Dec 2, 2022
ESTHER 9-10:
We have heard
how Esther’s request was granted, the king and Haman came to the
second banquet, where Esther revealed her identity. The eunuch
Harbona just happened to have pertinent information about Haman’s
plans for Mordecai, and Haman was killed and impaled/hanged on the
pole he had planned to use for Mordecai. Mordecai, coming into
possession of the king’s signet ring, wrote an edict that allowed
for the Jews to organize and defend themselves against their
enemies.
ISAIAH 43:
In Isaiah 42 we heard twice about ‘the servant of the Lord’. The
first passage is quoted in the New Testament about Jesus. However
in the second, the servant (singular) pictures the people of
Israel. Before Christ came, the Jews would have read the first
section understanding it also to refer to the people of Israel.
This intentional vagueness is one of the ways God used to reveal
his message to us in this age and conceal it before the time for
revealing had come.
2 Timothy 1:
This is Paul’s final letter, and it is also the last letter from
Paul we will read this year. This letter includes some practical
instructions for Timothy’s ministry. It also includes precious
statements about the inspiration of Scripture and the Lord’s reward
for obedience and endurance. I love this letter because it is so
very personal. Paul was in a very different imprisonment, not under
house arrest. He knew his time on earth was short. So each personal
message to ‘his son’ Timothy is moving and precious.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.