People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-03-10
TIE SUNDAY SCHOOL.


doLnrH TrIT-Judgo rightoously. and plead
tho cause of tho poor and needy Prov sl.0
TINE =xcfIca rcignod from Il G. ts6 u to6
His third year Tho great feast "a H. G. az.
Ills seventh yoar Esther mado queen C2lC)
~ O. 40
Ills thirteenth year Haman'a plot eulmi.
mated (sD n O. H1
Tho timo Of tho special lesson for to-day
was therefore fortyslI years before our last
lesson, wenty'nine ycan before Nehomiahs
nrat visit 10 Jerusalem, and airty.throe years
after tho nrst return Of the erilos
PLACE -ShuahAn (Susa), the winter capital
OF the Persian empire, about two hundred miles
nearly east from Babylon, and ono hundred and
twenty-five miles north Of the Persian gulf The
bite Of tho ancient Susa has been explored, and
remains OF the great palace have been discov.
cred. For description. see The Book Of Es-
Their, by Rev J. W. Haley
PLACE IN BIBLE HIsToRY.-The Book OF
Esther belongs In the hfty.eight years interval
between the sixth and seventh chapters OF
Ezra IL was after the dedication OF the sec
ond temple, u. @. 6is and before Ezra came TO
Judea, u. O. tsS
LESSON NOTES.
The Persian Empire When, more
than century before this time, Nebu-
chadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and
carried the Jews captive to Babylonia
(6Oo-5s6), he was the greatest king then
living, his empire the most powerful,
his capital the most magnificent. Then
followed the seventy years captivity.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS successors were as
little likely to permit the Jews TO re-
turn as was the great king himself.
But God saw the way out. When the
time came, the Babylonian empire was
conquered by Cyrus (5SS), and in $50
fifty thousand Jews returned from exile
under Zerubbabel. In twenty years
C5l5) the temple was built. Then came
pause of nearly sixty years in the his
tory Of the Jews. In the meantime the
Medo-Persian empire had become larger
than any previous one known in the
world, and surrounded its chief with
almost unimaginable splendor and
wealth. Its ambition was to conquer
Greece, and extend its sway over the
known world. According to Keil the
Persian empire in its whole extent from
India to Ethiopia must have contained
a population of at least one hundred
million. Canon Rawlinson estimates
the population at fifty millions.
Xrres, the Persian Emperor. The
Ahasuerus Of Esther has been identified
almost beyond doubt with Xerxes, the
son of Darius Hystaspes (the one under
whom the temple of Zerubbabel was
completely The dates of Esther and
Of secular history agree, as a key fits
lock. Their Xerxes is the Greek short
ened form Of Ahasuerus. The martial
deeds of Xerxes are fully told by Gre
clan historians, especially by Herodotus
and Xenophon. He was remarkable for
his natural beauty, but he was proud,
self-willed, amorous, careless Of contra
vening Persian customs, reckless Of hui
man life, yet not actually bloodthirsty,
impetuous, facile, changeable.
The Great Feast. According to Herod-
otus, Xerxes held an assembly to ar
range for the Grecian war in the
third year of his reign, and it is prob
ably this feast which is described in
the first chapter of the book of
Esther, as given to the mobiles of
the realm, assembled at Shushan
from all parts Of the empire. It lasted
one hundred and eighty days or six
months. The king, having before this
conquered Egypt, determined Ito lay
bridge over the Hellespont, and to
transport an army into Greece to pun
ish the Athenians" for their defeat of
his father Darius at Marathon. Then
he added: 81 intend to march through
all the parts of Europe, and to
reduce the whole earth into one empire;
being assured that no city or nation
will dare to resist my arms" At this
long-continued fete were gathered the
chief officers and mobiles of the whole
empire. Everything was done to i'm
press upon them the greatness and
power of the king, and the unlimited
resources at his command.
The Var rith Greece. An interval Of
four years occurs before a new queen is
found in place of Vashti. 1t was dur
ing this interval that his great invasion
Of Greece took place. Dipping his pen
in the life-blood Of Persan's noblest, he
wrote for himself record on flames
glittering temple. 1t is said that the
army with which he invaded Greece
numbered 5,2S3,22O souls, exclusive of
women and other attendants This
multitude was met at Thermopyle by
Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, at whose
hands 10000 Persans fell August Z, $50
B. c. Two months later the Persians
were terribly defeated in the great
naval battle Of Salamis. Themistocles,
with $50 Greek vessels, defeated Xerxes
with 1000 sail. This disaster was close
ly followed by others, which compelled
Xerxes to abandon the field and return
home with scarcely 5000 soldiers left
of all the multitude with which he
set out
Queen Esther. After the return of
Xerxes thus defeated, he ceased for
time from warfare, and sought consola-
ton in the pleasures of the harem. At
this time, the seventh year of his reign
GIG, occurs the story of Esther's ele-
walton to the throne as given in chap
tiers 1 and 2. She must have been
young at this time, between fifteen and
eighteen years old; for maidens in Per-
STA (says Justi are in their glory at
twelve, and fade by the age of twenty.
She was very beautiful; and she seems
to have preserved her purity and beauty
Of character, even amid the baseness Of