Esther and the King. (Esther 1:1
- 2:18)
Esther
was a young Jewish girl from the land of Israel. Her parents had died,
so Mordecai, her uncle, took care of her. Esther and Mordecai were
captured with the people of Israel, and taken away to the land of Persia.
The king of Persia was a very powerful man. Everyone was afraid of him.
When his queen made him angry, he decided to replace her. Then he called
for all the beautiful young girls in his kingdom to come to him. From
among them all, he chose Esther to be his new queen. But Esther told no
one that she was a Jew. (Signal)
Mordecai Refuses to Bow Down. (Esther
3:1 - 4:17)
Haman
was an important man in Persia. All the people had to bow down to him as
he passed by. Mordecai would only worship the One True God. He refused
to bow down to Haman. Haman was angry. He determined to get his revenge
on Mordecai. One day he told the king, "The Jews do not keep the king's
law. Let a law be made that they are to be destroyed." Haman gave the
king money, so that he agreed to his request. Haman told the people that
on a certain day they must kill all the Jews. Haman himself built a
great gallows on which to hang Mordecai. Mordecai told Esther that she
must go to the king and plead for her people. But Esther said, "If
anyone goes to the king without being called, he must die." She asked
the Jews to pray for her. Then she said, "I will go to the king. If I
die, then I will die." (Signal)
God
answered the prayers of the Jews. The king received Esther. She invited
him to a special feast and she invited Haman too. At the feast the king
asked, "Queen Esther, what do you want?" Esther replied, "My wish is
that I may live, for my people and I have been sold to be killed." The
king said, "Who dares to do such a thing?" So Esther said, "Our enemy is
this evil man Haman!" The king was so angry when he heard of Haman's
wicked plans. He had him hanged on the gallows which Haman had prepared
for Mordecai, and all the Jews were saved. Friends, Esther was ready to
die to save her people, but Jesus loves us so much, that He died to save
us all from everlasting death. (Music)