66 Love Letters - ESTHER

I decided to do something a little different this week. Since the Jewish holiday Purim was born from this annointed piece of biblical text, I thought I'd share a few fun facts from the book of Esther and the meaning of the celebrated Jewish holiday of Purim.

The longest verse in the Bible is found in Esther containing 90 words: 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(B) the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces(C) from India to Ethiopia,(D) 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. Esther 8:9 ESV

• The book of Esther is one of the scrolls, or megillot, that the Jews read in full at particular times throughout the liturgical calendar year.

• The book of Esther is the ONLY book in the Bible that doesn’t mention the name of God.

• The Purim holiday begins with the Fast of Esther, the name of Mordechai’s niece who helped save the Jews from Haman. Before executing her plan she fasted for three days. Jews commemorate this fast with one fast day of their own.

Interested in learning about the Jewish holiday Purim? Then check out these sites: Judaism 101, Purim Customs, and Smile it's Purim.

66 Love Letters - NEHEMIAH

The Book of Nehemiah begins 15 years after the Book of Ezra ends; almost 100 years after the first captives came back to the Promised Land; and some 150 years after the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. After this long time, the walls of the city of Jerusalem were still in rubble. - David Guzik, http://www.blueletterbible.org/

When we are introduced to Nehemiah, he is working in the palace of the King of Persia - quite a prestigious position. Though he lives almost 800 miles from Jerusalem, once he discovers the walls of Jerusalem are in utter disrepair, he grieves and mourns, fasts and prays.

After confessing the sins of his people to God, he reminds God of His promises to his people; “Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’" Nehemiah 1:8-9

In chapter two we discover what Nehemiah's position is. He is the king's cup bearer. A royal bodyguard of sorts. He guards the king from poisonous wines or food, and is in his presence often, a position of clear influence. Only the most trustworthy and faithful were chosen for this position. A cup bearer had the easiest ability to assassinate a king.

Nehemiah goes to the king and begs for a leave of absence to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And, graciously, the king agrees.

The rest of the book of Nehemiah, we see the nation of Israel come together and rebuild the different gates; the fish gate, the valley gate, the refuse gate, the water gate, on and on the work continues. Families are mentioned throughout this book, working diligently to make whole their sacred land once again.

It is a great reminder to me that there are walls in my life that can become breeched, some that are in need of repair.

Questions to Ponder

• When brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering from hard times or heartache, are you grieved? Is your heart moved to help? What about those who aren't believers?
• What walls in your life need rebuilding? Time with the Lord? Your marriage? Relationships with your children?
• Ask the Lord to show you ways you can rebuild broken places in your life.

66 Love Letters - Ezra

The Book of Ezra is all of ten chapters, smack dab in between II Chronicles and Nehemiah. Ezra was a priest and a scribe of the law (7:21). By the style of his writing and numerous similarities, some believe he may have authored I & II Chronicles.

In this spot in the Bible we see the Israelites returning from Babylonian captivity to worship the Lord and return to their land of promise. This was a public acknowledgement that they believed God would reestablish their nation.

Did you know that Esther and Nehemiah were alive at the same time Ezra was? Chronologically Esther and her story takes pace in between chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra. If you are one who enjoys going deep in your biblical studies, here would be a wonderful place to begin digging for spiritual gems.

Remember, whichever book of the Bible we are in, God's word has the power to speak to every child of God who desires to hear His voice.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

There were many scriptures that spoke to me through this rich book. Most especially; For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. Ezra 7:10

Ezra had a heart for God's word. The more time he spent learning about the Lord, the more he wanted to share his knowledge with his people. He made it a point to seek God.

The word seek is the Hebrew word darash and it means to seek like a dog on a hunt. It's the same Hebrew word used in Jeremiah 29:13 - You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Points to Ponder

• Do I seek the Lord with any effort?
• When I learn something about God's word do I share it with others?
• God can be found when I seek him with all of my heart. Why don't I do that more often?
• Seek Him with all of your heart today.

66 Love Letters - I & II Chronicles

These past few weeks have been a blur. I'm grateful for your patience. This week I decided to play catch up and include a  summary of both I and II Chronicles. It's a big chunk of Bible to chew, but I know you girls are up for a challenge!

Based on its contents, the books may be divided into four parts:
1.The beginning of 1 Chronicles (chapters 1–10) mostly contains genealogical lists, concluding with the House of Saul and Saul's rejection by God, which sets the stage for the rise of David.

2.The remainder of 1 Chronicles (chapters 11–29) is a history of David's reign.

3.The beginning of 2 Chronicles (chapters 1–9) is a history of the reign of King Solomon, son of David.

4.The remainder of 2 Chronicles (chapters 10–36) is a chronicle of the kings of Judah to the time of the Babylonian exile, concluding with the call by Cyrus the Great for the exiles to return to their land.

My favorite part of scripture is found in II Chronicles 1:7-12

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 8 Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”

Can you imagine? The Lord tells Solomon to ask for whatever he wants. What an offer. Do you realize God has given you the same offer?

• Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Matthew 7:7)

• If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7)

• Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (1 John 5:14)

King Solomon had a heart surrendered to God. When we take the same humble posture as Solomon and submit our life into His hands, be prepared to be used.

Whatever is on your plate today, seek the Lord first, surrender your plans for His, then ask for wisdom to accomplish whatever He brings you.

66 Love Letters - 2 KINGS

Do Not Make Solomon's Mistake: Success is not Greatness

The Book of 2 Kings continues where 1 Kings left off: sharing the story of the royal line of King David. There is one story inparticular that gave me a lot of spiritual food for thought this week. It was the story of King Hezekiah.

His story can be found in chapters 18-20.

Isaiah confirms the King's fears, he will die from his illness. Yet, the King cries out to the Lord to live and the Lord tells Isaiah to comfort King Hezekiah with these words: you will live another fifteen years.

Good news for anyone, right? Well, it seems so at first. But, once you read the rest of the story you discover that King Hezekiah father's one of the most evil sons to reign in his place, King Manneseh.

Yep, it sure got me to thinking...

A Few Points to Ponder

• How often do I pray diligently for something that may not be God's will for me?
• Just because I'm raising my children in a home that loves the Lord - there is no guarantee they will follow Him.
• Maybe, just maybe, I need to pray less for the things I want and more for His will to reign in my life. 

1 Kings

The people of Egypt carried the Ark of the Covenant for many, many years before Solomon built its permanent resting place. 

King David felt compelled, possibly out of guilt to build a structure for the Lord, but the Lord refused him.  He had other plans for King David and higher designs for His temple.

Solomon, son of King David, was wise - - if you’ve been reading 1 Kings, you’ll see that in Chapter 4:29-34 just how God blessed him. 

1 Kings 4:29-32 Solomon’s Wisdom

 ²⁹ God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 

³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 

³¹ He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 

³² He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 

³³ He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 

³⁴ Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Sounds like the Lord was pretty pleased with Solomon and gave him great knowledge.  You can be sure that when He asked Solomon to build His mighty temple, He would be assured that Solomon could follow His wishes to the tiniest of details. 

I have often asked the Lord for wisdom, or discernment and have been pretty satisfied that He’s honored my requests.  There are some things in this world that we cannot understand; some things God says He’ll reveal to us in time.  Other things, we may never have an answer for. We may find the answer once we reach Home.  Still there are other things that, when we finally do make it to Heaven, we may find we never needed to know in the first place.  It’ll all just make sense. 

I’m looking forward to that.

Points to Ponder

• Have you ever asked God for wisdom?  
• Has God asked you to do something seemingly impossible for Him?
• Have you learned to spot the nuggets that God has for you in His Word?

Katie Chaney

2 Samuel

Yes, I admit it. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Reading through the stories here, I wonder how people come to believe the Bible is boring. Clearly, they've never taken the time to read 2 Samuel.

David has a deep love for his Heavenly Father.  Not only courageous and faithful slaying Goliath in 1 Samuel, we see David become King, in 2 Samuel. He writes and sings songs to God, is a gifted musician - a worship leader at heart!

To make things a bit more focused, I wanted to discuss one of my favorite stories in the Bible. It can be found in chapters eleven and twelve: David & Bathsheba.

Everytime I read this story, I hope things will turn out differently. As King David comes out in the evening and watches Bathsheba bathe, I want to warn her to cover up. There are theories about whether or not she knew she was aware the King was watching her. Maybe it's my police background, but I have a hard time giving her victim-status. I'm not laying blame solely on Bathsheba, she was summoned by the King, not something you can refuse. 

Once she sends word that she is pregnant, King David does what many of us do when we've sinned - we cover it up. He calls for Uriah the Hittite, one of his thirty-seven mighty men of valor. Uriah was a man's man, and definitely the King's man. Loyal, faithful, and wholly devoted to his king. But, we see King David's plans to get Uriah drunk so he will lay with his wife come to a disastrous ending. Trustworthy even while drunk, Uriah refuses to defile himself while his men are at war. Marching back into battle, this mighty man of valor will carry his own death warrant. 

King David who we had grown to love, succombs to lust and sins against God. He is not pleased. Instead of confessing, repenting of his iniquities, he does what we all have done and tries to cover it up. And, just like is the way of God, without confession and repentence, there is consequence.

King David marries Bathsheba and their son dies. Not long after, the prophet Nathan comes and shares a story with the king about a precious lamb that was stolen and killed. King David is furious and wants the thief killed.

Nathan reveals, "You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more.  Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight.You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
2Samuel 12 7-12
God will not be mocked. What we do in the dark, in secret, will be revealed in the light. As a Christian, I need to remember I am being watched. The moment it is revealed I am a follower of Christ, people look for signs of authenticity. I represent the Lord.  I need to make sure I live in a way that is God-honoring. Even his most precious David will suffer the consequences of watching this prophecy of Nathan come to pass.

But, this story doesn't end with consequence. It ends with redemption. King David confesses his sin against the Lord and we see later is blessed with a son by Bathsheba. It is their son, Solomon, who is asked of God to build His temple. Their child is the redemptive gift from a forgiving God who loves His children deeply.

A Few Thoughts to Ponder 

• Sin can trip up even the most solid believers. Confess any lusts of your own heart today. Don't allow sin to trip you up.
• It always surprises me how the very sins I struggle with look worse on someone else. Have you ever thought of that before?
• God had even more for King David. Yet, his sinful desires changed God's plans for him. Our Heavenly Father desires to give us more than we can ask or think. What a God we serve!
• Sin never effects just one person.