Vacation Bible School Lesson
KIDS OF THE KING
Esther, The Courageous Queen
Wednesday Esther 2:6-17; 3; 4:11-5:3; 7
Memory Verse: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
INTRODUCTION: Have you ever been with a group who were saying wrong things about something or someone? You knew the truth and knew that you should say something, but were too afraid. Queen Esther knew just how you felt. She, too, had to decide whether to take a courageous stand for God and His people, or to say nothing and allow them all to perish, or die, including her cousin who raised her.
ITHE ORPHAN ESTHER (Esther 2:6-7)
Esther was a Jewish girl whose mother and father died when she was very young. Her godly cousin, Mordecai, took her in as his own daughter to raise. Even though the Jews had been taken into captivity by the king of Babylon many years before, Mordecai raised Esther to be a godly young lady in the midst of this heathen country. Everyone who knew Esther loved her, not just because of her beauty, but because of her sweet and humble personality.
IITHE QUEEN ESTHER (Esther 2:8-17)
A.Taken to the palace
Esther was chosen among many other girls to go live in the palace for one year. During this time she and the other girls were taken care of very well because ONE of them would be chosen to be the next queen of Shushan!
B.Favored in the palace
The man in charge of these ladies immediately saw the difference in Esther. She was not demanding l like the other girls. She was humble and didn’t need the things of the palace to make herself beautiful. He saw to it that Esther was given the best of everything even though she never asked for any of it.
C.Chosen by the king of the palace
When the king saw Esther, he fell in love with her and chose her to be his new queen. This simple, orphan, Jewish girl was now the Queen of the Shushan palace.
IIITHE JEWESS ESTHER (Esther 3)
A wicked man named Haman let his heart become full of pride. He wanted everyone to bow down to him whenever he walked by. Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, knew he wasn’t to bow to any man, only to the one true God. So angry was Haman that he tricked the King into signing a decree stating that all the Jews of the country would be killed on a certain day without even the chance to fight back in defense. Still at this time, no one knew that Queen Esther was a Jew herself. This troubling news caused the queen and her cousin, Mordecai, to do something to save their people. Esther planned a dinner and, under the instruction of her cousin, revealed at just the right time that she was a Jew and that Haman was trying to kill her people and herself – THE QUEEN!
IVTHE COURAGEOUS ESTHER (Esther 4:11-5:3; chapter 7)
A.Courage to go to the King unannounced
No one was to go to the king without first being invited. But, Esther knew she HAD to go, even if it meant that she might lose her own life. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO ESTHER? – The King welcomed Esther!
B.Courage to take a stand against evil
Esther had to risk her own life for the lives of God’s people - Israel. She, alone, took a stand for right and God gave her the victory. Wicked Haman was executed and the Jews were spared.
VGOD NEEDS COURAGEOUS BOYS AND GIRLS TODAY
Do you have the courage to stand up for what is right when everyone else is doing wrong? What would you do if everyone around you was:
A.Cursing
B.Smoking
C.Drinking
D.Disobeying their parents
E.Talking back to the teacher
F.Destroying others’ property
G.Being lazy and sarcastic
H.Staying home from church
I.Playing ball games or going on camp-outs or the park on Sunday instead of church
J.Listening to the wrong music
*What if you would have been in Esther’s place? Would all of the Jews have been spared as they were in this story OR would they have all died because you wouldn’t take a courageous stand against wrong?
TEACHER NOTE:For a full understanding of this story, read the book of Esther in its entirety. Apply this lesson according to the age you are teaching. The older the children, the more you can go into the things listed above. Laziness, vandalism, and immorality have become problems more and more in the younger ages (5th through 8th). As in every lesson, bring out the need of salvation for everyone. Only the Savior can give a person the courage needed to stand against wrong. Without the Savior, you won’t have this godly courage. Always give a clear presentation of the Gospel.
