Esther 2:19-3:15

READ

Esther 2:19-3:15

EXPLORE

  1. What stands out to you in this passage?

  2. Why do you think Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman? (explore multiple possibilities.) What is Haman’s response?

  3. Haman must gain King Ahasuerus’s approval to carry out his plot to destroy the Jewish people. How does Haman persuade him? Are each of his statements true? What is the king’s response? Read Genesis 41:42-44 for more context.

APPLY

  1. The plot to destroy the Jews was not for cultural or ethnic reasons, it was due to a long-standing battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). Does this type of overt spiritual persecution exist today? How so?

  2.  In the west, we typically do not witness the type of persecution we read about in Esther, though we know persecution is still present in our modern culture. What are some examples of the less overt types of persecution the people of God experience regularly?

  3. Jesus tells us in John 15 that if we love and serve him persecution should be expected. How can we follow after Jesus and respond to persecution as he did?

PRAY

For the needs of each other

For our CG’s to continue to be witnesses for the gospel to our communities

John Campbell