Cornerstone Class: Esther 2:12-18

Cornerstone Class Outline for 4/28/19

·         Announcements, praises and prayer requests—Joe and Vicki Kerns

·         Introduction:

o   Good morning! I hope you’ve enjoyed the sunny weather. I’ve been trying to get out for a couple hours per sunny day to get yardwork and gardening done.

·         Quick review. Two weeks ago we covered Esther 2:1-11

o   Following the advice of his advisors, King Xerxes began a search for the most beautiful woman in the empire to be the new queen. This would be accomplished through a giant beauty pageant where the contestants were forced to participate

o   We were introduced to Mordecai and his adopted daughter Esther. They were part of the Jewish remnant from the Babylonian exile who remained in Persia, rather than return to Israel.

o   Esther was “taken to the king’s palace” where she was placed in the king’s harem as a contender for queenship. She began 12 months of beauty treatments and a diet of special foods 

·         Let’s read Esther 2:12-18 NIV:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L

12 Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. 13 And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.

15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.

·         QUESTIONS on verses 12-18

o   Physical beauty was the main requirement to become Xerxes’ queen. Today, women experience more pressure than men to maintain an attractive appearance. Why does the culture expect women to enhance their physical appearance more than men?

o   Why don’t men feel as much pressure to look good?

o   According to the Torah (Deut. 7:3), Jews were not allowed to marry Gentiles. Why didn’t Esther refuse to become queen to Xerxes, a Gentile?

§  As long-term exiles, Mordecai and Esther may have blended in with the Persian culture, so strict adherence to the Torah might not have been a priority for them.

§  There are many examples of OT heroes of the faith who had significant flaws. Abraham, David, the judges

o   As modern-day Christians living in a secular culture, how do we partake in aspects of the culture without compromising our faith?

§  Don’t participate in those aspects of the culture that violate scripture.

§  Be led by the Spirit

§  Listen to your conscience

·         Application/Conclusion

·         Closing prayer

Cornerstone Class: Esther 2:1-11

Cornerstone Class Outline for 4/14/19

·         Announcements, praises and prayer requests—Dawn Eden

·         Introduction:

o   Good morning! 

o   Is there anybody here that lives in a flooded area? Did your home get damaged?

o   No Cornerstone class next week, Easter Sunday

Purchase Mornings with Larry at: 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HNQKB1L

o   [Hand out Esther overview sheets to those who didn’t get one last week.]

·         Quick review. Last week we covered:

o   How King Xerxes decreed that Queen Vashti would be permanently banished from the king’s presence

o   And that “her royal position” would be given to another young woman.

§  This set the stage for Esther to become queen

o   Xerxes also decreed that all women in the empire must respect their husbands and submit to their rule.

·         Let’s read Esther 2:1-4 NIV:

1 Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. 2 Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.

o   A little historical context:

§  About 4 years had passed between Vashti’s banishment and the search for a new queen. (v. 16)

§  In this in-between time, the Persian empire had suffered a significant defeat in its war with Greece (Herodotus, from Karen Jobes)

§  Xerxes had lost credit in the eyes of his subjects

§  So he may have been depressed when the search for a new queen began

·         QUESTIONS verses 1-4:

o   If you haven’t noticed, the author/narrator avoids giving his opinion and avoids making moral judgments. He just gives us the story objectively. The narration and even character quotes are a bit ambiguous. For example, what do you think is meant in verse 4 when the attendant says, “Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”?

§  “…pleases the king” may have meant passing the bedroom test

§  Could have simply been a beauty contest, where the king chooses the best looking woman, without testing her in the bedroom.

§  However, the author chooses not to spell it out. We can only speculate.

·         Let’s read Esther 2:5-11 NIV:

5 Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, 6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9 She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.

10 Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11 Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.

·         QUESTIONS on verses 5-11

o   Do you think Mordecai compromised his faith by allowing Esther to become a member of the king’s harem, making her a play toy of the king?

§  Mordecai likely had no choice. Esther was likely “taken to the king’s palace” by threat of force. (v. 8)

o   Why do you think Mordecai forbade Esther to reveal “her nationality and family background”?

§  Anti-Semitism was prevalent throughout the empire. (Esther 9:1, 2, 5). To be open about their nationality would open themselves to persecution.

§  It is likely that both Mordecai and Esther had assimilated the Persian culture, making it easier to hide their Jewish identity.

§  Mordecai knew that if Xerxes discovered that Esther was a Jew, he probably wouldn’t make her queen.

·       A downside to that is that Xerxes would likely have kept her in his harem because of her beauty. Esther would have been his toy to use as he wished, without the privileges of royalty.

o   In the United States, Christians generally don’t suffer from life-threatening persecution. However, we experience other forms of discrimination and persecution. Have you ever felt that you needed to hide your Christian identity to avoid discrimination or persecution?

·         Application/Conclusion

·         Closing prayer

Cornerstone Class: Esther 1:13-22

Cornerstone Class Outline for 4/7/19

·         Announcements, praises and prayer requests—Joe Kerns

·         Introduction:

o   Good morning!

o   We’re going to start off with a really cool 9-minute video that summarizes the book of Esther using sketch art. An organization called the Bible Project has put together these nice summaries for every book of the Bible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JydNSlufRIs#action=share

o   [Hand out Esther overview sheets to those who didn’t get one last week.]

·         Quick review:

o   Last week we started chapter one which began with king Xerxes hosting a huge 180-day festival culminating with a lavish 7-day banquet.

o   At the end of the banquet Xerxes commanded his eunuchs to bring out Queen Vashti to display her beauty before the huge gathering of drunken men.

o   Vashti refused to comply, resulting in fury and anger from Xerxes. 

·         Let’s read Esther 1:13-18 NIV:

13 Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times 14 and were closest to the king—Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.

15 “According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.”

16 Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17 For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ 18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.

·         QUESTIONS on verses 13-18:

o   The noble Memukan was certain that Vashti’s refusal had not only wronged the king, but “all the nobles and peoples” of the entire empire. How true or false was Memukan’s assertion that Vashti had wronged everyone in the empire?

§  I think Memukan is assuming too much. Vashti was simply refusing the king’s unjust request. It’s unlikely she was trying to wrong the entire empire.

o   Do you think Memukan’s assessment was made in part because of his own insecurities about controlling his own wife?

§  It’s unlikely he had a respectful, loving relationship with his wife, so he may have had a desire to force her respect

§  However his motive may simply have been to gain the king’s favor by saying what the king wanted to hear.

o   Was Memukan correct in saying that “the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands….”?

§  It’s unlikely that the news of Vashti’s refusal would ever become more than a vague rumor throughout the empire.

§  The relationships among husbands and wives would likely have remained unchanged by Vashti’s refusal. 

·         Let’s read Esther 1:19-22 NIV, as Memukan continues:

19 “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she. 20 Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”

21 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed. 22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue. 

·         QUESTIONS on Esther 1:19-22:

o   Xerxes makes it the law of the land that wives must submit to the rule of their husbands. What do you think is really going on in the psyches of Xerxes and his nobles that they feel they must legislate respect from their wives?

§  They are insecure, prideful and desirous to maintain power at the expense of others.

o   Fast forward to present-day under the new covenant. Do husbands have the right to demand that their wives respect them?

§  No. Though the Bible exhorts women to respect their husbands, scripture doesn’t tell husbands to order their wives to respect them.

o   What can a husband do nowadays to earn the respect of his wife?

§  Husbands are told in scripture to love their wives. Ephesians 5:25. A wife is more likely to respect a husband who loves her in word and deed.

§  Heartfelt respect isn’t something that can be demanded or forced.

o   At the end of verse 19, the noble Memukan advised the king to give Vashti’s “royal position to someone better than she.” This opens the door for Esther to enter the story and become queen. In essence, God in His sovereign providence, is turning all this evil done in the Persian palace around for the good. In your own life today, how has God turned evil around for your good?

§  Romans 8:28 ESV says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

·         Application/Conclusion 

·         Closing prayer