Remembering God's faithfulness in the past helps us trust Him in the here and now. Are there ways we can help ourselves remember? Alistair Begg explains how the Jews did that very thing when they instituted the feast of Purim.
20And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, 22as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
23So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. 24For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them. 25But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.2 26Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, 27the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, 28that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.
29Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim. 30Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth, 31that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting. 32The command of Queen Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.
Though God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, this series by Alistair Begg helps us discover that while unseen, God is sovereignly directing the intricate events of this historic drama. The unlikely selection of a young Jewish girl to become Queen of Persia and gain influence with a powerful king is one of many improbable turns in a story that now, over 2,000 years later, is still memorialized by the Jewish people.
In Volume 1 of The Unseen God we meet Esther, her uncle Mordecai, and King Ahasuerus. We rejoice with her as she is crowned queen and watch her trust God when her people faced great danger.
The book of Esther teaches us that God is at work in the details. He directs the actions of every person for His greater purpose. This study challenges us to trust in God’s guiding hand over the smallest of details in our everyday lives and to rest safely in His Providence. For the Unseen God, no circumstance is too insignificant to go unnoticed and no situation is beyond His sovereign power.
Message | ID | Scripture | Buy | Free |
---|---|---|---|---|
Introducing Esther, Part One
ID: 2956
|
2956 |
Esther 1:1-9 |
CD DVD | |
Introducing Esther, Part Two
ID: 2957
|
2957 |
Esther 1:1-9 |
DVD CD | |
Wine, Women and Self
ID: 2958
|
2958 |
Esther 1:10-2:4 |
CD DVD | |
Providence
ID: 2959
|
2959 |
Esther 2:1-23 |
CD DVD | |
Mordecai and Esther
ID: 2964
|
2964 |
Esther 2:5-23 |
CD DVD | |
God is in Charge
ID: 2965
|
2965 |
Esther 3:1-15 |
CD DVD | |
Fasting, Weeping, Lamenting
ID: 2973
|
2973 |
Esther 4:1-11 |
CD DVD | |
What's Going On?
ID: 2972
|
2972 |
Esther 4:12-17 |
CD DVD | |
Complete volume: | 11701 | USB CD Series DVD Series MP3 CD Series |
Though God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, this series by Alistair Begg helps us discover that while unseen, God is sovereignly directing the intricate events of this historic drama. The unlikely selection of a young Jewish girl to become Queen of Persia and gain influence with a powerful king is one of many improbable turns in a story that now, over 2,000 years later, is still memorialized by the Jewish people.
In Volume 2 of The Unseen God, we see His hand of Providence at work as Esther and Mordecai use wisdom and truth to deliver the Jews from danger. As they trust Him in an impossible situation, He uses their obedience to bring about His will.
The book of Esther teaches us that God is at work in the details. He directs the actions of every person for His greater purpose. This study challenges us to trust in God’s guiding hand over the smallest of details in our everyday lives and to rest safely in His Providence. For the Unseen God, no circumstance is too insignificant to go unnoticed and no situation is beyond His sovereign power.
Message | ID | Scripture | Buy | Free |
---|---|---|---|---|
O Father You are Sovereign!
ID: 2974
|
2974 |
Esther 5:1-14 |
CD DVD | |
The Unseen Hand of God
ID: 2979
|
2979 |
Esther 6:1-14 |
CD DVD | |
Haman is Hanged!
ID: 2981
|
2981 |
Esther 7:1-10 |
DVD CD | |
Celebration Time
ID: 2982
|
2982 |
Esther 8:1-17 |
CD DVD | |
The Tables Are Turned
ID: 2985
|
2985 |
Esther 9:1-19 |
DVD CD | |
Remember, Remember!
ID: 2986
|
2986 |
Esther 9:20-32 |
CD DVD | |
Mordecai was Great
ID: 2988
|
2988 |
Esther 10:1-3 |
CD DVD | |
Complete volume: | 11702 | USB CD Series DVD Series MP3 CD Series |