“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
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Long before the Jewish people were ever taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, before there even existed a danger to God’s people, He was orchestrating events to preserve and protect them!
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Over centuries of time He had warned them to keep His statutes and not worship other gods. He sent prophet after prophet yet still, ultimately, they turned away.
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Finally, He allowed them to be led into captivity into Babylon. Yet, even though their troubles were of their own making, He still worked behind the scenes to bless and protect them. The story of Esther demonstrates this fact BETTER than any other!
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Code Book.
The Bible is like a code book where the New Testament is concealed somewhere in the Old. You find details of the New in the most amazing places. To the Apostle Paul was given much of this kind of revelation by Jesus Himself. In fact, EVERYTHING he said is explained in greater detail somewhere in the Old Testament.
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Bear in mind, however, that the things he taught are not new information. THAT WOULD BE FRIGHTENING. It is simply new revelation of things long hidden by God. There are layers of meaning and hidden messages; stories within stories; meanings in names, places, numbers, and even the Hebrew letters themselves. This book is no exception!
Pay close attention to any names or words you see in bold print. At the end of this series, we’ll see what message our Abba has for us in these last days.
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Background.
King Nebuchadnezzar had come down and attacked the children of Israel. He took many of them away captive to his kingdom of Babylon. The entire story of Esther takes place during this time. She, along with her parents, were taken along with other notables like Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Mordecai, the hero of the book of Esther.
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At some point, she lost both her parents, though we are not told what happened to them. Mordecai, her much older uncle, took her in and cared for her like a daughter.
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Not her given name, Esther is actually Persian. It means, “Star,” though it also has a meaning in Hebrew. We’ll cover this topic in a later part of this series.
The name given to her by her parents, “Hadassah,” means, “Myrtel Tree.” Myrtle is a blessing tree that was used in the Tabernacle.
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Story Line.
Every good story needs a hero, and beautiful maiden, a villain, secrets and plots, and an exciting conclusion. On a scale of 1-10, the story of Esther delivers on all points. We have Mordecai who, as you know, is the hero. He heard of the evil plans and plots behind the scenes and made them known to the maiden who became Queen, Esther. She saved her people from total annihilation. Then there’s the villain, the evil Haman, who plotted to destroy the Jewish people. And of course, we have the exciting conclusion: Salvation of the entire Jewish race!
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After Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned as king over Babylon, came his son, “Belshazzar.” He was succeeded by good king Darius. We know him as “Ahasueras,” in our story. Historically, he is also known as, “Artaxerxes.” These are not names, however; they are titles, like Pharaoh is a title, not a name.
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Chapter one opens with the tale of Vashti, the queen who would soon be deposed. Please follow the link below to part 2 for the continuation our story:
https://emmausroadministries.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/esther-series-part-2-the-festival-of-wine/
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