Thoughts from my personal time with God.
There was a man named Job, living in the land of Uz…
Job. My old friend. My favorite book. 👍
Job… worshiped God and was faithful to him. He was a good man, careful not to do anything evil.
May the same be said of me, Father!
…He had seven sons and three daughters, and owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand head of cattle, and five hundred donkeys.
That same day King Xerxes… took off his ring with his seal on it (which he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai.
This brings to mind Pharoah and Joseph (Genesis 41:42-43).
…King Xerxes… said to Queen Esther and Mordecai, the Jew, “…a proclamation issued in the king’s name and stamped with the royal seal cannot be revoked.”
The king asked, “How have we honored and rewarded Mordecai for this?”
His servants answered, “Nothing has been done for him.”
“Are any of my officials in the palace?” the king asked.
Now Haman had just entered the courtyard…
Another “by chance” in life… 😊
…Haman… had come to ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows that was now ready.
…“Go and get all the Jews in Susa together; hold a fast and pray for me. Don’t eat or drink anything for three days and nights. My servant women and I will be doing the same. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. If I must die for doing it, I will die.”
…During the time that Mordecai held office in the palace, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the palace eunuchs who guarded the entrance to the king’s rooms, became hostile to King Xerxes and plotted to assassinate him. Mordecai learned about it and told Queen Esther, who then told the king what Mordecai had found out. There was an investigation, and it was discovered that the report was true, so both men were hanged on the gallows.
Esther 2:21 – 4:14 Read More »
When the king had issued his new proclamation and many young women were being brought to Susa, Esther was among them. She too was put in the royal palace in the care of Hegai, who had charge of the harem. Hegai liked Esther, and she won his favor.
May I find favor in the eyes of others one day, Father.…
…But when the servants told Queen Vashti of the king’s command, she refused to come. This made the king furious.
Now it was the king’s custom to ask for expert opinion on questions of law and order, so he called for his advisers, who would know what should be done. …He said to these men, “I, King Xerxes, sent my servants to Queen Vashti with a command, and she refused to obey it!
From his royal throne in Persia’s capital city of Susa, King Xerxes ruled 127 provinces, all the way from India to Ethiopia.
Wow. The entire known world at that time.
For six whole months he made a show of the riches of the imperial court with all its splendor and majesty.
I suppose that more than anything is the objective to accumulate riches.…
They celebrated for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a closing ceremony, as required in the Law.
Little by little the Law becomes god (Matthew 27:6).
“Through the sea you made a path for your people and led them through on dry ground.”
Make a path for us once again, Lord (Isaiah 42:16)!…
Nehemiah 8:9 – 13:36 Read More »
…every day, from dawn until the stars came out at night, half of us worked on the wall, while the other half stood guard with spears. …I didn’t take off my clothes even at night, neither did any of my companions nor my servants nor my bodyguards. And we all kept our weapons at hand.
There will always be those who make the work more difficult (Hebrews 13:17).…
Nehemiah 4:1 – 8:8 Read More »