today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 23 June 2014

weird day.  Dear Wife had a doctor appointment set for late morning.  Early morning, a bit after 8 a.m., w got a call from teh doctor office.  The doc is sick.  All appointments cancelled, hers is rescheduled for Friday morning.
Dear Wife was already up, had to be next door to "watch" the beloved grand-niece at 6:45 so mom, Wife's niece, could be out of the house and at work by 7:30.  Niece only works 2 or 3 days a week ever since having the baby, they're not quite in a position for her to quit totally, so having a loving and reliable sitter saves a bunch on child care and ensures a good loving environment.  Wife is disabled, but watching an 18-month-old is something she can do, though sometimes the Little One gets pretty active.  So I went across the back lawn, bearing another cup of coffee, and gave her the Word.  There was no dismay, none at all.
Came home and we took it easy most of the rest of the day.  I'd intended to do quite a bit of work around the place, but the changes kind of took the wind out of my sails.

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The Old Testament reading is chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the book of Esther.  In Jewish circles, her name is given as Hadassah, which was her original name.  You may, if you live in areas with a large Jewish population, encounter someone known as the "Hadassah Lady", from the Women's Zionist Organization of America.  They're generally formidable individuals.  The success of Esther's involvement is still celebrated in Jewish circles as the feast of Purim.

Esther 7

1	So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther.
2	And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
3	Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.
4	“For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”
5	Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?”
6	And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
7	And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.
8	And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.
9	Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.”
10	And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

Esther 8

1	On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
2	And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3	Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews.
4	When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther,
5	Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.
6	“For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”
7	Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews.
8	“But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”
9	The king’s scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language.
10	And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud,
11	saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods,
12	on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
13	A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies.
14	So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king’s service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.
15	Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
16	The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor.
17	And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

Esther 9

1	Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them.
2	The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples.
3	All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.
4	For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.
5	The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them.
6	In Susa the citadel itself the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men,
7	and also killed Parshandatha and Dalphon and Aspatha
8	and Poratha and Adalia and Aridatha
9	and Parmashta and Arisai and Aridai and Vaizatha,
10	the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they laid no hand on the plunder.
11	That very day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was reported to the king.
12	And the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.”
13	And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.”
14	So the king commanded this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.
15	The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed 300 men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder.
16	Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies and killed 75,000 of those who hated them, but they laid no hands on the plunder.
17	This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.
18	But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness.
19	Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another.
20	And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,
21	obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year,
22	as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.
23	So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them.
24	For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them.
25	But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26	Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them,
27	the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year,
28	that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.
29	Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim.
30	Letters were sent to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, in words of peace and truth,
31	that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to their fasts and their lamenting.
32	The command of Queen Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

Esther 10

1	King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea.
2	And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
3	For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

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The New Testament reading is chapter 6 of the Acts.

Acts 6

1	Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
2	And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.
3	“Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
4	“But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5	And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
6	These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
7	And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
8	And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.
9	Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.
10	But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
11	Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
12	And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,
13	and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,
14	“for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
15	And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 22 June 2014

a bit late and more than a bit brief.
Dear Wife over-did it yesterday.  We got home from the street fair before dark, and hadn't gone over until mid-afternoon.  But it was still too much.  But needed.  This is one of those affairs that is The Event Of The Year in that small town.  Her late father had several times been president of the service club (Lions) that puts the thing on, many years ago.  He died in 1992 and had been pretty much an invalid for years before then, so this was a LONG time ago.  But in that area, with few people leaving and fewer moving in, he was still remembered and so was she.  Just tough reconnecting after having been living a long way off for the better part of 22 years.    Faces change in 22 years, believe me.  Lots of faces that might be someone you once knew, but aren't so sure of now.  It's a strain, but also a Big Deal for her.
But she over-did it, and spent most of the day in bed.  Fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and migraine as well. 
I went off to church services alone. 

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The Old Testament reading is chapters 4, 5, and 6 of the book of Esther.  Verse 14 of chapter 4 is one of those verses that captures a whole lot of meaning in a few words. 

And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Sometimes the Lord puts us in situations or with people for a specific reason.  I have ceased to believe in coincidence, I've too often seen how the most improbable situations led to unforeseen results that could have come about in no other way, and from circumstances we would not have arranged.  Been there.  Am there.

The music to accompany this is here.

Esther 4  Back to Top

1	When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
2	He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth.
3	And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4	When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
5	Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.
6	Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate,
7	and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
8	Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people.
9	And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
10	Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say,
11	“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law–to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
12	And they told Mordecai what Esther had said.
13	Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
14	“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
15	Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,
16	“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
17	Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Esther 5  Back to Top

1	On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace.
2	And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
3	And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”
4	And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.”
5	Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared.
6	And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
7	Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is:
8	“If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”
9	And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.
10	Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh.
11	And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king.
12	Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king.
13	“Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
14	Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

Esther 6  Back to Top

1	On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
2	And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
3	And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”
4	And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
5	And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.”
6	So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”
7	And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor,
8	“let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set.
9	“And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’”
10	Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.”
11	So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”
12	Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.
13	And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”
14	While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.

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The New Testament reading is verses 17-42 of Acts 5

Acts 5:17-42

17	But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy
18	they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.
19	But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,
20	“Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”
21	And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22	But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,
23	“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”
24	Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.
25	And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”
26	Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
27	And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them,
28	saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
29	But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
30	“The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
31	“God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32	“And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33	When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them.
34	But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.
35	And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men.
36	“For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.
37	“After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
38	“So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail;
39	“but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,
40	and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41	Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
42	And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Today's Readings -- 21 June 2012

A new day dawns.  Perhaps it will be a good one.

This morning's reading begins the book of Esther, chapters 1, 2, and 3.  Our Jewish friends refer to the person for whom this is named by her Hebrew name, Hadassah.  If you have lived in areas with a sizable Jewish population (which we have) or have ties into that community (which we do), then you have probably encountered what we used to refer to as "the Hadassah lady", a representative of the Hadassah organzation.  Such ladies tend to be very assertive.
Yet in tomorrow's post from this work, we will see one of the great, pithy statements in Scripture, and a reminder that the Lord is always up to something, and can use us to accomplish His purposes.  Even in what appear to be terrible circumstances.

Esther 1

1	Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
2	That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,
3	In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:
4	When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.
5	And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace;
6	Where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble.
7	And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.
8	And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
9	Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
10	On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,
11	To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.
12	But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
13	Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment:
14	And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king's face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;)
15	What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?
16	And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
17	For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.
18	Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king's princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath.
19	If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.
20	And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.
21	And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
22	For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.

Esther 2

1	After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.
2	Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:
3	And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:
4	And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.
5	Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
6	Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
7	And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
8	So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
9	And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women.
10	Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.
11	And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
12	Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)
13	Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house.
14	In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.
15	Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.
16	So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17	And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
18	Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.
19	And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate.
20	Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.
21	In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
22	And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name.
23	And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

Esther 3

1	After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
2	And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
3	Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?
4	Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5	And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.
6	And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
7	In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
8	And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them.
9	If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.
10	And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy.
11	And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.
12	Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.
13	And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.
14	The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day.
15	The posts went out, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

This evening's reading is verses 1-16 of Acts chapter 5.  Yes, the apostles, and that new thing, the Church, are getting noticed  To the glory of the Lord.

Acts 5:1-16

1	But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2	And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3	But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4	Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5	And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6	And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7	And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8	And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9	Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10	Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11	And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
12	And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
13	And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
14	And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
15	Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16	There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.