Esther

So I just read the book of Esther in the Bible. It's such a great story. Whether or not you're a Christian or even religious, it is a must read. Today as I was reading it again on the subway, I thought of how fun it would be to read it to children at a library (in the children's version of course). There's love, humor, action, and lots of great irony. It's written like a great legend. I believe that it is.
One really interesting part I noticed this time came at the end(if you haven't read it yet, go and take 20 min. to read it right now!). When the Jews are able to defeat their enemies all over the kingdom, it says that they were given the plunder of their enemies (8:11), but they ended up not touching it (9:16)! What happened to all that plunder??? Well, when Mordecai tells all the Jews to celebrate the two days of relief from their enemies, he tells them to feast, give presents of food,...and to give gifts to the poor (9:22). Where did the poor enter the picture. I wasn't there and the story doesn't specifically say this, but it looks like they would celebrate by giving gifts to the poor, because that's what they did with all the plunder when they defeated their enemies. What would cause these exiles in a foreign land not to take advantage of all the plunder? The followed Yahweh. They were different. God cares about the poor, so they did too (so much that they gave gifts to the poor - others - as part of their celebration! That sounds like a really neat idea - give to the poor when you have a celebration). The Jews are painted as very different in Esther. Mordecai doesn't bow down to Haman. Before Haman's demise, his wife tells him: "Since Modecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him" (6:13). When the Jews were given permission to fight for themselves, "many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them" (8:17). Wow! When the day came for the showdown between the Jews and their enemies, people were afraid of them, and all the king's officers supported the Jews (9:2, 3). The Jews were different. Even though "God" isn't mentioned in the story, He's all over the place working for the favor of his people. I could go on, but what a great story of God's work through his people to ultimately bring our hope, Jesus.
What's your favorite part of the story? Go ahead, leave a comment!