Theme: Providing a preserving and redemptive effect on the world.

COMMENTARY

Old Testament: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
The book of Esther, written about 460 B.C., makes no mention of God, worship, or prayer. It doubtless was included in the canon because it is sort of an Easter story concerning the Jewish people. The wicked Haman had laid plans for the genocide of the Jewish people. Mordecai catches wind of the plot and intercedes with his adopted daughter, Queen Esther, who intercedes with King Ahasuerus during a feast. Haman is hanged on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordicai, a kind of poetic justice. This text explains the institution of the Feast of Purim.

Old Testament: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

Epistle: James 5:13-20
The concluding remarks of James continue the practi…