Principal Questions:
- What was the timing and political climate of the story Esther would soon enter?
- In Esther 1, who attended Xerxes’ banquet?
- From your perspective, for what three possible reasons might Vashti have refused King Xerxes’ order?
- What did Memucan advise the king to do?
- How might the thought that “it’s tough being a woman in another woman’s shadow” have proved especially true for wives all over Persia?
PAUSE FOR THINKING
- What are you hoping for as you begin this bible study?
- Describe a time when you toured an estate or attended a party that left you saying something like, “Oh, the …!
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how haunted are you by the pictures of physical perfection that loom nearby?
- When was the last time humor helped you cope?
- The king decreed that every man should be ruler in his own home. Why might such a tactic be hollow and self-defeating?
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