That in the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and servants the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all. In 40 years, under the successor of Ahasuerus (Artaxerxes I), Nehemiah would return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the previously conquered city. ![]() The temple had been rebuilt some 30 years before, although more simply and without the glory of Solomon’s temple. Also at this time Ezra had returned to Jerusalem after it had been conquered by the Babylonians. It covered what we call today Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel and also, parts of modern day Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Arabia. At this time, the Persian Empire was the largest the world had ever seen. At this time the city of Athens was in its classical glory and in Greece they were celebrating the 79 th Olympic games. In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom: At this time (approximately 483 B.C.), Ahasuerus was planning for a doomed invasion of Greece, which would take place several years later. The fact of the existence of this king and circumstance is extremely well attested archaeologists have discovered the ruins of the very palace where these events happened.ī. He inherited the vast Persian Empire from his father, Darius I (who is mentioned in passages such as Ezra 4:24, 5:5-7, 6:1-15 Daniel 6:1 and 6:25 Haggai 1:15 and 2:10). It came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus: This king Ahasuerus is well known to history, though more commonly under the name Xerxes. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia), in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel,Ī. ( Esther 1:1-2) King Ahasuerus and his domain. King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) holds a grand feast.ġ. Thus, the deeds of Queen Esther cast a ray of light forward into Israel’s history from a dark time.Ī. Your discussion group will be blessed by them.Esther is the last of the historical books of the Bible, so its main character is named Esther - that is, Venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays rising. You are welcome to copy the studies and share them with others. You can do these studies yourself, but they are designed for group use as well. The Esther Bible Study provides three separate discussion studies on this part of the Bible. But more importantly, the historical record teaches a number of key lessons relevant to our spiritual lives. Her story, with its startling twists and turns, is exciting and fascinating. Campbell Morgan states it strongly, saying, “There is no situation in human life or experience for which a message of God cannot be found through the book.”Įsther was a Jewish slave living in Persia, who, through a unusual series of circumstances, was selected to replace the Persian queen. ![]() ![]() This should be a great encouragement to all believers. And it provides an illustration and foreshadowing of the persecution of God’s people down through history and their deliverance from it. The record points us to a Hidden Hand at work in the preservation of the Jews. What can we do as Christians, when crisis situations strike, and God seems distant or uninvolved? An examination of this book will strengthen our faith. Another describes the book as “the story of how a beauty contest and a king’s insomnia saved a nation.” Strange as it may seem, this gets us closer to the heart of the book, and the reason it is found in the Bible. The woman’ great beauty, undoubted cleverness, and remarkable courage are not even half the story.
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