The book of Esther is about deliverance. Some 2500 years ago the Jews were delivered from extinction. To this day Jews celebrate this deliverance in the Feast of Purim. Is it possible the book of Esther also refers to an ultimate millenial deliverance? Is it possible that Ahasueras is a dim echo for God, our supreme ruler? Is it possible Vashti echos those originally chosen but who refused to follow God's ways (non spiritual Israel)? Might Esther echo the faithful followers of Christ (spiritual Israel both Jew and Gentile)? Could Haman be symbolic of sin (the adversary of Christ)? Is Mordecai an echo of Christ?

"Ahasuerus" is a title that according to The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible means "chief of rulers". V.2 - "Shushan" (7800) means "lilly or white" and may convey a symbolic purity/righteousness for the capital city. In the 3rd year of the king's reign he gives a banquet. V.6 - the 7 day feasting takes place in a garden court sheltered with multi-colored tent like drapings, silver (associated with mercy and grace), gold, etc. that almost remind one of the tabernacle. Rather than sacrifices, wine is offered v.7 in vessels "diverse" (8138) can mean "to prefer, changing from one form to another, or return". V.8 - no one is forced to drink as all are given free will regarding wine consumption. "Vashti", according to Westminster's and Smith's Bible Dictionary, means "beautiful, the beloved, the desired one". V.10-15 - Vashti was chosen but refuses to come to the king's feast and was disciplined under the law and in v.19 according to the law she was not allowed to enter the king's presence. Her position of priviledge would be offered to another. God is not overtly mentioned in the book of Esther but 5 (the number of grace or mercy) acrostics referring to God are, the first appears in v.20.

1:3 This is the first of a number of feasts that we read about in the book of Esther. We should notice the difference between the king’s fests and Esther’s feasts.

1:4 The extravagance and length of this feast contrasts with the Jews feast of one day (Est 8:17).

1:1     The 127 provinces is the same number as in Dan 6:1 in the days of Darius plus the seven mentioned in Ezra 7:14

1:17 Isn’t it sad that the king, in his drunken state, (:10) seeks to establish a rule about respect of women?

1:22 Sadly many men think that they have the right to ‘bear rule’ over their wives. Scripture teaches that the man has authority – however the pattern of Christ and the ecclesia indicates that the man should earn the respect of his wife and so she will willingly be subject.

Queen Esther could have been married to Darius I the Great (circa BC 521-486) with some scholars believing this is the best fit, or she could have been married to Xerxes (circa BC 485-465), and there are a few scholars who feel she could have been married to Artaxerxes Longimanus (circa BC 465-424).

Est 1:7 - the gold vessels holding wine were "diverse" [Heb "shanah" (8138) means "duplicate, diverse, to prefer, transmute, return"] and perhaps this reminds us of saints in Christ having different talents but being part of one body (1Cor 12:12-27) and returning to life with a new body and accepted in the kingdom of God on earth upon Christ's return.

The unfaithful bride Vashti may remind us of Israel under the law. Vashti had a superficial beauty but didn't have an inward beauty, a circumsized heart, or an inclination to obey her husband. Those sent to bring Vashti (Est 1:10-11) perhaps remind us of the messengers/prophets sent to Israel. God wanted to display Israel's regal glory but she refused to come to her husband (Exo 19:5-6;Isa 43:7;Jer 13:11;Isa 54:5). Esther was a new faithful bride who reminds us of more faithful Gentiles and Jews who respond to the call.

Believers (the bride) are to follow and obey Christ (the bridgroom).

God will visit the city of Jacob; If ten men remain in a house they shall die (V.9). The name of the Lord shall not be spoken (V.10). The houses shall be smashed to fragments (V.11). Shall horses gallop upon the face of a rock? shall oxen plow the sea? (V.12) Neither shall injustice stand before His destroyers.(V.14).

6:12 ‘fruit of righteousness’ is quoted in Phil 1:12 and Heb 12:11. Whereas here it is eschewed in favour of sin it is a quality that we should develop and aspire to.

Under Jeroboam, much territory had been recaptured with the help of the LORD (2Kin 14:25-28).  Israel arrogantly claimed that they did this on its own without the aid of the LORD (v.13).  And so, all the territory gained under Jeroboam would become subject to an invader (v.14). 

6:2 `Israel’s repeated problem was that they tended to think that the nations round about had a better ‘deal’ than they did. Hence they served their Gods and sought alliances with them. By inviting them to consider these nations God is challenging them about their behaviour towards Him. Of course careful scrutiny of what these nations offered would highlight that what God was offering was both far better and guaranteed. We need to take this challenge into our lives as well. It is certain if we truly appreciated the vanity of this world and the certainty of His promises we would be more faithful.

6:1 In saying to those ‘at ease in Zion’ that they trusted in ‘the mountains of Samaria’ we learn that there were those in Judah who were looking to the northern kingdom for their spiritual leadership. How strange when they had a good king – Uzziah – at that time. Or maybe it is not strange. Men always love darkness rather than light – John 3:19

6:5 It would appear some were imitating David’s musical instruments and using them for false worship. Possibly thinking that if they were like what David made then that would be fine with God. We must take care not to try to justify our sins on the basis that they are something that we are doing for God.

3:2 - 5 describes the attitudes and behaviour of brethren and sisters in the last days. Paul is not warning Timothy about how unbelievers would behave. Unbelievers have behaved in this way all through the ages. Paul had already warned the brethren and sisters in Ephesus that 'of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things ...' Acts 20:30.
The warning is the same for ourselves. We should not be looking at the world for the fulfilment of these words. Sadly we should be prepared for these things in the ecclesia. Not that we should instigate a witch hunt. We should take the warning of the Apostle to heart and be wary lest we are led astray by such errors when they are paraded as truth.

4:5 'make full proof of thy ministry' - Jesus showed 'himself alive with many infallible proofs' Acts 1:3. Paul told the Thessalonians 'prove all things' 1 Thessalonians 5:21. John says 'try the spirits ...' 1 John 4:1. The gospel is not of 'any private interpretations' because it is given by the inspiration of God. Therefore we can be sure that the things we believe and are assured of are true. They are not the interpretations of men but in very deed are the counsel of God.

These two uses of the language of Psalm 34 - where David speaks clearly about how to deal with persecution provide Timothy with a good 'worked example' of the way that God looks after His children. David, as the title of Psalm 34 indicates, was felling from Saul and it was these events which prompted David, by the Spirit, to pen Psalm 34.

4:6 In using the word 'departure' the Apostle Paul is reinforcing his words which he gave to the elders from Ephesus when he took his leave from them on the shore (Acts 20:29). Timothy would have been acutely aware of the implications of what Paul was warning about.

3:10 Again Paul appeals to his own character as a witness for Timothy. The implication is that because the life is impeccable his teaching is right. Whilst this cannot be true of everyone - we know that right doctrine does matter and so a 'good life' is not sufficient - Paul preached right doctrine and lived the life.

4:10 The list of brethren and what happened to them - follow the marginal references to see how some had remained faithful whilst others had fallen away - is a powerful warning to us. We should not rely on our current confidence in Christ. We must strive to maintain that love that we now have. We must make sure that the problems of this life do not detract us from following Christ. Demas, who 'loved this present world' is a case in point.

3:3 The 'false accusers' might well be sisters in the ecclesia (1Tim 3:1) Paul is not warning Timothy about our day but about the problems that he would encounter in Ephesus in his own day at the hands of false brethren and sisters.

4:3 'For the time will come' relates to Timothy's experience. The ecclesia had been founded with great enthusiasm in Ephesus but as time went on petty rivalries would cloud the love of the gospel. Timothy had to realise the urgency of establishing the ecclesia on a firm basis of Scriptural understanding before the petty squabbling manifest itself.

3:12  That the Godly will suffer persecution should not surprise us. It was David’s experience at the hands of Saul – Psa 34:19  – It was also Jesus’ experience throughout all his ministry. Why should we expect any difference?

4:15 Even though the judgment upon Alexander was to left to God that did not mean that \timothy did not need to be wary of him. Likewise, a brother or sister might have behaved in such a way that God is left to judge them, but we must be aware of their dangerous influence. There comes a time when we have to stop associating with brethren and sisters whose life style is damaging and Godless.

4:9,21  Twice in this chapter Paul asks Timothy to come and visit him. Now it is clear that Timothy was not able to ensure that Paul was freed from prison in Rome. Therefore Paul was not seeking the visit to secure freedom. Rather it was simply the fellowship of a fellow believer – his own ‘son in the faith’ that Paul was seeking. How often do we seek to visit others for their benefit like this?

4:18   In saying that the lord would deliver him Paul does not have a rose coloured view on life. He does not say that God will deliver him to freedom from the Romans who were imprisoning him. He is looking to the deliverance from sin and death which is guaranteed no matter what happens in our lives. We need to e careful lest we think that those in Christ lead almost charmed lives where a prayer to God will remove our problems.

2Tim 3:2-5 - A sad list of the human frailties/sins of "believers" in the last days before the return of Christ. We know from Jer 17:9;James 1:13-16 that human nature is prone to sin and that the origin of sin (e.g. the list in 2Tim.3:2-5) comes from within - not from some supposed external supernatural being. A point of focus is 2Tim 3:3 where "slanderers" (NKJV), "slanderous" (NIV), and "false accusers" (KJV) are all the same Greek word "diabolos" (1228) which is translated "devil" many times.  Similarly, Titus 2:3 warns aged women not to be "slanderers" (NKJV, NIV) or "false accusers" (KJV) - again both are from that same Greek word "diabolos" which is often translated "devil". These verses show how the word "diabolos" is used in Scripture. It is people who are slanderers/devils.  Additionally, we have Jesus' statement in John 6:70-71 calling the human being Judas a devil. The preceeding was gleaned from email study notes by Wes Booker.

Denying the power

Maybe we ought to be a little nervous about 3v5. Do we have a form of Godliness, but deny its power? Anyone is able to study God's word and spout supposed knowledge. Those that Paul was warning against were great at this (see 3v7). Their words were really easy to take hold of, because they concerned a self-help salvation based on keeping commandments and such (4v3-4) whereas the true gospel is salvation by faith (3v15). In comparrison these teachers are "disapproved concerning the faith" (3v8). Paul reminds Timothy in v10-11 of the example of faith he gave, showing how the Lord delivered him because of that faith (faith simply means trust).

So denying the power (3v5) is to trust in self. A self-help religion, rather than a Jesus-helps religion. And we can easily tell whether this is us or not. Paul says in 3v10-12 that the cycle of difficulty, then being saved from that difficulty, is something all of us should experience. If we are not, then we are likely not looking hard enough for it, because we are denying that Jesus has power to work in our lives. In effect we declare that Jesus hasn't risen from the dead. The remedy is to start praying about everything so that we can start to see answered prayer in our lives. This experience then gives us more faith to ask for more, and so on. Before we know it, our idea of salvation can be entirely "through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (3v15).

But Paul's real thrust here is to discern whether teachers are of this persuasion or not. We too should check whether those we listen to are of faith, or deny the power of it. Do they ever speak of faith? Do they ever mention prayer? Is Jesus fully part of their repertoir? If not, maybe we should listen to someone else?

4:7 Paul has already – 2Tim 2:4– has encouraged Timothy to war a good warfare and now appeals to his own commitment to encourage Timothy as he has already appealed to the example of Onesiphorus 2Tim 1:16