Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman

So, this week was the third meeting of our Bible Study about Esther.  Let me tell you, Beth Moore is making me notice things in this book that I never have before! I am really enjoying myself and I can't wait till next week!  So here are some of the things from this weeks session.
Scenario #3 - It's tough being a woman in a mean world.
1. Meanness always has a history.  

• Consider Mordecai (the Jew) and Haman (the Agagite).  Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin and a direct descendant of King Saul, while Haman was presumably an Amalakite and a direct descendant of King Agag, who was killed by Samuel after King Saul supposedly "wiped out" the entire Amalekite race.  (1 Samuel 15:10-23, 30)

2.  Meanness perceives a threat, and we have to identify it.

3.  Meanness catches like a virus.

• The word Agag is believed to be related to the Assyrian term which means "to be powerful, vehement, angry."
• The name Haman sounds similar to the Hebrew word for wrath.  

4.  Meanness is curable! See Romans 12:17-21.