{"id":14381,"date":"2013-09-02T01:00:34","date_gmt":"2013-09-02T06:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=14381"},"modified":"2013-09-02T21:35:42","modified_gmt":"2013-09-03T02:35:42","slug":"esther-beauty-courageous-submission-may-introduce-name-esther","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/02\/esther-beauty-courageous-submission-may-introduce-name-esther\/","title":{"rendered":"Esther: Introduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OBS<\/a><\/p>\n

Shalom!\u00a0 God\u2019s blessing of peace to you!\u00a0 May I introduce myself?\u00a0 My given name is Hadassah, though perhaps you have heard me called \u2018Esther.\u2019\u00a0 (You can call me \u2018Esther\u2019, if you would like.)\u00a0 I am a Hebrew girl, hence my real name. Hadassah means ‘myrtle,’ which is a tree or shrub.\u00a0 My name signifies peace and thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

I would like to share with you a little about my life; do you have a few minutes?\u00a0 Perhaps as I relate to you the events of my life, you might think “Oh!\u00a0 My! Not for me!”\u00a0 But don\u2019t…I have lived a life overshadowed by the hand of the Great I AM!\u00a0 And I am sure that you have, too.\u00a0 Perhaps \u00a0you will see some similarities between your life and mine.\u00a0 Perhaps you will be reminded of great and small things that Almighty God has orchestrated in your life…for such a time as this!<\/em><\/p>\n

Throughout most of our lives, there are usually a few people\u2014loved ones, mostly\u2014who are the major characters in our story.\u00a0 For me, God placed two wonderful men as the main men in my life and my heart.\u00a0 The first is my Uncle Mordecai…can I tell you about him?\u00a0\u00a0 Oh, please allow me\u2014he was such an honorable, wise, God-fearing man!\u00a0 You see, my abba-leh (my daddy) died while my ama carried me under her heart.\u00a0 And my ama <sigh!> died as she labored to birth me.\u00a0 By God\u2019s grace, I had loving ones who raised me…in particular, my wonderful Uncle Mordecai.\u00a0 Uncle Mordecai, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, deeply loved the Almighty God, the Great I AM and lived his life to serve Him.\u00a0 When the Babylonians conquered our land, they took many of our people away as slaves, amongst them my parents and Uncle Mordecai.\u00a0 Eventually, they settled in what is known as Persia in the capital city of Susa. Uncle Mordecai always had my best interests at heart and raised me according to the Law.<\/p>\n

And there is another primary character in my\u00a0story\u2014my love, the king, Ahasuerus (also known as Xerxes) who made me his queen.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite a story Esther chapter 2<\/a> how this happened…me, one of the captive Hebrews becoming the queen of a most powerful ruler of many lands and peoples.\u00a0 His domain reached from India to Egypt.\u00a0 Amazing!\u00a0 But I was telling you how I, a young Hebrew woman, became the queen of all this…\u00a0 You see, Ahasuerus DID have a queen; a stunningly gorgeous woman named Vashti.\u00a0 Oh, he loved her…it was quite apparent.\u00a0 But Vashti\u2019s heart became proud.\u00a0 And she turned from lovingly submitting to Ahasuerus to outrightly defying him publicly.\u00a0 The king turned to his advisors to see how to handle this.<\/p>\n

Esther 1:18-22
\n“This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen\u2019s conduct will respond to all the king\u2019s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.\u00a0\u00a0Then when the king\u2019s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”\u00a0 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed.\u00a0\u00a0He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household….<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where Almighty God caused my path to cross with the love of my life, Ahasuerus. After his heart (and anger!) had recovered from Vashti\u2019s deception, he sought a new queen.\u00a0 Only the Almighty God could have known that, of all the beautiful, lovely young women of the kingdom, I would be the one who would find favor in Ahasuerus\u2019 eyes\u2014and his heart!<\/p>\n

Esther 2:17
\nAnd the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the maidens, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.<\/p>\n

Years went by and all was well…Ahasuerus ruled his kingdom, and let his heart be ruled by our love.\u00a0 All was very well.\u00a0 Let\u2019s jump ahead a bit because in the twelfth year of the king\u2019s reign, a dastardly, devilish plot was launched to annihilate my kin, the Hebrews. Esther chapter 3<\/a> When Uncle Mordecai heard of this, he was devastated!<\/p>\n

Esther 4:1
\nWhen Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.<\/p>\n

I sent a trusted friend to Uncle Mordecai to find out what was wrong and he sent me the strongest message I had ever heard him speak!<\/p>\n

Verses 13 and 14
\nThen Mordecai told them to return this answer to Esther, Do not flatter yourself that you shall escape in the king\u2019s palace any more than all the other Jews.\u00a0\u00a0For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father\u2019s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this<\/em> and for this very occasion?<\/p>\n

You see, I had held back…well actually deceived the king.\u00a0 I had never revealed to him my true heritage\u2014that I was a Hebrew and served the Almighty God.\u00a0 And so, remorseful, I sent this message back to Uncle Mordecai:<\/p>\n

Verses 16 and 17
\nGo, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”\u00a0\u00a0So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n

I felt the weight and responsibility of not only my role as queen but my identity.\u00a0 Uncle Mordecai was right!\u00a0 And if I perished…so be it.<\/p>\n

Not much time elapsed and I knew I must speak.\u00a0 Risking banishment at best, and death at worst, I arrayed myself respectfully and went before my king.\u00a0 His favor and love for me won out, and he welcomed me before his throne.\u00a0 I asked only one thing.<\/p>\n

Esther 5:3 and 4
\nThen the king said to her, What will you have, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of the kingdom.\u00a0\u00a0And Esther said, If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come this day to the dinner that I have prepared for the king.<\/p>\n

He granted my request.\u00a0 Ahasuerus and <hisssss!> Haman <hisssssss!> came to my home for dinner.\u00a0 And upon leaving, I asked that they return again the following evening.\u00a0 Time was running short and the execution of my people was imminent.\u00a0 When they returned, I spoke plainly and pointedly\u00a0to Ahasuerus.<\/p>\n

Esther 7:3 and 4
\nIf I have found favor in your sight, O king and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition and my people at my request.\u00a0\u00a0 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, slain, and wiped out of existence!\u00a0 But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I would have held my tongue, for our affliction is not to be compared with the damage this will do to the king.<\/p>\n

Upon hearing my distress and fear, my king rose to my defense demanding to know how this happened and who was responsible.\u00a0 \u2018Haman.\u2019 I replied.\u00a0 Esther 7:5-10<\/a><\/p>\n

Esther 8:3-5
\nEsther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.\u00a0\u00a0Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him.\u00a0 “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews… For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”<\/p>\n

Upon realizing what Haman had been devilishly plotting and hearing my pleas, he immediately revoked the order and saved my people, the Hebrews.\u00a0 Prior to this, Ahasuerus had had a dream (perhaps that was our Almighty God?) reminding him of the loyalty and devotion to the throne of Ahasuerus that Uncle Mordecai had always had.\u00a0 As an added blessing, Uncle Mordecai was rewarded for his loyalty to the king.<\/p>\n

Verses 10 and 11
\nMordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king\u2019s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.\u00a0\u00a0The king\u2019s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves;<\/p>\n

Esther 9:20-23
\nMordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far,\u00a0 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.\u00a0\u00a0 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration….<\/p>\n

Verses 28-32
\nThese days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews\u2014nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.\u00a0\u00a0So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.\u00a0\u00a0And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes\u2019 kingdom\u2014words of goodwill and assurance\u2014to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation.\u00a0\u00a0Esther\u2019s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records.<\/p>\n

Imagine!\u00a0 A simple, orphaned Hebrew girl raised by her uncle in the midst of slavery brought by the hand of God through hard and evil times\u2014for such a time as this<\/em>!\u00a0 My people, the Hebrews, to this day celebrate the Festival of Purim and the joy of God\u2019s deliverance during the reign of my king, Ahasuerus.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of our chat, I had said that perhaps you might be reminded of great and small things that Almighty God has orchestrated in your life.\u00a0 Have you thought on this?\u00a0 I pray to the Great I Am that He would open your eyes to these things…for such a time as this<\/em>!<\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n

Dear Lord, please help us to recognize Your mighty hand of blessing…Your directing our path as You did the path of Esther\u2019s life.\u00a0 May we see how You have done this, too, in our lives.\u00a0 We praise You, Lord, for Your sovereignty!\u00a0 Please help us to never doubt Your goodness and grace and favor; may we rest in Your care knowing that all is well.\u00a0 May Your perfect will be done in and through our lives.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 precious name.<\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shalom!\u00a0 God\u2019s blessing of peace to you!\u00a0 May I introduce myself?\u00a0 My given name is Hadassah, though perhaps you have heard me called \u2018Esther.\u2019\u00a0 (You can call me \u2018Esther\u2019, if you would like.)\u00a0 I am a Hebrew girl, hence my real name. Hadassah means ‘myrtle,’ which is a tree or shrub.\u00a0 My name signifies peace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":14175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[3511,1266,235,3475,3512,1287,425,3514,3513,1141],"class_list":["post-14381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens","tag-book-of-esther","tag-christian-womens-fellowship","tag-coleen-hayden","tag-darlene-schacht","tag-esther-the-beauty-of-courageous-submission","tag-gch","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-introduction-to-esther","tag-obs","tag-womens-online-bible-study","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/OBS-Page-Banner.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-3JX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14381"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14402,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14381\/revisions\/14402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}