29 Jul (Esther 1)

The book of Esther is believed to have been written by Esther's cousin, Mordecai. After King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, not all of them went...many stayed in Persia. Esther and Mordecai were among them, and God used them to save His people.

In Hebrew, the name Esther means "Something Hidden." What we don't notice right away, is that God is hidden all throughout this book! In fact, the name of God is not mentioned once!

But just as in our lives today, God is always there, and He's working in our lives. Esther is only one of two books named after a woman...Ruth being the other. Both women were brave, but they were also submissive to God's commands, and they let God use them for His purposes.

Esther 1

(v.10) The king was drunk with wine, and he ordered his wife, the queen, to dance provocatively for all the guests. She refused, and he denounced her title to the throne.

The "wise men" feared that if the other women of town heard that the queen stood up to the king, then they would do the same. The queen had to be made an example to all the women, that they were to be subservient.

One thing I teach my daughters, is that God does have men and women serve roles in society, and in the family. The man is to be the head of the household. But as we know, a man needs to have a good woman in order to be a good man! The wife is to allow the husband to make the major decisions, but I believe that he should always do that with fervent prayer and discussion with his wife.

The most controversial verses in the Bible are the ones where it says that wives should submit to their husbands.

Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the LORD

~Eph 5:22

The best way to describe this to our young girls, is to picture the model of Christ as the Bridegroom, and the Church as His Bride. Christ is our authority, and He provides and loves His Bride...the Church. As His Bride, we Christians are to submit to Him, and let Him make the big decisions in our lives.

But one thing men seem to forget, is that even though we are given the authority of the house, we are to submit to our wives as well. If we read on in the book of Ephesians, it says this:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself for her. ~Eph 5:25

As a general rule, the man should lead the home, but the woman helps and has a huge influence with the children and management of the house. This is like the Bride, when united with the Groom in heaven, we will rule and reign with Him as kings and priests Rev 5:10...and we shall see Him as He is for we will be like Him. 1 John 3:2

In the end, we all have our roles, but in the eyes of the Father, we are equally loved, honored and respected.