Are God’s people special? Special because of who we naturally are, or special because of something God has done? (See Dt. 7:7-8) Why has God chosen us, blessed us, or made us special? (See Gen 12:3; I Peter 2:9 – Focus on the word “that” which reveals the purpose behind God’s actions.)
Read the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8). Compare and contrast this woman to Esther’s actions in Esther 8. What lesson is Luke 18 trying to teach us about our prayer life (see vv. 1, 5, 8) and about God’s disposition towards us (see v.8)?
Despite Mordecai’s confidence that God would deliver (Esther 4:14), God does not tell his people how he will deliver them until Esther 8:11. Even then, God does not tell them directly; they only find out from the king’s 2nd edict. Read Deuteronomy 29:29; do we know everything there is to know about God? (cf. Rom. 11:33-36) Can we trust God even if we don’t know everything there is to know about God?
