Elementary Level, Block 8—Ezra / Nehemiah / Esther
Week 80
Esther—Obeying Mordecai
Point to Emphasize: We can be obedient to follow our parent’s instructions.
Reading Reference: Esther 1-2
Memory Verse: Teach me, O Jehovah, Your way; / I will walk in Your truth… (Psalm 86:11a)
Story Sample
Did you know that there are only two books in the Bible named after a woman—Esther and Ruth? Today I’d like to tell you a little about the story of Esther. Her story is very special.
It begins in a city named Susa, with a powerful king named Ahasuerus and his beautiful queen, named Vashti. There was also a young woman named Esther, who lived in the city of Susa. Even though she was living in the same city as the king and the queen, her life was much different than theirs. Esther was an orphan when she was young, and her older cousin, Mordecai, adopted her as his own child. Both Mordecai and Esther were Jews, God’s people.
As Esther was raised by Mordecai, she was a very obedient girl. She followed the instructions he gave her. There is a verse that says, “For Esther did what Mordecai told her, as she had when he was bringing her up” (Esther 2:20). Because she started in this way of obedience as a child, she continued to be obedient, even as a young woman.
On the other hand, was Vashti. Vashti was a disobedient queen, and refused to follow her husband, the king. Because she refused to follow him, the queen was dethroned and removed from her position. Her disobedience got her in a lot of trouble.
Does being disobedient get you in trouble sometimes? Most of the time, I was a pretty obedient child who followed my parent’s instructions. But there were times that I disobeyed and insisted on doing what I wanted to do. Whenever I disobeyed, I ended up in trouble by hurting myself and having to go to the hospital or not being allowed to see my friends. It’s much better to obey what your parents say. [Storyteller, give your own experience of obeying your parents.]
After this, the king knew that the kingdom needed a queen. He needed to find a good queen that would be suitable. So, he began to search for the best queen. Now, do you think you would pick Esther to be queen if you were king? I don’t think I would! After all, she was an orphan. She didn’t even have parents. I’m sure that her life was a poor life compared to the king’s. How would she know how to behave? Would she have the skills needed to be a queen? NO!
So how did what I’m about to tell you happen? It happened because Esther did what Mordecai said. He instructed her exactly what she should do, step by step, and she did it. As a result, the king chose Esther to be his queen!
Later, Esther was able to greatly help all the Jews because of her obedience to Mordecai’s instructions. She chose the way of obedience and, as a result, she was a great help to her people. Wow!
Doesn’t this make you want to be like Esther? And we can! Every day we can listen and follow our parent’s instructions. Then as we grow older, by choosing the way of obedience now, we may even be able to help others later. Next week, remember to tell us what you did to obey your parents or teacher during the week.