week three is upon us, but i'm going to begin with notes from week two. again, these notes are merely things that popped out to me, and are not necessarily beth's main points. let's review.
day one. although it was perfectly relevant to esther's culture, as i read about the 12-month beauty treatment plan prescribed for the king's 'contestants' it seemed silly and crooked. actually, i guess it's not so different from our society today, with so much emphasis on outward perfection. i was reminded of 1 peter 3.3-4 as i read, where we are given God's completely paradoxical prescription. the ultimate beauty treatment.. 'the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.'
day two. i really enjoyed the exploration of how esther pleased hegai and 'won his favor.' obviously, we don't know the exactness of the Lord's work here.. we are not told how much heart-softening He did in hegai or how much social grace He gave to esther, but we can know for sure that His power was at work in this feat. i was fascinated by the discussion on how esther's good manners and people skills could have played a vital part in her 'gaining kindness.' i had never thought of that before! i also appreciated a couple of beth's points on this topic..
a. 'social graces become a lost art in (an) assert-yourself, say-what-you-think environment.'
i agree. where do tact and sensitivity come into play in a culture that tells us to do and say whatever we like? proverbs 18.2 pops into my mind as i type this.. 'a fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his own opinions.' (emphasis mine)
b. 'one good thing about living in an increasingly crude world is that a woman with manners.. can stand out like a rare gem in a barrel of coal.' yes. so true. the beauty of hospitality, generosity, kindness, compassion, gentle words, and an unselfish attitude is not lost. a woman who possesses these traits will stick out like a sparkling jewel in our world.
day three. i loved being reminded that we have a reason to be thankful, no matter what our trials are today. beth presents the fact that we have 'a righteous King whose commands are always for our good and whose ways are always toward our wholeness. why do we ever doubt Him? He has never left us. He has never sent us anything for our detriment, but rather for our good. He has never been anything but good. He has never not loved us, because He is love. (1 john 4.16)
day four. in this lesson, beth focused on esther's good qualities. we can speculate that she must've had some pretty amazing traits for verse 15 to say 'and esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.' everyone! women, men, servants, fellow contestants. that's quite an accomplishment. it's pretty safe to say that among the other girls up for queen, esther was in a class of her own. maybe like our 'gem' of a woman from lesson two. also in verse 15, we see that esther 'asked for nothing other than what hegai.. suggested.' we can infer from this that esther was wise, she listened to advice, she was humble, attentive, and forbearing, and she showed restraint. i had never considered this act of wisdom before, and it was really fascinating to think about.
day five. here we examine how esther's obedience played a huge role in her winning the queen's crown and staying safe. she submitted to the king's edict when she was initially brought to the citadel, she listened to hegai's directions and followed through, and she obeyed mordecai by keeping her family background unknown, 'for she continued to follow mordecai's instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.' beth brilliantly points out that..
a. 'our culture has strangely confused significance with independence and subservience with weakness. on the contrary, only a person strong in character and steadfast in spirit can follow someone else's instructions for long.'
b. 'those who respect authority, who aren't insulted by instruction, who practice the art of truly listening and who follow through by doing what they're asked' will win favor. not with an impatient and self-promoting attitude, but with a 'simple willingness to follow instructions.'
onto week three..
during chapter three of our study, we will see the plot thicken. there will be a quiet refusal, insulted honor, and stirred up anger. the antagonist of our story will be introduced. there will be evil plans laid out against God's chosen people and the King will go along with them. there will not be a hero.. yet.
but watch and wait. 'He who sent the trial had also graciously ordained a way of escape.' -c.h. spurgeon. we will see Him prevail, as always.
looking forward to another week of studying with you. more soon.
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