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874. Bible Study: Esther 4 (Destruction of the Jews, God's Providence, Fasting) · Faith by annm2705

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We're continuing with chapter 4 from the book of Esther.
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First, let's pray. Dear Lord, please be with us as
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we read through this chapter or chapters, depending on how long
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this is, and let your Holy Spirit open our eyes, our ears,
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our hearts to receive what you have to share with us as we read
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these chapters. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
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So this is titled Mordecai persuades Ester to help when
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Mordecai learned. Of.
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All that had been done. He tore his clothes, put on
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sackcloth and ashes, and went into the city wailing loudly and
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bitterly. But he went only as far as the
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King's gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed
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to enter it. In every province to which the
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edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning
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among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing.
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Many lay in sackcloth and ashes. This was a side note.
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This is a way that the people expressed sadness with wearing
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sackcloth and putting ashes on themselves.
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And then there's weeping and wailing.
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So when this edict, the edict that went out from the king that
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all the Jews would be annihilated on a particular day.
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And so of course this is causing a lot of morning wailing, just
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shock from everyone. So verse 4 says when Ester's
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eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about
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Mordecai, she was in great distress.
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She sent clothes for for him to put on instead of his.
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Sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
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Then Esther summoned Hathek, one of the King's eunuchs assigned
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to her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai
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and why. So Hathek went out to Mordecai
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in the open square of the city. In front of the King's Gate.
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Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him,
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including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay
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into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.
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Again, we talked about this last chapter, but today you can
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search it online about pay to slay.
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This is something that still continues today, but you can see
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that it's rooted back in in the BC era where this actually was
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started. He also gave.
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Him A. Copy of the text of the Edict
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for their Annihilation, which had been published in Susa.
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To show Esther and explain to her.
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And he told him to instruct her into the King's presence to beg
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for mercy and plead with him for her people.
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Now something came to mind as I was reading, so I will review
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this, but just to review who these people are.
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Haman is a descendant of the Amalekites.
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The Amalekites came from the grandson of Esau.
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Esau and Jacob were fraternal twin brothers.
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So they came from the same mother, same father and Esau's
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descendants, you know, ended up in the land which is like modern
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day Jordan. That's kind of the area that
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they settled, Esau's descendants and then Jacob's descendants are
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they settled in what the area is.
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That's modern day Israel and probably expanded.
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I don't I'd have to really look at what land they occupied, but
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generally speaking in the land of Israel.
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So, but then the place that this is happening is Susa and Susa is
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modern day Iran. So to look at this from today,
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it would be like, I mean, it's the the place where all of this
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is transacting is, is Iran. But Haman himself is a
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descendant of the Amalekites. And the Amalekites were the
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first ones to go against Israel when they escaped from Egypt.
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And essentially you know if. You look that this pay to slay
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thing is with the Palestinians against the Jews.
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So it kind of continues down the line.
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If Haman well who he is, I mean this is in history.
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He is a descendant of Esau and settled in the land of Jordan
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and the Palestinians are the ones who have this pay to slay
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law that they. Do so our.
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Law, I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, I mean
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there's like payment for this and and so you can see that
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there is a history connection that goes back into the BC time
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frame. This is a really long time and
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that the enemies surrounding Israel have always been their
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enemies. There were moments of times of.
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Of. Peace with certain surrounding
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nations, but for the most part, most nations didn't like Israel.
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And I think that's kind of where we are today, despite the talks
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of peace that are coming. Because is this really a true
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peace or is it a little bit of a positioning to pretend like it's
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a it's peace? Because the Bible does say that
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when they say peace and safety, then comes sudden destruction.
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So the Bible warns us this in prophecy, that there's going to
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come a time where people think they are safe, but then comes
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sudden destruction, so. A lot of people.
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Are really watching what's happening right now in the
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world. Now I want to go back to Esther
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chapter 4, verse 9. So Hathuk, this is the eunuch,
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went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.
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Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai all the King's
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officials and the people. Of the royal.
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Provinces know that any man or woman who approaches the king in
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the inner court without being summoned, the king has but one
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law that they be to death unless the king extends the gold
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scepter to them and spares their lives.
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But 30 days have passed since I was called to go to the king.
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So this is really interesting because Esther had found favor
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with everyone and the king was always pleased with her.
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But now at this very moment in time, he hasn't even called on
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her for 30 days. And so if she goes to approach
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him, she has the possibility of him just saying, you know, I, I
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don't want to speak to you right now.
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And she could be killed. I mean, that's it says he had
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but one law that they'd be put to death unless the king extends
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the gold scepter. Can you imagine what Esther is
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thinking right now? She's first of all, she's hidden
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her identity because her cousin Mordecai, who as a Jew told her
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that she should not let anybody know her nationality.
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And so she didn't. Nobody questioned it because
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everybody liked her. She replaces the queen, and then
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she's treated with favors she's given like the best of the best,
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and everybody likes her. But now she said, you know, so
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everything is going really well with her.
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And she sees her cousin then in sackcloth.
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She doesn't even know what's going on, apparently.
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And because she's asking the unit go find out what my cousin
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is upset about. And so he goes out, and he he.
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Talks to her SO. Anyway, when Esther's words were
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reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer.
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Now look at Mordecai's or listen to Mordecai's answer.
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Do not think because you were in the King's house, you alone of
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all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this
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time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another
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place, but you and your family, and you and your father's family
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will perish. And who knows but that you have
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come to your royal position for such a time as this?
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God does these. Things you can hear even though
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God has not mentioned. There is Providence for sure
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that you can see here. So this isn't the only time that
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God has done this. Think about this.
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In Egypt, first of all, let's go back to.
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Jacob and he had twelve sons and one of his sons named Joseph had
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dreams and Joseph had a dream that his family was bowing down
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toward to him. And that was not a good thing to
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share with everybody because it made his whole family mad.
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It made all of his brothers jealous of him.
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And so his brothers decided let's get rid of him.
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They were going to murder him and then what one of them said
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no, let's not murder him. So instead they threw him in a
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pit. Now this is really interesting
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too. Then the an Ishmaelites army
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comes up now just you'll see all these different things because
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Ishmael was like a stepbrother to Isaac, who is Jacob's father.
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I mean all of these like everybody's really related, but
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it's like this family feud that has gone on and it's so
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terrible. And honestly God is not happy
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about it because everybody is ultimately related.
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And then once you know, in God's Kingdom.
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There isn't going to be a distinguishing factor.
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I mean, it's going to be all of God's children.
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So right now we are in this bad time in the world where there is
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this rivalry, there are these long seated animosity and hatred
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between people. But we had that with Isaac and
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Ishmael. I mean, they were kind of
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opposites. Like Ishmael got sent away.
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He was the white, he was the child of his mother was from
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Egypt. And so he got sent away.
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He was the she was the servant to Sarah.
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And I'm probably giving too much genealogy and making this
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confusing for everybody. So anyway, maybe I'm going to
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circle back here because that's going too deep into discuss
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discussing this, but. We're talking about God's
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Providence. So I was talking about Joseph,
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who had these dreams. His family hated him.
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They put him in a pit. The Ishmaelites were coming and
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they were going to Egypt. They capture him or take him
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along with them, whatever you want to call.
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They bring him to Egypt as a slave, but then he gets favor
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from the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh because of his
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dreams like God, gifted him with dreams.
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And then his reputation kind of spread and the Pharaoh called on
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him and then was he was put into service and the Pharaoh liked
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him. He was faithful to the Pharaoh.
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The Pharaoh's wife tried to lure him in and he resisted her.
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And he also was able to plan for the future because there was a
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future famine that was coming. And so they stored all this
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grain. God then reunites his brothers
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with him, and Joseph ends up saving his brothers.
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So God ultimately told Joseph, you were going to be saving your
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brothers in that dream. They were bowing down like they
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were honoring him. He was the one who got, you
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know, put into slavery, became assistant, but then rose to
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prominence and was treated very well by the Pharaoh.
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And anyway, he, he served in that capacity and was able to
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save his family. So God can take things that are
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meant for harm. The prophet Jeremiah talks about
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that, I believe, where what was meant for harm is then turned to
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good. So there were enemies that were
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going to harm Joseph, but then God turned it all around and
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Joseph ended up saving everybody.
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Now here it's happening again where Mordecai is saying to
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Esther, you're in a good position right now, Maybe God
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put you there. He doesn't.
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It doesn't say God in this, in this, but it's kind of inferred.
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And if you don't help, somebody else is going to arise to do
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that. Was Mordecai expressing his
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trust and faith in God? Was this implied by what
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Mordecai was telling Esther? So he, he's just saying, don't
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think you're safe. You're in the King's palace, but
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you're not safe. You and everybody are.
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You know, it's going to be found out about you.
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So he's warning her and warning that everyone's going to perish
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and don't think that you're going to escape this.
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So you need to stand up and not be silent.
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So that's probably a pretty hard position to be in.
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And and you know, in real life, we, well, I mean, this is real
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life. This is actually history that's
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been documented, but we may end up in that kind of a situation
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where it will be a life or death situation and we're going to
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have to decide, do we trust God? What is our faith like?
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How strong is our faith? Are we going to fold or be out
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of fear? Because the Holy Spirit gives us
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a spirit of courage, not of fear.
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So this is this is a time of testing for people when this
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comes about. OK.
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Verse 15. Then Esther sent this reply to
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Mordecai. Go gather together all the Jews
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who are in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three
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days, night or day, and I or I and my attendants will fast.
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Let's see will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to
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the king, even though it is against the law.
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And if I perish, I perish. So Mordecai went away and
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carried out all of Esther's instructions.
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And that's the end of chapter 4. There's a lot here, a lot of
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scripture that I thought about as I was reading this.
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And then there's also the questions and answers that we'll
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go through. So I guess first I'll do the
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Bible studies. The Bible study book question is
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and answers. And, and then we'll go into some
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of the other scriptures that came to mind as I was reading
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and talk about that. So why did Mordecai tear his
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clothes? Tearing one's clothes and
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wearing sackcloth and ashes were universal signs of intense grief
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in the ancient Near East. Sackcloth, which was made of
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goat or camel hair, was probably worn because it was coarse and
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black. Why did Esther need the edict
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explained? Perhaps she didn't understand
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the implications of the legal terminology.
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It's also possible that as a woman in that culture, Esther
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had never been taught to read. How often did a queen typically
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see the king? A queen was often little more
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than the King's favoured concubine, with little or no
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real administrative power. If Esther was still Xerxes
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favorite, it seems reasonable to assume that she was with him
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frequently. However, given the number of his
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concubines, it is possible that she was not often called her
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pro. Her protest here might indicate
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that she was no longer his favorite.
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Couldn't the queen have escaped such an edict?
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A royal edict in ancient Persia or modern day Iran was
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irrevocable and no respecter of status.
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It's possible that some of Esther's attendants may have
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suspected she was a Jew. Given the King's earlier
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treatment of Vashti, it is unlikely that Esther would have
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been spared. Why was Mordecai so sure that
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Esther would die if she kept silent?
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Mordecai was warning Esther of the consequences of
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disassociating herself from her people and, by inference, from
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God. If Esther hoped to avoid death
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by pretending not to be a Jew, she would also miss out on God's
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deliverance for the Jews. Why isn't God mentioned at all
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in the book of Esther? The question has been a source
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of controversy for centuries. Some have even questioned the
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books place in the Bible because of it.
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However, at several points in the narrative, the author
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alludes to God's hand in the events.
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For example, Mordecai's contention that deliverance
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would come from another place was probably the author's way of
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saying that the Lord would intervene for his people.
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Esther's request that all the Jews fast was no doubt a
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reference to prayer to the Lord on her behalf.
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The Jews refusal to plunder their enemies indicated that
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they thought that they fought for the Lord, not themselves.
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In addition, the author showed God's involvement through an
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incredible string of quote coincidences.
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Number one, Esther was selected from among many to become queen
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#2 Mordecai quote accidentally discovered a plot against the
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king. Three, Esther defied the law to
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gain uninvited entrance to see the king #4 Mordecai was given
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Haman's position of power by which he turned an unalterable
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law upside down and delivered the Jews.
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The reader is left saying nobody could be so lucky, Something
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else must have been going on. The story points to God as the
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one behind the scenes orchestrating the events.
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Esther fits the mold of other Old Testament heroes who were
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clearly guided by the Lord like Joseph.
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OK this is funny because I didn't read this first.
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OK. In Genesis chapter 39 verses one
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through 50, verse 26, Esther was in prison but found favor with
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her captors and rose to position to power.
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To save the Jews. In addition, Mordecai, like both
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Joseph and Daniel, came to position of a power second only
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to the king. Still, the question remains, did
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the writer deliberately edit God out of the story?
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We can only speculate. Perhaps the author was employing
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the literary device of understatement to emphasize that
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nothing short of God's direct intervention in these
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circumstances could possibly explain the way things worked
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out. Or since the book was written in
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Persia, the author may have been aware of certain laws against
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non Persian religions or non Persian religious literature,
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therefore may have not wanted to risk having the book destroyed
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by the government again. That could be God's Providence
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where he instructed the writer. Because all of these authors,
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the Bible is known. To be in inerrant, infallible
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and to it's the word of God and the authors were inspired.
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It's the inspired book of God like the authors were inspired
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by the Lord to write what they wrote.
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And perhaps God just gave this to the author and as the study
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Bible says suggests as a theory potentially that it was to
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preserve this text so that it could go on forever and be read.
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So it's just, it just points out how even though there could be
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horrible things happening, God is still overseeing it all.
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And we also should remember that we shouldn't to not be short
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sighted, to not be so wrapped up in the world that we lose sight
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of the eternal Kingdom of God. And God's invitation to all of
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us like that should be our primary focus is our
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relationship with God and to be praying in all circumstances.
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When things are good, to pray to God and be thankful for it.
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When things are bad, to pray to Him.
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Because as we see reflected in history, God provides for those
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who trust in him. Those who trust in the Lord will
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I they will, they will be protected.
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I know there's a verse and it just slipped my mind what that
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verse was, but God protects and anyway, that is the let's see.
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OK, from what? OK, one more question from the
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study Bible. From what other place would
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deliverance for the Jews have come?
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The phrase from another place appears to be a veiled reference
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to the Lord. Mordecai was expressing his
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faith that the Lord would not permit the annihilation of his
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people regardless of Esther's decision.
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That makes sense too, because God does not change, and God's
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promises are ones that He keeps. So whatever promises we find
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about God within Scripture, those will happen despite
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everything around us. So that might look like this is
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never going to happen. It will happen.
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So that's that's the summary of what's in the study Bible.
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And now I'm going to jump into a few of the things that came to
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mind as I was reading as I was reading scripture.
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So I this whole thing about the 30 days, it's only referenced
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like 16 times and it just, it popped into my head 30 days,
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like what is the significance of that?
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And just to give you a little bit of background on it, a lot
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of times when there are repetitious things that happen,
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there's significance to it. And 30 days is one of those.
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And so I just searched, what does 30 days represent in
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Judaism? So here's I'm sharing this with
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you. In Judaism, 30 days primarily
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represents sloshim, the secondary, less intense period
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of mourning following the first seven days of Shiva.
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It marks the time to emotionally come to terms with a new reality
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and gradually re enter daily life.
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Though it traditionally marks the end of mourning for
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relatives and other parents, it spans 30 days from the burial
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during which the mourners may not cut their hair or shave and
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avoid it says avoid sixteen parties or celebrations.
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Lunar Calendar The Jewish calendar alternates months
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between 29 and 30 days to align with the lunar cycle.
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A month with 30 days is called male, which in quotations says
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full preparation. 30 days is used as a period of preparation,
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such as studying laws of holiday 30 days in advance leap year to
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align the lunar year with the solar year, an extra 30 day
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month, a DAR one is added roughly every three years. 30
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days is considered a central cycle of time for transition,
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morning and preparation. I don't know that this
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necessarily ties into our relates, but I'm just saying
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this was something that just popped into my head.
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But, you know, they are in mourning.
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And it's kind of interesting that the king had not called
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Esther for 30 days. And it's almost like, is there
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symbolism there? And I don't want to read too
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much into it. But again, I just said, you
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know, sometimes thoughts come to my mind and so I explore them.
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Then I thought, OK, let's see, like what does it say about 30
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days in the Bible? Because that's where it's really
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found. And there's four different
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places within the NIV version or no, not 4.
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There's 5-5 different phrases with that talks about 30 days
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and they're all in the Old Testament.
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So I'm just going to read those. In Numbers 20, verse 29, it
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says, and when the whole community learned that Aaron had
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died, all the Israelites mourned him 30 days.
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So then this is interesting. Deuteronomy 34 verse 8, the
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Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days until
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the time of weeping and mourning was over.
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So now we see Moses and Aaron who delivered the people out of
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Egypt, the Israelites, and when they died, they were recognized.
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The Israelites mourned them for 30 days in both instances.
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So that's probably where the whole 30 day period of mourning
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came from. The original was something that
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was established when Aaron and Moses died.
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Then it jumps to the the Esther is the next time it's referenced
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in the Bible. All the King's officials and the
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people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman
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who approaches the king in the inner court without being
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summoned the king, the king has but one law that they be put to
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death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and
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spares their lives. But 30 days have passed since I
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was called to go to the king. Then in Daniel, who is a
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prophet, there's another couple times that 30 days is
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referenced. So in Daniel chapter 6, verse 7,
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the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisors and
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governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict
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and have forced the decree that anyone who prays to any God or
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human being during the next 30 days, except to you, your
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majesty, shall be thrown into the lion's den.
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So this again could you could see this as mourning because
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this is against the Israelites, the royal administrators who
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were jealous of Daniel because of his gifts from God and his
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position. Because as we just read that he
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was elevated to position almost like as #2 and and so they were
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looking for a way to get rid of him and they convinced the king
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to was it the king? I think it was Nebuchadnezzar.
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They can, they convinced him and that would be like modern day
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Iraq, I believe. But they convinced him that to
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put up the statue and everybody has to, you know, bow down
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before it. And, and also this statue, they
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knew that Daniel used to go out on his deck or his porch or
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something and used to pray to the Lord face the east and pray.
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And I think it was the well, I don't know if it was face the
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east, but he would pray to the Lord, to the Lord God.
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And it, they knew it wasn't to King Nebuchadnezzar.
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So they were trying to get rid of him.
29:38
And so they, you know, manipulated it and didn't
29:42
Nebuchadnezzar liked, I think it was Nebuchadnezzar.
29:44
It might have been a different leader, but the the king at the
29:49
time, these others who were jealous, they they wanted him to
29:57
be. Destroyed essentially.
29:59
And so they were looking for a way, and this is the way they
30:01
could do it. If they could trap him by the
30:04
law, which the king could not repeal.
30:06
Like once he put into law something and sealed it with his
30:11
signet ring, it was done. It was a law and no matter who
30:14
it was, it had to happen because the king was actually distressed
30:19
when actually Daniel got put in with the lions and he, he, I'm
30:26
going to read the next one. So in Daniel 6, verse 12, it
30:29
says, so they went to the king and spoke to him about the royal
30:33
decree. Did you not publish A decree
30:35
that during the next 30 days anyone who prays to any God or
30:39
human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into
30:43
the lion's den? The king answered the decree and
30:46
in accordance with the law of the Medes and the Persians,
30:50
which cannot be repealed. So again, the Medes and the
30:54
Persians are modern day Iraq. So we're seeing this again,
30:58
these really harsh laws that of basically, you know, execution.
31:04
And it's really kind of interesting, again, with what's
31:07
going on in the world today, in Iran, within its own people
31:11
groups of what's happening with executions.
31:15
But going back to the Scripture and these 30 Days, I just found
31:20
it interesting and ironic. Is this another coincidence that
31:25
30 Days relates so like parallel to what we're talking about with
31:32
Esther right now? And I thought there was
31:34
something else in Scripture about the end times I was trying
31:37
to find about there's like these last 30 days.
31:41
I think it was like the last 40 days because it talks about
31:43
blessed are the those who make it to the 1337 days.
31:49
And so that came to mind when I was reading this.
31:51
And so then I searched blessed are those and this doesn't tie
31:58
into it. It, it wasn't where I found what
32:01
I was looking for. But when I read through Blessed
32:06
are those, it's completely unrelated to our conversation
32:09
about this Esther book, but I just think it's really a time to
32:17
really think about these things that there there are blessings
32:23
for people. And I just want to read through
32:27
what the blessings are. There are 16 exact phrases that
32:33
say blessed are those according to the NIV version.
32:36
So I'm just going to read through these because.
32:39
These are things I think we should keep in our mind that
32:42
promises of God that talks about blessed are those so let's read
32:47
them Psalm 41 verse one for the mute for the director of music a
32:52
Psalm of David. Blessed are those who have
32:56
regard for the. Weak.
32:58
The Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
33:02
That's something we should remember, like when we stand up
33:05
for the. Week it says the Lord delivers
33:08
them in times of trouble. Psalm 84 verse 4 Blessed are
33:15
those who dwell in your house. They are ever praising you, the
33:21
House of the Lord. Psalm 89 verse 15 Blessed are
33:27
those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the
33:32
light of your presence. Lord again, blessings for those.
33:38
Psalm one O 6 verse 3. Blessed are those who act
33:41
justly, who always do what is right.
33:46
Psalm 112 verse one, praise the Lord.
33:50
Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in
33:57
His commands. Now when we talk about fear
34:01
here. It's the, you know, the.
34:06
I guess teachings talk about the awe of God, just having respect.
34:11
This is what it, I would say it is a, maybe a better word,
34:15
respect for the Lord who find great delight in his commands.
34:20
Basically, if you're obedient, blessed are those who fear the
34:23
Lord. You know who the Lord is and you
34:26
respect him. Therefore you want to obey his
34:30
commands. And this is what it's saying in
34:33
Psalm 112. Blessed are those who fear the
34:36
Lord, who find great delight in His commands.
34:40
Psalm 119, verse 2. Blessed are those who keep his
34:44
statutes and seek Him with all their heart.
34:48
Another thing of blessings, keeping a statute says same
34:50
thing, keeping His commands and seek Him with all their heart.
34:54
This is talking about seeking God.
34:57
Proverbs 3 you know about wise sayings.
35:00
Proverbs 3 verse 13. Blessed are those who find
35:05
wisdom, those who gain understanding and I'm going to
35:09
read the next one for she is more profitable than silver and
35:13
yields better returns than gold. So wisdom here is personified as
35:18
a female, and there is no gender in the original Hebrew.
35:27
When I looked it up before and as I was looking at it, it's
35:30
kind of interesting because wisdom really seemed to me to be
35:37
representative of Jesus. Now go ahead and read like
35:41
search Wisdom and read about wisdom and then think about it
35:46
in terms of Jesus, but take away the she part of it and and see
35:51
if it says that to you. Like if you can see that
35:55
reflecting Jesus in there, it's very interesting.
35:58
So Proverbs 832 Now then my children listen to me.
36:03
Blessed are those who keep my ways.
36:06
So all these people who talk about like, who say like
36:10
obedience isn't, you know, important.
36:14
They're basically saying you don't want to be blessed because
36:16
all throughout the Bible it says, as we're seeing, blessed
36:20
are those who keep my ways. Obedience will have rewards with
36:26
it. People will be blessed.
36:28
The very first reference to this was saying that God's going to
36:32
protect people. So there's different kinds of
36:34
rewards, but God's watching everything that people is are
36:38
doing. Proverbs 834 Blessed are those
36:42
who listen to me watching daily at my doors, waiting at my
36:48
doorway. Matthew 5, Matthew chapter 5,
36:54
verse 4. Blessed are those who mourn, for
36:57
they will be comforted. There is a prompt that's a
37:00
promise from God. If you're mourning, you will be
37:03
comforted. I've said this, reminded myself
37:06
of that many times and just that God is so good, he's going to
37:11
turn it all into something so much better than we ever
37:16
imagined. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 6, it
37:20
says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
37:23
righteousness, for they will be filled.
37:26
I mean, think about all the people who just think, gosh, I
37:29
wish it was just things were righteous and they weren't that
37:34
evil wasn't winning in this situation.
37:36
Well, God's promising that that will happen.
37:40
If we hunger those who hunger and thirst, those who really
37:43
want righteousness, we will be filled with that in in the
37:49
coming of the Lord's Kingdom. Matthew chapter 5, verse 10.
37:53
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their
37:57
righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
38:01
So that's a blessing. That's really a blessing.
38:04
All of those who are persecuted because of their righteousness.
38:08
Righteousness comes from God. It's a a result of receiving the
38:14
Holy Spirit. When we are transformed by the
38:16
Holy Spirit, we become righteous more like God.
38:20
We don't become perfect, not until I guess we get our
38:24
imperishable bodies when Jesus returns.
38:27
But until then, there is this process that we are going
38:31
through. Those who have truly surrendered
38:33
to Christ and received the Holy Spirit, they're called born
38:37
again. Just like Jesus said, no one can
38:40
enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.
38:43
But Matthew 510 says blessed are those who are persecuted because
38:48
of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
38:51
If we get into the Book of Revelation, it says those who
38:53
are persecuted, like ones that have their heads cut off, like
38:57
that's probably the highest level of persecution, they will
39:01
come to life and reign with Christ during the 1000 years.
39:05
So look at what God is going to do at that point.
39:09
Then in John chapter 20 verse 29, then Jesus told him, because
39:15
you have seen me, you have believed.
39:17
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
39:22
So Jesus is saying that, you know there were a lot of people
39:26
that saw Him when he was present, but the ones who
39:29
haven't seen him but yet believe will be blessed.
39:34
So that's a promise from God. So if you believe in Jesus, you
39:38
are blessed. Revelation chapter one, verse 3.
39:41
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this
39:45
prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take heart to
39:49
what is written in it because the time is near.
39:52
So here's, you know, this is the one book of the Bible that says
39:59
blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this
40:02
prophecy. So a lot of people say, oh, that
40:06
Book of Revelation, it's kind of weird and I can't understand it.
40:10
Well, you really can understand it when it's broken down and
40:15
there are blessings that are tied to it.
40:18
On this podcast, you can search Revelation because I have done a
40:22
recording for every chapter of Revelation and shared with you
40:25
what I've learned from it. And the Book of Revelation is
40:29
very interesting because it's, it's a hard one to really, you
40:35
don't want to put too much into it because it says that there
40:38
are curses if you try to change the words of anything that's
40:41
there. So we should read it and ask God
40:45
for clarity. And there are references when
40:49
you it ties back to the Old Testament like Zechariah and the
40:52
book of Daniel. And in order to understand it,
40:55
you need to read those books, which are also prophetic.
40:58
But that's something that if you want to look for that podcast,
41:02
there are every chapter is recorded on the Book of
41:06
Revelation, then Revelation 19/9.
41:10
It says, then the Angel said to me, write this, blessed are
41:14
those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.
41:19
And he added, these are the true words of God.
41:24
So if you are invited to the wedding supper of the lamb, you
41:28
are truly blessed. And it says these are the true
41:33
words of God. So you'll probably want to know
41:36
what the wedding supper of the Lamb is.
41:38
Revelation 2214 says blessed are those who wash their robes, that
41:43
they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through
41:47
the gates into the city. So this is symbolic.
41:52
A lot of the Book of Revelation is symbolic.
41:56
So blessed are those who wash their robes.
41:58
That means cleaning. You know you're getting sin out
42:02
of your life is what it means. It means turning to God.
42:06
It means repentance, like rejecting what you learn is
42:11
sinful from the Bible and just saying I don't want that in my
42:14
life anymore. The Holy Spirit will help you
42:17
get that out of your life. Don't rely on your own power and
42:21
don't wait until you're doing all the things that are.
42:23
You are considered right in the Bible.
42:26
Come the way you are, God will change you.
42:29
It's come as you are, but God changes us through the Holy
42:32
Spirit. So blessed are those people who
42:35
wash their robes. Blessed are those people who
42:37
commit to the Lord who say, let me, you know, send the Holy
42:40
Spirit on me, change me, cleanse me, make me ready for you, Lord.
42:46
That's who it is. Blessed are those who wash their
42:48
robes that they may have the right to the tree of life.
42:51
The tree of life was originally in the Garden of Eden and it was
42:56
said that, you know, the the Adam and Eve could have eaten
43:01
from the tree of life, but they chose to eat from the tree of
43:05
knowledge of good and evil. And so they then were banned
43:10
from the garden. And there was an Angel that was
43:13
placed at the garden to keep them away from the tree of life
43:15
because God doesn't want sin in his Kingdom.
43:19
So that's why they were not allowed to then have the fruit
43:24
from the tree of life. I mean fruit could be this could
43:27
all be symbolic where the fruit is actually the the product of a
43:33
tree and the trees are symbolic in the Bible too.
43:36
So it's if you wash your robes, if you get right with God, if
43:41
you repent, turn away from sin, ask for the Holy Spirit's help,
43:46
then that they may have the right to the tree of life.
43:50
That's eternal life. When you eat from the tree of
43:53
life, that's eternity with God and may go through the gates
43:57
into the city. This is the city of Jerusalem
44:01
that will be established as the place that Jesus roan.
44:06
Jesus. I put words together.
44:09
Jesus rules from the throne. And so anyway, these are all
44:15
like blessings. And I just think these are
44:16
wonderful promises from God and that we need to take them to
44:19
heart. That's what it also says in
44:21
here, like take this to heart, these things.
44:24
Something else that was talked about in the book of Esther was
44:27
fasting. And so I thought it might be
44:30
good to kind of review a few of the things or a few of the times
44:34
when the fasting was discussed. And a lot of the verses that say
44:41
fast are talking about hold fast to the Lord, but the fasting
44:47
that we is in this book of Esther is not eating or
44:51
drinking. So the first time that I found
44:54
this in the NIV version was they proclaimed a fast and seated
44:58
Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
45:01
And that's found in First Kings chapter 21 verse 12.
45:06
And this is about Naboth's vineyard.
45:11
Now this goes back to Ahab and Jezebel.
45:15
They were husband and wife. Ahab was king and he was king
45:19
over northern Israel. It was the 10 tribes.
45:23
After Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms and they had two
45:28
different kings that were ruling.
45:30
So Ahab was the ruler of the northern 10 tribes and his wife
45:35
was Jezebel and she was very evil and wicked and was she had
45:42
a very bad ending in the end, but it was it's interesting that
45:47
there was they. I don't know if I should read
45:50
this whole thing. I didn't read it before doing
45:52
this study but it says they proclaimed a fast and seated
45:58
Nabeth in a prominent place among the people.
46:02
It says that then two scoundrels came up and sat opposite him and
46:06
brought charges against Nabeth, both before the people saying
46:10
Nabeth has cursed both God and the king.
46:12
So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
46:16
Now let's see. So the verse before the
46:22
proclaiming the proclamation of a fast it says.
46:25
So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth City did as
46:29
Jezebel directed in the letters she had rented written them.
46:35
Now here's the scary part about this was King Ahab and Queen
46:40
Jezebel were worshipping Baal. So they they had idolatry going
46:47
on and they had prophets in the day, but the prophets were
46:50
getting information from Bale are from I think honestly what
46:55
it is. We're fallen angels who are
46:56
presenting themselves as God and they were worshipping something
47:02
other or someone other than God. And there were prophets that
47:08
were telling lies in God's name because they were getting it
47:11
from the enemy. They weren't getting it from
47:13
God. So this is a, an edict that
47:16
Jezebel puts out to people. And all these like, there were
47:20
just so many people who were not worshipping the true God and
47:23
they were involved in this idolatry.
47:25
And so this fast, I mean, it works for both good and evil.
47:32
They proclaimed a fast and then you looked.
47:34
The next verse talks about two scoundrels came up and you know
47:38
that God says where there's 22 witnesses to establish truth.
47:43
So this identifies those two witnesses.
47:46
But they're scoundrels, they're bad and they bring lying charges
47:50
against Nabeth. You wonder why are they doing
47:53
this against Nabeth? Well, they're saying he cursed
47:56
both God and the King, so they took him outside of the city and
47:59
stoned him to death. Well, Jezebel was an evil
48:02
manipulator and her husband Ahab was weak.
48:06
She was basically ruling the Kingdom and he was almost like a
48:11
servant to her. It was like not God's order of
48:17
leadership at all, and she was just an evil woman and she,
48:23
Ahab, wanted Naboth's land, but Naboth wouldn't sell it to him.
48:28
So Queen Jezebel came up with the scheme to get rid of him so
48:32
that Ahab could take his land. That was ultimately what this
48:35
was about. It was a land grab and it was
48:38
orchestrated by Jezebel with evil influences.
48:42
So fasting apparently has some kind of power or draws us near
48:50
to in the spiritual realm. So this is what we can see from
48:55
the Bible in Second Chronicles chapter 20 verse three.
48:59
It says alarmed Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord
49:04
and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
49:09
So Jehoshaphat was a a king in the southern Kingdom of Judah
49:14
and he resolved to inquire of the Lord and proclaimed a fast
49:17
for all Judah. In the book of Ezra it says
49:20
there by the Ahava canal I proclaimed a fast so that we
49:26
might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe
49:32
journey for us and our children with all our possessions.
49:37
So you're seeing here that there is benefit to somehow fasting
49:43
connects us closer to God and is something that I think maybe we
49:48
should consider this. And then you have the book of
49:52
Esther that we were just reading about.
49:54
Go gather all the Jews who are in Susa and fast for me.
49:58
Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day and and I and
50:02
my attendants will fast as you do.
50:06
Then when this is done, I will go to the king, even though it
50:09
is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.
50:14
I want to talk about that verse too, because in Scripture it
50:18
says in John 1225, it says those who love their life in this
50:23
world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their
50:28
life in this world will keep it for eternity.
50:32
So we need to be eternally focused and focused on the Word
50:37
of God. What does the Word of God say?
50:40
What do we need to obey? And because if you love your
50:46
life in this world and you're a coward, it says the cowards
50:50
don't inherit the Kingdom of God.
50:52
So we may be, some of us may be put to test, others may not be
50:56
put to test, but we need to think about this and get into
51:02
the word of God. And it says that faith.
51:06
Faith comes from hearing the word on the message about the
51:09
gospel. So when we know and we believe
51:13
and we know what our future is and what God has promised us,
51:19
then we are no longer cowards. Those who fear death don't have
51:28
the the strong faith yet. Because if you fear death, do
51:38
you not believe that there is eternity that awaits you and
51:43
that once you pass on you will be in the presence of Jesus?
51:50
Paul said to be absent from the body is to be present with
51:54
Christ. So when you fully understand
51:58
that and comprehend that, is there any fear in that?
52:04
Is there any fear to be in the presence of the Lord?
52:08
Not for his children there isn't.
52:10
There's only a promise of inheritance and a promise of a
52:12
lot of really good things that God has in store for us.
52:16
Some of what we don't even know. But God is good and He loves to
52:19
give good gifts of to His children.
52:23
The gifts that's referring to is the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
52:26
So if you haven't, if you do believe in Jesus and you
52:30
recognize and, and and believe that Jesus died on the cross.
52:35
He was raised from the dead and and lives today that that what
52:42
that act, that event that he did atones for us that Hebrews says
52:48
without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement for sin.
52:51
So that's what Jesus did for all of us.
52:54
If you believe that if you are a believer and you don't yet have
52:58
the Holy Spirit, then ask Jesus because the Holy Spirit comes
53:02
from Jesus, ask Jesus for the Holy Spirit.
53:06
You will start if if you are truly repentant, if you turn
53:09
away from your sin and you commit to the Lord and you ask
53:13
the Lord for it's humbling ourselves and asking God help me
53:17
like I can't do this on my own. Help me with your Holy Spirit.
53:21
If you do that, God will send Jesus will send you the Holy
53:25
Spirit and and then your life will start changing.
53:30
And it it's still, it doesn't take away our free will.
53:32
We'll still have free will. But each time, each time you
53:36
obey what you think, what you believe God says is what you
53:40
should do. Each time that you do that, it
53:43
becomes easier to be more obedient.
53:47
And I say that from experience because at first you'll struggle
53:50
with it and it'll be a wrestle between your fleshly self and
53:55
and you know your intentions. There is going to be a little
53:57
bit of a struggle there. But each time that you obey and
54:01
do what you believe God would want you to do, that would
54:04
reflect His image. It will get easier and easier,
54:08
at least it has for me and then to see what you're the gifts of
54:13
the Spirit that God promises to those who believe and Jesus
54:17
gives the Holy Spirit you can find Oh gosh, I forgot that's I
54:22
think in first Corinthians. I can't remember where it is,
54:24
but just search on an electronic Bible, gifts of the Spirit and
54:28
that'll show up to see if you have the Holy Spirit already.
54:33
If you're not sure. I mean, you should know if you
54:35
have the Holy Spirit, but if you don't, you can go to Galatians
54:38
chapter 5, verse 22, because it tells you what the gifts of the
54:44
Spirit are. And then it also tells you, like
54:47
if you're worldly, if you're focused on the world, it'll give
54:50
you a description of all the things that a worldly person
54:53
focuses on. And we have to remember John
54:56
1225, Those who love their life in the world will lose.
55:00
That's talking about eternity, That's talking about hell.
55:04
Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it
55:07
for eternity. That's talking about being in
55:10
the presence of God, being in His Kingdom.
55:13
So these are like really important things for us to
55:19
remember and know from the Word of God.
55:23
Going back to this fasting, Isaiah says your fasting ends in
55:30
quarreling, in strife, and in striking each other with wicked
55:33
fists. You cannot fast as you do today
55:35
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
55:38
So you can't just fast without truly being committed to the
55:44
Lord and asking the Lord to intervene in your life.
55:48
So in Isaiah 58 verse five, he said, is this the kind of fast I
55:52
have chosen? For I have chosen only a day for
55:55
people to humble themselves. Is it only for bowing 1's head
55:59
like a Reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
56:02
Is this what you call a fast a day acceptable to the Lord?
56:08
The Lord is looking for us to truly humble ourselves and and
56:14
like what Esther was asking Mordecai and the other Jews to
56:18
do is fast for three days. And so there's also some
56:23
physiological benefits of vast fasting for three days.
56:27
Search that and you can find that information from a lot of
56:30
chiropractors who talk about that online.
56:33
So it's very interesting to see physically what happens, but the
56:37
purpose is, you know, like it's again, this is God blesses those
56:41
who do these things. So Jeremiah 14 verse 12 says,
56:46
although they fast, I will not listen to their cry.
56:50
Though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I
56:52
will not accept them. Instead I will destroy them with
56:56
the sword, famine and plague. So this was a prophet who talked
57:03
about this was before, I think it was before Judah was captured
57:09
by the Babylonians. And, and there this was a
57:14
consequence of the people's behavior.
57:18
So God had already, he had warned them over and over and
57:22
over again. If you continue to do this, then
57:26
this will happen. And he warned them and they
57:29
would not turn away from their behaviors.
57:31
They would not repent. And so then God and Jeremiah had
57:35
this, you know, a connection, this conversation, this
57:40
revelation that he was like, Nope, this is going to happen.
57:44
My word stands firm and this is going to happen.
57:47
And there's nothing that they can do about it.
57:49
So God gives us chances over and over again, but when he sees
57:54
that we're not responding to him, sometimes he turns us over.
57:59
And that was kind of a fear that I had realized when I was first
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reading the Bible, that if I persist in rebelling against God
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by living the way he doesn't want me to live, am I getting
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close to the time when God will say, OK, I'll turn you over to
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that? Well, that crossed my mind.
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And I was like, I don't want to be separated from God, so I need
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to change the way I'm living. I need to turn to God and be a
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reflection of him and not a reflection of the rebellion
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against him. In Joel, who is another prophet,
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he said declare a holy fast, call a sacred sembly, A summon
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the elders and all who live in the land of the House of the
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Lord your God and cry out to the Lord.
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And Jonah chapter 3 verse 5, the Ninevites believed God, a fast
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was proclaimed and all of them from the greatest to the least
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put on sackcloth. Now here's an interesting thing.
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The Ninevites, Nineveh, I believe, is in modern day Iraq.
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And Jonah didn't want to go there because he knew that these
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were idolatrous people, but and he tried to escape God's call to
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go to Nineveh. Nineveh.
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And he jumped on a ship that was going in the opposite direction.
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So God sent a huge storm and almost shipwrecked them.
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And they're saying, who caused this?
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You know, somebody caused this. And then he admitted he was
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disobedient and said to throw me overboard.
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He was thrown overboard, swallowed by a whale, and then
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three. Days, this is another.
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Three days, three days later he was spewed up and this actually
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happened to a kayaker. You can search this on YouTube.
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This I forgot what country. I don't know if it was like in
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Colombia or something, but there was a kayaker who it's actually
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on video and it was in the news and all this about a kayaker who
1:00:01
actually did get swallowed by a whale.
1:00:04
So that is that was just so wild.
1:00:06
That just happened within the last couple of years.
1:00:08
So you might want to search on YouTube to find it.
1:00:10
It was covered by a news the guy.
1:00:13
Also has done some social media posts explaining what happened
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to him. So it's pretty cool to see that
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because I always thought growing up like, that's a fable.
1:00:23
No whale could eat a person, you know?
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But then you find out it really happened in just the last couple
1:00:30
of years. I mean, God is.
1:00:32
I think God is just like opening our eyes to the truth of the
1:00:35
Bible. Anyway, Jonah didn't want to go
1:00:39
to Nineveh because he knew they were, you know, what kind of
1:00:42
people they were. And he, he knew that if, if he
1:00:45
told them the truth that about God that they would probably
1:00:51
repent and then they would be, you know, reconciled with God.
1:00:56
And he didn't want to do it because of his own prejudice
1:00:59
against them. But God prevails, God is
1:01:03
sovereign. And eventually he did go to the
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Ninevites and the Ninevites believed.
1:01:07
And it says a fast was proclaimed.
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So then Zechariah 7 verse 3 says by asking the priests of the
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House of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, should I mourn and
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fast in the 5th month as I have done for so many years?
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That's just, I don't know that whole background of the story,
1:01:25
but another point where fasting was considered.
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And then we get to the New Testament and these are things
1:01:31
that Jesus said and it's repeated several different times
1:01:35
by multiple authors of the gospels.
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So I will read what it was said in the book of Matthew chapter 6
1:01:44
verse 17. But when you fast put oh
1:01:48
actually wait, Matthew chapter 6 verse 16, when you fast not if,
1:01:56
but when you fast do not look somber as the hypocrites do.
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So hypocrites fast also for they disfigure their faces to show
1:02:05
others they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have
1:02:09
received their reward in full. So even the even the hypocrites,
1:02:13
like it sounds like they are getting rewarded for it for it.
1:02:17
But he's also Jesus is saying, you know, don't do it like the
1:02:21
hypocrites not like look at me, look at me, I'm fasting.
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You know, that's not the purpose of fasting.
1:02:27
The purpose is to connect with God in prayer and to humble
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ourselves and ask for things that are needed for God to move
1:02:39
in this world, which I think is a really good thing that we
1:02:42
should consider right now. And then Matthew 617 says, But
1:02:47
when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face.
1:02:52
Matthew 914 says, then John's disciples came and asked him,
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How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your
1:03:03
disciples do not fast. Disciples came and asked him,
1:03:08
how is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your
1:03:13
disciples do not fast. That's that's interesting.
1:03:19
So I I now I'm Jesus was questioned.
1:03:23
This is interesting because there were these different.
1:03:26
This is like then John's disciples.
1:03:29
So the ones who were following John came and asked Jesus, why
1:03:35
is it that, hey, we're doing, we're doing the good things and
1:03:38
the Pharisees are doing the good things, we're fasting often, but
1:03:40
your, your disciples, oh, they're not doing it, Jesus
1:03:44
answers. How can the?
1:03:45
Guest of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them.
1:03:50
The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from
1:03:53
them. Then they will fast.
1:03:56
So Jesus is considered the bridegroom in symbolically and
1:04:01
so when he was present they didn't need to fast, but when
1:04:05
he's gone they need to fast. So that's interesting.
1:04:10
In Mark chapter 2 verse 19, Jesus answered how can the guest
1:04:15
of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?
1:04:18
They cannot so long as they have him with them.
1:04:23
But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from
1:04:27
them, and on that day they will fast.
1:04:32
In Luke, who was a doctor at the time, he wrote the gospel and
1:04:37
interviewed eyewitnesses, they said to him, John, disciples
1:04:40
fast, often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the
1:04:43
Pharisees, But yours go on eating and drinking.
1:04:46
Jesus answered, Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast
1:04:50
while he is with them? But the time will come when the
1:04:53
bridegroom will be taken from them.
1:04:54
In those days they will fast. So those are all the references
1:05:00
to fasting. And I just was thinking, I think
1:05:04
I'm going to do this just the timing of everything Purim,
1:05:12
which is the feast or the celebration commemorating
1:05:17
Esther, which we are reading about right now in 2026.
1:05:21
It falls on March 3rd. So I am going to fast and pray
1:05:29
for March 1st, 2nd and 3rd. So I will use those three days
1:05:34
to fast and pray. And anyone who wants to join in
1:05:38
this, there's probably going to be a lot of people doing.
1:05:40
But I just think in in commemoration of this event and
1:05:44
to seek the Lord with the things that are going on right now
1:05:49
between Iran and Israel and Iran and the United States and the
1:05:53
buildup of military in the Middle East.
1:05:56
I think it is really good timing for us to for all believers in
1:06:01
the Lord Jesus to fast and pray and let's see what God may do.
1:06:08
So I will be fasting and praying on March 1st through 3rd.
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So hoping that maybe some of you will join in this too.
1:06:17
So I'm going to wrap up here. This turned out to be another
1:06:19
long one for one chapter and we will continue the next time with
1:06:26
chapter 5. If you're not subscribed, please
1:06:28
do so. If you found this beneficial,
1:06:30
please just share this with others and also, you know,
1:06:37
spread, spread the word and about this and ask others that
1:06:40
you know to perhaps fast and pray because we can all use
1:06:44
prayers. So thank you for listening.
1:06:46
Bye.