ASSIGNMENT:
1. Read Esther 3:14-4:17
2. Complete the following fill in the blank...
In 3:14-4:3, we see how different people reacted to Haman’s edict. Fill in the blanks below and notice how those reactions varied:
The king and Haman ______ down to ________, but the city of Susa (the general population) was ____________ (the NASB says the city was in confusion). Mordecai __________ his ___________, put on ____________ and _________, and went out into the city ____________ loudly and bitterly.
There was great ____________ among the Jews, with _________, ________,
and ___________. Many lay in _____________ and _____________.
Note from Harper Collins Bible Dictionary:
The practice of tearing one’s clothes, “putting on sackcloth and ashes” or sprinkling dust upon the head acknowledged either the death of a relative/a national figure or times of national crisis.
3. His own impending death was reasonable cause for Mordecai’s reaction; however, his grief may have been compounded by his recognition that his __________ to bow down to __________ could possibly lead to the death of all the Jews in the Persian Empire.
4. . READ 4:4-5. Esther, also was in great distress. At this point, what appears to be the reason for her distress?
5. What do these verses tell us about Esther and her “little world” at the time?
