Am I like this earthly king?
Week 1 DAY 3
Week 1 Esther Chapter 1
Today
We will:
- LOOK at Esther 1:1-9.
- LEARN ‘how‘ to incorporate GODcha’s tools along the way.
- LISTEN to God speak to us as we focus on GODcha’s LEARN/LIVE question –
Open GODcha to the Book of Esther
You Can Open GODcha and GODchats together
NOTE:
If you don’t have GODcha Get It>
Or, use your hardbound Bibles and follow along.
You can print off this week’s posts and put in a notebook!
Do you remember. . .
Why Esther Was Written?
Understand, everything written in this book points back to the purpose.
The Purpose Was To:
To tell how the Jews in exile were delivered from annihilation.
Let’s Begin With Prayer
And Continue With an Attitude of Prayer
Perhaps. . .
Oh Lord, unfold Your Word to us today as only You can do. We ask that You give us understanding. May we live in the light of what You show us and teach us today. Thank you Lord, (Psalm 119:130).
If you get STUCK at any point in your discovery, stop, and pray!
GOD, your Creator, loves you and desires to reveal much to you.
3 EASY Steps
To Put into Play
As you walk through God’s Word we will implement the LOOK, LEARN and LIVE Steps.
1. To LOOK:
a. Read a verse;
b. Consider what is Key to that verse; and
c. Investigate what is Key by checking:
– The Word Meanings; and
– Other Scripture References for better understanding.
d. Pay attention to: Timing, Contrasts, Comparisons, and Terms of Conclusions.
2. Bring everything you LEARNED together.
3. LISTEN to what God has said, CHAT with Him and Commit to LIVE Out what you learned.
As You LEARN and LISTEN, THEN You Respond
– An awesome dialogue begins to take place between you and Your Creator!
– This is fellowship – you developing a relationship with God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus, (1Jo 1:3).
Your Response to God Might Be:
Praise,
Forgiveness,
Confession,
Repentance,
Thanksgiving, and/or
A commitment to LIVE out what He is showing you!
Today: An Earthly King
1st LOOK 
Open GODcha’s LOOK Section
Always Begin LOOKING By READING
READ This Book From God, as if it was written to you, because it was!
READ Taking Small Bites.
This Narrows Your Focus
Focus on a Paragraph at a Time
Esther Chapter 1 is Broken Down Into Paragraphs
1:1-4;
1:5-9;
1:10-12;
1:13-22.
TIP: In your hardbound Bibles Paragraphs are designated by:
– an indentation;
– a paragraph symbol; and/or
– a bold face number.
READ With Purpose
As You READ, Ask Questions
Have you ever read something, and 5 minutes later you couldn’t remember what you read?
Learning to read with a purpose will change that!
We Always Want to Consider:
Who is speaking; and to whom?
What is happening?
Where is it happening?
When is it happening?
Why is it happening or, why did it happen?
How did it happen?
Questions
Help SLOW You Down
You will:
1. See the complete picture;
2. See how everything relates to one another; and
3. Remember what you read.
This is the most critical skill to learn in order to see God’s Word accurately!
Let’s Give It a Try!
READ the 1st paragraph, Esther 1:1-9, and ponder.
As you do, ask the who, what, where, when, why and how questions.
Because this was the hardest skill for me to learn, I have done it for you, hoping it will teach you how to read with purpose.
It is most critical to learn!
Reflect on the events that demonstrate God’s hidden hand.
Now, take a small bite. Focus on just Est 1:1-4.
Today: An Earthly King
LOOK
For KEY Words
Because they ‘unlock’ the meaning to what God is saying.
In GODcha Scroll Down To:
Key Words
We start with ‘who‘, who is the 1st character of the book?
And we see it is King Ahausuerus.
He is key, so our focus will be on him this week.
What can we LEARN about this King in these verses?
TIP: If you need help to determine what is KEY, GODcha’s LEARN and LIVE Questions have been designed to help you see what is critical and assist you in asking the 5W’s and H questions.
Today, let’s do just that.
Let’s Work Our Way Backwards.
Check Out the LEARN Questions
THINK and REASON
Act 17:11
Scroll down to GODcha’s Deeper Discovery Section and find the #3 LEARN Question(s).
See it here.
#3. Who’s the 1st character introduced to us that will be key to this drama?
What do you learn about him and his conduct?
What did he do? (v1-4)
We’ve already determined it is King Ahausuerus.
We LEARN:
It is the 3rd yr of this king’s reign, 483BC.
He reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces.
Check Out the Map
Scholars say this is basically from Sudan all the way up to Pakistan today,
all the way over to Greece.
About 2-3 million people.
We LEARN:
King Ahauserus sat on his throne at the citadel in Susa;
He gave a banquet for all his princes, attendants, army officers, nobles in his provinces;
He wanted to display the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty; For many days, 180 days.
Do you see there is no guessing?
No ‘I think‘, or ‘I believe‘.
We answered the questions straight from the text.
Today: An Earthly King
Let’s Keep LOOKING
Any Other Key Words
Let’s See What Else GODcha Suggests
Do you see ‘banquet‘ (feast)?
Banquet is used in verse 3, and is used 5 times in these 2 Chapters, so it is key.
Now we can’t assume that we know what ‘banquet’ really means, as I have discovered many studies have missed this, which is huge. Check it out!
LOOK
Try GODcha’s Dictionary 
Word Meanings
Tap on ‘banquet‘ in your Bible in GODcha.
Do you see the definition pop open?
BANQUET, mišteh A masculine noun meaning a drink, a feast. This word comes from the verb šātāh (8354), meaning to drink.
DON’T STOP THERE!
NOTE: Take what you have learned back to the text, to see what it means in its CONTEXT.
“in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet [drinking and feasting] for all his princes and attendants, . . .for many days, 180 days.“
Understand: Just from the meaning of the word we now see there was much drinking and feasting for 180 days, 6 months.
TIP: I would encourage you to note this discovery in your hardbound Bibles.
You might check out the meanings for the words ‘riches’, ‘royal’, ‘glory’, and ‘majesty’.
Today: An Earthly King
LOOK A Bit More
READ the next paragraph Esther 1:5-9, and chew on all God is telling you.
As you do, ask the who, what, where, when, why and how questions.
These verses tell us:
– King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) (the son of Darius who was the uncle of Cyrus);
– he displayed the riches;
– of his royal glory/splendor of his majesty.
LOOK
At GODcha’s Cross References 
About This King
God Uses Truth to Explain Truth
In GODcha’s LOOK Section Scroll Down To:
Cross References (aka CR)
1. Let’s see what we can find out about this king from the ‘Cross References’ GODcha suggests.
Tap on any reference either in GODcha, and/or here in GODchats, and the verses will open up for you.
As we read each references, remember to ask the who, what, where, when, why and how questions.
a. What happened during the days of this king (483 BC)?
Ezr 4:1-5, 6, 7
NOTE:
In 538 BC, under King Cyrus, Ezr Ch 1-6, Zerubbabel led the 1st return to Jerusalem. The adversaries of Judah caused the remnant such frustration, Ezr Ch 4:5, that it caused a 16 yr delay.
– Ezr 4:1-6 – Israel’s enemies resisted their reestablishment, under King Ahauserus.
– Ezr 4:7-23 – The opposition continued reaching Nehemiah in Neh 1:1-3 in 446 BC.
– Ezr 4:24-5:2 – The opposition under Zerubbabel picks up again during the reign of Darius (before Ahauserus and Artaxerxes).
– In 458 BC, under King Artaxerxes, Ezra Ch 7-10, Ezra led the 2nd return to Jerusalem.
– In 445-446 BC, under King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah Ch 1-13, Nehemiah led the 3rd return to Jerusalem. Jenson’s Old Testament Survery; John MacArthur
b. Who else was in Susa and the Jews were still facing opposition?
Neh 1:1-3
c. What do you learn about kings, leaders of nations, and authority?
Dan 2:21, 37; 4:25-26
Joh 19:10-11
Rom 13:1
2. We see this king held this banquet to display the riches of his glory and the splendor of his majesty.
LISTEN to the Spirit
Am I any different than this king?
What do I display and show off? Why?
3. What do you understand about this king, but also about us when it comes to riches and glory?
a. What did Jesus say about earthly treasures?
Mat 6:19-21
LISTEN to the Spirit
Am I storing up treasures here on earth? Or, in heaven?
Where is my heart?
b. Why were we created? What are we to do?
Isa 43:7
1Co 10:31
Mat 5:16
LISTEN to the Spirit
Do I do all to the glory of God?
Do others see my good deeds and glorify the Father?
Bring It All Together
What Else Did You LEARN
Check Out #3 LEARN Question(s) Again,
And #4 LEARN Question(s)
For Chapter 1:1-9
#3. Who’s the 1st character introduced to us that will be key to this drama?
What do you learn about him and his conduct?
What did he do? (v1-4)
#4. Then, after the 6 month banquet, who did the king give a 7 day banquet for?
What was this banquet like? (v5-9)
We LEARN This King:
– Is a ruler, a heathen Persian king, who is king because God the Most High made him king (remember what we learned yesterday about God).
– Is sitting on his throne in Susa, in which God had given to him.
– Ruled and reigned over a huge empire that God had given him.
History tells us this empire was roughly 3 million square miles, about the same size as the United States of America. He is like the President of the United States, a big deal.
– Was powerful, wealthy, and protected because God gave him his power, authority, strength and glory.
– Was living for his fame and glory! Glory that is intended for God alone!
We Discover:
During this king’s rein Judah’s adversaries tried to stop the work of Zerubbabel and the descendants of the captivity (who were rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem) by writing a letter of accusation against them to king Ahasuerus.
Then there was still opposition to the Jews when Nehemiah was in Susa.
We LEARN and See:
– This king threw a banquet, the party of all parties. Just think, what’s the biggest party you have ever been to?
– This was a 6 mth party with unlimited food and drink, for his officials, attendants, army officers, nobles, and officials of his 127 provinces.
A lot of people, and I am assuming probably men.
– And then on the heels of that, he threw another party, inviting the commoners to see his palatial home.
Kind of like a week’s vacation at the king’s palace.
We Discover:
We are not to store up treasures here on earth, but in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; Where our treasure is, there is where our heart is.
We Discover:
We were created for God’s glory.
Whatever we do, we are to do all to the glory of God.
We are to let our light shine before all men, so that when they see our good works, they will glorify our Father who is in heaven.
And Lastly, We LEARN:
– His Queen, Vashti, threw a banquet for the women in the palace, which belonged to the king.
THINK
Now you tell me, what would ensue after 6 mths, plus 1 week of free living and overindulgence?
Do you see the shallowness, the emptiness, the hollowness of it all?
Our Focus Is on King Ahasuerus
What might God be saying, asking you personally?
LISTEN to God Speak
And LIVE It Out!
God Talks – We LISTEN!
We Talk – He LISTENS!
GODcha’s #3 and 4 LIVE Question(s) in the Deeper Discovery Might Help!
#3. As I look at this earthly king, King Ahasuerus (Xerxes):
a. If born into wealth and affluence, how has it affected me?
b. Do I live for my glory, or for God’s? What happens when I live for my glory?
c. Do I need to display my riches and finery to impress others? Why?
d. Why am I impressed by those who are rich and affluent?
#4. Have I had days like this where I overindulged? When and why have I been drunk?
a. Do I have a problem with alcohol?
b. If so, is it harming my body; enslaving me; damaging others? What will I do?
Respond to God . . . LIVE it out!
Now We Don’t Just LISTEN,
But, We Speak to God!
Hopefully you came to God today with a heart of submission with an expectation of experiencing Him and His presence. And now what He has shared with You, it all comes to a head, and you chat with Him!
“Our initial connection with the Lord will turn into an open-ended conversation that continues throughout the day: In our thoughts and at times verbally, we share our hopes, struggles, and concerns with Him and listen for His input. When He nudges us in a certain direction, we obey. And at night, we remember and thank Him for His loving care and guidance.” Charles Stanley
THINK:
There is another throne,
with another King, a greater King, the only King.
It is God the King, who is King of all the earth,
and Jesus His Son,
who made the heavens and the earth,
and is ruling over His creation.
Do you know Him?
NOTE Your Discovery
About: An Earthly King
You’ll be glad you did!
Video Tutorial> Notes Tutorial >
Take the time to journal your discovery. And if you can, jot some notes in your hardbound Bibles. You will be so glad you did.
Also enter the personal things God has touched you with.
That’s It For Today!
Soak in all God is saying and teaching you about this earthly king.
What stirred your heart?
Chat with God the Father, and God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Have that constant, conscience, communion with God all day today!
Let’s Bow Before the Father
OH HEAVENLY FATHER YOU WHO ARE KING OVER ALL THE EARTH, AND BLESSED LORD JESUS, YOU TOO ARE OUR KING OF EVERY KING, and BELOVED HOLY SPIRIT – GOD in three persons, we praise You! FATHER GOD, thank you so much for preserving this book of Esther. Help us to pay close attention to what You want us to know and understand about this man, this earthly king, where right now we see no joy, no hope, just a shallowness and an emptiness which is what our lives are like until we meet You through Your Son, Jesus. Again I ask that You help us not miss a thing Father about You being the Most High God, who rules and reigns over the realm of mankind, removing kings and establishing kings for Your kingdom purposes.
Help us to see that You are The KING over every king, that You are good, and right here working in our lives orchestrating Your plan and will to be done. In Christ’s name we ask these things. Amen!
Awesome! Do you realize you are doing the one thing that is necessary, learning to sit at the feet of Jesus, letting Him explain Truth to you by the power of His Spirit.
Next: We’ll look at the the next paragraph, Esther 1:10-22.
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