Daily Bible Reading “What is PURIM?” (Esther 9:26-32)

What is PURIM?

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Esther 9:26-32. PURIM is a Jewish holiday which was established during the days of the book of Esther to commemorate God’s deliverance of the Jewish people.

It is a day of celebration where the book of Esther is read in the synagogues. There are parties where people dress up in costumes. They give gifts to the poor and to each other. It is a day of celebration including big family feasts.

The PURIM celebration has been passed down from generation to generation and is still celebrated today. PURIM is celebrated on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar according to the Hebrew calendar.

Therefore, the date changes from year to year according to Gregorian calendar. They also make cookies called Hamantaschen, which may be called “Haman’s Hats” or ”Haman’s Ears.”

Have you ever been to a PURIM Celebration? Why not plan to have one at the end of this Bible study? It would be especially fun if you are doing this Bible study with a group.

But, you could have a PURIM Celebration with your family. I have included some suggestions for your PURIM Celebration along with a recipe for Hamantaschen cookies in the back of this book.

I have never been interested in history that much, but since doing these Bible studies and learning how there are traditions and other things which have been passed down from generation to generation since biblical times I have become more interested in history, especially biblical history. Do you find biblical history interesting?

 

Daily Bible Reading:

Esther 9:26-32

26 Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them,

27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;

28 And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

30 And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth,

31 To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.

32 And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

 

Things to think about:

  • Do you find it interesting that special days which were established in biblical times are still celebrated today?
  • What are some other holidays that were established in biblical times that are still celebrated today?
  • What holidays do you celebrate and why do you celebrate them?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank You for the book of Esther and the lessons we learn from reading and studying it. We thank You that we can see Your sovereignty throughout the book. Thank You that we see there are certain days appointed in biblical times which are still celebrated today, such as PURIM. Help us to know You are in control and You will work things out for our good and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

-Excerpt from: PURIM Celebration: 28 Daily Devotionals by Deborah H. Bateman and Friends

If you have never read the story of Esther and how and why Purim was first started check out my book:

The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor

 

The Jewish people will be celebrating Purim this week. Purim 2021 starts Friday evening February 26 and ends on Saturday evening February 27.

PURIM Celebration: 28 Daily Devotionals

by Deborah H. Bateman and Friends

Go to: http://bookShow.me/B00B8X1SAE

Get your copy now!

 

Featured Book:

PURIM Celebration: 28 Daily Devotionals

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

PURIM Celebration: 28 Daily Devotionals is a Daily Bible Reading Study Book by Deborah H. Bateman and friends. It is a compilation of 28 Daily Devotionals by Deborah and fourteen of her author and writer friends.

Purim is a holiday that was started back in the days of Queen Esther and is still celebrated today. Deborah took the letters of PURIM and created categories for the contributors to write about:

• P=Praise
• U=Un-forgiveness or Forgiveness
• R=Relationships
• I=Inspirational
• M=Marriage

One of the traditions of Purim is giving gifts to the poor. In light of that tradition we have decided that a portion of the proceeds of this book will go to charity.

PURIM Celebration was originally created as part of Deborah’s Book Launch for her book: The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor which was published in 2012.

PURIM Celebration includes devotionals from: Mary Pacheco, Penny Zeller, Katherine Harms, Dave Moore, Marlo Schalesky, Judith Robl, Lynn Dove, Buffy Crabtree, Deborah McCarragher, Shawn Lamb, Serge Roux-Levrat, Lily Brenner, Heidi Faith, and Lisa Buffaloe. The book is edited by Lisa Lickel, one of my friends in the John 3:16 Networking Group.

Some of the contributors are from the John 3:16 Network Marketing group Deborah belongs to. Some of the writers are from a coaching program that Deborah participates in. One of the authors is from the Palmetto Christian Writer’s Network Deborah is a member of. The rest of the writers and authors are friends Deborah has made over the past few years online.

Go to: Amazon

Get your copy now!

 

Click Here to Subscribe to Deborah H. Bateman author site to receive

Daily Bible Reading Lessons in your inbox.

 

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life

Daily Bible Reading “God is in Control” (Esther 3:1-7)

godGod is in Control

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Esther 3:1-7. King Xerxes promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite above all the princes. Today, we may call this position Prime Minister.

All the king’s servants bowed to Haman as the king commanded, except Mordecai, who refused to honor Haman. You see, Haman was a descendent of Agag, who was king of the Amalekites. These people were Israel’s enemy for generations. They hated the Jews, who were God’s chosen people.

Exodus 17:14-16

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

The king’s servants noticed Mordecai wasn’t bowing to Haman daily when he entered the king’s gate. So, they asked him why he wouldn’t bow to Haman, and he told them it was because he was a Jew. The servants told Haman what Mordecai said. When Haman noticed Mordecai wasn’t honoring his position of authority by bowing to him, it made Haman very angry.

Haman hadn’t even noticed this until the king’s servants pointed it out to him. He was probably angry because he felt like Mordecai disrespected him in front of all the other servants. It probably hurt his pride.

Haman not only decided to punish Mordecai for not bowing down to him, but because of his hatred for the Jews, he decided to have all the Jews in all the provinces killed. Don’t you think that was a bit extreme? It was now the first month, which is called Nisan, of the twelfth year of King Xerxes’ reign.

They cast pur, or a lot which was something like tossing a dice, to see what day they would kill the Jews. Even though this was the first month when they rolled the dice, so to speak, it came upon the twelfth month. That means there was going to be eleven months in between for God to intervene. Proverbs 16:33 tells us, “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” This is a reminder for us that God is in control.

 

Daily Bible Reading:

Esther 3:1-7

1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
2 And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
3 Then the king’s servants, which were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment?
4 Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.

 

Things to think about:

  • Do you believe that God is in control?
  • Why was Haman angry with Mordecai?
  • What did Haman want to do to punish Mordecai?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for this Scripture in The Book of Esther. It shows us even when people have evil intents against Your people, You are in control. They can only do what You allow, when You allow it. It is comforting as a Christian to know You are always in control of our lives. Help us to know You are working behind the scenes to cause everything to work out for our good and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

This is an excerpt from The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor

If you haven’t already read the book be sure to get your copy now! We will only be sharing a few lessons on this blog. In order to read and study the entire book you will need to get a copy. These first five lessons set the stage for all the drama that will take place in the rest of the book. It is exciting to see how God works things out.

 

Christian Music Video:

PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Please come back again tomorrow and invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

 

Featured Book:

"The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor" By: Deborah H. Bateman

The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor by Deborah H. Bateman is a Daily Bible Reading study of the book of Esther from the Old Testament of the Bible. In the book of Esther, Esther was adopted by her cousin Mordecai. In a series of events and through fasting, prayer and God’s favor Esther was placed in a position to save the Jewish people. Esther was adopted by her cousin Mordecai, who told her maybe she was born for such a time as this.

God puts us all in circumstances where He can use us to further His kingdom and give Him glory, if we are willing and obedient. Esther found her purpose for life. Like Esther you were born for such a time as this.

Go to: Amazon

Get your copy now!

 

Subscribe to Deborah H. Bateman author site to receive

Daily Bible Reading Lessons in your inbox.

 

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

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Daily Bible Reading “One Night with the King” (Esther 2:12-23)

Esther 1One Night with the King

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Esther 2:12-23. The women who were chosen for King Xerxes went through twelve months of purification, six months of sweet odors and six months with oil of myrrh. Don’t you think this was some pretty extensive beauty treatments?

Persia was known for its preparation of brides, including ritualistic baths, plucking eye brows, painting hands and feet with henna, and make-up.

A beautifying paste was put on their entire body to lighten their skin and remove any spots or blemishes. You know they were looking good and smelling sweet after all this pampering.

Each maiden took her turn to go to the king. She was allowed to take anything she wanted with her to the king’s house. She went to spend the night with the king.

Then in the morning she was sent to a second house they had set up for the women, where Shaashgaz, one of the king’s chamberlains, kept the king’s concubines.

The women were not allowed to go to be with the king anymore unless the king asked for her by name. She was never free to marry another man; basically she was sentenced to the life of a widow.

There may have been as many as 400 women and 399 of them ended up with this sentence for the rest of their lives. Only one was chosen to be queen. Can you imagine how anxious these women were about this whole process?

When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai chose for her. Because of Esther’s godliness and beauty she was favored by everyone who saw her.

Psalm 75:6-7

“For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”

Esther was taken to the king’s royal house in the tenth month, Tebeth, in the Jewish calendar, the seventh year of his reign.

The king loved Esther more than all the other women, so much so he placed the royal crown on her head, and crowned her queen in place of Vashti.

Esther found grace and favor in the eyes of King Xerxes. This was not an accident, but part of God’s plan.

The king had a feast for all the princes and his servants to celebrate the crowning of Esther as queen, known as Esther’s feast.

He declared a holiday for all the provinces in honor of Esther and gave gifts with royal generosity. How special do you think Esther felt coming from her background and now to be the queen and be treated as royalty?

When the virgins gathered together for the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. This shows Mordecai had a place of importance in the kingdom.

Esther still did not reveal her background. She kept it a secret, just as Mordecai told her. She still followed his directions, just as she did when she was being raised by him. Esther honored Mordecai by obeying him like she would have her own parents.

Two of the king’s chamberlains were angry and plotted to kill the king. Mordecai overheard their plans and told Queen Esther about them.

Esther told the king what Mordecai heard. It was recorded in the king’s book of chronicles, that the king had the matter investigated and found out it was true, so he had both chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, hanged on a tree.

It was most likely not a hanging with a noose, but a hanging on a tree with a point where the men were in a lot of agony before finally dying. This goes to show us that evil acts always have their consequences.

 

Daily Bible Reading:

Esther 2:12-23

12 Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women:)
13 Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.
14 In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.
15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.
16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.
19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
20 Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.
21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name.
23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

 

Things to think about:

  • Has God ever caused you to be given favor?
  • How did God cause Esther to have favor?
  • Have you ever been honored in any way that would make you feel special like Esther must have felt when the king crowned her and honored her with a feast?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank You in this Scripture we can see the evidence of how You cause Your children to find grace and favor in the eyes of man, so they may be promoted to places of significance. We also see how evil plots against another can be found out and punished. Help us to always be in Your will so we will have Your grace and favor on our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

This is an excerpt from The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor

If you haven’t already read the book be sure to get your copy now! We will only be sharing a few lessons on this blog. In order to read and study the entire book you will need to get a copy.

Christian Music Video:

PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Please come back again tomorrow and invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

 

Featured Book:

"The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor" By: Deborah H. Bateman

The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

The Book of Esther: A Story of Love and Favor by Deborah H. Bateman is a Daily Bible Reading study of the book of Esther from the Old Testament of the Bible. In the book of Esther, Esther was adopted by her cousin Mordecai. In a series of events and through fasting, prayer and God’s favor Esther was placed in a position to save the Jewish people. Esther was adopted by her cousin Mordecai, who told her maybe she was born for such a time as this.

God puts us all in circumstances where He can use us to further His kingdom and give Him glory, if we are willing and obedient. Esther found her purpose for life. Like Esther you were born for such a time as this.

Go to: Amazon

Get your copy now!

 

Subscribe to Deborah H. Bateman author site to receive

Daily Bible Reading Lessons in your inbox.

 

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life