Chapter 1. Did I do that too quick for you guys back there? I can do a take two. Esther,

I am so excited to start the book of Esther tonight. We completed the book of Nehemiah last week,

and we're making our trek through the Bible. I think we started in Genesis in 2006.

It's a lot, that's a big book, right?

So we spent, I want to say a couple years, then Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,

Joshua, judges, Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, then Ezra, then

Nehemiah, and tonight's Esther, you know what comes after Esther, Job. So I've scheduled

several trials for you to go through while we go through the book of Job. Anyway, we need to, why don't we pray first and then we'll

get started, if you would join with me. Loving Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your word,

and thank you for this book of Esther that we're going to start in tonight. I just know, Lord, that you have

so much for us in this amazing book. And Lord, I pray that tonight as we tackle chapter one,

that you'll speak into our lives and minister to us, that which you have for us, we pray. In Jesus

name, amen. Let's's see i want to give you

kind of an introduction uh sort of a snapshot of what we're in store for i know that you know kind of

uh the story of uh esther and her uh cousin mordecai and of course the demon-possessed Haman

and we're going to be introduced to a lot of these people as we get into it.

But Esther is actually a record of what happened to those who remained in Persian captivity.

So we're in Ezra and Nehemiah and it was about those who returned to Jerusalem under

Zerubabaabal and Ezra and Nehemiah as well.

But remember the majority of the Jews stayed in Persian captivity. It was just a

small percentage of the Israelites that actually returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt first the wall

under Nehemiah and then the temple actually see the other way around.

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