Esther Reading Plan – W6D1
Check out all the previous Esther readings here.
Esther Reading Plan | Week 6 | Day 1
Prayer
As you come to spend time with Jesus, calm your mind and body until you feel fully present. Ask God to open your eyes and ears to what He wants to say to you today.
Bible Reading: Esther 4:1-4
Read these verses three times slowly.
When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
Reflection & Questions
Last week we ended our reading with the announcement that the Jews will be destroyed. We read today that on hearing all of this, Mordecai and his fellow Jews in every province put on sackcloth and ashes as a way of expressing their grief. The sackcloth was a coarse material that was very uncomfortable. Ashes signified desolation and ruin. These were external signs of the heartache, agony and fear they were experiencing internally. Esther, not knowing the news or the agony that Mordecai was experiencing, wanted him to stop wearing sackcloth. But Mordecai refused; he had to grieve.
We live in a world of brokenness, where heartache, agony and fear aren’t ever too far away. When we experience grief or trials, we might feel pressure from those around us to “move on” or feel wimpy that it affects us so much. The truth is that we all experience these things in different ways, and expressing it is appropriate. It’s ok to not be ok. We don’t have the symbols of sackcloth and ashes as a way of expressing grief, but it’s important that we express our pain to God and to those around you who can be trusted with your pain.
- Are you experiencing grief right now? How are you expressing it?
- Do you have a friend experiencing grief? How can you be a support to them during this season?
- GriefShare is a ministry of Crossroads that might be useful for you or a friend. Check it out at here.
Prayer
Pray in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Prepare to Meet with Jesus
Go to your quiet place. When there are no devices around that will distract you, take a deep breath. Blow it out slowly. Do that again. And do it one last time. Ask God for His help to read and understand.
Bible Reading: Esther 4:1-3
Read these verses three times slowly.
Mordecai found out about everything that had been done. So he tore his clothes. He put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. He sat down in ashes. Then he went out into the city. He wept out loud. He cried bitter tears. But he only went as far as the palace gate. That’s because no one dressed in that rough clothing was allowed to go through it. All the Jews were very sad. They didn’t eat anything. They wept and cried. Many of them put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. They were lying down in ashes. They did all these things in every territory where the king’s order and law had been sent.
Reflection & Questions
What do you do when you feel sad? I sometimes cry. I usually do not cry out loud in public as Mordecai did, but I do cry. Do you ever feel like lying down when you’re sad? I do that sometimes. God gave us all kinds of emotions. He knows we can feel sad, scared, or angry when things are hard.
In Bible times, people would tear their clothes, wear sackcloth (which felt really rough), and put ashes on themselves to show how sad they were. Mordecai wanted everyone to know how sad he was about the law to get rid of the Jews. When other Jewish people read the law, they were sad too. It didn’t matter where in the Persian Empire they lived; Jewish people were sad about the law. Can you blame them? Haman had talked the king into letting him make a law just because Mordecai would not bow to him. The other Jewish people had done NOTHING wrong.
They were all so sad because the law Haman made meant that a time was coming when they would not be safe in the Persian Empire. Now the people had to trust God. Things seemed really hard and really scary. They needed God’s help. We sometimes find ourselves needing God’s help and having to trust Him to take care of us.
- Have you ever needed God’s help with something really hard or really scary?
- Was He with you during that difficult time?
- Do you think God will be with the Jewish people during their difficult time?
Pray
Thank God that He is always with us. Thank Him for loving us and taking care of us. Ask Him to remind you that He is with you when things are hard. Thank Him that He has been with you through scary times in the past.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
