Book of Esther Deuteronomy 31:16–18 (NLT) 16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, ‘These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!’ 18 At that time I will hide my face from them on account of all the evil they commit by worshiping other gods. Chapter 1: A Party 1. God is at work in the margins, even when the margins are Chapter 2: Conquest and Compromise Esther 2:1–4 (NLT) Esther Becomes Queen But after Xerxes’ anger had subsided, he began thinking about Vashti and what she had done and the decree he had made. 2 So his personal attendants suggested, “Let us search the empire to find beautiful young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint agents in each province to bring these beautiful young women into the royal harem at the fortress of Susa. Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, will see that they are all given beauty treatments. 4 After that, the young woman who most pleases the king will be made queen instead of Vashti.” This advice was very appealing to the king, so he put the plan into effect. 2. God keeps His promises, even when we don’t keep 3. God’s will is being done, even when we don’t up God’s hidden providence is at work… …in the margins, even when it’s messy …keeping His promises, even when we don’t keep ours …doing his will, even when we don’t measure up CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION: 1. Can you remember a time when you experienced God’s hidden providence? (Divine intervention and care without your knowing at the time) 2. In what ways has God displayed his faithfulness to you in spite of your own faithlessness? 3. Can you think of a difficult situation that God not only got you through, but redeemed into something beautiful?