Follow Me: Esther
Notes
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Overview of Esther
Overview of Esther
Weird book
Set in time of exile
About a woman
God never speaks
Calling and community
Calling and community
Mordecai and others necessary to complete Esther’s goal
Not a one man army
However, Community can be messy, not perfect
We find God’s grace in the messy, everyday lives of his people
Providence and Humility
Providence and Humility
Community helps to discern Esther’s gifts as well as ways she can contribute to Kingdom of God
Community discerns where God is. Where is God in Esther?
The New Revised Standard Version Esther Agrees to Help the Jews
Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.
God at work behind the scenes
Miracles in Bible are extraordinary, not ordinary
Providential guidance the norm for God and us
This view requires humility
We don’t have all the things we have of our own power
We needed others to get where we are
More than that, we needed God to get where we are
God doesn’t call us because we’re “special”
We’re precious and beautiful to God, but not “special”
God doesn’t “need” us because of our gifts, etc. God could do it without us
The New Revised Standard Version Esther Agrees to Help the Jews
For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish.
God doesn’t “need” us, but he prefers to work with and through his creatures.
No need to fear that we could derail God’s plans. We’re not that special, and God isn’t that weak.
This is also, however, a message of encouragement. God is at work for us, even when we don’t see it.
God has already been at work preparing us to follow him and pursue his call even when we don’t know it.
I need a sign
I need a sign
Still raises a question: How does Esther know?
It’s one thing to know that God has prepared us and gifted us with gifts, and another to know how he expects to use those things
You need a sign?
You need a sign?
Pharisees need a sign.