Nov 30, 2024
ESTHER 5-6:
In Esther 3-4 Haman cast lots (purim) to find out that March 7 was
the lucky date to exterminate the Jews. Mordecai requested that
Esther intercede directly to the king. And since she hadn’t been
called for, the only way to do that would endanger Esther herself,
since no one was allowed to approach the...
Nov 29, 2024
ESTHER 3-4:
Yesterday we heard how Esther became the queen, and how she
continued to keep her Jewish background a secret. We also heard how
Mordecai, her uncle, was promoted to a palace official after
uncovering a plot to assassinate king Xerxes.
Today we are introduced to the villain of the story— Haman. The Jews...
Nov 28, 2024
ESTHER 1-2:
In the final
two chapters of Nehemiah, we heard of the culmination of Nehemiah’s
work— the ceremony for the dedication of the wall. The people
proved that the wall could stand up to more than just a fox walking
on it. Then Nehemiah went back to Babylon. When he came back to
Jerusalem, he needed to right...
Nov 27, 2024
NEHEMIAH 12-13
In yesterday’s chapters in Nehemiah, we heard the names of the
various religious and civil leaders who signed the statement of
commitment to follow Moses’ Law, which was almost certainly penned
by Ezra. Then there was a listing of the various leaders and clans
that volunteered or were chosen by lot to...
Nov 26, 2024
NEHEMIAH 10-11:
The returned exiles showed how sincere they were in following the
Lord! They gathered together for the express purpose of hearing the
Law. By this time their language had changed so much that they
needed 13 Levites to explain what was said in the readings. The
people wept because they realized how far...