We have said that this is the end of the battle to deal with Agag who Saul did not kill.

Saul had been told not to take any spoil, but he did 1 Samuel 15:3, 19 On this occasion Israel were told that they could take the spoil Esther 8:11. But even though they had been given permission they did not Esther 9:10. As if to show that they were finishing the work that Yahweh had given to Saul to do.

9:17-18 The way that the Jews 'rested' presents the end of the battle with Amalek which was the background of Haman (see Ch 3) - See Deuteronomy 25:17-19

10:1 Do we conclude that the 'tribute' was a direct response to Haman's behaviour and if so how did it benefit the Jews?

Est her 9:1,12-15. We see in these two declarations of Ahasuerus the necessity of Christ. The first decree cursed the Jews and provided no hope of life, it made evident the need of a Saviour. The second did not set the first aside, but delivered them from its curse, thus nullifying it.
Redemption in Christ--- the Law of Moses, seems to be thus foreshadowed.

Esther 9:22. Even though the prophet Zechariah does not mention the feast of Purim, he certainly eludes to the day when the fasts will be turned into days of feasts (Zech 8:19-23) The day when many strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

9:3 "lieutenants" <0323> is a word unique to this time found only here and Ezra 8:36, Est 3:12, 8:9 and here. It is of Persian origin and speaks of the rulers of each of the provinces.

10:3 In promoting Mordecai to "next unto the king" he is like Joseph (Gen 41:40) Both men saved their people from destruction. Moses by actions after he had been exalted, Mordecai by actions before he had been exalted - but consequent upon his faithful advising of the king of a plot against his life (Est 2:21)

 The Book of Esther is a wonderful reminder that God is ever present to help, even though there appears for the moment, no tangible evidence of His pressence. Let us never lose our faith in Him, for ultimate deliverance is certain (Isa 54:17).                                    

Although not a feast under the Law, Purim (Feast of Lots) was kept by subsequent generations of Jews; and is still kept today (9:24,26,28).  Unfortunately, for Jews, it serves to bolster the belief in their own ability to overcome enemies rather than giving credit to the LORD.

9:22  The turning of ‘sorrow to joy’ quotes Jer 31:13. The context in Jeremiah is of a regathering of Israel. So the Jews would be comforted in their captivity that their God had not forgotten them but that He was still working for them as He had promised.

10:2 That Ahasuerus wrote of ‘his power and of his might’ sows that he elevated himself in this matter even though he was the one who had signed the original decree to allow the Jews to be killed! The deliverance of the Jews was effected by God but Ahasuerus wanted to bask in the glory of the deliverance!

9:19 The sending of gifts at a time of rejoicing is turned on its head – Rev 11:10 – where gifts are sent when the two witnesses are killed.

9:12   We should not think that the Jews wantonly went on a killing spree to kill the 500 men in Shushan.  It is more likely that there were men who, hoping for favour with Haman, sought to bring about Haman’s desires despite the king’s decree.

9:4 We should not think that the hatred of Haman towards the Jews was confined to the area where he lived. Clearly Mordecai – and by implication – his behaviour became renown throughout the whole kingdom. If only our faithfulness to God cause many far and wide to be known thus glorifying God!

Jonah 1:3. The lesson for us is that we must at all times, discern the will of  God, accept the will of God, and always be aware that we can not hide from God.

Jonah 1:4. This storm that blew up must have been unusual and unexpected, the sailors of this period would have been aware of weather patterns, and would not have set out to sea if any storm warning had been present. You will remember that on Paul’s journey to Rome the sailors were aware of the weather patterns.

Jonah came from Gath Hepher (2Kin 14:25).  Today Gath Hepher is called El Meshed and is situated two miles from Nazareth (in Galilee). The (supposed) tomb of Jonah is there and revered by the locals. The proximity of Gath Hepher to Christ's home town adds even more weight to the statement in John 7:52.

Jonah, whose name means dove, prophesied about 760 BC during the reign of Jeroboam II.  He tried to flee from the presence of the LORD (v.3) to avoid going his responsibility in going to Assyria.  We are reminded that wherever we are, we cannot evade the presence of the LORD.  The psalmist says it best: Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there (Ps 139:7,8).  And so, let us remember that whatever we say, or in whatever activity we are involved, the LORD hears all and sees all.

Jonah seems to be an echo of Christ's resurrection and mission to all nations.

1:4 - here we have a ship (which would be constructed of wood) passing through water which reminds one of the ark which saved people passing through the water (like the burial of baptism) and also might remind us of Christ on the cross who defeated the power of sin and death. 1:5 - here we have the mention of a deep sleep (death has been described in the Bible as like sleep). 1:7 - we have the casting of lots (not unlike the casting of lots for Christ's clothing). 1:12 - Jonah chose to be thrown into the sea (symbolic of burial or water baptism and the burying of sinful ways) to save others much like Christ who offered his life for others. 1:14 - the concept of not being accountable (Jesus said, "Father forgive them...") for taking another's life. 1:15 - the actual throwing of Jonah into the sea (like the actual killing/burial of Christ) prepared the way so others could survive. 1:16 - the mention of sacrifice. 1:17 - being buried or swallowed up in a place of darkness for three days. 2:2 - we have mention of the righteous Jonah being in "hell" which is the Heb "sheol" (7585) meaning "grave, pit", etc. the same place where Christ went for three days upon his death and where all dead people and animals go (Psa 49:12-20). Jon 2:4 -  Jonah has faith that he will see a holy temple (much as Christ looked forward to the kingdom age when he will return to the earth). Jon 2:6 - we have a resurrection from "corruption" Heb. "shachath" (7845) means "corruption, grave , pit", etc. (similar to Christ being spared from corruption in the grave). Jon 2:7 - praying to God as his life ebbed away (much as Christ prayed to God on the cross). Jon 3:2 - Jonah reached out to Nineveh a Gentile city (Christ died for Jew and Gentile). Jon 3:3 - the mention of three days to reach Nineveh (it took three days to be able to reach out to Nineveh just as Christ's sacrifice grafted in Gentiles as heirs of the promises to Abraham. Gal 3:26-29). Jon 3:4 - we have the mention of 40 days (Christ roamed 40 days after his death and earlier fasted the same). Jon 3:5 - Nineveh puts on sackcloth and thus mourns their sins and repents.

1:2 In speaking of Nineveh as a ‘great city’ God is harking back to His description of the city in Gen 10:12.

1:13 We can conclude that the ship was not far from land because we are told ‘rowed hard to bring it to land’ – something that would not be attempted if they were a long way form the land. So we conclude that the storm arose only a very short while after they had left port.

1:9,       In telling the mariners that he was a Hebrew we have confirmed that Jonah was not frightened to speak about his God. His concern was that the Ninevites would repent and God would forgive them – Jon 4:2

In 700 BC, Nineveh was Sennacherib's great capital city of Assyria.  In Jonah's time, the capital was Calneh which lay some 20 miles south of Sennacherib's city.  Calneh, however, was part of the city-state which included Nineveh.

1:2-3 Notice the contrast that the wording forces us to see. God told Jonah to ‘arise’ – Jonah did ‘rise’ but in direct opposition to the instruction of God.

1 That this book of Jonah focuses upon the problem of Jonah is seen more clearly when we do see – 2Kin 14:25– that he did have a message for Judah.

6:19-20 Demonstrate that the route that Jesus took is the route that we will follow. The implication being that because Jesus has overcome those who imitate him will do so also.

ch.7 - This chapter demonstrates, from the Old Testament, that the Aaronic priesthood was inferior to the Melchisedec priesthood in order that the exalted status of Jesus - above that of the Aaronic priesthood can be seen.

6:18 Fled for refuge reminds us of the way in which an accidental manslayer could seek sanctuary in a city of refuge. We are all unintentional manslayers - we destroy ourselves! However the death of the High Priest (Numbers 35:25)- Jesus - provides us with a city of refuge.

7:25 The contrast is between the Levitical priest who could not minister for ever 7:23 'by reason of death:' and Jesus who 'ever liveth'

6:15 The example of Abraham's patient endurance would be very necessary for the brethren in Jerusalem who would be suffering greatly through their willingness to accept the sacrifice of Jesus. In accepting Christ the many priests that believed (Acts 6:7) would have lost all the status they had in society and would have also lost their livelihood.

ch. 7 - Whereas some have, in the past, suggested that Melchisedec was in fact Shem there is no value in such suggestions. The very point of the argument in Hebrews is that there is no need to know his ancestry.

6:19  'within the veil' quoting Lev 16:15 is yet another quotation of the details of the day of atonement.

7 The idea of getting the order of events clear figures prominently in this chapter

7:2   First after that
7:7   Less blessed by greater
7:9   Levi paid tithes being in the loins of Abraham
7:27 first  then

In making these points Paul is stressing the superiority of the work of Christ over the law of Moses in that whilst coming after the giving of the law it's principles pre-date the law.

Jesus was to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek (6:20; 7:3). Trinitarians use these passages to prove that Jesus is God because He has no human family tree, and that He lives forever. Melchizedek was a man, and like all men he must have had parents and a family tree. The phrase Without father, without mother, without descent (7:3) simply means that his genealogy is not stated. The phrase having neither beginning of days, nor end of life (7:3) tells us that the dates of his birth and death are not disclosed. Jesus, on he other hand, had a stated human genealogy (Matt 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-37). The date of His birth is known (4 BC), and his death, some thirty-three years later, is well documented. Melchizedek (means King of Righteousness) shows forth Jesus in spiritual type and not in physical attributes.

6:8  The ‘thorns and briers’ described the consequence of Adam’s sin in general terms and the state of the ‘vineyard of the Lord’ – Isaiah 5:6 – which was the reason why God was going to uproot Judah from the land which happened in the days of Zedekiah. A veiled warning about AD 70 to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to whom the letter to the Hebrews was written.

7:11  And so the point made in December this year is concluded. Notice it is not whether the Levitcal priesthood was of any use or not. It all revolves around ‘perfection’

7:4‘Consider’ is a recurring theme in Hebrews (3:1, 7:4, 12:3) encouraging the Hebrew priest that believed to reflect on the contrast between Jesus and the Levitical priesthood.

6:15  Paul is saying that Abraham waited after he had been called by God. He was called from Ur and it was not until he had been in the land for some years that God gave him the promise of the birth of the son through which the promise of inheriting the land would be fulfilled.

6:16 The believing priests would be well aware of the way in which an oath stopped discussion on a matter. This was the principle they would be used to using when dealing with disputes – Exo 22:11

7:5 Just as Melchisedec took tithes of Abraham the Levites were instructed to receive tithes of the people – Num 18:21,26 – thus Melchisedec’s status is confirmed.