Mordecai became someone who the Jews both respected and loved. The reason why is amazing. Verse three of the passage said, "he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace." The reason the people like him was because he truly cared for them.

Jewish Halloween? Yes... You read that right... I should probably mention that one of my friends is a Jewish Rabbi. To this day the Jews still celebrate the holiday of Purim. My Rabbi friend once invited me and my buddy to come to the synagog for their Purim festivities and well... It felt like Halloween...

What I love most about Esther here is that we see her pleading and weeping over the lives of her people. How much do we do that? We have been granted the privilege of bowing before the throne of the King of Kings! How often do we approach him to plead for the lives of others?

The moment has finally come for Esther to make her request to the king. She reveals Haman's plot and Haman is executed on the very gallows he built to hang Mordecai. It's not only the ultimate irony of the story, but it's also the moment where everything is made right.

This has to be one of the best ironies in the whole story so far. Right before Haman tells the king about the gallows built for Mordecai the king decides to honor Mordecai. Haman is forced to honor the man that he is planning on executing!

I have a feeling that if Esther had decided to walk up to the king and tell him her concerns immediately, that it probably wouldn't have gone well. As you already know, timing is everything! Let's admit it, you've probably wanted something from your parents before but decided to wait until the right moment to ask them.

Here in chapter 4 we reach the heart of the story. The Jewish people stand on the brink of destruction and something must be done to save them. Mordecai immediately recognizes the importance of Esther's position. Mordecai knew that Esther could be used by God to save them but he also recognized that God would be the one who would do the saving.

Mordecai, like many other people in scripture lived his life faithfully observing the laws of God. It was important to him that he honored and worshiped God alone. This simple principal set him apart from everyone else.

The search for a queen begins! Historians tell us that they brought in 400 women for this! Think about how small the chances were for Esther! The criteria that the king’s servants came up with at the beginning of the story was pretty shallow. They were simply looking for a woman who is beautiful.

Imagine the wealth of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes)... the lavish decorations, the gold, the fabrics, the gardens, the marble. It would have been something incredible to behold. Many times we like to imagine what it must be like to be rich and famous, but the King's party reveals something about him.