#EstherChallenge – Day 9 Chapter Nine

Hello Beautiful People !

Time for Day Nine! One more day to go, woohooo! Please remember to hashtag #EstherChallenge when you tweet about it. In addition, email estherchallenge@outlook.com with your notes for each chapter, or a summary and I will put it up on this blog page.

DAY NINE- CHAPTER NINE

Main People in this Chapter:

• King Aha (aka King Xerxes which is the Greek name for Ahasuerus)
• Queen Esther (aka Hadassah)
• Mordecai
• The Jews
• The Enemies

CHEEKY SUMMARY by Kanayo: The day of the big fight…this was more than WWE. So the day of the edict had come and the tables had completely turned. The Jews overpowered their enemies, especially because many non-Jews became Jews and the King’s men supported them because of Mordecai who was basically second in command and a Jew himself. The Jews killed 500 men and Haman’s 10 sons (see how the sins of the father follow a generation) on the first day in the city where the palace was situated.

The King asked Esther if she was satisfied with the numbers and whether she wanted anything else. This is where we see Esther behaving as her Hebrew name ‘Hadassah’ implies. She was bitter to the wicked and requested for the war to go on for an extra day and that the bodies of Haman’s 10 sons were to be hanged publically. This request was granted and across the whole of Persia the Jews killed 75,000 men without even taking back their possessions.

After the two day war and their great victory, there was a time of celebration. They rested and rejoiced in the fact that the LORD had delivered their enemies into their hands. This time that was set aside for celebration from year to year is still recognized by the Jews today. The 14th day Adar is about the same as our March. These two days would be established as a day of festivity and giving of gifts to the poor forever. Mordecai sent letters to the Jews all over with the Queens approval, so that they would keep these days each year in memory of this event. This would be a time set aside for unselfish giving to the poor, and a time of festivity throughout the land. God had seen their terrible plight, and turned their sorrow into joy. We must continue to remember, that the Jews had gone into sackcloth, and ashes, and tore their clothes in mourning. They prayed and fasted. It was the answer to these prayers that brought all of this about.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS CHAPTER:

• Esther had another name…Hadassah as we learned in Day 2 of the Challenge. I did my research and found out a few things.

The name Hadassah is derived from the Hebrew word ‘hadas’, a myrtle tree. Just as a myrtle has a sweet smell and a bitter taste, so too Esther was good and listened (“sweet”) to the righteous (e.g. Mordechai), and was adverse (“bitter”) to the wicked as we have seen in this chapter. It shows that she wasn’t just a pretty face, but she was zealous and passionate about the things that concerned her and her family and she would got to extremes to ensure their safety.

I’m not sure if I 100% agree with extending the fighting especially if I personally was faced with this. She probably had her reasons and at the end of the day, the power of God was shown, thats what matters right?

The names of Haman’s sons in Hebrew mean the following:

Parshandatha means “curious self” or “I am curious.”

Dalphon means “weeping self” or “self pity.”

Aspatha means “assembled self” or “self- sufficient.”

Poratha means “generous self” or “self indulgent.”

Adalia means “weak self” or more likely “humble self.” Have you ever known someone who is proud of being humble? Haman must have been like that, going around boasting about how humble he was.

Aridatha means “strong self” or “self assertive.”

Parmashta means “preeminent self” or “self ambition.”

Arisai means “bold self” or “I am bold.”

Aridai means “dignified self” or “I am superior.”

And Vaizatha means “pure self” or “self- righteous.” [4]

All of these were put to death. All of these “selves” were put to death. Isn’t that interesting? Self must die before victory is accomplished. Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Haman’s downfall is nearly complete. Not only is he dead, his plan to annihilate the Jewish people failed miserable, but now all of his sons are dead also, whom he arrogantly named after aspects of himself. Haman’s pride has led to his great downfall.

• It is good to be LOYAL. Mordecai went from Rags to riches because of His loyalty to God and to the King. This same loyalty caused the King’s men to support the Jews in battle. I’ve learnt to continue to be faithful to God regardless, especially in times when it is easy to conform, or its uncomfortable to be different. Be that light in the darkness.
  
• Esther’s purpose fulfilled. “Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this”, Esther 4:14b. You never know what is in the plan of God for your future. Esther was brought to the kingdom, set in as queen, for the purpose of delivering the Jews. That’s why she was chosen, she was a woman for emergency – raised up of the Lord during a time of crisis to deliver His people. This ought to be our attitude and our motive: doing the will of God and finishing that which He calls us to do. This should be our prime purpose in life.

WHAT EVERYONE DOING THE ESTHER CHALLENGE THINKS:

– Jews were victorious, the day set for Their downfall, the lord changed it around.
– They defeated their enemies to the extent that they also hanged hamans 10 sons.
– peace celebration, gladness and feasting was there’s, on the 14th day. There was no more intimidation from their enemies or a chance for the opposition to ever rise up against them again.
– that day, 14th day of Adar, left a mark on their lives, a day they’ll always remember And celebrate With their descendants and generations to come – @ElizFaith