Esther (Illustration by Joel Spector, 2005)
Like a lot of women today, Esther was lulled to sleep by the culture's anesthetizing message that a woman's value depended on how she looks and on her ability to please others. Esther's story awakens us to the bold biblical message that God values and counts on his daughters as kingdom builders.
Read: Esther 1:1-17, 20; 3:8-10; 4:1-17; 5:1-3; 8:1-8
Something to ponder...
1) How does the view of women reflected in Esther's story compare with how women are viewed throughout the world today? What are women valued most for today but in the secular culture and in the church?
2) According to Persian culture, what did Esther have to offer? How did Esther embrace her culture's view of her? How did it hurt her?
3) Contrast Esther before and after she learned of Haman's edict to exterminate the Jewish people. What made this bold transformation in Esther so unlikely? What changed in Esther to make it possible?
4) How did Esther become a true ezer? How did her decisive risk-taking actions affect her relationship with Xerxes and with Mordecai?
5) How does Esther's story show us that God values and works through us to advance his kingdom today? How is she a role model for us?
Can't remember how to take part? Here's a reminder.
Catch up on the conversation so far here.
4 comments:
I'm back, after fighting a battle with a cold bug. I'm not sure which of us won though....... I was struck (once again) by the fact that God's ezers are not only encouraged to be strong and give commands, but are created to do so. That passivity in a woman although possibly attractive to some in the church, is actually not what she was created for.
Keshy, I hope you're feeling fully better now.
That point stood out to me as well. I love how the author brings up the blessed alliance again in this chapter. It's incredibly refreshing to see how we (men and women) are meant to work/fight together for God's kingdom.
Hope you are feeling better Keshy. One quote I always remember: "... if I perish, I perish." It was a crossroad for Esther when the lives of her people was at stake and she decides to take the risk of losing her own life to plead for her people's lives. I think that reflects real strength, grace and courage - again a portrait of an ezer. It could have been her worst and best moment as well to shine but she had to go through the uncertainties of whether she will live or die. She could have just turned a blind eye and continued on with her "safe" life but she chose to take the high road, unsafe and bumpy.The other point that the book points out is the role of Mordecai in Esther's life and in the events leading to Esther putting her head on the block to save her people. That was an awesome alliance!
Keshy, I'm joining in the chorus of well-wishers! Did the whole family come down with the cold? Sending a squeeze to the Jelly-bean... :)
Ladies, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I've appreciated reading what you got out of each chapter.
Onto this chapter... Jess, I agree that it is so refreshing to see the Blessed Alliance in action in this situation, and to see a woman taking up her mantle as an ezer in a circumstance that seems hopeless.
On another note, I find it hard to believe that the desire to be deemed beautiful comes only from the culture we live in. A woman's sense of worth - no matter how old she is - is so linked to how attractive she feels. I blogged this story about a group of women in their 80s and 90s a while back. Just this morning, I complimented an 8 yr old on her pretty shoes, and she glowed. I don't think the desire to be beautiful is is a bad thing, unless it becomes your sole desire.
Also, (at the risk of sounding like I've drunk the Eldredge Koolaid) I do think that women have an intrinsic desire to be rescued, just as much as we want to be strong on behalf of others. I don't think this is a bad thing in and of itself. It just turns sour when we look for rescue from the wrong sources or in circumstances where God is calling us to stand up ourselves in His power.
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