Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 4:15-17

Mordecai';s appeal to Esther that she should look at the situation in the light of God's sovereignty convinces her that she should get to see the king as quickly as possible. As so much is at stake, she wisely decides to enter into a three-day fast and, informing Mordecai of her...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 5:1-2

Esther';s three days of prayer and fasting are over and now she has to approach the king. To come before the king uninvited could mean instant death. But Esther has already concluded that if her people are to be saved, there is no alternative. "If I perish, I perish," she says (4:16)....

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 5:3-8

King Xerxes is so overwhelmed by Esther's stunning beauty that even before she has time to explain why she has come into his presence uninvited, he says: "What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you" (v. 3). Esther, however, makes this proposal: "Will you and Haman attend a banquet later today?"...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 6:1-3

The great King Xerxes, despite his comfortable bed and luxurious surroundings, is unable to sleep! It has nothing to do with the food he has eaten at the banquet. God is at work in his life to see he is kept awake. We ought never to forget that the Almighty can reach into a human heart at any time. Remember how He came to...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 5:9-14

When Haman receives the news that he is invited to a special banquet arranged by Queen Esther, his joy knows no bounds. Arriving at the palace gates, however, and seeing Mordecai standing there so confidently, his joy leaves him. Haman thinks to himself once again: this rebellious Jew will not bow down before me....

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 6:4-14

Haman awakens with a tremendous sense of optimism and well-being. "Today," he muses, "the king will most probably give me a great honor and then I shall be in a position to rid myself forever of the man I most hate - Mordecai the Jew." Having given his carpenters orders to build a gallows, on which he plans to hang...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 7:1-4

No doubt Haman, having suffered so much shame and humiliation, would have preferred to have stayed at home rather than attend the second banquet given by the queen. He knows, however, that to ignore the queen's invitation would only add to his difficulties. So, licking his wounds, he makes his way to the royal affair. As...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 7:3-10

As Esther pleads her case and intercedes most powerfully for the lives of her people, the king is deeply moved. He is not aware at this time of Haman's plan to annihilate the Jews, presumably because Haman has taken great care to draw up the new law in general rather than specific terms. So he asks: "Who is he? Where is...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 8:1-2

With Haman dead, a new day is about to dawn in the great empire of Persia. Esther, recognizing that this is the right moment to introduce her foster-father, Mordecai, to the king, brings him with her into the king's presence. When the king sees for the first time the man who saved his life, he is filled with delight and...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 8:3-17

Esther';s next task is to try to persuade the king to overrule the edict which called for the annihilation of the Jews. This was not as easy as it sounds, however, for the laws of the Medes and Persians were inviolable. Not even the king himself could revoke them once they had been...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 9:1-22

The substance of the new law, introduced to modify the effects of the original edict to annihilate the Jews, was simply this - all Jews could, by every means possible, take up their own defense. When finally the dreaded execution day arrives, those who set out to execute the Jews find themselves in disarray. A strange...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 3:2-5

During the time of the winnowing of the grain, it was customary for the workers to sleep on the threshing-floor. Naomi's carefully formulated plan was designed to work precisely at this point. Her first piece of advice to Ruth is: "Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes" (v. 3). I am not sure that I know how...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 9:23;10:3

The thrilling story of Esther ends with Mordecai being firmly established as Prime Minister of Persia. Historians tell us that under Mordecai's management, the land grew strong and prosperous. He was the right man in the right place at the right time. As you cast your mind back over our recent studies, does not the...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 3:8-9

At midnight Ruth moves in quietly to where Boaz is lying, gently uncovers his feet, and proceeds to lie across them. Boaz is somewhat startled by this act and inquires anxiously: "Who are you?" "I am your servant Ruth," she replies, "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer" (v. 9). By this...