Category: Women in the Bible

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The Queen’s Gamble

Esther 8

1On that same day King Xerxes gave the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related. 2The king took off his signet ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s property.

3Now once more Esther came before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop Haman’s evil plot against the Jews. 4Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him 5and said, “If Your Majesty is pleased with me and if he thinks it is right, send out a decree reversing Haman’s orders to destroy the Jews throughout all the provinces of the king. 6For how can I endure to see my people and my family slaughtered and destroyed?”

7Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the estate of Haman, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he tried to destroy the Jews. 8Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can never be revoked.” (Esther 8:1-8, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Esther is a short book in the Old Testament that takes place during the time when the Jewish people were in exile and subjects to the Persians, who were the dominant super power on the world stage.

Esther is a young Jewish girl, who, through a series of circumstances, finds herself as the Queen to the most powerful man in the world, Xerxes I, also known as Ahasuerus.

The earlier chapters chronicle Esther’s rise to become queen, along with the plot by Haman, who, as Prime Minister, convinced the King to enact a plot to completely eradicate the Jewish people. I wrote about this in a previous blog post, “An Ancient Example of Cancel Culture”.

At great risk to herself, Esther approaches the king without an official summons and ultimately exposes Haman’s wicked plot to the king. It appears that justice has been served.

However, even though Haman’s plot has been exposed and he has been hung on the very gallows he had built to hang Mordecai, there is still the small issue that Haman’s decree ordering the elimination of the Jewish people was still in force.

One would think that the king would simply rescind his original decree but the Persian empire had an interesting law that said any decree made by the king was irrevocable. In other words, the law had to stand and he could not just reverse it. Perhaps there are good reasons for that to be the case but in this instance, it was inconvenient, to put it mildly.

So Esther finds herself in a bit of a quandary. Does she go to the king uninvited yet again?

Now at this point in the story, I think it might be easy to think that there is virtually no risk for Esther in approaching the king. After all, he was very pleased with her early on, which is why he made her queen. And she’s already gone to him uninvited and his response was very favorable. From our vantage point, there is no reason why he wouldn’t be favorable again.

But as is often the case, there’s more to the story that’s not being reported. And in this instance, there’s a religious element at play.

What we don’t see from the text, and wouldn’t know unless we did some extrabiblical research, is that the ancient Persians were highly committed to a religion known as Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic religion that still has adherents today, albeit very few.

What is not shared in the text is that king Xerxes, unlike his predecessors, kings Cyrus and Darius, was not a religious pluralist. That means he was not the kind of king who saw any value in allowing other religions and faith traditions to exist alongside Zoroastrianism within his kingdom.

While it’s true that he acted extremely favorably toward Esther in her initial meeting there was simply no reason to believe he would see it as beneficial to try to undo the previous edict.

This new information about Xerxes’ religious views places Esther’s request of the king in an entirely new light. Instead of being just a low level added encounter, Esther’s request is quite bold and risky. Esther selflessly put herself at risk in order to intervene and advocate for her people. She used her position in order to secure justice for those who could not advocate for themselves – her own people.

Esther is honored not only for her boldness and faith, but for her example of what it looks like to use your position for the well-being and benefit of others.

Reflection

What situations have you been in that are similar to Esther’s – where you had to do something that required risk on your behalf?

What are some typical reasons people might have for not stepping up like Esther did?

In what ways does the additional information regarding Xerxe’s religious views impact your understanding of Esther’s choice?

What steps can you take to increase the level of faith and boldness in your life?

 

Photo by Megan Watson on Unsplash

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Early Christianity and the Role of Women

Luke 24

1But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. 3So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. 5The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? 6He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead! Don’t you remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?”

8Then they remembered that he had said this. 9So they rushed back to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10The women who went to the tomb were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others. They told the apostles what had happened, 11but the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn’t believe it. 12However, Peter ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened. (Luke 24:1-12, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

In this last chapter of the gospel of Luke, the good doctor gives his account of the empty tomb.

It’s fascinating to consider some of the details of his account, which yields several interesting (at least to me) observations.

First of all, this chapter stands as a powerful defense against the argument that the resurrection is a fabricated event. For if the resurrection never happened, but you were determined to concoct a story for the purpose of gaining some kind of power and influence over others, you would never construct the story in such a way that the first people to discover the empty tomb were women.

The truth is that women in that culture did not have the same power, authority or voice to create the kind of instant credibility that would have been necessary to get people to believe your false narrative.

In other words, the most probable reason that Luke shares the details he does, in which a group of women are the first ones on the scene to discover the empty tomb, and in which these same women are the ones to deliver the message of Jesus’ resurrection to the eleven disciples, is because that is exactly how the events happened.

Secondly, the angel’s response to the women leads to an interesting conclusion about the role women played in the ministry of Jesus.

If you’re like me, you tend to think of Jesus roaming around teaching, preaching, healing and performing miracles among the masses, all with a small band of 12 men at his side.

The reality is that Jesus had a lot more than 12 men who followed him. More than that, the group of Jesus-followers was not exclusively men. The angel’s response confirms this. The angel questions the women:

“Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? 6He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead! Don’t you remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?” (Luke 24:6, 7)

Did you catch that?

The angel reminds them of something Jesus had taught regarding his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection. Clearly, the women cannot be reminded of something UNLESS they were there when it was originally taught.

This just underscores an often overlooked detail of Jesus’ ministry and the make-up of his cast of followers. They weren’t all men! There were most assuredly women, some of whom are mentioned in this encounter with the angel at the empty tomb. In fact, not only were there a number of women among Jesus’ followers, but according to Luke 8:1-3, many of these women were supporting Jesus and his disciples through their own resources.

It’s easy for some to dismiss the validity and authority of Scripture because of a dissatisfaction with how women in the Ancient Near East culture were portrayed. However, there is no denying that Jesus substantially elevated the role and prominence of women relative to the culture of the time. Not only were women among some of His most devoted followers but it is women, not men, who initially discover the empty tomb and announce the resurrected Jesus to the rest of His followers.

Reflection

How would you go about defending the resurrection to someone who disputed it?

What do you think is the reason why women were the first ones to discover the empty tomb?

What are some of the issues in the Bible that challenge your belief that it is God-inspired?

What difference does it make to you to know that women were part of Jesus’ followers and were exposed to his teaching, healing and miracles, just as the 12 disciples were? In what ways does this change or impact your understanding of Jesus and the role women play in ministry?

 

Image by Ken Williams from Pixabay

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An Ancient Example of Cancel Culture

Esther 3

1Some time later, King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite to prime minister, making him the most powerful official in the empire next to the king himself.  2All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.  3Then the palace officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?”  4They spoke to him day after day, but still he refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai’s conduct, since Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.  5When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage.  6So he decided it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Since he had learned that Mordecai was a Jew, he decided to destroy all the Jews throughout the entire empire of Xerxes.  7So in the month of April, during the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign, lots were cast (the lots were called purim) to determine the best day and month to take action. And the day selected was March 7, nearly a year later.  8Then Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire. Their laws are different from those of any other nation, and they refuse to obey even the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.  9If it please Your Majesty, issue a decree that they be destroyed, and I will give 375 tons of silver to the government administrators so they can put it into the royal treasury.”  10The king agreed, confirming his decision by removing his signet ring from his finger and giving it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite—the enemy of the Jews. 11“Keep the money,” the king told Haman, “but go ahead and do as you like with these people.” (Esther 3:1-11, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Have you heard of this social phenomenon called “cancel culture”? It’s when someone commits an offense, whether intentional or unintentional, that so offends another person that they seek retributive justice in the form of public shaming and ridicule, often for the purpose of seeking a viral response of outrage that might lead to larger consequences, such as loss of job or livelihood.

As I read the third chapter of Esther, it occurred to me that this phenomenon of cancel culture isn’t new. In fact, it has existed for centuries, even millennia.

Haman is actually an ancient example of cancel culture. He gets so offended by the fact that Mordecai won’t bow to him that he decides that it’s not enough to punish Mordecai, but Haman decides to eradicate, erase, yes CANCEL, anyone even associated with Mordecai. (Does this sound familiar?) Hence, Haman approaches the king and arranges for the execution of all Jews throughout the empire on a determined date about a year into the future.

What motivates a person to want to completely cancel or even eradicate another person or race? Verse 5 gives a clue as it says that Haman was “filled with rage.”

Unfortunately, we live in a culture where many people are filled with rage. We can easily become offended and demonstrate unloving and unforgiving behavior towards others (see my post on January 3, 2021 regarding “Online Interactions”). When offended, our tendency is to react and seek immediate justice instead of slowing down and responding in a loving and gracious way.

Cancel culture is real and it’s a symptom of a greater problem – humankind’s sinfulness and self-centeredness. Contrary to what we might think, it’s been around for a long time, and I suspect it won’t be going away any time soon!

Reflection

When have you experienced cancel culture, either as the recipient or initiator?

What issues might cause the kind of outrage in you that would lead to wanting to cancel others?

How can you invite the Lord to develop within you the kind of heart that would demonstrate love, grace and forgiveness to others?

 

Photo by Markus Winkler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-typewriter-with-the-word-cancel-culture-written-on-it-18500633/