We have come a long way from depending on the town crier for news. Back in the day, news was announced (cried out) in the town center, then spread from house to house with some adjustments by gossipy neighbors. The medium for messages, either news or proclamations, then moved from voice to print, that is, to newspapers, pamphlets (for example, during the Revolutionary War period), and to books. Still, the news could be slanted as the term ‘the yellow press’ reminds us. N

We have been introduced to Esther and her adopted father Mordecai. Mordecai was one of the captives of the war with Babylon which Judah lost, along with his cousins who were the parents of Esther. Esther herself likely was born in captivity in Persia, but there is no ‘birthright citizenship’ in this evil empire. Esther and Mordecai are Jews, but the Jews are among dozens of ethnic groups that have been captured and enslaved by the Persians. The Jews are keeping a low profil

Sometimes our prayers are driven by desire; we want something to happen and hope that God will grant our wish. Sometimes our prayers are driven by concern; we want someone that we love to be blessed in the face of a threat to health or life. And sometimes our prayers are driven by exasperation; we have been working in the Lord’s service, but no one seems to care. Worse yet, instead of believing the Bible, some cynics seem to think that showing love and compassion for others

What does God have in store for the woman Esther, a captive Jewish slave in one of the strongest and most extensive empires to ever exist? ”Now there was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai … a Benjaminite who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with King Jeconiah of Judah … (by) King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon…. He had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his cousin, for she had neither father nor mother; the young woman was