Thought for Today: Shabbat May 13:

Miracles are instantaneous, they cannot be summoned but come of themselves., usually at unlikely moments and to those who least expect them. And remember, no-one can arrive from being talented alone. Only YHVH gives talent, and work transform talent into genius.

SERIES O --- RETURN TO THE LAND --- LESSON 20

THE KING’S SCEPTER

HAMAN’S DEFEAT AND ESTHER’S VICTORY

From Esther 7-8

Once again, the king and Haman came to a banquet with Queen Esther. While they drank wine together, the king asked, [What is your wish, Queen Esther? I will give you whatever you want, even as much as half of my kingdom.] [If I have won your favour, O king, and if it pleases you, spare my life and the lives of my people,] she answered. [We have been sold to be destroyed, to be murdered and slaughtered. Had we been sold as slaves, I could have kept silent, even though this would bring greater loss to the king than money can repay. [Who is he?] the king demanded. [Where is he? Who would dare do such a thing?] [The enemy is this wicked Haman!] declared Queen Esther. Haman was terrified before the king and queen when he heard this, The king was so angry that he arose from the banquet and went out into the palace garden. Haman, however, remained behind to plead with Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning his destruction. When the king returned to the banquet hall, he found Haman on the couch where Queen Esther was reclining to eat, begging for his life. The sight of Haman on the same couch made the king even more angry. [Is he trying to force the queen in my own house before my own eyes?] the king exclaimed. As soon as he said that, the officials covered Haman’s face, a sign that death was certain. Then Harbonah, one of the officials, said to the king, [Haman built a gallows seventy-five feet high on which to hang Mordecai, the man who saved your life. It is standing in Haman’s courtyard.] [Hang Haman on it!] the king ordered; they hanged Haman on the gallows he had built for Mordecai. At last, the king’s anger calmed, that day King Ahasuerus gave Haman’s home and possessions to Queen Esther. Then Esther told the king how she and Mordecai were related, so the king brought Mordecai before him, took off his signet ring which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman’s house and belongings. Once more Queen Esther came before the king, fell at his feet and begged him to stop the murder of the Jews which Haman had ordered. The king held out his golden sceptre again to Esther and she arose and stood before him. [If it pleases Your Majesty and if I have found favour in your sight, send an order reversing Haman’s decree to destroy the Jews,] she begged. [How can I watch my own people destroyed and my own race brought to ruin?] [I have given Haman’s possessions to Esther and have had him hanged on the gallows because he tried to destroy the Jews,] the king said to Esther and Mordecai. [Now write whatever you think is best, sign it with the king’s name, and seal it with my signet ring, for whatever decree is written in my name and signed with my signet ring is a law that cannot be changed.] The royal scribes were called in, and Mordecai dictated a royal decree to the Jews, officials, governors, and princes of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom from India to Ethiopia. The decree was translated into all the languages of the people. This was the twenty-third day of the third month, the month Sivan, which was the twenty-third of Lily. The decree went out by swift messengers, riding on camels, mules, and horses used in the king’s service. It gave the Jews permission to unite to defend their lives and to destroy all those who had armed to fight them, including women and children, and to seize their property. This was to happen on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar, which was the twenty-eighth of February. The decree also said that its message must be given to all people of the kingdom and that the Jews must be prepared to overcome their enemies on the appointed day. The message went out quickly by messengers on swift horses, speeded by the king’s command, it was issued also in the palace at Susa. Mordecai put on royal clothes of blue and white and a purple linen robe. With a large golden sceptre he went from the king’s presence into the streets of Susa. For the Jews it was a time of great joy and gladness and honour, not only in Susa, but throughout the kingdom wherever the king’s command was heard. Many of the other people of the land now pretended that they were Jews also because they suddenly became much afraid of the Jews.

COMMENTARY

SUSA

The natural climate of the ancient city of Susa in what is now southwestern Iran was one of very mixed quality. Majestic mountains almost circled the city, and provided a shield against frigid winter winds. Snow-fed streams descending those mountains fed the fertile, rich soil. But the same mountains cut off cool northerly breezes for nine months of the year and Susa became hot, parched and breathless. The plant life so abundant in the spring nurtured deadly snakes, and the air was filled with disease-carrying insects. Once the home of elephants and wild cattle as well, the river thickets of Susa sheltered lions, bears, panthers, and other wild creatures. Susa was the scene of the events in the Book of Esther. Today the mound of earth that once was the ancient city covers almost five thousand acres. But this is only a fraction of the great city, which rose and spread over centuries to cover nearly thirty-six thousand acres. The city was built in the shape of a falcon with its wings outspread. The findings of archaeologists reveal that Susa was a fairly well-developed city even in prehistoric times. The earliest known code of law was found there; called the Code of Hammurabi, it was named after a king of that period. The temples and palaces of many different rulers and peoples over many generations were built in Susa, which finally became the capital of the kingdom of Elam. When Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire, conquered Elam, he took possession of Susa. His successor, Darius the Great, restored many of the city’s ancient palaces. He added new royal buildings, some directly on top of an Elamite graveyard. For two centuries, Susa was most important as the administrative capital of the Persian Empire. Filled with people from all over the Empire and from other countries, it rivalled Babylon as the most sophisticated and cosmopolitan city in the area. Since little stone was used in the construction of Susa, most of this once-great city has vanished with time. Even the basic ground plan of the palace is difficult to reconstruct. Only a few crumbling walls, some glazed-brick panels and the carved tops of stone pillars remain. The graves and jars of the dead, buried across much of Susa, bear witness to the great life and creative activity that once flourished on this plain.

Shabbat Shalom Triumph In Truth family!

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live"

De 30

The state of our society is due to our refusal to turn to Yahweh and His Son, Yeshua. Notice the line about "people who hate you will rule over you"

'But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up. 'I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.
(Lev 26:14-17)

This coming week, May 14-20 (23-29 Iyar), the Bible reading plan covers Bamidbar (In the Wilderness).

14 May Numbers 1:1-19 Job 41:1-40:17 Acts 23:23-24:9 Psalm 90:1-17
15 May Numbers 1:20-54 Isaiah 1:1-2:11 Acts 24:10-25:5 Proverbs 24:1-10
16 May Numbers 2:1-34 Isaiah 2:12-4:6 Acts 25:6-27 Proverbs 24:11-22
17 May Numbers 3:1-13 Isaiah 5:1-6:13 Acts 26:1-32 Proverbs 24:23-34
18 May Numbers 3:14-39 Isaiah 7:1-8:22 Acts 27:1-26 Psalm 91:1-16
19 May Numbers 3:40-51 Isaiah 9:1-10:23 Acts 27:27-44 Proverbs 25:1-10
20 May Numbers 4:1-20 1 Samuel 20:18-42 Acts 28:1-31 Proverbs 25:11-20

The complete annual Bible reading plan for 2022-23 (Hebrew year 5783) is available at this link:

https://thebarkingfox.com/2023..../05/12/weekly-bible-

 

thebarkingfox.com

Weekly Bible Reading For May 14-20: Bamidbar (In the Wilderness) - The Barking Fox

This coming week, May 14-20 (23-29 Iyar), the Bible reading plan covers Bamidbar (In the Wilderness). 14 May Numbers 1:1-19 Job 41:1-40:17 Acts 23:23-24:9 Psalm 90:1-17 15 May Numbers 1:20-54 Isaiah 1:1-2:11 Acts 24:10-25:5 Proverbs 24:1-10 16 May Nu