
490 BC to 470 BC, Psalm 23: Esther
This generation is that of the years between 490 BC and 470 BC.
(extract of the psalm 23 associated to this generation, verses 1 and 2 )
- song of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- He causes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.
In Susa, it is Aman who is the designated enemy. A very particular prototype because he is the descendant of Amalek, the first people who dared to attack the people of Israel, while he had just been elected by God.
(extract of the psalm 23 associated to this generation, verses 3 and 4 )
- He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
- Even when I walk in the valley of darkness, I will fear no evil for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they comfort me.
So came the second meal given by Esther:
- So [1] the king and Haman came to drink with Queen Esther.
- And the king said to Esther also on the second day during the wine feast, « What is your petition, Queen Esther, and it shall be given to you. And what is your request, even up to half the kingdom, and it shall be granted. »
- And Queen Esther replied and said, « If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it pleases the king, may my life be given me in my petition and my people in my request.
- For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish; now had we been sold for slaves and bondswomen, I would have kept silent, for the adversary has no consideration for the king’s loss. »
- And King Ahasuerus said, and he said to Queen Esther, « Who is this and where is he, who dared to do this? »
- And Esther said, « An adversary and an enemy, this evil Haman! » And Haman became terrified before the king and the queen.
- And the king arose in his fury from the wine feast to the orchard garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life of Queen Esther, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king.
- Then the king returned from the orchard garden to the house of the wine feast, and Haman was falling on the couch upon which Esther was, and the king said, « Will you even force the queen with me in the house? » The word came out of the king’s mouth, and they covered Haman’s face.
- Then said Harbonah, one of the chamberlains before the king, « Also, behold the gallows that Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke well for the king, standing in Haman’s house, fifty cubits high! » And the king said, « Hang him on it! »
- And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger abated.
Aman’s attitude could not be accepted because Esther had the status of queen. She was first prepared as any concubine of the king then was chosen as Queen by the King.
(extract of the psalm 23 associated to this generation, verse 5 )
- You set a table before me in the presence of my adversaries;
- It was during the meal organized in the presence of Aman, enemy of the people of Israel, that the fate could be returned.
- You anointed my head with oil
- Esther was Queen
- my cup overflows.
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(extract of the psalm 23 associated to this generation, verse 6 )
- May only goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days.
[1] Esther – Chapter 7