RPG Adults
DID ESTHER SERVE WINE?
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2
Esther 7:1-2
Esther 5:6-8
"It is never right to do wrong
in order to do right."
DID ESTHER SERVE WINE?
The king and Haman kept their appointment to come to Queen Esther’s second banquet the following day (Esther 5:8). Both banquets were referred to as a "banquet of wine" (Esther 5:6; 7:2). It was thrown by Esther so that she could present her request to the king.
We have covered the topic on wine in the Bible on October 6. It is clarified that the word "wine" in the Bible can refer to a range of beverages: pure juice of a fruit, fermented juice mixed with water, or fermented alcoholic drink. It was affirmed that God prohibits the kind of alcoholic drinks we have today. Hence social drinking of any of today’s wine is not for the believer. So did she serve intoxicating wine? If so, was it right for Esther to throw a wine party? Some use this passage to justify serving wine and drinking wine today. The wine served would likely have been intoxicating, given it was for the heathen king. If it were, then it was wrong for Esther, as God’s child, to do so. It does not matter if she were serving a heathen king or living among heathens in their environment. Just because an action or event is mentioned in Scriptures, it does not mean God sanctions it. If we were to use such records to justify serving and drinking wine, then one can say that the lifestyle of Samson is fine too, and so on. So it is wrong to use Esther’s behaviour to defend serving intoxicating wine at gatherings and weddings to unbelievers, and to be a bartender as long as we ourselves do not drink it. The Bible tells us that we must not break God’s teachings while living among unbelievers (1 Cor 9:21) and to refrain from all appearances of evil (1 Thess 5:22). Do understand that just because God used Esther to deliver the Jews does not mean everything she did was approved of God. The lesson in this Book is that God, in His sovereignty, can choose even the weak and backslidden ones like Mordecai and Esther to accomplish His will. It is not to encourage us to live like them but to motivate us to do otherwise.
THOUGHT: Am I twisting Scriptures to justify how I want to live?
PRAYER: Lord, help me not to rationalize my sins before Thee.
Posted in Adult RPG
Esther 7:1-2
Esther 5:6-8
"It is never right to do wrong
in order to do right."
DID ESTHER SERVE WINE?
The king and Haman kept their appointment to come to Queen Esther’s second banquet the following day (Esther 5:8). Both banquets were referred to as a "banquet of wine" (Esther 5:6; 7:2). It was thrown by Esther so that she could present her request to the king.
We have covered the topic on wine in the Bible on October 6. It is clarified that the word "wine" in the Bible can refer to a range of beverages: pure juice of a fruit, fermented juice mixed with water, or fermented alcoholic drink. It was affirmed that God prohibits the kind of alcoholic drinks we have today. Hence social drinking of any of today’s wine is not for the believer. So did she serve intoxicating wine? If so, was it right for Esther to throw a wine party? Some use this passage to justify serving wine and drinking wine today. The wine served would likely have been intoxicating, given it was for the heathen king. If it were, then it was wrong for Esther, as God’s child, to do so. It does not matter if she were serving a heathen king or living among heathens in their environment. Just because an action or event is mentioned in Scriptures, it does not mean God sanctions it. If we were to use such records to justify serving and drinking wine, then one can say that the lifestyle of Samson is fine too, and so on. So it is wrong to use Esther’s behaviour to defend serving intoxicating wine at gatherings and weddings to unbelievers, and to be a bartender as long as we ourselves do not drink it. The Bible tells us that we must not break God’s teachings while living among unbelievers (1 Cor 9:21) and to refrain from all appearances of evil (1 Thess 5:22). Do understand that just because God used Esther to deliver the Jews does not mean everything she did was approved of God. The lesson in this Book is that God, in His sovereignty, can choose even the weak and backslidden ones like Mordecai and Esther to accomplish His will. It is not to encourage us to live like them but to motivate us to do otherwise.
THOUGHT: Am I twisting Scriptures to justify how I want to live?
PRAYER: Lord, help me not to rationalize my sins before Thee.
Posted in Adult RPG