Esther

Hey, all! My mom suggested today that I do a ladies week. I agreed, so Wednesday will be Mary and today is Esther! I'm really excited for this one, because I love Esther's story. Here goes! These first paragraphs are getting shorter.

Esther starts with Xerxes having a big party. A really expensive one with lots of rulers and nobility. Well Xerxes is a tad bit drunk, and he calls for his wife, Vashti. She says no. Xerxes gets angry, so he banishes her from his presence and gets a new wife. But there's so many beautiful young ladies to choose from! How can he pick the perfect bride? He holds a contest for 'Miss Persia.' Or at least that's how it seems. Now Esther (first named Hadassah) was an orphan, brought up by her cousin Mordicai. She was taken to Hegai, who was in charge of the women, and he immediately liked her. He gave her special treatments, food, seven attendants from the palace and moved her to the best room. Hegai's care had worked, because Xerxes chose her over all the others. So Esther became 'Miss Persia.'

Mordicai sat at the palace gates, and one day he overheard a certain conversation. It was a conversation between two of Xerxes's officers about a plot to assassinate the king. Mordicai told this plot to Esther, who relayed it to Xerxes, making sure to tell him that it was Mordicai who found it out. Well, the king wasn't happy about this and had the officers impaled.

But not everyone liked Mordicai. Haman, one of the king's advisors, wasn't happy with Mordicai because he didn't bow to him. So he decided to have a decree made to kill all of the Jews. This was very bad news for Mordicai and he went into mourning. Esther asked someone to find out why he was so depressed. Esther is told about the decree and Mordicai tells her that she has to plead to Xerxes to change his mind. Esther goes to the king, and asks him to come to a banquet she made for him and Haman. At the banquet, Xerxes asks what she wants, and she tells him that she will answer that if he and Haman will attend another banquet tomorrow. Xerxes consents, probably wondering why she was acting so strangely. We have seen in the past that Xerxes is perhaps not the most patient man, but when in comes to Esther, he waits very patiently. I think that's interesting. Well that day Haman went home quite happy. That is, until he sees Mordicai. He boasts to his friends and family and tells his wife how much he hates Mordicai. She, being a completely decent person, tells him to have the king impale him on a pole.

Meanwhile, the king is not sleeping well, so he decides to do a little reading about his life. He comes across the plot for his assassination and thinks that Mordicai should be honored. Ironically he asks Haman what to do about it. Haman tells him, thinking that Xerxes was talking about him. So Mordicai is honored, then he goes back to mourning at the gates. Next day, the banquet is prepared, and Esther tells Xerxes everything. He decides to have Haman impaled on the pole that he set up for Mordicai. (Oh, the irony.) The decree is called off and, thanks to Esther and also Mordicai, the Jews were saved once again. (That seems to be a recurring theme in the bible.) She made a difference by saving her people. And she started out as a poor orphan.

Sarah