Esther 3 - The Obedient Man
Intro: Play ‘Simon says’; someone calls out instructions, such as: Simon says stand on one leg, Simon says jump up and down, Simon says put both hands on your head, lie on the floor, Simon says wiggle your fingers… When they say ‘Simon says’ before an instruction everyone must follow it; when they don’t say it the instruction should not be followed. In the above scenario the children should have done everything except lie on the floor. You could use different names from your group or from the book of Esther instead of Simon. Then talk about who they should obey and why, and what might be some good reasons not to obey.
Reading: Esther Chapter 3
Discussion Questions:
v1-4 Why doesn’t Mordecai bow to Haman?
v5 Why is Haman so enraged with Mordecai?
v6 Why do you think Haman is angry with all the Jews? (There is some historical beef here, see the Leaders Notes for that discussion)
v7 How can we see that God is still in charge?
v8-9 What is the cost of Mordecai’s decision to worship God alone?
v10-11 Whoses power is on the rise in this chapter and whose is falling?
v12-15 What does the reaction of the city of Susa tell us about what people thought of the Jewish people in Persia?
Who is similar to Jesus in this chapter?
What was the price of Jesus’ obedience? But was it worth it?
What can our obedience to God cost us? Is it worth it?
“Say sorry to God for your own disobedience”
Extra Time: Talk about and pray for those who have to pay a high price for obedience to God. You can learn about the situation for believers in Afghanistan with videos and prayers on the Open Doors website.
Leaders Notes: The history between the Agagites and the Jews begins in Exodus 17:8-16 when the Amelekites attack Israel on their way through the desert to Canaan, it is unprovoked (the Amelekites are never mentioned as one of the peoples living in Canaan who the Israelites will overthrow) and Deuteronomy 25:17-19 gives us the context that Israel seemed like easy targets. So far it has all been Amelekites and we get the connection to the King Agag in 1 Samuel 15. When King Saul is told to attack the Amalekites and kill them all, as they would have done to Israel during the Exodus, he fails to obey God and King Agag is initially captured, although later put to death. The implication is that some of the family of Agag survive and continue to hold a grudge against Israel and Judah until Haman the Agagite sees this opportunity to defeat them permenantly.
Here are some things you can discuss in your groups:
It can be hard to hear that the God we know is loving and willing to die for all also ordered this destruction from Saul. It should be noted that this is a response to an unprovoked attack, that the Kenites are forewarned and not to be hurt, and that the Israelites were never meant to gain anything from the attack.
It is also worth talking about how Saul’s disobedience went on to cause more death and violence later in Esther’s time.
It is good to talk, with each other and with God, about your feelings. Why does so much death and violence feel wrong? How might you have felt as one of God’s people in the time of Moses, Saul or Esther?