2021-09-26. Esther 3v1-15

Last week we looked at the account of how Mordecai foiled a plot to kill the king. The common practice at the time was to honour such actions, so Mordecai should have been honoured, but wasn’t. In fact, at the very point we expect to read about it, something new is...

2021-09-19. Esther 2v19-23

Mordecai unveils plot to kill the king. He is still living as an exile in a foreign land. He is at the gates of the city and discloses the plot. We have previously read that he went to the palace daily to try to hear how Esther was getting on, here we read about how...

2021-09-12. Esther 2v5-18

Some incidental points: The end of today’s passage shows us that the king was still showing off, throwing banquets and being liberal with his gifts. He hadn’t changed one bit. I know none of you fall into this category, but we do need to understand this so we can...

To preach or not to preach

I’ve just seen a meme which irritates me somewhat. It says: “A Christian is what he lives, not what he preaches”. This is a very close relative of the saying attributed to Francis of Assisi, “preach the Gospel, use words if necessary” (though there is no...

2021-09-05. Esther 1v1-2v4

The book of Esther records the events which surround a young Jewish orphan girl we know as Esther, who is looked after and mentored by her cousin, Mordecai. If you have a paper Bible, you will find it just before the Psalms which are pretty much dead centre in your...