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Caption transcript for Esther (2017): “Beautiful Inside and Out” (1/8)

• 00:05 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
• 00:09 is that they might be saved
• 00:12 for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek
• 00:15 for the same Lord over all
• 00:17 is rich unto all that call upon Him.
• 00:40 Welcome to Zola Levitt Presents.
• 00:42 I'm Kirsten Hart.
• 00:43 And I'm David Hart
• 00:44 We're so glad you've joined us
• 00:46 for this encore presentation of
• 00:48 "Esther, for Such a Time as This".
• 00:51 It was originally aired back in 2010
• 00:53 with our good friend Dr. Jeffrey Seif.
• 00:56 I also think that you and I have been
• 00:58 doing pretty well with our Hebrew.
• 00:59 We're working on it.
• 01:00 We're going to have a lesson today.
• 01:02 And we'll have a guest analyst
• 01:03 for every program in this series,
• 01:05 Ted Pearce, who is a musician.
• 01:08 I can't wait to hear him sing.
• 01:10 We have a very special dramatic reenactment.
• 01:14 Here's the story of Esther.
• 01:20 It all happened in the days of King Ahasuerus, also called Xerxes.
• 01:27 Having overthrown the Babylonian Empire
• 01:31 he ruled over 127 provinces
• 01:34 from India to Ethiopia.
• 01:37 And the king ruled from his magnificent palace in Shushan.
• 01:45 In the third year of his reign
• 01:47 the king made a feast for all his princes and servants
• 01:50 wherein he displayed the wealth of his royal glory
• 01:53 and the majesty of his greatness.
• 02:15 All were amazed at the great wealth
• 02:17 except for one...
• 02:19 who refused to attend.
• 02:23 Queen Vashti would hold her own feast
• 02:27 sending a message to the king
• 02:28 that she would not attend his feast.
• 02:31 The king's rage would shake the very empire
• 02:35 and his trusted advisors were swift to bring judgment.
• 03:07 Dr. Seif - An insult led to a divorce
• 03:09 that a king would come to regret.
• 03:12 and the divorce would lead to a marriage
• 03:14 that the world would never forget.
• 03:17 And this friends, is the basis for the opening of a drama,
• 03:22 a fascinating drama
• 03:23 known in the Hebrew Bible as the book of Esther.
• 03:29 This story is played out against the backdrop of a rise of a King Xerxes who
• 03:35 puts a big feast together for all of his 127 provincial leaders.
• 03:41 The kingdom's divided up an enormous empire 2 million square miles
• 03:48 extending on the east all the way to India,
• 03:51 to the west all the way to Ethiopia.
• 03:53 And he gathers together his governors
• 03:56 to prepare for his invasion of the west.
• 03:59 he's drinking a little bit.
• 04:01 Well more than a little bit actually.
• 04:04 The Persians for that matter were known for their
• 04:08 mega-feasts replete with wining and dining.
• 04:13 The gold vessels were fascinating.
• 04:16 The tableware for these feasts was known to the Greeks.
• 04:20 Herodotus the historian talks about it as do others.
• 04:24 Well the biblical author of Esther talks about this story and notes how a
• 04:29 drunken King Xerxes wants his Queen Vashti to come and present herself as
• 04:36 something of a beauty queen to show herself in front of his drunken guests.
• 04:41 She refuses.
• 04:44 He is on the outs with her as a result.
• 04:46 And he is going to look for another queen.
• 04:50 In Esther chapter 1, in verse 19 were told..."
• 04:55 [Speaking Hebrew]
• 05:10 And what does he do?
• 05:12 He goes on the hunt for someone else.
• 05:16 There's a story here of demented thinking,
• 05:19 drunken kings,
• 05:21 there's an orgy of power,
• 05:24 there's preparation for war,
• 05:26 there's a woman who's "thrown under the bus"
• 05:29 because she doesn't want to subject herself to indignities.
• 05:33 What else is happening in this story is there's a God at work.
• 05:38 Providence is playing providence's hand and why is that?
• 05:43 it's not introduced into the narrative yet but there's a world that's
• 05:46 going to turn on the Jewish people.
• 05:51 Emerging later in the narrative is a fellow Haman hell bent on
• 05:55 destruction of the Jews.
• 05:58 Then as now there are those bent on killing the Hebrew people.
• 06:06 And then as now God raises up miracle, victory; raises up individuals
• 06:15 "For Such a Time as This" to hold back the tide of destruction.
• 06:21 And here I'm coming to you from a fortification overlooking Syria.
• 06:28 Battles were fought here as Jews dug in to
• 06:32 hold back the forces of anarchy and decay.
• 06:35 Today as yesterday the story continues.
• 06:39 A story that we'll look at as we consider
• 06:42 "For Such a Time as This".
• 06:46 Back in 2010 when this series originally aired
• 06:49 Syria was peaceful and quiet.
• 06:51 But now it's really a mess over there.
• 06:55 It is.
• 06:56 It's just another country that's against the Jewish people
• 06:59 just as in ancient Persia with Esther.
• 07:02 Now let's continue back to our dramatic reenactment.
• 07:09 Mordecai, Esther's cousin was among the captive Jews in Shusan.
• 07:14 When Esther's parents had died Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter
• 07:20 and raised her, caring for her deeply.
• 07:56 And so it was that Esther was taken before Hegai,
• 08:00 the guardian of the king's harem.
• 08:03 And she was pleasing to him.
• 08:07 It would take 12 months of preparation
• 08:09 before Esther would appear before the king.
• 08:14 Attended to by 7 maidens
• 08:17 she would receive 6 months treatment with oil of Myrrh
• 08:21 and then another 6 months treatment with perfumes and cosmetics.
• 08:29 Esther had never looked so lovely.
• 08:40 Our heroine Esther has made her way into the palace
• 08:44 at Mordecai's bidding
• 08:46 in the hopes of not just making it into the palace
• 08:49 but making it into the head and into the heart
• 08:52 of the man who runs the place...
• 08:54 Xerxes.
• 08:56 In order to facilitate that she's pampered to be sure.
• 08:59 Not only is she given a gloss with the finest of ointments
• 09:03 but she's given a fine piece of advice,
• 09:05 or so it's construed in the biblical text, by Mordecai
• 09:09 who tells her something that to me is striking
• 09:12 because at one level it's so very pathetic.
• 09:14 In Esther Chapter 2 in verse 10 were told,
• 09:19 [Speaking in Hebrew]
• 09:27 It seems that the word from Mordecai to her was
• 09:31 "Shhhh. Don't let them know that you're a Jew".
• 09:37 Because somehow by virtue of her being Jewish
• 09:40 that would be construed as a deficit.
• 09:45 The fact that there's problems associated with being Jews,
• 09:48 I'm reminded of that as I am here in this bunker
• 09:52 that speaks of troubles with the Jews of days not so long ago.
• 09:58 On the one side is Syria, on the other side is Israel.
• 10:03 Here in the Golan Heights
• 10:04 there's a barrier between the two.
• 10:07 A barrier that is sacred to the Jewish people
• 10:11 to be defended at all costs.
• 10:13 And why is that?
• 10:15 To have a strategic point to hold back the forces of destruction
• 10:21 that are alive today...here,
• 10:25 just as they were yesterday...here.
• 10:29 Why is that?
• 10:31 When we look in biblical history as modern history
• 10:34 we discover that individuals bent
• 10:37 on the destruction of the Jews raise their hoary heads.
• 10:43 Kingdoms have done it and they have risen and they have fallen.
• 10:48 The Egyptians held the Israelites in their clutches
• 10:51 in the days of Exodus.
• 10:53 And where is Egypt today?
• 10:56 The Babylonians did, the Romans did in their day;
• 10:59 different peoples have come and gone
• 11:03 but the Jew in some sense is immortal.
• 11:06 And why is that?
• 11:08 Well to play off a song you might have heard,
• 11:11 here as I'm reminded of Esther's being told
• 11:13 "Shhhhh - don't' let them know you're a Jew",
• 11:18 if you'll permit a little play on words with a song.
• 11:20 You might of heard it.
• 11:22 It goes like this...
• 11:23 "Amazing grace how sweet the sound"
• 11:27 [ The following lyrics are not of original hymn ]
• 11:29 that has preserved God's people the Jews
• 11:31 for we've been hated, often berated
• 11:34 and still we're castigated.
• 11:37 You can bet we have paid our dues.
• 11:40 we've been put through many dangers, toils and snares
• 11:45 for reasons which we have not deserved.
• 11:48 But in spite of men's attempts to kill us off,
• 11:53 by the grace of God we have been preserved.
• 11:57 Now we the Jews have been here for thousands of years
• 12:01 and like the sun we've been shining in our place.
• 12:05 And in case you're wondering why it is the Jews don't seem to die,
• 12:10 The answer's clear it's cause of God's amazing grace.
• 12:25 Are Gentile believers meant to adopt the Mosaic Law?
• 12:28 Is there a separate salvation covenant for Israel
• 12:31 that removes the necessity of faith in Yeshua?
• 12:34 Eitan Shishkoff tackles these questions and more in today's resource
• 12:38 "What About Us?"
• 12:40 In this book Eitan uncovers concrete scriptural evidence
• 12:43 of God's original plan for Jews and Gentles
• 12:46 to become One in Messiah
• 12:49 and work together for salvation of National Israel.
• 12:52 Learn the importance of how the Gentile church
• 12:54 should relate to the remarkable Messianic movement
• 12:57 of Jews accepting Jesus.
• 12:59 An important read for believers of all walks of life.
• 13:02 Please call us.
• 13:02 Or go on line
• 13:04 and ask for the resource
• 13:05 "What About Us?"
• 13:08 We'll return to the program in just a moment.
• 13:10 But first I wanted to ask if you've
• 13:12 every thought about what it takes
• 13:14 to put this program together.
• 13:16 I can assure it's a lot more than just
• 13:18 "lights, camera, action".
• 13:20 There's a lot of prayer and planning.
• 13:23 Our family is a lot like yours.
• 13:25 We pray and we plan.
• 13:27 And we hope that you'll be praying for us
• 13:30 and planning to help support us too.
• 13:45 The wonders of the Bible
• 13:47 can only be experienced in Israel.
• 13:50 Zola Tours invites you
• 13:52 to join a dream vacation you will never forget.
• 14:17 Every year our ministry takes 2 Tours to Israel.
• 14:21 One in the Fall and one in the Spring.
• 14:23 Go to our website levitt.com
• 14:25 Click on the tour page
• 14:26 and find out more information.
• 14:28 We'd love to have you go with us.
• 14:30 Now, let's go to our weekly Hebrew Lesson.
• 14:37 Shalom Havarim .
• 14:38 "Hello Friends".
• 14:40 For Purim we also remember
• 14:41 Ta'anit Ester
• 14:43 "The Fast of Esther"
• 14:44 Before Esther went unto the King
• 14:47 She proclaimed a fast for everyone to keep with her
• 14:50 before she would go to the king
• 14:52 because it was very dangerous
• 14:55 for her to go to the king before she was summoned.
• 14:58 And she went before she was summoned.
• 15:00 to plead the cause of the Jewish people that were in danger.
• 15:04 Thank you Deanna.
• 15:06 Not only is she our teacher
• 15:08 but she's also the wife of Chaim Malespin
• 15:12 who's been a part of our ministry for awhile now.
• 15:14 We love him.
• 15:15 He's on all our social media sites.
• 15:17 And he does great videos.
• 15:19 But now we welcome Deanna to the family.
• 15:21 And she taught us "The Fast of Esther"
• 15:24 is Ta'anit Ester
• 15:27 Let's try it.
• 15:28 Ta'anit Ester
• 15:30 The " er " is different
• 15:32 because usually in our American English
• 15:35 we say "errr"
• 15:37 And we have so many people that say "Esterrr"
• 15:39 The Feast of "Esterrr"
• 15:40 But the "r" is different.
• 15:42 So it's Ta'anit Es -" tair "
• 15:44 Now let's go to our dramatic reenactment
• 15:46 where Esther is crowned Queen
• 16:37 It's every girl's dream isn't it?
• 16:39 To be chosen.
• 16:41 It's a rags to riches story.
• 16:45 It's a story about a great girl who made good.
• 16:50 And what is that?
• 16:51 You may well know the story.
• 16:53 We're told in the book of Esther,
• 16:55 chapter 2, verse 17,
• 17:07 And the net result as he's processed who the next queen's going to be,
• 17:11 we're told,
• 17:25 What a story it is...again,
• 17:27 this local girl who's made good.
• 17:31 I want to raise the question rhetorically:
• 17:34 What is it that facilitated her rise?
• 17:38 We're told right before this,
• 17:41 And I think this is significant I should say
• 17:43 Particularly to offset the fantasy about Jews.
• 17:47 You know how Jews are depicted as greedy,
• 17:51 covetous, after everyone's money?
• 17:56 That's the myth.
• 17:58 What's interesting is the women that were begging the king's affections were
• 18:04 given the opportunity to wear anything and everything they wanted.
• 18:08 And so the ladies were choosing the gold and the silver
• 18:12 and the diamonds and all the finery.
• 18:14 Esther, however, is distinct from all of that, went modest.
• 18:20 And it was who she was that shined more than any diamond.
• 18:24 And what happened is Xerxes conceived that she was different.
• 18:29 This girl was no "Gold Digger".
• 18:31 Literally, she didn't even want to adorn herself with all of that.
• 18:35 And It's not just that, by the way, we're told specifically in the text
• 18:40 how she wasn't given to that kind of arrangement.
• 18:43 Mordecai, her Patron who's going to be elevated later
• 18:48 and receive large sums of money,
• 18:51 he himself with the money is given to largesse,
• 18:56 to benevolence, to giving to the needs of others
• 18:59 rather than being particularly greedy himself.
• 19:04 It's a great story in part I think because Jews are
• 19:07 so often depicted in a whole other light that is absolute fantasy.
• 19:14 Jews are good people, a decent people, a kind people.
• 19:18 Even here in Israel the Jews aren't interested
• 19:21 in gobbling up other people's real estate.
• 19:26 Well this is a story of a woman who has come into her own.
• 19:30 we're not talking about "real" estate as much as "regal" estate.
• 19:35 It's a story about a woman, Esther, who's come into her own
• 19:39 "For Such a Time as This".
• 19:42 And this Esther is going to in affect stand as a savior of the Jewish people,
• 19:47 for when the forces of hell are bent on their demise
• 19:52 Esther is there to take a stand and stand she does.
• 19:59 (Esther singing in Hebrew)
• 22:00 That is such an amazing story through song.
• 22:02 And if you weren't moved by that
• 22:04 I think there's something wrong with you.
• 22:06 Also today we have another wonderful singer
• 22:10 whose been with us before, many of you will
• 22:12 recognize, Ted Pearce.
• 22:14 We're so glad you're at this desk with us for this series.
• 22:18 Thank you, very much.
• 22:20 I'm really excited.
• 22:21 I've been waking up to you music for the last few days.
• 22:24 And it's been encouraging.
• 22:27 It's joyful.
• 22:29 Spirit filled.
• 22:30 And I'm really thrilled that you're with us.
• 22:32 I'm just glad to hear it's not putting you to sleep.
• 22:34 [Laughing]
• 22:36 It woke him up, that's good!
• 22:38 Thrilled to be here.
• 22:39 It's great to see the new hosts here at the Zola Levitt show
• 22:42 and I'm glad to be a part of it.
• 22:44 Tell us what you're doing these days.
• 22:45 Well, I've been basically living on the road for 17 years.
• 22:49 And I've just come off the road.
• 22:51 I'm now going to be a stationary worship leader
• 22:53 in Asheville, North Carolina.
• 22:55 We're working on a lot of other projects there besides that.
• 22:59 But that's pretty much of what I'm doing.
• 23:00 Coming off the road, take some time
• 23:02 to build a band, write some songs,
• 23:05 Get back into a schedule of being
• 23:06 accountable to a local community.
• 23:08 How many songs do you think you've written?
• 23:11 Do you know?
• 23:12 Well' I've written a lot more than I have recorded but
• 23:15 just recorded I've got about 85.
• 23:18 WOW
• 23:20 So, hundreds of songs.
• 23:23 How many times have you been to Israel?
• 23:25 Ten times.
• 23:27 And do you do concerts in Israel?
• 23:30 I travel around visiting my friends.
• 23:32 I don't really do things like everybody else does concerts.
• 23:35 I just go around visiting my friends.
• 23:37 I go wherever I'm invited
• 23:39 and I just go for an offering
• 23:40 and I go visit my friends.
• 23:42 That's the way I see it.
• 23:43 Some people call it concerts
• 23:45 but...so yeah, when I go to Israel
• 23:48 I travel around visiting my friends
• 23:50 and if they ask me to come play I'm glad to do it.
• 23:52 We've been asked this question.
• 23:53 It's a hard question.
• 23:55 Do you have a favorite spot in Israel?
• 23:58 Hmmm - that's really...
• 24:00 That's really a tough one.
• 24:02 Yeah, I'd have to think about that.
• 24:04 Ummm... well I love them all.
• 24:08 Well maybe En Gedi
• 24:10 That's really awesome out there.
• 24:12 But yeah I love being up in the Galilee too.
• 24:14 It's so peaceful up there, I mean,
• 24:16 it's so weird...
• 24:19 If you're staying up in the Galilee you turn on the news and
• 24:21 you see all this trouble going on in Israel.
• 24:24 It's like, gee, I don't see it.
• 24:26 Where is it happening?
• 24:27 It's quiet and calm.
• 24:28 Yeah, it's really funny how you find out
• 24:29 how much trouble is going on in Israel after you leave
• 24:31 and you look at the newspaper.
• 24:32 WOW, that happened when I was there?
• 24:34 I didn't see it.
• 24:36 Esther...
• 24:37 We're studying about Esther this whole series.
• 24:39 And tell us really quick
• 24:41 what does Esther mean to you in your heart?
• 24:44 I know that's a hard one to do fast.
• 24:47 Well here's this young girl who's raised up
• 24:51 to a pretty high position being the wife of the king.
• 24:55 But that was different in those days of course.
• 24:59 But she could have just remained quiet and saved her own neck
• 25:05 but her uncle Mordecai made sure that she
• 25:09 understood that it's her responsibility.
• 25:13 The fate of her people is her responsibility.
• 25:16 And that's a really important lesson for all of us.
• 25:18 None of us live on an island.
• 25:21 Especially like today, Christians are being persecuted in other lands.
• 25:26 If we remain quiet about that then their blood could be on our heads.
• 25:32 So Esther took responsibility for helping her people.
• 25:36 That's right.
• 25:37 We're going to hear so much more from Ted.
• 25:40 But right now I'm excited to hear a song from Ted Pearce.
• 25:46 ♪[Instruments]♪
• 26:11 ♪ Oh, He Himself will redeem you from all your sins ♪
• 26:20 ♪ The Lord Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins ♪
• 26:28 ♪ Yes, He Himself will redeem you from all your sins ♪
• 26:35 ♪ The Lord Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins ♪
• 26:44 ♪ from all their sins ♪
• 26:48 ♪ Put your hope in the Lord ♪♪
• 26:59 Thank you Ted Pearce.
• 27:01 He will be singing through this whole series.
• 27:03 But we always love to end this program with this prayer,
• 27:05 Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim
• 27:07 Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
• 27:12 Our monthly newsletter the Levitt Letter is free
• 27:15 and full of insightful articles and news commentary from a Messianic perspective.
• 27:19 Visit levitt.com to find our newsletter
• 27:22 along with current and past programs,
• 27:25 our television schedule and much more.
• 27:28 Don't forget to order this week's resource
• 27:30 by calling 1-800-WONDERS
• 27:33 Or you can purchase it from our store at levitt.com
• 27:37 Your donations to Zola Levitt Ministries
• 27:39 help these organizations bless Israel.