Locations & Times

1. What was the name of the powerful Persian king in our story today? (King Xerxes) What was the name of his queen? (Queen Vashti)
2. During a big celebration, King Xerxes asked his wife to do something for him. What was it? (To join him so he could show off how beautiful she was to his guests.) What did Queen Vashti do? (She refused him! She said “No.”)
3. King Xerxes was mad and sent her away forever so she could never be queen again! But after a while, he became very lonely and made a plan; what was it? (Hold a beauty pageant and find a new queen.)
4. Do you think that was a very good idea? Why or why not? (Discuss.)
5. Things seemed crazy in the Persian kingdom. But if God works all things for the good of those who love him, could Mordecai and his people trust God? (Yes.) We can too! Let’s go around the circle and say one thing that we are going to trust God with. It can be your family, your friends, school, health, sports, anything! Say, “I can trust God with _____.” Ready? (Go around the circle and help kids think of something they can trust God with.)

Read: Esther 1-2:4

The name of God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, and Mordecai and Esther could hardly be considered people of Jewish faith. They lived in Persia during a time when Israel’s disobedience had distanced them from God. Yet we’ll see as this story unfolds that God was present and active in every detail. Throughout the story, people were in the right place at the right time, but what we are tempted to call coincidence was actually God’s divine providence. He is faithful and present even when we are not, and he is actively involved in the smallest pieces of our lives. Few stories display this truth more clearly than Esther’s.

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The story opens with a robust and endless party thrown by the most powerful man in the world, King Xerxes (Ahasuerus), the King of Persia. He was a selfish man with a giant ego to whom no one ever said no—except for one person, his own wife Queen Vashti. After days of drinking and partying, a very drunk King Xerxes commanded his men to bring the queen before him so he could enjoy her in front of them.

Her refusal and the burning anger that followed in Xerxes (Esther 1:12) led to impulsive decisions that affected all women and banished Vashti for good. In an instant, the position of Queen of Persia was open. When his anger subsided, and he sobered up, King Xerxes realized that getting rid of his queen meant he had no one to meet his selfish desires, so his advisors suggested a sort of “beauty pageant” for all the young virgins to be brought before him. He could decide to keep the ones who pleased him the most and choose his next queen.

One of those young virgins happened to be Esther, and in a bizarre and almost offensive sequence of events, the stage is set for Esther to become queen and one day save God’s people.

Even at the beginning of Esther’s story, God was orchestrating people and events intentionally. God was turning twisted circumstances into something good. Do you believe God does this in your own life?

This month, along with the kids, memorize Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This is God’s promise, and Paul writes about it with assurance. He says we know, not we think or we hope. How might memorizing Romans 8:28 this month give you that same assurance?