Esther 3:1-7
Esther 7:1-10  (Our Daily Bread)
Danger!

The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. --Proverbs 11:3

Haman had enormous power in Ahasuerus' kingdom, but he wanted more. When Mordecai the Jew would not bow to his arrogance, Haman was not content just to get even. He wanted to destroy all the Jews in Persia. But his lust for revenge cost him his own life (Est. 7:10).

So too, we today can self-destruct on our own pride, selfishness, greed, lust, or thirst for revenge.

According to Daniel Schaeffer in his book Dancing With A Shadow, the Eskimos devised a way of killing wolves. They planted a knife in the ice with the handle buried. Then they put chunks of fresh meat on the blade and let it freeze. The wolves would smell the blood from afar and come to devour it. As they licked the frozen meat, they worked themselves into a frenzy. Soon they cut their tongues on the razor-sharp blade and began feeding their hunger with their own blood. They would lick until they slowly bled to death.

When we fail to recognize the danger of sin and allow ourselves to become obsessed with it, we are in danger of self-destruction--as was Haman. To avoid that end, let's daily open our hearts and lives to God's examination, and ask Him to forgive us for the sin He exposes. --DCE

Esther 4:10-17  (Our Daily Bread)
The Price of Freedom

I will go to the king...and if I perish, I perish. --Esther 4:16

When I talked to young men shortly before D-day during World War II, I observed that they were scared. None of them wanted to die. However, the vast majority expressed their conviction that the cause for which they were fighting was right and worthy of the risk.

Queen Esther had similar feelings. She didn't want to die. She called for a 3-day fast to acknowledge her need for God's special help. According to Persian custom, if she went uninvited to the king and he was displeased, he could order her execution even though she was his wife. Yet Esther loved her people enough to take that risk.

Today in the United States, we honor the men and women who died in the service of their country. Their sense of patriotism compelled them to put their lives on the line. Whether they had volunteered or had been drafted, they joined in the defense of their homeland. Sometimes they traveled to faraway places to support other countries in a fight for freedom. They risked their all and died.

Just as we are indebted to those who died to make freedom possible, so we ought to thank God for His Son who died to set us free from the bondage of sin. On this day we have much to be thankful for. --HVL

Esther 4  (Our Daily Bread)
Your Place In Time

Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? —Esther 4:14

During a visit to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, I was intrigued by an exhibit called "Your Place In Time." It was a nostalgic and revealing walk through displays of national and world events. This included popular entertainment and living conditions in the United States for people in the War Generation, the Eisenhower Generation, the Baby Boomers, and beyond. I left with the inescapable conclusion that though you and I cannot choose the period of history in which we live, we must decide how we will live during our place in time.

This truth is illustrated by the courageous actions of young Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai. When a hate-filled man named Haman sought to destroy their people, Mordecai urged Esther to risk approaching the king on their behalf. He said, "Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14). It's an important question that every Christian should consider.

Like Esther, each of us is a unique individual in history. Our birth was no accident and neither is God's call to be His representatives wherever we live, work, or go to school. It's a great privilege to belong to Christ and a high calling to stand boldly for Him during our place in time. —DCM

Esther 9:20-28 (Our Daily Bread)
Charity

Sell what you have and give alms. --Luke 12:33

Purim is one of the most unusual of the Jewish feast days. It was instituted to celebrate the death of Haman and the escape of the Jews. Today it is marked by reading the book of Esther (interrupted by raucous noisemakers whenever Haman's name is read) amid a party atmosphere.

Purim is also a time for charity, a concept rooted in the Old Testament (Dt. 15:7-8; 26:12-13). The joy of Israel's deliverance from Haman's diabolical plot is expressed in generous charity to all who request it.

In his book Jewish Literacy, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin tells about a rabbi who felt so compelled to keep the day of Purim that he gave alms to two Jewish women who asked, even though he knew they were frauds.

Because we have been liberated from sin through Jesus Christ, we should be generous to the needy. From hearts of compassion, we are to be benevolent and help the poor. We won't be charitable, however, if our hearts are hardened by a self-protective spirit, or if we think charity is someone else's responsibility.

Christ commanded His followers to be charitable (Mt. 6:1-4; 12:33), and He demonstrated charity by the ultimate gift of Himself. --DCE