The book of esther records the institution of the feast of purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. The larger theme of the book is the providence of the almighty god iii. The book of esther the bible in outline form kindle edition by gingrich, dr. In this lesson we will note several lessons from the book of esther. Although his name is never mentioned, we see his providence in each page of this wonderful little book. Ahasuerus, by the counsel of memucan, puts away vashti, and makes the decree of. The story of esther reveals gods plans and purposes for each of us as we live out lives that are directed by gods design and will.
This book and the book of ruth are the only ot books named after women. And this is in our continuing series on 12 unlikely. Sermon on esther sermon outline by kevin cauley from the book of esther showing us the great lessons that can be gleaned from this great story date written. She is assisted in this by mordecai, her cousin and guardian. We have detailed a brief summary of the book of esther for bible study or sunday school lessons. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. Ezra 7 begins in the seventh year of artaxerxes i longimanus i. The name of god does not once occur, but in no other book of the bible is his providence more conspicuous. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. Thank you for your interest in these free sermon outlines from tony evans.
The book is named for its main personality, queen esther of persia, whose courage and quick thinking saved the jewish people from disaster. If you were with us last lords day evening in chapter 1, you would have seen one such sudden reversal. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. A story of the providence of god in a pagan land page 4 introduction to the book the book of esther is the only book in the bible that does not mention the name of god.
Esther was written to explain the origin of the feast of purim and to ensure that it would be observed by all future generations of the jewish people 9. It has often been suggested that the queen refused on grounds of modesty, but the tradition which has arisen around her suggests that her refusal is just as likely to have. May you discover his character as you investigate the pages of his letter to you. The mass of the nation preferred the easy and lucrative life under the persian rule. In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the book of esther was illustrated by j. The book of esther opens with a description of an enormous 180day party thrown by king achashverosh in his 3rd year as king of the persian empire, ruling over 127 provinces.
I think that reflects something of the common attitude about this book. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons. Esther overview matthew henrys complete commentary on. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. If we were to pick a passage from the book which could serve as a summary of the whole story, it would be from chapter 9. The book of esther tells how a jewish girl became the queen of persia and saved her people from a plot to destroy them. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. The book of esthera brief outline sermons by art davison. If ezra was the writer, he was copying from the journal of. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible.
In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject. Upon what provocation, and by what arts, haman the amalekite obtained an order for the destruction of all the jews, esther 3. Sermons on esther first presbyterian church, jackson. Outline of the book of esther 1 the deposition of queen vashti, the wife of the persian ruler ahasuerus, for her refusal to appear before the guests of the king esther 1. The manner of purification, and going in to the king. The book of esther provides us with the greatest illustrations of the providence of god. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p.
This book reveals what god can do through a layman who has a heart for the things of god. Esther bible study with free printable bible study guide. With them, you will be able to see how, in the book of esther, god wanted to show how his providence, his invisible hand, works behind the scenes to bring about his purposes in. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. On march 20th, the study begins and its absolutely free. The beauty contest to choose a real queen, chapter 2 iii. Free sermon outlines from tony evans on the book of esther. Nothing is by accident even if we are unable to figure out what god is up to. The book is named for the star of the story, a young jewish girl named hadassah who was taken from her guardian, mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. Sermon on esther sermon outline by kevin cauley from the book of esther showing us the great lessons that can be gleaned from this great story. The great distress the jews, and their patriots especially, were in thereupon, esther 4. The book of esther is a 20 movie starring jen lilley as queen esther and joel smallbone as king xerxes. Esther this is one of the two books of the old testament named for a woman. The heroic determination of esther to appear before the king with a plan in her mind to foil the plot, esther 4.
The book of esther was likely written between 467 and 350 b. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. In the book of esther god used mordecai an ungodly man to rebuke esther into obedience. Sermon on esther sermon outline discussing gods providence in the amazing story of esther, persias queen. This short overview and outline of esther will hopefully enhance your study of gods word. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king. In this lesson we will note several lessons from the book of. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. With them, you will be able to see how, in the book of esther, god wanted to show how his providence, his invisible hand, works behind the.
The first half of the book opens with a feast and lays out problem after problem for esther and mordecai, while and the second half resolves those problems in reverse order and concludes with the jewish feast of purim. Because haman, the son of hammedatha the agagite, the enemy of all the jews, had plotted against the jews to annihilate them, and had cast pur that is, the lot. It is largely neglected as far as teaching from the pulpit is concerned, and oftentimes in private. Esther overview and outline reasons for hope jesus. In fact, god is not directly mentioned by name in the book of esther. Neither mordecai, esther, nor the feast of purim is mentioned. The book of esther reports on actual events, but it is written like a short story. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of.
The purpose of the book of esther is to display the providence of god, especially in regard to his chosen people, israel. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a. And this morning i made it through a whole chapter, and tonight well take a whole book. If youre using a church bible, youll find that on page 410 and 411. Though it never mentions god by name, the book deals exclusively with gods working through the lives of people. Haman erects a gallows upon which to hang mordecai, esther 5. You can work through this bible study on your own or with your small group, and you can go through this in ten days, or over a tenweek or semester long schedule. The title for our series of studies in the book of esther is sudden reversals.
Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him. In the book of jonah, he used a storm to convince the fleeing prophet, jonah 1. Now if you would, take your bibles and turn with me to the book of esther chapter 2. The book of esther was written during the 3 rd year of the reign of ahasuerus 485 465 bc. We do not know who wrote the book of esther, but it is believed that the author was a jew jewish nationalism is clear in the book.
Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. May 17, 2008 in the book of jonah, he used a storm to convince the fleeing prophet, jonah 1. You want to open your bible, if you will, to the book of esther. The author recorded details of the reign of ahasuerus and the palace in susa. A number of people have said to me, i dont think ive ever heard a sermon, or a series of sermons, on the book of esther. The book of esther background and outline of the book. Esther is written during the period of the captivity. In the days of ahasuerus, king of persia, and in the days between the building of the temple and the wall around jerusalem, israel found themselves in a time of great peril. Title esther serves as the title without variation through the ages. The study extends for only three weeks, so there is no longterm commitment. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. The answer is found in his twoyear unsuccessful invasion of greece the very thing we opened by talking about, the invasion of greece happens in that two years, and it occupies him so.
The significance of the book of esther is that it testifies to the secret watch care of jehovah over dispersed israel. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483. In the jewish bible, esther follows ecclesiastes and lamentations and is read on the festival of purim, which commemorates the rescue of the jews from hamans plottings. Another biblical theme in the book of esther is divine providence follows people god that use to serve his purposes, jonah 1.
Something i hesitate to do in this current seasonread more. The book explains the origin of the jewish feast of purim februarymarch. The book of esther was likely written between 460 and 350 b. It is a short story similar to the book of ruth, starting in the palace of shushan susa, one out of the three capitals of the persian empire. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. Out of the choice of virgins a queen is to be chosen. Every book of the bible outlined in section headings. As recorded in the book of esther, the entire jewish nation. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible.
Four years pass before he gets around to selecting a new queen. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. Studying the book of esther is well worth your time. The wife who refused to obey her husband, chapter 1 ii. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. Well, i am greatly challenged, on some occasions, in all honesty, as you well know, to get through one verse. It emphasizes the theme of gods control of all events and his purpose and plans in all things. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Esther s gracious reception by the king, and her invitation to himself and haman to attend her feast, esther 5. This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther.
A historical book of the old testament that shows how god preserved his chosen people. Weve created a 10day study guide for you, each day working through a chapter of the exciting story of esther. Nehemiahs prayer for remnant at jerusalem, chapter 1. The book of esther the bible in outline form kindle. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. Quick outline of esther the author of esther makes great use of parallelism in storytelling. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and published by seven stories press. As the days of feasting draw to a close, he summons his wife, vashti, to show off her beauty by appearing wearing only her crown. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know. The defeating of hamans particular plot against mordecais life, esther 5. Gods purpose and will were served by his two faithful servants, esther and her cousin, mordecai, who adopted her as his daughter, and who were examples for all of gods people down through the ages. The book of esther background and outline of the book if we were to pick a passage from the book which could serve as a summary of the whole story, it would be from chapter 9.
1350 446 518 1033 35 630 767 1277 1350 655 494 599 985 1092 1335 188 1350 1160 573 188 1234 537 328 757 60 1298 993 937 1211 1292 952 424 1091 962 470 924