Question for Group Discussion based on Mark Scott’s Bible lesson for July 7, 2024
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1. Have you ever tried to keep your identity a secret? Why? What happened when your true identity was revealed?
Ask two people to read aloud Esther 2:5-20, one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. Then ask a third person to briefly summarize the passage.
2. Esther 1 tells how King Xerxes hosted a great banquet in Susa for military officials, princes, and nobles. “For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty” (v. 4). But when he sent for his wife, Queen Vashti, to come and display her beauty to the people he had assembled, she refused.
• What do you think of this scenario? Discuss.
• Was Queen Vashti’s “disrespect” for King Xerxes a harbinger of what was truly likely to occur throughout the land (as described in Esther 1:16-18) unless the king, in effect, deposed her and sought out another queen?
3. Does the prospect of spending a year at the spa receiving beauty treatments (as Esther did) appeal to you? Why or why not?
• If you are a woman, what do you think of the prospect of living in a harem?
4. What do you think was Mordecai’s purpose in forbidding Hadassah/Esther from revealing “her nationality and family background” (v. 10)?
5. What evidence from the lesson text would indicate Esther was a beautiful person inside and out?
6. The king threw a banquet for his new queen, which must have been exciting. But do you sense that being the queen of this kingdom might not have been a fairy tale existence? What misgivings do you have and why?
7. How is Mordecai and Esther’s love, concern, and devotion for one another demonstrated throughout this passage?
8. Based on our study and discussion, complete the sentence: “I will . . .”
For Next Week: Read and reflect on Esther 4:1-17. You can also read next week’s supplemental texts and the Study and Application sections as part of your personal study.
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