Daily Devotions · October 6
Reading for October 6
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Esther 9–10 · Luke 19
Esther 9–10 · Luke 19, Berean Standard Bible
Esther 9
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them. 2 In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. 3 And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. 4 For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful. 5 The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men, 7 including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. 10 They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. 11 On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king, 12 who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.” 13 Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” 14 So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman. 15 On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. 16 The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. 17 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy. 18 The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. 19 This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another. 20 Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, 21 to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor. 23 So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them. 25 But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced, 27 the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should not fail to celebrate these two days at the appointed time each and every year, according to their regulation. 28 These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants. 29 So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes, 31 in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation. 32 So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record.
Esther 10
Now King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the land, even to its farthest shores. 2 And all of Mordecai’s powerful and magnificent accomplishments, together with the full account of the greatness to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews and highly favored by his many kinsmen, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
Luke 19
Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Him joyfully. 7 And all who saw this began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man!” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” 11 While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently. 12 So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return. 13 Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said. 14 But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ 15 When he returned from procuring his kingship, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned. 16 The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’ 17 His master replied, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And to this one he said, ‘You shall have authority over five cities.’ 20 Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, and upon my return I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 Then he told those standing by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ 25 ‘Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ 26 He replied, ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more; but the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’” 28 After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As He approached Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 So those who were sent went out and found it just as Jesus had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 “The Lord needs it,” they answered. 35 Then they led the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over it, and put Jesus on it. 36 As He rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” 41 As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it 42 and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will level you to the ground—you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” 45 Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling there. 46 He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be a house of prayer.’ But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 47 Jesus was teaching at the temple every day, but the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people were intent on killing Him. 48 Yet they could not find a way to do so, because all the people hung on His words.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.