This was /so/ interesting. I love the parallels you pull out, like the inner court mirroring the holy of holies in the temple; I'd never thought of that before! I was also excited that you mentioned the chiastic structure, since I'd thought of that when I watched the Bible Project overview of the book this morning, but until now I've never really heard anyone use the term outside of the writing teacher I learned it from (Daniel Schwabauer of One Year Adventure Novel; he talked about several other books in the bible that use this structure too, and it's just so interesting how often it shows up and what that can tell us about what the author wanted to emphasize). Thoroughly enjoyed this, and I can't wait to listen to the rest of the podcast!
Absolutely! Thanks for your question. Here is our recommended resource for this: www.amazon.com/Redemptive-Reversals-Ironic-Overturning-Wisdom/dp/1433563282
So I just found you guys and have loved listening to the many different videos I have found. I do have one question. From 2:2 I understand that Esther would have been a virgin. Am I understanding that correctly?
At 44:40-45:10 you mention how Saul failed to kill Agag referencing 1 Samuel 15. and state that he goes on to create his own nation the Agagites but in the book of 1 Samuel 15 verse 32 Samuel had the captive Agag, who was in Saul's custody, brought before him and killed him to fulfill God's command that was given to Saul. With that being said did some of Agag descendants escape the massacre? or did he some how impregnate someone while in captivity because he didn't go on living if Samuel slayed him and cut him up with the sword.
Now King Xerxes was the ruling king From India all the way to Cush He lived a luxurious life A lavish life of plenty and much A big beautiful banquet He hosted his third year The who's who of everyone Was expected to be there Nobles and princes of the provinces Were quite excited and certainly eager The guest list included Persian military officials All of the important leaders The king wanted to impress his guests He thought of many ways Xerxes displayed his wealth and glory For a full 180 days He showed everyone the gold The pearls and the silver White linen, costly stones Purple material, marble pillars At this party everyone had plenty of wine The Kings wife, Vashti, and The women partied at the same time King Xerxes was high in spirits From the wine on the seventh day He commanded Vashti to come to him To put her beauty on display His aids delivered the message The queen refused to go The king burned with anger How dare she tell him no He called his team of advisors Who understood the times They said he must do something Concerned about their own wives They will dishonor us If she can dishonor you Send her a way to never again Never to approach you Let this be known to all Make it an official decree Then find someone else to be queen Who is better than she When the other wives hear this Then they will all know To obey their husbands and Much respect they will show Pleased with the advice The king did what they proposed Message delivered and received Let every man rule his household (By Esther Coleman-Spells)
I must say this interpretation of Ester made me so angry. After reading Beth Moores Bible study on Ester and loving it I wanted to learn more so I searched TH-cam. But I was shocked to hear you say Ester “must be good in bed” and that was the only reason she found favor with the king. This is a ignorant and chauvinist option. Did you even consult or review any woman commentators on this subject? I guess not. How do you think that Esther would’ve gained favor with a Hegai the eunuch? (Ester 2:9) obviously there must have been more to this woman than her performance in bed. She must of had wisdom or humor, or winsomeness to gain his favor that even put her in the running to be with the king. Your lack of credit you gave her to attribute her success to her sexual prowess speaks more of your option about women then your insight on Ester.
Karen, Thank you so much for fighting for Scripture to be understood appropriately and for making sure all the nuances of the text are honored, that's our goal too! I'm the one you're quoting in your post and I hope this response helps. I'm so glad you found Beth Moore's study helpful and that it caused you to want to study Esther more deeply. I love Beth Moore's work! And while I'm not familiar with her teachings on Esther I did consult other female commentators on the book of Esther. That aside, I agree with you. I don't believe the only reason Esther found favor with the king was because she was good in bed. I also don't think Esther's sexual prowess or lack thereof (she was a virgin after all) is what the Biblical authors want us to focus on. But I'm also not convinced that Esther's moral virtues-her wisdom, winsomeness, humor, humility, gutsy-ness-are what the story want us to focus on either. The point I was trying to make on the podcast (and perhaps I made it badly) was that seeing Esther as either a moral hero or a moral villain isn't the point of the book of Esther. Esther is about God's control of human history and especially morally complicated history and people. No one in Scripture is perfect, nevertheless, God uses people like Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and Xerxes to humiliate his enemies and save his people. Fairly soon our devotionals will be released on the book of Esther. In them we try to talk about the way Esther's moral courage sits unsettlingly beside other facts in her story. Such as when she hides her Jewishness and presumably abandons Jewish laws (Esther 2:10). Or when she and Mordecai dress in the trappings of the Persian empire and have names derived from Persian gods (Esther 2:9, Esther 8:15). Or the way Esther and Mordecai seem to have no moral problem with Esther's night with the king (Esther 2:15-16). We also try to balance this reality with the fact that much of these moral decisions were forced on Esther by an empire and king who were willing to murder and massacre those who said "no" to them. All that to say, Esther is a beautiful and complex book. You're right to fight for these complexities. If we were in Esther and Mordecai's shoes I have no idea what I would have done. But I do know that however morally compromised someone may or may not be God is using the wise and unwise decision of those in power to save his people. Thank you so much for your post and fighting for Scripture to be understood rightly and well. I hope this response helps
God keeps leading me to this book. so I'm ready to study!
Blessings on you! The Spirit of the Lord has been pushing me to study the book of Esther and also led me to this podcast. Thank you for this.
Oh I'm so glad! Thanks for commenting 😊
This was /so/ interesting. I love the parallels you pull out, like the inner court mirroring the holy of holies in the temple; I'd never thought of that before! I was also excited that you mentioned the chiastic structure, since I'd thought of that when I watched the Bible Project overview of the book this morning, but until now I've never really heard anyone use the term outside of the writing teacher I learned it from (Daniel Schwabauer of One Year Adventure Novel; he talked about several other books in the bible that use this structure too, and it's just so interesting how often it shows up and what that can tell us about what the author wanted to emphasize). Thoroughly enjoyed this, and I can't wait to listen to the rest of the podcast!
Excellent! Thank you, Lord, for trailing me to the podcast!
I've been looking around for podcasts that is a study for books in the Bible while at work. Great job and keep up the great work!
Awesome! Thank you!
Boys this was brilliant, I had never studied Esther like this.
Stupendous Job x1000
This makes me understand the battle between our hearts and the streets of our towns in 2020- 2021
Awesome
Thanks, Suni! Glad you enjoyed it.
Amazing, jaw dropping truths/parallels in this book. Bottom line, OUR GOD reigns.
Thx so much!
Thaaank you all the way from Brazil.
This is awesome... More grace
Hello from New Orleans, Enjoy your devotional on YouVersion 👏🏽 Thank you Seth !
This was so great! Thank you!
Amen 🙏 Hallelujah 🙏
Seth i need a word of encouragement
Thank you guys! Do you guys read that book and automatically see the parallels or you have others book that can help to interpret a book?
Absolutely! Thanks for your question. Here is our recommended resource for this: www.amazon.com/Redemptive-Reversals-Ironic-Overturning-Wisdom/dp/1433563282
any comment on comparison of Esther and Solomon's court
So I just found you guys and have loved listening to the many different videos I have found. I do have one question. From 2:2 I understand that Esther would have been a virgin. Am I understanding that correctly?
At 44:40-45:10 you mention how Saul failed to kill Agag referencing 1 Samuel 15. and state that he goes on to create his own nation the Agagites but in the book of 1 Samuel 15 verse 32 Samuel had the captive Agag, who was in Saul's custody, brought before him and killed him to fulfill God's command that was given to Saul.
With that being said did some of Agag descendants escape the massacre? or did he some how impregnate someone while in captivity because he didn't go on living if Samuel slayed him and cut him up with the sword.
Hey there! My guess is that several Amalekites survived Saul's assault. Great catch!
Seth I need to talk to you
You guys are so cute
Now King Xerxes was the ruling king
From India all the way to Cush
He lived a luxurious life
A lavish life of plenty and much
A big beautiful banquet
He hosted his third year
The who's who of everyone
Was expected to be there
Nobles and princes of the provinces
Were quite excited and certainly eager
The guest list included Persian military officials
All of the important leaders
The king wanted to impress his guests
He thought of many ways
Xerxes displayed his wealth and glory
For a full 180 days
He showed everyone the gold
The pearls and the silver
White linen, costly stones
Purple material, marble pillars
At this party everyone had plenty of wine
The Kings wife, Vashti, and
The women partied at the same time
King Xerxes was high in spirits
From the wine on the seventh day
He commanded Vashti to come to him
To put her beauty on display
His aids delivered the message
The queen refused to go
The king burned with anger
How dare she tell him no
He called his team of advisors
Who understood the times
They said he must do something
Concerned about their own wives
They will dishonor us
If she can dishonor you
Send her a way to never again
Never to approach you
Let this be known to all
Make it an official decree
Then find someone else to be queen
Who is better than she
When the other wives hear this
Then they will all know
To obey their husbands and
Much respect they will show
Pleased with the advice
The king did what they proposed
Message delivered and received
Let every man rule his household
(By Esther Coleman-Spells)
I feel like I'm not good enough
Seth is so crazy
Seth and David pray for me because my heart is so 💔
Excellent until the discussion about Mordecai "guarding the kingdom." No. Eisegesis. Other than that, really excellent.
Seth I'm a bisexual
I must say this interpretation of Ester made me so angry.
After reading Beth Moores Bible study on Ester and loving it I wanted to learn more so I searched TH-cam.
But I was shocked to hear you say Ester “must be good in bed” and that was the only reason she found favor with the king. This is a ignorant and chauvinist option. Did you even consult or review any woman commentators on this subject? I guess not.
How do you think that Esther would’ve gained favor with a Hegai the eunuch? (Ester 2:9) obviously there must have been more to this woman than her performance in bed.
She must of had wisdom or humor, or winsomeness to gain his favor that even put her in the running to be with the king. Your lack of credit you gave her to attribute her success to her sexual prowess speaks more of your option about women then your insight on Ester.
Karen,
Thank you so much for fighting for Scripture to be understood appropriately and for making sure all the nuances of the text are honored, that's our goal too! I'm the one you're quoting in your post and I hope this response helps.
I'm so glad you found Beth Moore's study helpful and that it caused you to want to study Esther more deeply. I love Beth Moore's work! And while I'm not familiar with her teachings on Esther I did consult other female commentators on the book of Esther.
That aside, I agree with you. I don't believe the only reason Esther found favor with the king was because she was good in bed. I also don't think Esther's sexual prowess or lack thereof (she was a virgin after all) is what the Biblical authors want us to focus on. But I'm also not convinced that Esther's moral virtues-her wisdom, winsomeness, humor, humility, gutsy-ness-are what the story want us to focus on either. The point I was trying to make on the podcast (and perhaps I made it badly) was that seeing Esther as either a moral hero or a moral villain isn't the point of the book of Esther. Esther is about God's control of human history and especially morally complicated history and people. No one in Scripture is perfect, nevertheless, God uses people like Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and Xerxes to humiliate his enemies and save his people.
Fairly soon our devotionals will be released on the book of Esther. In them we try to talk about the way Esther's moral courage sits unsettlingly beside other facts in her story. Such as when she hides her Jewishness and presumably abandons Jewish laws (Esther 2:10). Or when she and Mordecai dress in the trappings of the Persian empire and have names derived from Persian gods (Esther 2:9, Esther 8:15). Or the way Esther and Mordecai seem to have no moral problem with Esther's night with the king (Esther 2:15-16). We also try to balance this reality with the fact that much of these moral decisions were forced on Esther by an empire and king who were willing to murder and massacre those who said "no" to them.
All that to say, Esther is a beautiful and complex book. You're right to fight for these complexities. If we were in Esther and Mordecai's shoes I have no idea what I would have done. But I do know that however morally compromised someone may or may not be God is using the wise and unwise decision of those in power to save his people.
Thank you so much for your post and fighting for Scripture to be understood rightly and well. I hope this response helps