Esther 6:1-9 — You know what they say about assumptions...

READ THIS: Esther 6:1-9

1 That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 3 “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked. “Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered. 4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him. 5 His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” the king ordered. 

6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?
 
"Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?"
I will admit. This is the passage I relate to Haman the most. There have been a few times in my life where someone starts describing someone, and I immediately think, "oh that HAS to be ME" (because obviously the world revolves around me...........)

There are two issues here. 1) Assuming and 2) Self-centeredness. Both of these issues stem from pride. We think that we know enough, and we think that most things must relate to us in some way. The way this plays out between Haman and Xerxes is fairly comical, stay tuned for tomorrow. But, imagine Haman as us and Xerxes as God. How often do we assume God's plan for us and expect it to fully revolve around our wants/desires? 

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. How does assuming and self-centeredness relate to pride? How can we fight back against those issues?
 
2. What are different reasons God could be doing something in your life? Are there any areas that you've assumed why God is doing something? (You can often tell if you're assuming something if you haven't asked any questions). 

TRY THIS:

I dare you to not assume a single time today. It's going to be a little obnoxious, but every time someone says something and there's something implied, check it! Ask a clarifying question! See if your natural assumption was right! You'd be surprised how often assumptions are actually pretty wrong. 

SONG OF THE WEEK:

The song of the week is called "Trading My Sorrows." I would say one way to trade your sorrows is to give up assuming (aside from the small natural assumptions that help us be efficient humans). But, either way, enjoy listening!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Luke 8:19-21 — Jesus's Fam!

R EAD THIS:  Luke 8:19-21 19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Ummmm, hold up, is Jesus dissing on His family here? I mean, I know He is God's Son and all, but at first glance, this passage makes it seem like He is kind of hating on His family! However, if we really look into this passage, it's actually a lot more about us than it is about the family of Jesus.  In case you forgot, the last few passages have features Jesus telling and explaining different parables to a large crowd as well as His disciples. Clearly, the crowd has gotten so large that Mary and Jesus's brothers (yes... Jesus had brothers!) couldn't even reach Him. When someone told Jesus "hey dude, your fam is here an
Read more

WELCOME BACK! Hebrews Introduction

WELCOME BACK TO DEEPLY ROOTED!!! Greetings fellow Bible readers and Jesus journey-ers! We're stoked to get back in the swing of things with y'all. For any new readers, this section would usually be where our handful of Bible verses will be. The section below would break down what in the world the verses mean. Then, there are some debrief questions for you to dive deeper and an application point. A new addition this year is the Song of the Week! We'll share a song that ties into the theme of the next few verses...if you gaze ahead and have song suggestions, comment below or text! HEBREWS INTRODUCTION: As with any book of the Bible, different Biblical scholars say different things about this letter, but we'll tell you the most probable take. So here it is: Hebrews is a letter written to a group of Jews who were being persecuted for deciding to follow Jesus. It is a letter to encourage them and to show that Jesus truly is the best person to follow despite how hard it was g
Read more

Galatians 2:1-5 — Marathon Training

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:1-5 1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, we learned about how Paul went to Jerusalem and shared the incredible things Jesus did, but today, we are hearing about Paul's second time visiting Jerusalem... 14 years later. Paul talks about a bunch of things that happened durin
Read more