Esther Reading Plan – W3D1
Check out all the previous Esther readings here.
Esther Reading Plan | Week 3 | 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 2:1-7
Read these verses three times slowly.
Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 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. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
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, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. 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.
Reflection & Questions
After two weeks we are finally introduced to Esther. What we learn about her right away is that her life begins with broken dreams. Her parents died when she was young, and she is now being raised by her cousin Mordecai. On top of that, she lives in a foreign land, and she has two names – her Jewish name, Hadassah, that she keeps hidden for fear of persecution and her persian name, Esther. The final detail is that we’re told she is beautiful. Which is the hinge point of this chapter, because a depraved beauty contest has just been launched to find the new queen for King Xerxes.
Life throws at us all sorts of curve balls. Sometimes all at once. We might not have lost our parents or grown up in a foreign land fearing persecution, but we all have broken dreams. Ways we pictured life might be, or hoped it might be, and now it’s all very different. This week we’re going to look at different scriptures that help us process our broken dreams – and trust God with the work that He is up to in our life. For today, we can take comfort in that the Bible is not shy of broken dreams – it doesn’t present to us rosy lives, but real lives with real pain. The Bible presents to us life as it really is.
- What are some dreams that have broken in your life? These might be recent or far in the past.
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 with no devices to distract you. Take three deep breaths. Listen as you stay still and quiet for 30 seconds. Ask God for His help to read and understand.
Bible Reading: Esther 2:5-7
Read these verses three times slowly.
There was a Jew living in the fort of Susa. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. His name was Mordecai. He was the son of Jair. Jair was the son of Shimei. Shimei was the son of Kish. Nebuchadnezzar had forced Mordecai to leave Jerusalem. He was among the prisoners who were carried off along with Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin had been king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah. He had raised her because she didn’t have a father or mother. Hadassah was also called Esther. She had a lovely figure and was very beautiful. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. He had done it when her father and mother died.
Reflection & Questions
Have you ever been to another country? Or learned another language? If you have, you know it can be difficult to understand a different culture. You know how hard it can be if you’ve learned another language. People tell me it is easier to feel at home once they can speak a language well or have learned about a new culture.
Remember how other countries took over Israel and made the Jewish people live in other places? That is what happened to Mordecai’s family. They had to leave Judah to live in another country. He had a younger cousin named Esther, whose parents died. Mordecai, her cousin, became like her father. They lived in the capital city of the Persian Empire, Susa. It became their home.
Esther may have had friends in her neighborhood. She may have attended a synagogue where Jewish people would pray and sing. She did her chores and obeyed Mordecai. She probably thought about what she wanted to do when she grew up. She may have thought about who she would marry as she got older. She was living her life in Susa.
- Have you thought about what you will be when you grow up? What kind of job will you have? Will you be a mom or dad?
- What are some things that are important to you? What would you think if those things were taken away?
- Would God still be with you if your life turned out differently than what you planned? (HINT: The answer is yes!)
Pray
Thank God He is always with you, even when things don’t go according to plan. Ask Him to be with you this week. Ask Him to help you learn from Esther’s story and to help you grow closer to Him.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
