Esther put on her beautiful royal apparel and went into the court before the king’s throne. If anyone did this without being invited, one of two things must happen to them: If the king held out his golden scepter (a golden rod) towards the individual, it was a sign that they had obtained his royal grace and favor and that they were able to come into his presence without fear. If the king did not hold out his golden scepter, the individual was put to death because he had not obtained favor from the king.
When the king saw his beautiful queen standing in the court before the throne, he held out his golden scepter to her and she was invited to come into his presence. The king was so happy to have Esther in his presence that he offered to give her anything that she wanted, even to the half of his kingdom!
Esther’s request was very simple. She invited the king and the wicked Haman to come to a banquet which she had prepared for the king. Haman was very happy when he heard that he had been invited. But as he went home from the palace he saw Mordecai, who refused to pay any honor to this wicked man. Haman was so furious that he had a gallows built on which he intended to hang Mordecai, the faithful Jew.
Before we learn more about our story, we will rest so that you can find the following verses.
1. The Bible describes David as having a ____________ countenance. Samuel was to anoint him to be king over Israel. 1 Samuel 16:___
And
2. Though God was going to destroy the whole world with a flood because of the wickedness of men, Noah found ____________ in His sight and was spared. Genesis 6:___
But
3. Under the Jewish law that God had given them, a man could not be put to ____________ except at the witness of two or three witnesses.
Deuteronomy 17:___
At
4. A godly Jew named Caleb promised to ____________ his daughter as wife to the man who would defeat some of the enemies of the people of God.
Joshua 15:___
And
5. Nehemiah gave the responsibility of ruling over Jerusalem to a godly and ____________ man named Hananiah. Nehemiah 7:___
That
EVEN A
CHILD IS KNOWN
BY HIS DOINGS.