PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Esther
George Rawlinson [1812-1902] · 149,992 words · 169 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 121
is it possible to suppose-as will hereafter appear-that "the book of records of the chronicles" was sent for under the expectation that it would serve simply to amuse or to dissipate thought and kill time. 2. However harassing it may have heen, it seems to have been endured till morning. The brief description which fol…
855 wordsSECTION 122The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 122
compen~ation for it. And lastly arrfres on the scene the form of Divine retribution. Of the~e four there can he no doubt which was the dominant fact. The rest were accurately ti~ed to_ it. One _led the way; the rest were irresistibly, if unconsciously, nttracted to !t. This verse gwes us what purports to be n ~tatem…
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who did not ~o m~ch ns tnrn :ound upon him l!ke,,tho trodden wom1, hut who only could not bring himself "to nee nor move to him -these were the " im,iginationA and the high things" which, because he had not mortified them nor cast th~m down were now going to mortify him to the quick, and to cast him down for ever. He h…
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people, to be destroyed, slain, made to On the aeoond day. On the second occa.sion perish." Had it been anything less than of being entertained by Esther. this, had we boen merely sentenced to be Vor. 3.-Let my life be given me, &c. First of all, I ask at the king's hands my ~old as slaves, I had kept my peace (ver…
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HOMILETICS. Ver. 3.-Spare oitr life I Was ever so unexpected a request presented as this? When the king in bis capricious favour offered bis consort whatsoever she desired, even to the ha!£ of his kingdom, she asked what might have been naturally enough implored from the royal clemency by some wretched malefactor c…
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HOMILIES BY V.ARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 3, 4.-The effe,;t,ual prayer of a true prie,stesa. From the darker side of human nature and its painful suggestions we are glad_ to com~ out to the lig~t and air of its more hopeful aspects. We are able to do this now ~th?ut presumptio!1 or incaution. A brittle thread of hope for th…
1,289 wordsSECTION 127The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 127
Ver. 6.-A changed allitude. The priestess has risen from her knees, and appears suddenly transmuted into prosecutrix for herself and her people. The posture of prayer is exchanged for the full-drawn height. The suppliant attitude is replaced in a second by the defiant. Inclining arms, and hands clasped in prayer, ar…
1,193 wordsSECTION 128The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 128
Ver. 1.-Moments that flash. "And the king arising . . . went into the palace gar- den." Esther spoke plainly enough when she turned and charged as her "enemy this wicked Haman." Her words seemed almost incredible to the king. Haman watches to see how they are taken. The king rises in anger from the table and steps out …
1,068 wordsSECTION 129The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 129
I. Tmil TlmRtBLm OONBUMMATION OF A WIOXED OAREER. It sometime!! happens that the ungodly flourish in the world to such an extent that ourfaith in eternal ri,,.hteouir nese is staggered. We could point to men whose road to power was pa..;'cd with injustice, treachery, and bloodshed. Many an upright heart, crushed for i…
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its own punishment. He.man died on e. gallows of hie own construction ; eo ehe.11 every impenitent sinner perish through his own we.ywe.rdnese. "Thine own wicked- ness ehall correct thee, e.nd thy backslidings shall reprove thee. "-R. Vers. 1-6.-.A.ccmed and C(Y111oi,cted. I. TARNISHED GTI.T, Haman would hardll go …
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ordination of peoplee hae generally been the result of oppressive rule. Nations have been wonderfully patient under a.11 sorts of unjust exactions and crushing burdens ; but there is a point beyond which the most patient submission cannot go. All are free in the kingdom of God. No oppressions there. Citizens are sons (…
1,145 wordsSECTION 132The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 132
Vers. 1-7.-.A. crisis, a plea, and a del,iverance. We have here-1. .A. most serious crisis. "So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen " ( ver. 1). The culminating point in this great issue is now reached. The lives of the chosen people of God throughout all Persia, in all her provinces, hang on th…
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of these she bad II bought up the opportunity" ( redeemed the time), and " when the ocoaeion cnme she wne equal to the occaeiort. '' Wisely use the ;.,re!lent, and when the hour of opportunity comes you will be ready to speak, to etnke, to suffer, or to eave. III. THI!: UNENVIADLENESB OF nANK AND POWER WITHOUT WISDOM.…
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EXPOSITION. §§ 14, 15, 16. relationship, had told that be was her cousin. CHAPTER VIII. Mordecai having been recognised as e. "king's HAMAN's HOUSE GrvEN TO EsTEER, AND benefactor" (eh. vi. 3-11), and Esther hav- TEE :i;;:mo's SIGNET MADE OVER TO MORDECAI ing been forced to confess •herself a. Jewess in order to s…
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of Adar, would have been cancelled, revoked, many of his BUDJecte were vitally concerned. recalled. But in Pcreia this could not be But the new mmieter did not perhaps feel done; or at any rate it could not be done eure of his influence, or quite know what to recommend. Eether wae therefore again put without breaki…
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eafety, yet with the escape e,nd trinmph-of the same rrmission to the Jews' enemiea his people. The Jews should be allowed to (eh. iii 13 . stand on their defence, should be enco11I'llg8d Ver. 13.-This verse reproduces ver. U of to do so, when the time oome should be sup- eh. iii., with e, slight modification of the…
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by noblee. And with a garment of fine and have been glad to see it, practically, linen and purple. The " fine linen " wae of reversed. course white. The real mea.nin~ of the word Ver. 16.-The Jews had light. A meta. thalcrilc, tra.nela.ted "garment,' ie doubtful. phor for "happiness" (comp. Isa. Iviii. 8). Geeenius und…
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ag-ain~t the Jews." This expression, "putting away mischief," is striking and 11uggestive. I. THERE IS SOME MISCHIEF WRICH, ONCE DONE, CANNOT DE UNDONE. Set a huge stone rolling down a mountain's side, and you cannot stop its descent until it rench the lake below the precipice. Open the sl1;1ic~, or make a breach i…
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of Ezra and of Nehemiah, among the children of the captivity, show us wh,it true patriotism will lead men to undertake and do and bear. But the supreme exampl'!, alike of patriotism and of philanthropy, is to he beheld in Jesus Christ, who wept over Jerusalem as well as over the world, and who would fain have averted r…
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that far and wide throughout the Pereian empire the Israelites put forth signe of salvation e.nd of rejoicing. I. \VHY THE Jxws REJOIOED. 1. In the downfall of their enemy. Raman was hated with an especial hatred. "Cursed be Raman I" was their cry, when, in Purim, they celebrated the day when the Lord delivered the…
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nnd twenty-seven provinces. This verse is the irrepressible outcry of true patriotism. It is the oxpostulntion of vivid and tender sympathy. It is the argument of a forcible pri~ciple of our nature, which oversteps the boundaries of the personal and the domestw m order to travel much farther, and to embrace the nationa…
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obedient son who never went astray, and in the same kind of sense in which it is said that " there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance," is it true that there ie more joy in lifo rescued from the doom of death than in life just fresh, t…
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eion, pntient endurnnco on the very border of despair, they had been wonderfully brought out to the light, joy, honour of thnt time. VI. l'r WAB A 0LADNESB WHICH MAKES us THINK OF ANOTHER. It mnkes UR feel for 11nother, Ion~ for another. Thnt wne of 11 nature that must be rare in occurrence, nor would we wish it other…
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cons~crnte_ his best: the l~arned ~an can bring his kno:,vledge, the wise hie sagacit:y, the rich his wealth, the titled his Tank, the fearless lua courage, the energetic hie vigou! ; the engaging woman can bring her charms, the loving her affection, the be~ut1ful her beauty .. Our God "has c_ommanded our strength "…
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dearer than English nature would. But this was only a flash of enjoyment, very soon gone. "What is wanted here ? " said one proud spectator to another at a Roman triumph. 11 Permanence," said the other. One hour, and it would be over. We learn that (1) tliere is a place im, our life/or such brief enjoyments. We need no…
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reputation, or a power which it has t&ken long to build up ma1. fall in n day. 2. By their comp[~. What may have seemed durable as time it.eel£ pBBeee awny and lea:ee no memorial. 11 Like the base~ese fabric ?fa vision," magnificent empires have penshed. and left ·• not a wrack behind 11 (Ps. 1x. 6). 3. By tJu rapi,…
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utterly selfish. It ie self-abeorbed, 11nd has no consideration for the effect it may have on others. It m11y be natural enough, yet nothing ie more hateful. The true ~odly soul will long to ehnre ite own joys with those whom it loves. Beyond that, 1te own sense of joy will quicken its sympathy with all the dietreeeed,…
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ual-m indedness. " Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. 11 The first proof that a man is born again is the earnestness with which he inquires what he must do. Instances-the multitude on the day of Pentecost, the jailer at Philippi, Saul of Tarsus. The Church is described as a vineyard, for which God hires laboure…
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" enemies " no doubt did the same, and for formed Rn element in the population, aa some time before the 18th of Adar two Susa, Babylon, Damascus-perhn,ps Rhe.goa hostile camps stood facing each other in end Ecbatana--and no doubt many others. each of the great towns throughout tho Cities exclusively Jewish like Near…
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fully made out and recorded. In the Baby- The LXX. had in their copies fifteen for lonian tmnscript of the Dehistun Inscription seventy-five, or one-fifth of the received tho numbers 11.re given with extreme exact- number. The smaller number is more in ness-e. (!, 646, 2024, 4203, &c. On this harmony with the 500 kille…
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&ultation of the lot, the word "Pur" meaning Ver. 23.-The J'ewa undertook to do·aa "lot" in Persian (ver. 24). The festival they had begun. I. e. "to observe the 14th became a national institution by the general day." And aa M:ordeoai had written to consent of the .Tews everywhere (ver. 27), them. I. e. "Rud to obse…
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given his approval to the fe11Bt from the first, haps a reference to the keeping of a fast and havo adopted it into the ceremoni11l of before the two Purim days (ver. 31). These tho n11tion, or it would scarcely have become he sent to all Jews throughout the whole universal. Hooker (' Eccl. Pol.,' v. 71, § 6) empire, i…
1,115 wordsSECTION 153The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 153
Vers. 20-22.-The/east of Purim. Other Jewish festivals, as the passover and tabernacles, were instituted by express Divine authority. The feast of Purim was instituted by the authority of Mordecai and Esther. Yet its observance was un- doubtedly sanctioned by the God whose merciful interposition it commemorated. Th…
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II. IT AFFORDS A PURE PLEASURE TO THE GIVER, To share the gifts of Providenc<'J with the less fortunate opens the heart and enlarges its sympathies. It is a check to naturnl selfishness. III. IT IS DICNEFICIAL TO THE RECEIVER. A friend's gift is a token of that friend's remembrance and love. And many a poor household …
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3. Assuring offenders of reconciliation and favour. It is in this manner that the words of Christ's gospel are emphatically "words of peace." III. w· ORDS OF TRUTH ARE THE SUREST FOUNDATION FOR WORDS OIi' PEACE. The peace brought about by false words is hollow, temporary only, and vain. But the full truth being dec…
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Ver. 32.- Valuable less= from unpromisi,ng materials. '' The book." The Book of Esther is secular in its tone, has no mention of the name of God, and no recognition in the Gospels or Epistles ; still it is of great value. I. It gives A VALUADLE PICTURE OF LIFE at a certain period of the world's history. The luxury of …
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d o"·n ; and the people who had been cast do,vn, lifted up. But this waa a little matter compared_ with the consequence. im_mediately resultin~, and whic_h showed so promin- ently to new ; namely, a most significant and determined alteration of the attitude of the one to the other. The lessons suggested by this pass…
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they knock in vain at our very doors ; they plead in vain with our reason, our sel:f- interest, our conscience. But with overwhelming effect come at times national providences. These speak sometimes as with the voice of thunder, and they n.re seen sometimes with the vividness of the lightning's flash by hundreds of tho…
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It need not for one moment indicate any wish that one life more should be s11crificed than should be necessary for the safety of the Jews. Now when the sum-total of the slain are added, amounting to 75,800,first, the number, large as it seems, probably does not reach the number of the Jews who were to have been exte…
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nor 1111 round the world's family; for there are in hearts exceedingly varions degreos of susceptibility, und these by themselves are sure to govern largely the exuct amount of whut cun be called happiness or joy. All that is necesAary to the one largest, purest, most loving heart in the whole circle is, that all other…
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initiative, with the maes of the people. Wherever Mordecai bad eent to hie people !he messages of_ rel_ief and the warrants to resist, ther~ he n_ow sends proposals which, 1f acceded to, will msure the perpetual memory of their deliverance, and will suggest ever new gratefulness for it. Esther joins heart and hand i…
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again ~nd ngn~n of ~he need once felt so keenly, of the povertt once so trying, of the exceeding peril which once threatened, of the boundless rehef once experienced. God's people were bidden to remember how "they were bondsmen in Egypt," to "look to the rock whence they were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence the…
1,139 wordsSECTION 163The Pulpit Commentary — Esther — Section 163
EXPOSITION. § 19. CH.APTER X. the Ahasuerus of this book with Darius, the CoNCLUSION.-TB:E GREATNESS OF ARAsu- son of Hyste.spes. But it is not necessary ERUS, Al,"D OF MORDECAI UNDER llIM ( eh. to suppose that the .forat laying of a. tribute x. ). The Book of Esther might have been on the provinces of the Persian em…
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Ch. ix. 4; x. 2.-The greatness of Mordecai. Before taking leave of tbis interesting and typical character, it may be well to review the elements of the greatness which, in these two passages, is so glowingly ascribed to him. Mordecai's greatness was- i. A contrast to his former humiliation at the door of the palace. i…
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II. 0-rmrn AOTS Oil' WISDOM AND GREATNESS. ThP-se are only noted not describPd They were many and illustrious. But though our narrative passes' by these acts with a simple allusion to them, it refers us for detailed and complete information to I\ good authority-" nre they not written in the book of the chmnicles of …
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I. THE STATESMAN'S OFFICE. 1. It is the expression of government. If man wero o_nly greg_arious, he ":'ould need, and undoubte?lY be subjected to, &"overnment. ALL hnng thmgs nre subJect to government, need 1tt and are rapidly being brought under ~1e rule of man, acc~rding to ~he charter originally giv:en to ma!1· 2…
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Ver. 3,-A life summed up. "For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king AhaAn- erus, and great." Gather from Mordecai's history something to stimulate our spirits in the battle of life. I. We might remark upon THE WAY IN WHICH HE EARNED HIS ELEVATION. Perhaps as a Jew, he was a little revengeful towards aliens; but he fill…
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Genius is everywhere admired. Its mighty works are the most precious inheritances of our race. In literature, in science, in art, in the numberless inventions of oivilised life, it continues to bless the world. 3. Exal,ted posi,ti,on,. This may be due to mere accident. Kings, princes, noblemen are as a rufe born to …
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T'ln:lr ■ PAIi• n1111n PAO■ c,,n'ril'tNI 0011,J'ii.ton 60 Human Md Divine Sonl'llpty. Prayor 10, WrittM, Mt 1)(\t R.memberM 61 Sel.f-De,"Otlon Enooul'lpi .. . . .. 1OIi l"rudenoe wrw, Guile 107 CHAPTER Ill. The Hour that revealed Duty 108 The Wich-d Rnl~ 88 Prosperity and Self-Gntule.tlon 110 Foolish Pride and Wi…
601 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.