout the kingdom removing Queen Vashti and replacing her with someone who is more suitable than her. This idea pleased the king. Daily Prayer: It seems that regardless of privilege, nobody wants to obey their king. So it is also in the Kingdom of Heaven. Even though the angels were given the presence of God Almighty, there were many who wanted something more, only to be expelled. With the creation of man in the image of God, man only needed to obey to have dominion over all the world, but he could not. Thank God for the Son who was able to obey and by his obedience, bring many into glory. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Foreigners excluded from temple courts (Nehemiah 13: 1 - 3)

On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.

This passage takes some background. Before Israel was a nation, God blessed Abraham and everyone related to him. Lot was Abraham's nephew whom God delivered from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot's wife was turned to salt because she disobeyed the LORD and looked back. As a result, the daughters of Lot had children with their father whose descendants became the nations of Ammon and Moab. Ammon is modern day Jordan and Moab is north of Jerusalem. It was not because of the incestuous backgroud of these people that they were banned by God from the temple. It is because they acted as enemies to the Jews when God led then out of Egypt in the exodus. The banning of all foreigners will change in the New Testament when Paul brings in gentile converts to the temple. These early converts were nearly stoned to death, but Paul who is a messenger of Jesus Christ is bringing in a new day where the gentile believers will be grafted into the promises of Abraham.

Daily Prayer: Lord thank you for considering me among your chosen who can worship you in faith and in truth. No longer are you pleased with the blood of animals to bring atonement for your people, but instead a contrite heart and a believing spirit. The dawning of this new day is the New Covenant given to me and all who come to you by faith. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Ezra reads the law & declares the day holy (Nehemiah 8: 5-6, 9-10)

Ezra was up on a platform, where he could be seen by everyone, and when he opened the book, they all stood up. Ezra praised the great LORD God, and the people shouted, "Amen! Amen!"
Then they bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the LORD. The people started crying when God's Law was read to them. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who had been teaching the people all said, "This is a special day for the LORD your God. So don't be sad and don't cry!" Nehemiah told the people, "Enjoy your good food and wine and share some with those who didn't have anything to bring. Don't be sad! This is a special day for the LORD, and he will make you happy and strong."

When leaders are holy men and women like Ezra and Nehemiah, people desire to follow them. Their Amen translates "Let it be so." So it is in our lives as well. When leaders such as Martin Luther King and Billy Graham give an example of what American righteousness looks like, the people exalt their example of leadership. The Law of God was not intended to be a burden to God's people, but instead a method for holy living. Public examples of godly living would bring about an abundant revival of people seeking fairness and goodness.

Daily Prayer: Father, Jesus was the finest example of holy living who ever walked this place. Let me and those whom I influence follow after his example both publicly and privately. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

The rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem is finished (Nehemiah 6: 15 - 16)

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

When Nehemiah arrived for the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem, he was met with hostile resistance. Nobody wanted for there to be any aid to the Jews living in Jerusalem. It was Nehemiah's prayer that God himself bring him aid, as this is the citythat bears his name. Throughout the reconstruction, the group headed by Nehemiah was so persecuted that he had to post soldiers at and around the wall twenty four hours a day to protect the workers and the wall. The protesters didn't believe that they had either the skill or the manpower to do their work, but when it was completed successfully in haste, it was clear that God was with them and they had every right to fear because of their persecution.

Daily Prayer: Lord, all work that I and others do is a result of your hand and direction in it. Often times we forget to give you the credit for all the things that you really do and I ask that I consciously seek your imprint in the things I do every day and take the time for daily thanksgiving. In your holy name I pray Amen.

God hears & responds to Nehemiah's prayer for Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2: 5,7,9-10)

Then I told the king (that is King Artaxerxes of Prussia), "Sir, if it's all right with you, send me back to Judah, so that I can rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried." Then I asked, "Your Majesty, would you be willing to give me letters to the governors of the provinces west of the Euphrates River, so that I can travel safely to Judah?" The king sent some army officers and cavalry troops along with me, and as I traveled through the Western Provinces, I gave the letters to the governors. But when Sanballat from Horon and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about what had happened, they became very angry, because they didn't want anyone to help the people of Israel.

God influenced the disposition of the king favorably toward Nehemiah who is the cupbearer to the king. The king wanted to please Nehemiah so he grants his request to journey to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls and the gates of the city there. The neighbors of the people in Judah did not want anyone to come to Israel's aid, because Jerusalem had been desolate since the time of the Babylonian exile. But God was engineering the rebuilding of the city and remembers the promises he made to David that there would remain a king over his throne there.

Daily Prayer: Jesus teaches us that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, all these things will be added unto it. Let me both know and do your will father. Let me have the confidence that when I do things your way, you will both come before me and follow after me. In your holy name I pray Amen.