Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope you all stayed warm over the chilly weekend, and are ready to resume our study of Esther.
In our introduction of Esther, we suggested scripture readings that provided glimpses of the rise and fall of three major empires during the 600+ year period between the time of Ruth and Esther. Before we tackle Esther 1, here are a few more introductory notes.
As you read through the book of Esther, you may have already noticed that there is no mention of God, the Law, or of prayer. However, this is a story of how God rescued His people from impending annihilation in the 5th century Persian Empire.
"Esther is an example of how, at one crucial moment in history, the covenant promises God had made were fulfilled, not by His miraculous intervention, but through ordinary events." (taken from "The Theology of Esther," NIV Application Commentary/Esther).
The events in Esther's story cover about 10 years - sometime around 460 BC and involve Jews who chose to stay in their captive land of Persia rather than return to Israel (which would have been allowed under Cyrus' decree of 539). Some of those exiled Jews possibly questioned whether or not they were still God's chosen people.
ASSIGNMENT:
Read Esther 1:1-8 and answer the following in your notebook:
1. What are some of the words used to describe Xerxes' wealth?
2. Who attended the banquet?
3. How was the banquet described?
4. What were the "rules" for drinking at Xerxes' party?
Historical Notes
We can learn a great deal about some of the customs of this period from Herodotus, a 5th century Greek historian. Through his writings, we learn that Persia attempted several unsuccessful invasions of the Greek peninsula. He records a speech given by Xerxes at one of his elaborate parties - which was given for the purpose of securing support from his nobles and military for his next campaign against Greece. It is possible that the party described in Esther 1 was the same or similar to the one Herodotus referred to in his writings.
We also learn from Herodotus that the Persians drank as they deliberated matters of state. They would make major decisions involving battles while drunk. They believed they were more in touch with the spiritual world while intoxicated. They would then meet the next day - after they had sobered up - and decide if the decisions of the previous night were viable - and if they were - they would act upon them.
