Posted on 09/13/2008 12:58:09 AM PDT by GVnana
He was trying to goad her into saying something about Iran which would have diplomatic and international relations fallout and then the opposition could then pounce on it as an example of her lack of international experience. Sort of like what Obama did when he talked of attacking Pakistan. She just repeated her first response back in his face to each of the lures. She saw the trap and avoided it.
Don’t see Maccabees in this list, not that it matters. Don’t understand the comment.
God is really good at arranging things like that at the last minute.
Praise the Lord!
I love that picture. I didn’t know what you said, but when I scrolled by, I just had to laugh! That lady was a good actress.
The interplay between Aunt Esther and Sanford was one of the best in TV history.
> Why? It is an inspirational story.
Maybe so. Seeing how you asked, tho’ — here it is as I was taught:
> “God may have placed you in this position for such a time as this.”
That’s not quite what Esther 4:14 says, is it? In my Bible, God isn’t mentioned — at all, in the entire book. Moreover, subsequent writings are silent on it: Christ never cites it (he cites plenty of other OT writings tho’)
It is also clear that neither Mordecai nor Esther prayed for guidance or deliverance. Instead, they resorted to political intrigue to solve their problems.
So to interpret whether what was done was good or bad, we are left with using the rest of the Bible for guidance.
> It is all about rising to the challenge to do what is right even if it might mean great personal risk
It is also about seeking revenge against your enemies, which is not a lesson that Christ endorsed.
It is also the first instance in the Bible where the Jews saw fit to establish a holy day without God being involved in it. They did so again, I believe, for Hanukah.
Well, you asked! Ezra and Nehemiah are similarly problematic.
Just, imagine, Jesus celebrated Purim and Hanukkah!
Wheat and tares, driving the money changers from the Temple. Proof that Jesus was not a pacifist.
There’s a difference between self defense while in danger and cold, calculated revenge. There’s also the admonition in Matthew 10:16. Esther and Mordecai were certainly wise as serpents and used the enemy’s nature against him to protect the Jews (Matthew 13). And, thank the Lord, Esther wasn’t one to remain a silent woman.
> Just, imagine, Jesus celebrated Purim and Hanukkah!
There is no record that He celebrated either. If He did, it is likely that it would have been mentioned in the Gospels.
> And, thank the Lord, Esther wasn’t one to remain a silent woman.
There is some question as to whether she existed in the first place. The Persians were meticulous record-keepers, and we have access to much of what they recorded.
> There’s a difference between self defense while in danger and cold, calculated revenge.
In that respect, Esther 9:13-16 is certainly troublesome.
> There’s also the admonition in Matthew 10:16. Esther and Mordecai were certainly wise as serpents and used the enemy’s nature against him to protect the Jews (Matthew 13).
There’s the other side to that verse, tho’ too: it is difficult to assert that Esther and Mordecai were “as harmless as doves”.
No, I look at it and look at it, and the more I do the more I come to the conclusion that the Book of Esther has nothing edifying or enlightening to offer a practising Christian.
If anything it is a disturbing book.
“holy day without God being involved in it.”
Dunno, I see the hand of providence throughout the book of Esther, and, indeed, in the miracle of the oil.
Are they minor holidays? Sure.
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