1. (Killer) Queen - Week 3. Esther 5:1-6:14. Day 1. Read Esther 5:1-8. 1. Think
about a time when you had a meeting or were waiting on a piece of information ...
(Killer) Queen - Week 3 Esther 5:1-6:14 Day 1 Read Esther 5:1-8 1. Think about a time when you had a meeting or were waiting on a piece of information that would change the course of your future. What did that feel like? 2. What do you think was going on in Esther’s mind the morning she was preparing to go before the King? 3. When Xerxes saw Queen Esther the Hebrew translation literally says, “she lifted up favor in his eyes”. In other words she looked gorgeous. What does Esther’s preparation and the way she looked tell us about Esther’s character? 4. Even though the entire nation of Israel had been fasting for her. Esther leaves nothing to chance. What does this teach us about cooperating with God? 5. Xerxes knows that Esther would not risk her life by appearing in court unless what she wanted to ask was vitally important. Why do you think his reaction to Esther in this situation is so different than his reaction to Vashti? What does this teach us about wisdom? 6. Why does Esther not plead for her people immediately? What does this teach us about Esther? What does this teach us about widom?
Day 2 Read Esther 5:8-14 1. Even though Mordecai’s refusal to bow had put the people of Israel and himself in great danger, he still refuses to bow. What does this teach us about Mordecai? 2. Haman leaves the throne room in high spirits, yet when Mordecai refuses to bow to him he becomes enraged again. What does this statement teach us about what Haman values? 3. What are the differences that we see in Mordecai and Haman at this moment? 4. Haman goes home and spends considerable time boasting about his status. Knowing what we know about the story what does this teach us about the nature of status? 5. How have you valued the same things Haman values? 6. What do we learn about the people Haman surrounds himself with in this passage? 7. What wisdom can we glean from this passage about the people we should surround ourselves with? Day 3 Read Esther 6:1-5 1. Though God is never formally mentioned in the book of Esther, what does this passage reveal to us about God’s involvement in the lives of his people? 2. Why do you think God awoke Xerxes and had him read about Mordecai? 3. The Bible teaches us to, “humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift us up”. How do we see this truth working itself out in this passage? 4. Reflect on a time when your arrogance led to a negative outcome? 5. Reflect on a time when God showed favor to you without your having to seek after it. What was that like? 6. How would God like you to apply today’s passage? 1
Day 4 Read Esther 6:6-11 1. This is one of the more humorous passages in the Bible. What do we learn about how arrogance over reaches itself in this passage? 2. When has you own arrogance led to your looking foolish? 3. Why wasn’t Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman arrogance? 4. How can we tell when we are called to bow or called to stand? 5. How does this great reversal of fortune in the life of Mordecai foreshadow the great reversal that God will bring all in all at the return of Jesus?
Day 5 Read Esther 6:12-14 1. Think about a time when your realized that things were about to go terribly wrong for you. 2. What do you think would have happened if Haman had gone straight to the banquet and repented of his actions to the Jewish people and asked the King to resend the order before Esther had to bring it up? 3. Where could repentance maybe save you from an impending crisis? 4. Why do you think Haman’s friends are incapable of giving him good advice at this point even though his downfall will clearly mean theirs as well? 5. Why are the friends we choose so important? 6. What are a few things God wants you to apply from the passages we read this week?
