Come to the Table #3
I love the story of Esther and in this book a lot happens around a meal. Yes, there was some fasting with prayer, which is important, but there was also partying! As you look at your holiday calendar remember God can be up to more than a good meal and the chance to dress up.
Esther begins with two seven day parties. One for the king and his male guests and another given by Queen Vashti for the women inside the palace.
Esther 1:5,9
…King Xerxes gave another dinner and invited everyone in the city of Susa, no matter who they were. The eating and drinking lasted seven days in the beautiful palace gardens…While the men were enjoying themselves, Queen Vashti gave the women a big dinner inside the royal palace.
As the story proceeds, things do not go well for Vashti and she is replaced as Queen by Esther. Maybe Esther’s cousin Mordecai, who raised her after her parents died, taught Esther the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. For as you read the story you find Esther planning a very important dinner for the king and the evil Haman.
Esther answered, “Your Majesty, please come with Haman to a dinner I will prepare for you later today.” Esther 5:4
The book has a happy ending and with happy endings comes eating and drinking.
Mordecai wrote down everything that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews everywhere in the provinces and told them: Each year you must celebrate on both the fourteenth and the fifteenth ofAdar, the days when we Jews defeated our enemies. Remember this month as a time when our sorrow was turned to joy, and celebration took the place of crying. Celebrate by having parties and by giving to the poor and by sharing gifts of food with each other. Esther 9:20-22
The Song
"We Will Feast in the House of Zion"-Gettys and Sandra McCracken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGrIi-k13jY
Below is a recipe and further down a scriptures for a thanksgiving treasure hunt.
Recipe -Fresh Pear Salad (Pg 96 "Come to the Table") (Im having a hard time getting the recipe to line up, so it's going to be in paragraph format. Sorry.
Dressing
1 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste, 1 tablespoon honey, 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salad
3 ripe pears, peeled and sliced thin
1 Hass avacado, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup orange juice
6 cups baby lettuce or baby spinach
5 ounces Roquefort cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup caramelized pecans
We enjoy a good scripture treasure hunt around Shiloh. Below are 22 verse about being thankful that I've typed up to hide around the house/property. Each verse you find can be turned in for something from our treasure box! Feel free to copy and print off if you like.
1 Chronicles 16:34
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Psalm 28:7
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."
Psalm 34:3
"Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.”
Psalm 50:23
The sacrifice that honors me is a thankful heart.
Psalm 89:1-2
"I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.”
Psalm 92:1-3
It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, Lord Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are, I enjoy praising your name to the music of harps.
Psalm 95:1-3
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psalm 100:4
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."
Psalm 107:8-9
"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”
Psalm 118: 28-29
The Lord is my God! I will praise him and tell him how thankful I am. Tell the Lord how thankful you are, because he is kind and always merciful.
Psalm 136: 1
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
2 Corinthians 2:14
I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume
1 Corinthians 1:4
"I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 9:11
"You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Ephesians 1:15-16
I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people. So I never stop being grateful for you, as I mention you in my prayers.
Ephesians 5:20
"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Colossians 3:15
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:17
"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 4:2
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always, pray without ceasing and give thanks in all things.
Hebrews 12:28-29
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.’”
