Esther: The Storyteller Collection

By R.S. Helman

THE STORYTELLER COLLECTION

A Captivating Storybook Set As Well As A Unique Childrens Bible Curriculum

Whether reading at home or in a classroom setting, children will be fascinated with the true-life stories of Esther, part of The Storyteller Collection.

In this descriptive account of a young Jewish woman who becomes queen of the magnificent Persian Empire, each section begins with a short inspiring tale, followed by questions, answers, and complementary activities neatly suited for one child as well as many children to completeand all in one book!

Parents and teachers will likewise find the lessons refreshingly straightforward and simplesimple to understand and put into practicenot based on personal opinion or assumption, but chock-full of exciting biblical fact.

Moreover, to implement the exercises, you wont need to make expensive purchases or spend a lot of time gathering excessive materials. What you will need is a passion for the truth and the use of your God-given imagination.

Other books available in The Storyteller Collection
Elijah
Elisha

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490828893

R.S. Helman

R.S. Helman, known as Beck to her family and friends, has presented her own material as a music and program director for an array of children’s classes, Bible school programs, and summer camps. In addition to her passion for teaching and storytelling, she has enjoyed fulfilling her role as a mother of two and providing services as a freelance editor and writer.

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Copyright © 2014 R. S. Helman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Bible versions acknowledged—

New International Version

Amplified Version

New King James Version

King James Version

The Living Bible

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WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2890-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2891-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-2889-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014904146

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/02/2014

Table of Contents

Prologue

Introduction

Part One

The Persian King

Part Two

What Should We Do About the Queen?

Part Three

A Beauty of a Plan

Part Four

Mordecai and the Girl He Raised

Part Five

A Star With a Secret

Part Six

Prepared for Favor

Part Seven

At the King’s Gate

Part Eight

A Plot to Destroy a People

Part Nine

Why Is He Crying?

Part Ten

Two Royal Banquets for Three Royal People

Part Eleven

For Whom the King Wants to Honor

Part Twelve

Please Spare My People!

Part Thirteen

The Tables Are Turned

Part Fourteen

Remember and Celebrate!

Website References Accessed for the Prologue

Addendum 1

Addendum 2

Addendum 3

A Note Before You Begin

The stories and lessons provided in this book, Parts One through Fourteen, are taken from the Book of Esther of the Holy Bible.

Before you begin Part One, however, you may want to use the Prologue as one or even two lessons for older children. This section introduces the setting and provides background information.

As a supplement to the Prologue, please also see the questions, answers, and activity provided at the back of the book (Addendums 1, 2, and 3, pages 197-210) to assist your child(ren) with a complementary study and review.

Prologue

The Achaemenid Empire*

A Preliminary Lesson for Older Children**

Thousands of years ago, and approximately five hundred years before Jesus Christ the Savior was born in the kingdom of Israel, a large part of the world was ruled by one Emperor. His name was Cyrus—Cyrus the Great. Under his authority, the magnificent Achaemenid Empire conquered and reigned over many other kingdoms and tribes, becoming the largest force the world had ever known.

The Achaemenid Dynasty grew to be so powerful that at one point, Cyrus was addressed as The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the Four Corners of the World. After Cyrus died, twelve other men would, one by one, rule the empire, but most would use the much shorter title of The Great King, King of Kings.

The combined reign of all thirteen Emperors lasted an incredible two hundred years.

Just How Big Was the Empire?

At the time of its greatest power, the Achaemenid Empire covered parts of three different continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe. The massive kingdom stretched from countries in Africa, including Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and the far country of Ethiopia, to the eastern country of India on the continent of Asia. If you take a few minutes to study a map of this part of the world, you will immediately realize the empire’s massive domain.

Specifically, the Achaemenid territory also included the existing countries of Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia near the Black Sea; the nations of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine next to the Mediterranean Sea; and much of central Asia that is now known as northern Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and additional countries north of Afghanistan.

The Great Kings ruled from the present-day country of Iran, which was called the land of Persia; hence, the empire is commonly known to many people as the Persian Empire—the First Persian Empire.

Several huge and significant bodies of water also played a part in this vast kingdom and included the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea in the western part of the empire; the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea to the north; the Persian Gulf next to the land of Persia (Iran); and the Arabian Sea located south of a large part of the kingdom.

A Kingdom of Connections

One of the most amazing feats of the Persian Empire was the development of many well-constructed roads that connected the numerous regions. The main highway, called the Royal Road, extended for about 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers), spanning from the western city of Sardis (today it is the village of Sart in Turkey, near Salihli and the Aegean Sea) and extending eastward to one of the empire’s capitals—Susa (located at the present-day town of Shush in Iran, near Ahvaz, at the north end of the Persian Gulf).

In the lessons of this book, you will read how messengers traveled on camel and horseback, making use of this well-organized system of roadways and delivering important royal announcements and urgent commands all throughout the land.

The First Emperor—Cyrus the Great

Before we begin the story of the beautiful girl Esther who lived during the reign of a Persian King, it is important to learn a few more historical details, particularly about the government system as well as some relevant information about four of the most famous Emperors who ruled this kingdom. Along with Cyrus, we’ll also discuss the Kings Darius, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes.

Even though they were fierce rulers who led their armies to fight and overthrow many other nations, these Persian Emperors were also merciful and thoughtful enough to permit the conquered peoples to continue to speak their own languages and practice the customs of their own cultures. King Cyrus, the first Emperor, would set the example. He was very tolerant of the different practices of other nations and graciously allowed them to worship their own gods.

On one occasion, Cyrus did something particularly special for the Israelite (Jewish) people living in Babylon. Several years prior to his reign, thousands of Jews had been captured by the armies of a King named Nebuchadnezzar (from the Babylonian Empire), and they were carried off to Babylon as prisoners and slaves. But when Cyrus later conquered and ruled over the region that included Babylon, he allowed forty thousand (40,000) Jews to return to their home in Israel and even gave them money to help rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, though, throughout Cyrus’ reign, these Jewish people had to deal with constant discouragement and threats from enemies attempting to block their construction and development efforts.

After Cyrus the Great was killed in battle, two of his sons would each separately rule for a short time. Meanwhile, the Israelite people in Jerusalem continued to face such fierce opposition from their enemies that building of their temple came to a complete standstill for approximately ten years. Then Darius, the fourth Emperor and a relative of Cyrus, came to the rescue.

King Darius

At the beginning of his reign, Darius was not able to be of much help to the Jews, for he was heavily involved in fighting several kingdoms and tribes who were resisting his rule.

However, two years later, when the Persian Empire was finally stabilized and most of the kingdom was at peace again, Darius, like Cyrus, permitted the Jews of Israel to continue restoring their temple, and the costs of building were paid from his royal treasury as well. Construction was finally completed, and the temple was dedicated during the sixth year of his reign.

At the same time, King Darius was also very effective in establishing an orderly government system. During his leadership, he organized and divided the empire into twenty provinces called satrapies (pronounced sey-truh-pees). Each satrapy was ruled by a satrap, or a governor, who was usually a member of the King’s royal family or other Persian or Median nobility. Among other responsibilities, these twenty satrapies enforced the law and collected taxes and tributes.

King Darius also directed the construction of many grand and lavish buildings in places such as Babylon and Egypt, as well as in the land of Persia. He is especially remembered for building a magnificent palace in the Persian city of Persepolis and an extravagant palace complex in Susa (a city that plays an important part in the story of Esther).

King Xerxes

When Darius died, one of his sons inherited the empire at the time of its greatest power. The Greeks called him Xerxes, and he ruled for almost twenty-one years.

Xerxes is best known for his violent and ruthless invasion of Greece in the sixth year of his reign. His formidable army of hundreds of thousands of men included many nationalities—the Assyrians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Egyptians, as well as the Jews from the kingdom of Israel. Xerxes, like other Persian Kings, considered himself a god and expected even nature, parts of the earth, to obey him.

An ancient Greek scholar, Herodotus, who lived during the time of the Persian Kingdom, wrote that when Xerxes and his massive army marched toward Greece, they came to a strait of water called the Hellespont (a narrow body of water, today called the Dardanelles). The strait connected two larger bodies of water—the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea. At the Hellespont, Xerxes ordered that two pontoon bridges be built so his army could cross over and march into Greece.

But as the bridges were being constructed, a storm arose and destroyed both structures. King Xerxes became so upset that he not only ordered the men responsible for the building of the two bridges to be executed, but he also demanded that the Hellespont (the body of water itself) be punished. Soldiers were commanded to shout at the water, throw chains into the waves, and whip the strait with three hundred lashes.

Once the bridges were reconstructed, Xerxes and the notorious Persian army (estimated to be about 200,000 to 300,000 men) crossed over and proceeded to win the first few battles in Greece, including the famous battle at Thermopylae.

At Thermopylae, three hundred (300) mighty Greek Spartans, along with about one hundred