august 18

Just a personal note -- I am in the August edition of Presbyterians Today with this blog! If you are here because of that publicity, welcome and you might want to go to the very first post in December 2011 since it explains the 'rules and regulations'. But then, jump right in where we are now. Don't attempt to catch up. You can read Matthew and Genesis next January!

OT -- Esther 1:1-3:15
Esther, my favorite book in the whole Bible.
Sort of weird book to be a favorite.
But I have always loved it since I discovered it in my first 'read thru the Bible in a year' when I was 14. Yes, I have attempted this before. But every time I would get to an icky place, I would simply skip over it. I distinctly remember getting to Esther just before school let out in early June and this is middle August. You can see how much Bible I skipped.
Esther almost did not make it into the Protestant Bible. It was deeply disliked by Martin Luther and John Calvin had no use for it whatsoever.
But I love it. I love it because it clearly shows that God can take whatever your gift -- even if is only being pretty -- and use it for His glory.
Let's dive into it.
The story of Esther is the story of Purim, one of the holidays that are celebrated in mid October by the Jewish people. It is the story of how one man, Haman, hated one Jew, Mordecai, so much that he (Haman) decided to kill all Jews. Being the 2nd in command of the King of Persia, Haman had a brief chat with the king and thus sets into motion our story.
There are plot twists. In order for our beautiful heroine to get there, the King, Xerxes, has to get rid of his current queen, Vashti, and select our girl from the runway of virgins that are paraded for him for his benefit.
The back story on the runway is just as fascinating. Apparently, Esther is not only beautiful, but she is sweet and good and gets the head eunuch Hegai, on her side. Hegai, being the insider that he is, knows all the king's proclivities and dolls his girl up nice and pretty just the way the king likes them. And she wins the contest, becomes queen and without acknowledging her religion (apparently, that was not pillow talk for a king) helps save his life by reporting an assassination plot that her uncle had overheard.
All of this happens in 3 chapters! What's not to love?

NT -- 1st Corinthians 11:17-34
I had forgotten that our oh, so famous words of institution for the Lord's Supper came immediately after Paul chastises the Corinthians for their worship services that 'do more harm than good'. Wow!
And another church doctrine is immediately following "a man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup." Confessional. And in some cases by someone other than himself.

Proverbs 21:19-20
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
Well, now we have a desert. A few days ago, it was the edge of the roof. I am not sure if the writer of Proverbs was experiencing marital discord at this particular junction or if this was accidental.
In any respects, quarreling spouses do play havoc on home life.

May your home be peaceful.