Esther "An Invitation to God's Plan"

586 B.C. – fall of Jerusalem

539 B.C. – Persia conquers Babylon

Persian kings: Cyrus, Cambysus, Darius, Xerxes 1, Artaxerxes 1

538 B.C. – 1st return of exiles under     Ezra (Cyrus)

486-465 B.C. – Xerxes becomes King

Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis

479 B.C. – Esther becomes Queen

458 B.C. – 2nd return to Jerusalem under Ezra (Temple)

445 B.C. – 3rd return to Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Wall)

The Three Feasts

Feast of the King (1-2)

Esther’s rise

Feast of Esther (7)

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 4:14

Feast of Purim (9)

God’s victory through Esther

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 4:14

We will learn:

God is always at work

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place…”

Recognizing God’s invitation to join Him

“…Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Learning how to respond to God’s invitation