Week 1 DAY 6
Today
We will:
- LOOK at Esther Chapter 3:12-15.
- LEARN ‘how‘ to incorporate GODcha’s tools along the way.
- LISTEN to God speak to us as we focus on GODcha’s LEARN/LIVE questions.
Let’s Pray
And Continue With an Attitude of Prayer
O LORD, we hunger for Your Word of Truth and do desire to understand it in order to live it and know the fullness of blessing and bring You honor in Your Son’s name. Help us focus today and truly hear Your voice. Thank you.
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.
We Need To Consider CONTEXT
CONTEXT is the setting that Rules Interpretation.
What has happened so far in Chapter 3?
Haman, is the villian in this drama, now Mordecai’s new boss, becoming angry when Mordecai refuses to bow down to him. When he discovers Mordecai is a Jew, he becomes obsessed in not only destroying Mordecai, but ALL Jews.
Thus, we left off with Haman, cunningly convincing the king that a certain people were a threat to his kingdom.
So let’s see what Haman does.
Let’s LOOK
at What God Says 
Begin LOOKING By READING
READ Esther 3:12-15, asking the who, what, where, when, why and how questions.
Remember:
Reflect on the events that demonstrate God’s hidden hand.
READ verse 12.
Who was summoned? Why?
Ironically, when was this edict written, sent out, and proclaimed to all the peoples?
When is this specifically?
GODcha tells us the 13th day of the 1st month was the day before Passover.
What Is Key?
What about this date, the day before Passover?
Because the date is key. . .
Let’s Check Out Some Cross References (aka CR)
What is Passover?
Exo 12
Exo 12:5-6, 11
Deut 16:1-8
THINK:
What Haman meant for evil, God meant for good!
You might ask, ‘what good could possibly come from this’?
Well, why do you suppose God picked the day before Passover?
Maybe, just maybe, this was a way to wake His people up who had assimilated a little too well with the Persians, becoming way too comfortable in the Persian world, forgetting Him.
And maybe as they received this news of annihilation, on the very eve of Passover, when they should have been celebrating their deliverance from Egypt, it would make them stop and really think about God.
Do you see God’s hidden hand working in the timing of this edict going out?
LISTEN to the Spirit
Have I assimilated a little too well with this world?
What has God had to do to wake me up?
How does seeing and knowing God’s hidden hand is working help me at this particular point and time in my life?
Chat With God!
What Else is Key?
GODcha suggests we check out ‘edict‘.
LOOK at the Meaning
You should know how to do this by now.
Tap on the word in your Bible in GODcha.
Do you see the definition pop open?
EDICT, edict, H3791 ketāb; something written, record or book:—register, Scripture, writing. referring to a script, writing. It indicates the process of writing or the symbols used to write. It is used of the particular writing form or system of an area (Esth. 1:22); a written document (Esth. 3:14); an official written list (Ezra 2:62); the actual language or text in a document (Ezra 4:7).
DON’T STOP THERE!
NOTE: Take what you have learned back to the text, to see what it means in its CONTEXT.
TIP: I would encourage you to note this in your hardbound Bibles.
Today: Haman Executes His Plan
LOOK Again
Scope Out Verse 13
READ Esther 3:12-15 again, asking the who, what, where, when, why and how questions.
Focus on verse 13.
1. How was the royal edict sent throughout the empire?
Historians tell us how this was done.
“Haman hits the fast track, dispatches a royal decree, sends it all throughout the empire. And they did it like the Pony Express, a horse would ride as far as it could ride with the message; another horse, another rider go from there, and the word was spread everywhere rapidly, with fresh horses and fresh riders all across the parts of the Persian Empire,” John MacArthur
“…the Persians of Iran took the idea of a postal system to previously unseen heights – and then some. They used an extensive network of roads worked by expert horsemen who covered stupefying distances throughout the massive, diverse empire with bewildering speed and unwavering resolve. The Achaemenid Persians (approx. 550-330 BCE) were able to deliver, through the use of a system of couriers on horseback (known as pirradaziš in Old Persian), messages from one end of the massive Persian Empire to the other in a matter of days. According to scholars, a message could be sent from Susa, the administrative capital of the empire in western Iran, to Sardis, in what is now western Turkey, in between seven and nine days, following the Royal Road, a sort of highway connecting the two cities.” http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200624-iran-the-surprising-origins-of-the-postal-service.
2. Who were the letters sent to?
3. What was the message?
Who would this affect?
When would it happen?
What would be seized?
What is Key About This Message?
To destroy, kill and annihilate is Key.
Do you remember we looked at ‘destroy’ back in verse 6?
Let’s Check Out Some Cross References (aka CR)
1. Who would this destruction include?
Est 2:7, 10
Ezr 1:1-3
Ezr 4:6-16
THINK:
What would this mean if Haman succeeded in destroying the entire Jewish race?
Remember what we saw yesterday: Who is using Haman to do this?
2. When is this destruction to take place?
Let’s Check Out Some Cross References (aka CR)
1. What is so significant about the 13th day of the 12th month?
GODcha explains this to us.
2. What should we know and remember about God and His elect?
Rom 8:31-34
What Else is Key About This Message?
The comparison ‘to seize their possessions as plunder’ is Key.
THINK:
This shows us the Jews in exile had faired fairly well and this is how Haman would come up with the 10,000 talents of silver.
Today: Haman Executes His Plan
Take One Last Peek
Unpack Verses 14 and 15
READ Esther 3:12-15 again, asking the who, what, where, when, why and how questions.
Focus on verse 14.
What happened?
Why?
What Is Key?
The comparison of ‘a copy of the edict going out as law’ is Key.
Let’s Check Out Some Cross References (aka CR)
1. What would issued as ‘law’ mean?
Dan 6:8, 12, 15
2. Why was it published to all the peoples ahead of time?
THINK:
Can you imagine receiving a death sentence proclaiming ALL who follow Christ, from the youngest to the oldest, women and children too, will be killed in 11 months?
Can you imagine how terrifying this would be?
What would you do for 11 months with such horror hanging over your head?
READ Esther 3:12-15 again.
Focus on verse 15.
What did the couriers do?
Where was the decree issued?
While the decree was issued, how did the king and Haman close the business deal?
What the King and Haman Did is Key.
Let’s Check Out Some Cross References (aka CR)
The king and Haman drink to annihilating the entire Jewish race.
1. As we look at Haman and this king, how do they relate to Pro 6:16-19?
LISTEN to the Spirit
Do I hate these things that God hates?
How do I pray and guard against these in my own life?
LISTEN to the Spirit
How am I like this king?
What drives me to do the things I do?
Am I a slave to my own appetites?
Talk to God!
2. How did the city of Susa react?
Susa’s Reaction Would Be Key.
Check Out Some Cross References (aka CR)
1. What does Proverbs tell us?
Pro 29:2
2. What does God say about ‘confusion’?
1Co 14:33
3. What are God’s reassuring words in Isa 41:10?
What Did You LEARN
Check Out GODcha’s #7 LEARN Question(s)
#7. What happened on the 13th day of the 1st month? Why is this date significant?
a. What was the edict (decree); who would it affect; and when would it be carried out?
b. How did the king and Haman seal the deal? How did Susa respond?
c. What things does God hate in Pro 6:16-19? Which of these things compare to what you have learned about Haman? (v12-15)
Okay, Let’s Bring It All Together
We LEARN:
Haman’s anger had turned to attempted murder.
Understand: God brings life, Satan brings death.
On the 13th day of the 1st month, which is Nissan, an edict was written to the governors and princes of each province in their language, in the name of the king and sealed with his signet ring.
We Discover:
This date the edict was written and sent out was significant because it was the day before Passover.
We Discover:
Passover Is:
– When God delivered His people out of Egypt, with death passing over any home that was marked with the blood of the lamb on it’s doorposts and lintel, Exo 12.
– Is the 14th day of the 1st month, the month of Abib (the 1st month of the Hebrew calendar, later called by the Babylonion name Nisan) that is to be a memorial throughout future generations to remember God’s deliverance, Deut 16:1-8.
– Pointing us to when God would “deliver all Jews and all mankind from death, specifically all that place their faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.” Precept Austin https://www.preceptaustin.org/esther_3-4_commentary
– Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed, shedding his blood to deliver us all from sin and death on Passover, Joh 1:29; 1Co 5:7; Rev 5:6.
We see God’s divine hand working to wake His people up.
As God’s people received this news of annihilation, on the very eve of Passover, when they should have been celebrating their deliverance from Egypt, it would make them stop and really think about God, His will and His ways.
We LEARN:
Letters were sent quickly by couriers to all the king’s provinces
We Discover:
The letters were sent out quickly because the Persians took the postal system to a higher level, using an extensive network of roads worked by expert horsemen, able to deliver messages between 7 to 9 days.
We LEARN:
The message sent out was to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children,
The message was ALL Jews, including babies, children, pregnant women, grandmas and grandpas – ALL would be killed!
The killing would be done in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar,
We Discover:
The thirteenth day of the 12th month (Adar) was 11 mths later.
“This day was adopted later by the Jews as the date for their annual feast of Purim.” Henry Morris.
We Discover:
God was for His people then, and is for we His people now. He delivered His Son over for us. Thus, Christ paid for our sins, and was raised and now sits at the right hand of God interceding for us, so. . .
Who can be against us?
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?
Who can condemn us? NO ONE, Rom 8:31-34.
We LEARN:
The message sent out was also to seize their possessions as plunder.
This is the 10,000 talents of silver the king said would be Haman’s back in verse 11.
We LEARN:
A copy of the edict was issued as law.
We Discover:
The law of the Medes and Persians could NOT be revoked. Ouch! Dan 6:8, 12, 15.
We LEARN:
The copy of the edict was published (advertised, proclaimed) to all the peoples so they would be ready for this day.
We see God’s divine hand setting this date to give Mordecai and the Jews time to prepare and figure out how to get around this irrevocable law.
We LEARN:
The king and Haman seal the deal by sitting down and having a drink.
No prayer or consideration of the ramifications to others.
No, just drinking to the way they made money by killing certain people.
We Discover:
There are 7 things God hates, that are actually an abomination to Him and all apply to Haman.
Haughty eyes,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers, Pro 6:16-19.
We LEARN:
And while the king and Haman are celebrating, the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.
We Discover:
When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan, Pro 29:2.
God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, 1Co 14:33.
God tells us not to fear, for He is with us;
We are not to anxiously look about us, for God is our God;
God will strengthen, help, and uphold us with His righteous right hand, Isa 41:10.
LISTEN
What Might God Be Asking You
Check Out GODcha’s #7 LIVE Question(s)
#7. This is like Hitler’s mass murder of the Jews.
a. When have I experienced a wicked decree being carried out against me, and/or my family?
b. What horrible news have I received that has sent me into a tailspin and confusion?
c. Am I guilty of the 7 sins God hates, Pro 6:16-19? What will I do?
Remember:
Respond to God. . . LIVE it out!
Remember We Don’t Just LISTEN,
We Speak to God!
Oh talk to the Lord your incredible Creator, who knows you intimately, and is there ready and willing to help you. God has a plan for all our lives, redeeming us if we have bowed the knee to Him by faith. And takes what was meant for harm and turns it into something good, Rom 8:28.
Okay, One Last Thing to Do
SUMMARIZE
To Wrap Up Chapter 3, GODcha directs us to 
Summarize the Paragraphs, and then the Chapter.
This helps you grasp and process what you have LEARNED, cementing this Chapter down deep into your heart and you will remember it.
Come on try it, you will be so glad you did!
1. Read all of Esther Chapter 3.
To refresh your minds and remember the main topics or what was 
Key in these 4 paragraphs.
2. When you go through this process,
Thinking and reasoning God’s Truths,
Then God is able to seal Truth into your memory!
3. Now to Summarize.
Keep the summary to 4-6 Words or less if possible.
Why? Because it will be easier to remember.
4. DO NOT paraphrase!
Use the Words God uses.
(Paraphrasing can change the meaning. And, we want to know and bury God’s Word, that has the power, into our heads and hearts.)
This Chapter is not hard at all.
Try it on your own before you go any further.
I will help you after you give it a shot!
You can do this!
I know you can!
Okay, let’s see how you did.
We determined the Main Points are:
v1 Meet Haman
v2-6 Mordecai Refuses to Bow
v7 Haman Cast Pur
v8-11 Haman Devises A Plan
v12-15 Haman Executes The Plan
How Would You Summarize Chapter 3?
What about: Haman’s Plot – Kill the Jews
Fantastic, you all!
I am so proud of you, and
I sincerely thank you for staying with us on this journey!
Chapter 3 Is a Wrap!
Shut out the world, and be quiet before the Lord.
Think deeply about all He has shown you in this Book of Esther until these Truths become real in your thinking and belief.
How did you experience God today?
How did He touch your heart and mind?
Oh talk with God, Your loving Father!
You are not left to yourself, God is right there at work in you through the Spirit to help you serve and obey Him, (Phil 2:13)!
Note Your Discovery
Today: Haman Executes His Plan
You are learning vital Truths that you don’t want to forget.
Take the time to type them in your Notes.
It will help you bury God’s Word down deep into your head and heart.
You might put the Definitions and Cross References next to these verses in your hardbound Bible.
Let’s Close in Prayer
OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, we thank you, that by Your mercy and grace, through the power of You HOLY SPIRIT, by faith in You LORD JESUS, we have come to know You! And if not for Your grace where would we all be? Oh Lord, I pray each one of us is willing to hear Your Word that is sharp. Pierce our hearts! Renew our minds! Oh if we are living compromised lives, change our hearts oh God! May Your Word to us in Esther be our wakeup call. May we all be willing this day to confess our sins to You and ask that You forgive us. Oh forgive us for the times we have not only been like Mordecai and Esther, but like this king and Haman.
Help us to constantly remember, we once were corrupt and lived in rebellion against Your Word of Truth. We were hopeless, but You have given us hope, not leaving us in despair! Oh because of You beloved Jesus, the Lamb of God, and what You have done for us on the cross, we have hope; because of the cross we are redeemed and not left to the appetite of our flesh like this king and Haman; because of the cross Your mercies are new to us every morning!
There is so much in these 4 verses. Oh may You give us a joy and peace, and give us that hope that will not disappoint, Rom 5:5. We ask this in the precious name of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Next: we will LOOK at Esther Chapter 4.
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