When we studied the book of Esther, my kids re-enacted the story, colored some Esther drawings, wore Esther masks, and celebrated the Feast of Purim! We caught it all on film for our Esther Unit Study located in the Unit Study Treasure Vault. Today I would like to show you some of the Esther drawings.
One of my sons drew a banquet hall, since Esther invited the king and Haman to a banquet three times, trying to work up the nerve to ask the king to spare the lives of her people, the Jews.
Esther had to approach the king without permission, so she risked being put to death. The laws back then were extremely severe, and kings were treated like gods. Here is a drawing of Esther bowing to the king before speaking her request for him to come to the first banquet. She looks a bit like an acrobat, and my husband laughed hysterically when he saw this drawing.
One night the king could not sleep, so he had an attendant read some boring pages about the history of his reign. Suddenly he realized that he had never rewarded Mordecai the Jew for overthrowing a plot to kill him. When Haman walked down the hallway, he was called in to see the king. “What should I do for the man that I seek to honor?” he asked Haman.
Haman replied that he should ride on the king’s donkey and wear a royal robe and be led by a high official. That’s because he thought he himself would be honored. In an ironic twist, the king tells Haman to perform all those things for Mordecai the Jew, whom Haman hated!
Haman had been trying to put Mordecai to death by building a gallows for him, but in another twist of fate (God’s providential plan), Haman was hung on his own gallows. You will have to watch the fun video in the Vault, where my husband acted the part of Haman. We all shook rattles and booed whenever Haman came onto the stage as we were re-enacting the story of Esther. We had a great time!
