Day 36 Bible Food -Esther and Job

Well here we go again reading through the Bible - and we are going to get right to it because of the amount we have to read today.  Let's go into the book of Ester.

Esther 1

 ¹Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

We are in the days of Ahasuerus who was a king in the Persian and Media empire and he reign as far as India all the way to Ethiopia.  He was a very prosperous king and decided to make a feast to his nobles.

This king had a wife called Vashti whom he asked to come and pretty much model herself before the men because she was very pretty to look upon and she refused.  This made him angry and he wanted something done.  His counselors said to remove her because if the women of the nation see her do this to the king, they will all treat their husbands likewise.

We see that the men here were certainly keeping their wives in a bit of a bondage.  So they removed her and gave her royal estate to another, who they went out in all the countries to recruit someone very beautiful to be the kings queen.  I guess we'd call this the Miss Universe pageant.

Esther Chapter 2 

So the king put it out to help him find a beautiful virgin to be his queen.  In Shushan the palace, there was Jew named Mordecai, a Benjamite who was carried away in the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar.  He brought up Hadassah (Esther) because she had no mother and father, because they died, and she was gorgeous to look upon, and Mordecai raised her as his daughter.
  
She entered the competition and the king loved her and she was chosen to win.    ¹⁷And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

Esther 3 The king promoted Haman and told all his servants to bow down to him.  Mordecai would not, and it slowly brought conflict to him as word got back to Haman.  Haman thought to kill Mordecai and he should have left it there; but instead he wanted to kill all the Jews dispersed in the nations.  So he spoke with the king giving an ill manner and report and the king signed it to have the JEWS, destroyed.

¹³And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

Esther 4

Quite naturally, a great cry among the Jews went out; there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.  Esther was made known of the news and she was in sorry as well.  I bet they were trying to figure how to get out of this horrible situation.

Esther asked Mordecai to find out why a decree like this was put out and when it was told of her; thus Mordecai told her to step up for her people.  But there was a rule in the land for the queens of the king that they couldn't see the king whenever they wanted.  Sometimes it took up to 30 to 45 days before they could see their husbands.  Wow!

Mordecai pressed her to do something because she can be killed and also; perhaps she was given a high rank to secure the people.  So she declared a three day fast among all Jews while she went to see if she can see the king.

Esther 5

The king nor Haman know that Esther is a Jew because she held it privily; so she approached the king looking good and all and he delighted to see her and allowed her to come in.  She requested that he and Haman come to a dinner she is preparing and the king agreed.

Haman was so happy to be promoted and advanced in the kings administration and to be invited to the dinner Esther organized for the king; things couldn't be better for Haman.  However, he let one man who wouldn't bow down to him cause him he set sin in his heart.

His wife gave him some advice to finish Mordecai; men be careful in listening to your wives bad advice.  ¹⁴Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Esther 6

Now this is how the Lord works; on that night the king couldn't sleep and he went browsing through the records of the kingdom and found how Mordecai prevented the assassination of the king.  

The king also saw that nothing was done for Mordecai, and while he is thinking about this, Haman comes up to tell the king he has gallows to hang Mordecai.

So Haman first tries to butter up the king with a cloth gift and the king tells him to give it to Mordecai.  This angered Haman as he went home to cry; before his wife and servants could give him advice he was summoned to dinner with the king and Esther.

Esther 7

So Esther and the king and Haman are eating and the king ask her what is her request and she request that her life and the life of her people be spared.  The king asks why and she points out Haman who mandated that the Jews be destroyed.

The king left to think about it and when he returned Haman was begging for his life even kneeling on the bed of Esther and the king saw it and said you want to have her by force as well.  The king ordered Haman to be hung.  ¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

Esther 8

So everything Haman owned they gave to Mordecai; and Esther made him oversee everything that Haman was chairman over.
And Esther begged the king to reverse the decree that the Haman had set out for the Jews and the king agreed.  Thus the Jews were loved by the people for the works of Esther that God had done for His people, even in their captivity.

¹⁶The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
¹⁷And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.


Many people converted to the Jews faith because they saw how the Lord helped them out of such a horrible situation.

Esther Chapter 9

Some people in the kingdom probably did not respect the decree being reverse so the Jews had to defend themselves.  They smote many of their enemies and were saved.  Thus making a feast and a memorial out of it.

¹⁷On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
 ¹⁸But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

This is where Friday the 13th comes from.  It was not scary for the Jews; it was scary for their enemies.

²⁶Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

This is the feast of Purim that Jesus later attended; it is not a feast commanded by God; but is a feast commemorated as a memorial for God delivering the Jews.

Esther 10

This chapter ends; but king Ahasuerus was a respected king to the Jews and their history.

Job Chapter 1

Now we move into the book of Job and it begins by telling us about him.   ¹There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 
Job feared God, hated evil and was upright in his dealings; he was a wealthy man and had an established family.

Now we learn in Job that the sons of God presented themselves before the Lord to report and guess who showed up but is not considered a son, Satan.  The Lord spoke with him asking him what he has been doing and he told God walking through the earth checking out people to deceive.

The Lord asked him if he tried Job; and Satan made it seem that Job only served God because he was plenty rich and very successful.  So Satan went to work to show God that Job was a fair weathered servant, at God's permission.
So a bunch of calamities came on Job, house destroyed, family hurt, children killed, and through it all; he did not give up on God.

 ²¹And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
 ²²In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Job 2

So the sons of God came again; and Satan showed up again; and God told him that Job was a sure servant; and Satan asked for another chance with Job, this time to do him and not his possessions.  And it was granted by God, letting us know that God is still Satan's boss and it is not a war against each other.

Satan still works for God.  God tells Satan not to kill him; and Satan obeyed.

⁶And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.

So Satan hit Job with boils all over his body; so bad that he was scraping them off with a pot; and his wife said to him lose your integrity and curse God and be dead.  However, Job feared God; if he only loved God he may have lost his integrity.  But when you have fear; it stops you from crossing someone or disobeying a statue.

⁹Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
 ¹⁰But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

 This is how men are to respond to their wives; not like Adam did in listening to her foolishness.

Job's friends came and comforted him; but when they saw him none spoke for seven days until Job opened his mouth.

Job 3

 ¹After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day.  Job cursed the day he was born.  He says a lot of things including things we should think about... ²⁵For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

When you think about something or fear something; you may just be thinking it into existence!

Job 4 

Eliphaz the Temanite answered and basically said Job must have done something to get all this.  He must have sinned against God for all this destruction to come upon him.

Job Chapter 5
¹⁷Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

Eliphaz continues his point that God is suffering Job because of sin; so he says to be happy when the Lord corrects you.  This is true; but shouldn't Job's friends be here to comfort him and not condemn him?

Job 6 and 7 has Job responding to Eliphaz and making good points.  One is ¹⁶I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.  Job hates the fact that he won't live forever, or at least he won't live always, thus his days on earth are in vain.  

That is so powerful; that he hated the fact that he had to die and suffer in life; this is a great vanity in the world.


This concludes today's reading; hope to see you tomorrow.
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Peace & Grace

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