It was not a joke. Even though she was his wife, Esther knew there was a chance she would lose her head if she went to see the king without his personal invitation. The Persian monarch had men around him who carried axes for that very reason. He was protected at all times, and no … Continue reading For such a time as this
Tag: Bible
One of her granddaughters said she was classy and sassy. I would agree with that. Martha Orcutt was one of those older ladies who could grace a good Easter hat, and the pictures prove it. She was also feisty and funny. Many times when I got up to leave after a visit I would tell … Continue reading She was one of a kind
What if you were the vice-regent of an empire and the command of the king was that everyone should bow to you? And what if one man in the capital city, a Jew, refused to bow? What would you do? That was exactly the scenario in Susa, circa 478 B.C., when Mordecai would not bow … Continue reading The times, they’re not a’changing
It was a 5th century beauty pageant, plain and simple. As far as we know, there was no talent involved in the competition. There was also no interview portion, sadly, because that would have given the young women an opportunity to talk about world peace or maybe world domination, since that was the order of … Continue reading God doesn’t make junk
Picture this. The king invites all the men of the capital city into his palace for a feast. He opens his wine cellar and serves them the very best. The men are told they can drink as much as they want. For seven days. Got the picture? Hundreds, maybe thousands of men. Unlimited wine. Nobody’s … Continue reading Beware this dangerous combination
Courage. Faith. Politics. Betrayal. Genocidal plots. A beauty pageant. Gallows. Irony. Even humor. The story of Esther has it all. It’s more important than Jurassic World because it’s true. It’s relevant to us today because not much has changed. The world is still a dangerous place for Jews, and becoming increasingly so for followers of … Continue reading This story has it all
J. Mark Fox 