A Study of the Book of Esther

Key Characters:

• Esther-A Jewess, cousin to Mordecai
• Mordecai-from the tribe of Benjamites.  His uncle’s daughter was Esther.
• Haman-In charge of all King Aerxes princes
• King Aerxes-(Ahasuerus) Persian leader when taken over Babylon

Context:

• Approx. 482 B.C.
• Followed the Medes/Persians defeat over Babylon who had conquered Judah around 606 B.C.
• Takes place in city of Susa (near Babylon and the Euphrates river)

Order of Events:

1. King Aerxes wanted Queen Vashti to come to a banquet and show herself before him and the people to display her beauty.  But she refused.  He was very angry and asked his men what he should do to her for disobeying the king. (1:11)
2. Memucan the king’s eunuch told the king that the Queen should not be allowed in his presence any more and that her position should be given to another.  The king made the decree and sent letters to all the other king’s provinces. (1:19)
3. The king’s attendant told the king he should appoint overseers to gather all the beautiful women in the land and bring them before the king to have one appointed to fill the Queen Vashti’s position. (2:3)
4. Mordecai was a Jew from the tribe of the Benjamites, “who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled.” (2:5)
5. Mordecai was raising his uncle’s daughter Esther.  Esther’s parents had died so Mordecai took her in to raise her as his own. (2:7)
6. Esther pleased the king, along with other girls, so he provided her food, cosmetics, 7 maids, and let her stay in the best place of the harem. (2:9)
7. Esther became queen. (2:17)
8. A plot was made by the king’s servants to kill the king.  Mordecai found out about it and told Esther, who in turn, told the king. (2:21)
9. The king found out and hung them both and wrote it down in the government histories book. (2:23)
10. Haman promoted to be in charge of all the princes.  All of them paid homage to him except for Mordecai because he was a Jew.  (3:1)
11. Haman was enraged with anger and plotted to destroy all the Jews.  He went before the king and asked him if he could destroy all the people who do not observe the king’s laws.  The king agreed to be paid for the destruction of the Jews. (3:5)
12. When Mordecai heard this he was very upset and mourned loudly and bitterly. (4:1)
13. Esther found out and tried to send clothes to Mordecai because he had torn his other ones off.  She also sent her servant, Hathach, to find out from Mordecai what the creed said.  Mordecai wanted Esther to go before the king to plead with him. (4:4)
14. Esther’s reply, “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.”  (4:11)
15. Mordecai tells Esther that she might have been made queen for this very reason, to deliver the Jews. (4:13-14)
16. She tells Mordecai to go and tell all the Jews to fast for 3 days for her.  And after the 3 days she will go before the king, “If I perish, I perish.” (4:16)
17. Esther went before the king.  The king extended the golden scepter before her.  She asks the king and Haman to come to a banquet she would prepare for them.  At the banquet she asks them to come to another banquet. (5:1)
18. Haman went out of the king’s gate and saw Mordecai who did not fear him.  He was very angry again but held it in. (5:9)
19. To make himself feel better, Haman called all his friends to brag about how he had been invited by Esther to come to the private banquet between him and king.  Even after all this, he was still not satisfied because of Mordecai. Haman’s wife asked him to build a 50’ gallow.  Then go that morning and hang Mordecai on it.  He liked the idea and went and built it. (5:12-14)
20. The king could not sleep that night so he ordered the government histories book be brought to him.  He began to read where Mordecai had told Esther about the plot against the king and how it saved his life.  He asked his servants if anything has been awarded to Mordecai for this and his servants replied, “Nothing has been done for him.” (6:1)
21. Haman went to the king to speak to him about hanging Mordecai that morning on the 50’ gallow he just built.  As he came in the king asked him what should be done to the man the king desires to honor.  (6:4)
22. Haman thought there would be no better person to honor than himself.  So he told the king to reward him nicely to say the least.  (6:6)
23. After Haman had told the king to honor this mystery person this way, the king told him the mystery person was Mordecai, whom Haman plotted to kill! (6:10)
24. Haman did as the king commanded to Mordecai. (6:11)
25. Haman then went to the banquet in which Esther prepared with the king.  (6:14)
26. Esther pleaded for her life and her people and told the king that Haman was the man who plotted to destroy them.  Haman was scared for his life now. (7:1)
27. The king ordered that Haman be hung on the gallow that he had prepared for Mordecai. (7:9)
28. Mordecai was set over the house of Haman. (8:2)
29. She pleads for the letters that Haman had written to destroy the Jews be revoked. (8:5)
30. The king gave her authority to write what ever she wished and to sign it with the signet ring of the king.  They then sent letters to all provinces, which allowed the Jews to defend themselves against any enemies. (8:8)
31. The Jews were attacked by Haman’s sons because of their anger toward Mordecai and the Jews.  (9:5)
32. Esther pleaded to the king to hang all of Haman’s sons.  The king agreed. (9:13)
33. The Jews made feasts to celebrate the freedom and strength they had. (9:19)

“We must use the opportunities we have to do good even if there is great risk to us because we may have been placed in that position for that express purpose.”—Spencer Miller

“Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.”

-Psalms 37:34