Raising Children to Value God

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Genesis 18:19).

Raising Children

In the book of Esther we find a young Jewish lady being raised by her cousin, Mordecai, of the tribe of Benjamin. Esther’s parents had died when she was very young. Mordecai saw a need and stepped in to help. They lived in Persia around 480 BC.

Single Parent? Mordecai

Esther was the daughter of Abihail, Mordecai’s uncle. Mordecai took seriously the responsibility he had chosen for himself of raising Esther as though she were his own daughter. Nothing is known or mentioned regarding Mordecai’s wife or whether he had one. He may have been functioning as a single parent.

Large Empire their home

Persia, together with Media, was a large empire of 127 provinces. These were conquered peoples having their own languages. Shushan, or Susa, was the site of the capital, located in the Elam province. It was in Shushan that Mordecai and Esther made their home.

In the third year of his reign Ahasuerus the king of Persia made a feast for the princes governing over the 127 provinces. This was an elaborate feast lasting six months. The purpose of this feast was to celebrate “the riches of his kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty” (Esther 1:4).

Party to show the Queen

After the six months had ended, Ahasuerus did not want the local officials to feel left out. He put on another feast just for the capital city of Shushan. At the end of the week-long partying, Ahasuerus decided to show off Queen Vashti’s beauty. The local folks might not be appreciative of his major accomplishments, but he figured they would surely enjoy this.

But Queen Vashti did not cooperate with the plan. She had a mind of her own and refused the summons of the king. This enraged the king, who deposed her after consulting with his advisors.

Vashti refuses loses title

Then the king needed a new queen. The process of finding one took a few years. They searched among the 127 provinces and brought to the palace fair young virgins. Mordecai’s cousin Esther was one of those chosen. All of them underwent a rigorous program of preparation for an entire year.

Esther was selected as the next queen. We are told “the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti (Esther 2:17).

Esther  becomes queen

Why did Esther become queen? Not only was she beautiful, she had learned and now saw the value of everything Mordecai had taught her. He had poured himself into developing Esther’s character as she was growing up. What an amazing place to use tact, express appreciation and submit to authority!

When we raise kids, whether our own or someone else’s children, we need to train them to be the best of the best. We don’t know where those young people will be living after they grow to be adults.

God gives strength

May God give us His strength and tenacity to do the mundane work now. He calls us to be faithful. In the future the young people we have influence over may be like the house built on rock not sand. As someone has said, “Hand me another brick!”

https://youtu.be/TRcIEMgppK8

https://youtu.be/TRcIEMgppK8  You Raises Me Up  Color Music choir

Shirley Logsdon