Tuesday, July 7, we begin a new book; namely, that of Esther—a book of much interest from several view-points. Esther was a Jewish maiden, the niece of the Benjamite Jew, Mordecai. The Persian name is Hadassah, meaning "Myrtle," while Esther means "Star." Because of her beauty she became the queen of the Persian king Xerxes who reigned from 480 B.C. to 465 B.C. Note these features connected with the book:
1. It records the history of a crisis in the lives of the people of God. Because of the wickedness of the Amalekites the Lord had sworn that there would be war between Himself and Amalek from generation to generation. There seemed to be the greatest bitterness among all the Amalekitish people toward the Jews. The reason for this is not given. It may have been jealousy; it may have been their first defeat thru Israel. At any rate that hatred was inculcated to all generations. If Saul had obeyed the voice, the Amalekitish people might have been utterly scattered. This would have been a blessing to the nations, but Saul did not, and the people became strong; so there seems to have been many of them scattered thruout the Persian kingdom in the days of Esther. Among them was Haman, a descendant of Agag, one of the king's counselors, who in his hatred of the Jewish people determined to destroy them, and by his influence over the king succeeded in obtaining a decree to that end.
2. The book was written to show how God saved His people from these plottings, and also to show the origin of the feast "Purim," from the word "Pur" (lot), "casting of lots." See the ninth chapter of the book.
3. The book does not mention the name of God nor use any pronoun referring to the Deity. The reason for this is thought to be that had the name of God been mentioned, it would have stirred up unnecessary hatred and prejudice on the part of the idolaters. The people of God would understand it written as it is, while the enemies of the Jews could take no advantage of it to bring persecution upon them.
Matthew Lessons
By Editor
Our lessons in Matthew will speak for themselves. Any questions which may arise concerning them we shall be glad to answer to our band members.