Bible study · Esther 8:1-17
Esther 8: Light, gladness, joy, and honor
Read Esther 8:1-17 before you meet.
In a few lines
Esther asked the king "to reverse the letters devised by Haman" (8:5), and he answered that what is sealed with his ring "may not be reversed by any man" (8:8): in Hebrew, her own word. He told them to write again instead. And Mordecai went out in the blue, white, fine linen and purple of the hangings at the king's feast (1:6, 8:15).
The verse to carry
“For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my people? How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?”
Esther 8:6
To talk about
1. Esther had just been given the house of Haman (8:1), and still went back to the king with tears for her people (8:3-6). When things have gone well for you, what keeps you speaking up for those still in trouble?
2. The king couldn't take back what had been written and sealed, so a second letter was written (8:8). When something you've said or done can't be taken back, what can you still do?
3. Where there had been mourning, fasting and weeping (4:3), the Jews had "gladness, joy, a feast and a holiday" (8:17). When has a heavy time in your life turned, and who shared the gladness with you?