Ruthu na EstaRuth and Esther — Sehemu ya 8Unit 8

Esta Aingilia Kati — Esta 4:4–7:10Esther's Intervention — Esther 4:4–7:10

Mambo TunayoyaonaObservations

Mwanzoni, Esta hakujua lolote kuhusu amri hiyo wala kwa nini Mordekai alikuwa akiomboleza — alikuwa mtu aliyetengwa, aliyekatiliwa mbali na ulimwengu halisi.At the start, Esther knew nothing of the edict or why Mordecai would be mourning — she was an isolated person, cut off from the real world.

Wajakazi wake na matowashi wake walimweleza juu ya dhiki ya Mordekai, jambo linaloonyesha jinsi walivyomjali malkia wao. Walilazimika kujua habari za amri hiyo kutoka kwa Mordekai, na walipojua asili yake walisimama pamoja naye kwa umoja na wakafanya kila walichoweza kumsaidia.Her maids and eunuchs told her of Mordecai's distress, showing how much they cared for their queen. They had to learn of the edict from Mordecai, and when they learned of her heritage they stood united with her and did everything they could to help.

Esta anapojua sababu ya maombolezo ya Mordekai anagaagaa kwa uchungu — neno la Kiebrania la maumivu na utungu wa kuzaa. Huu ndio wakati ambapo mwanamke wa vitendo na wa nguvu anazaliwa ndani ya Esta; mapambano ya ndani yanamzaa mwanamke wa hatima ambayo ameitiwa.When Esther learns the reason for Mordecai's mourning she writhes in agony — the Hebrew word for the pain and labor of childbirth. This is the point at which the woman of action and strength is born in Esther; an internal struggle births the woman of destiny to which she has been called.

Mordekai anapoeleza yaliyotokea, anataja hata kiasi kamili cha hongo ambayo Hamani alimtolea mfalme — ambayo mfalme aliikataa na ambayo haikuwa katika amri. Mordekai alijuaje? Marafiki katika nafasi za juu. Anamwomba Esta aende kumsihi mfalme kwa ajili ya watu wake.When Mordecai discloses what has happened, he even names the exact bribe Haman offered the king — which the king refused and which was not in the edict. How did Mordecai know? Friends in high places. He asks Esther to go plead before the king for her people.

Mwanzoni anasita. Mfalme hajamwita kwa siku 30, na kwenda bila kuitwa yaelekea kunamaanisha kifo. Mfalme alikuwa amezungukwa daima na wapiganaji wenye mashoka; maisha ya baraza la kifalme lazima yalikuwa ya upweke kiasi gani — kiasi cha kuchangia kumfanya mfalme kuwa mwendawazimu.She is reluctant at first. The king has not called for her in 30 days, and to go unsummoned likely means death. The king was always surrounded by warriors with axes; how lonely must that court life have been — enough to help make a mad king.

Mistari ya 13–14 ndiyo mistari muhimu kuliko yote ya kitabu chote. Bila kujali ukengeufu wanaoishi ndani yake, Mordekai anaonyesha imani kwamba Mungu wa Wayahudi hatawaacha watu wake wateule. Ingawa Mungu hatajwi, anadokezwa. Ujasiri wa Mordekai juu ya ukombozi unarudi kwenye agano la Mungu — ahadi yake kwa Ibrahimu, Isaka, na Yakobo (Mwanzo 17:7; Kutoka 6:7): ninyi mtakuwa watu wangu nami nitakuwa Mungu wenu.Verses 13–14 are the key verses of the whole book. Regardless of the apostasy they live in, Mordecai expresses faith that the God of the Jews will not abandon His chosen people. Though God is not named, He is implied. Mordecai's confidence in deliverance points back to God's covenant — His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 17:7; Exodus 6:7): you shall be my people and I shall be your God.

‘Maana wewe ukinyamaza kabisa wakati huu, ndipo kutakapotokea msaada na wokovu kwa Wayahudi kutoka mahali pengine; bali wewe pamoja na nyumba ya baba yako mtaangamia.’ Hili linakumbusha Ruthu: jamaa aliyekataa kuchukua jukumu angesahauliwa, jina lake lingefutwa. Esta na nyumba ya baba yake wasingekumbukwa tena, ingawa Mungu angemwinua mwingine kuwaokoa Wayahudi.'For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father's house will perish.' This echoes Ruth: the kinsman who would not take responsibility would be forgotten, his name blotted out. Esther and her father's house would be remembered no more, though God would raise up another to save the Jews.

Mordekai anaelekeza kwenye maongozi ya Mungu: huenda Mungu alimweka katika ufalme kwa ajili ya wakati kama huu.Mordecai points to God's providence: perhaps God placed her in royalty for just such a time as this.

Katika 4:15–5:2 tunamwona Esta mpya — mwenye nguvu na ujasiri — akizaliwa. Anatoka kwa imani akijua kwamba huenda ikamgharimu maisha yake, akijitoa kama aina ya mkombozi wa jamaa kwa kuyaweka maisha yake hatarini ili kuwaokoa watu wake, akiitikia mwito si wa mfalme wake bali wa Mungu wake. Anamwita Mordekai na Wayahudi wote wafunge siku tatu, yeye na wajakazi wake wakifanya vivyo hivyo, kisha atakwenda kwa mfalme ingawa huenda akaangamia kwa kutafuta kuonana naye bila kuitwa.In 4:15–5:2 we see the new Esther — strong and confident — being born. She steps out in faith knowing it may cost her life, offering herself as a kind of kinsman-redeemer by putting her life on the line to save her people, answering the call not of her king but of her God. She calls Mordecai and all the Jews to fast three days, she and her maids doing the same, and then she will go to the king though she may perish for seeking audience unsummoned.

Kuhusu kufunga: wengi wanaeleza kwamba hakuna kutajwa kwa maombi wala Mungu. Lakini kufunga kuliamriwa na Mungu kwa siku moja tu kwa mwaka, Siku ya Upatanisho (Mambo ya Walawi 16:29–31), ambapo walipaswa kujinyenyekeza na kuzitesa nafsi zao — jambo ambalo Wayahudi walilielewa kumaanisha kufunga — wakizirudi nafsi zao, wakitafakari juu ya dhambi, na kufanya upatanisho, wakijizuia na chakula ili kuielewa nafasi yao halisi mbele za Mungu. Musa, Daudi, Eliya, Danieli, Ana, Yesu, na Paulo wote walifunga, wakitafuta kibali cha Mungu, kwa hiyo maombi kwa kawaida yangeambatana na kufunga huko. Ukimya kuhusu Mungu na maombi umeelezwa kwa njia mbalimbali na wasomi, lakini mwandishi wa Esta hajulikani, na sababu ya uchaguzi huu wa mtindo inabaki kuwa jambo la makisio badala ya ukweli uliothibitika.On fasting: many note there is no mention of prayer or God. But fasting was commanded by God for only one day a year, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29–31), where they were to humble themselves and afflict their souls — understood by the Jews to mean fasting — chastening their souls, reflecting on sin, and atoning, abstaining from food to grasp their proper place before God. Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, Anna, Jesus, and Paul all fasted, seeking God's favor, so prayer would naturally have accompanied it. The silence about God and prayer has been explained various ways by scholars, but the author of Esther is unknown, and the reason for this stylistic choice remains a matter of conjecture rather than settled fact.

Baada ya siku tatu za kuirudi nafsi yake na kutafuta kibali cha Mungu, Esta anasimama mbele ya mfalme. Moyo wake umenyenyekea mbele za Mungu; yuko karibu na mapenzi yake kadiri awezavyo — lakini hakika bado alitetemeka. Ujasiri si kukosekana kwa hofu bali ni kutenda licha ya hofu. Anajitoa kwa kifo kinachowezekana ili kuwaokoa watu wake. Ni nani mwingine aliyejinyenyekeza hata kufikia mauti, akivumilia kudhalilishwa kwa ajili ya wengine (Wafilipi 2:5–8)? Siku tatu za kuitesa nafsi zinamwelekea Kristo, Mkombozi wetu mkuu wa jamaa — kito kidogo cha Agano la Kale kikimwelekea Kristo.After three days of chastening her soul and seeking God's favor, Esther stands before the king. Her heart is humbled before God; she is as close to His will as she can be — yet surely she still trembled. Bravery is not the absence of fear but acting in spite of it. She offers herself to possible death to save her people. Who else humbled himself to the point of death, enduring humiliation on behalf of others (Philippians 2:5–8)? The three days of afflicting one's soul point to Christ, our great Kinsman-Redeemer — a nugget of the Old pointing to Christ.

Esta anapokewa kwa uchangamfu na mfalme mwendawazimu, jambo linaloanzisha mfululizo wa matukio unaoonyesha kwamba yuko mahali hasa anapopaswa kuwa, mikononi mwa Mungu, akitumiwa kuwaokoa watu wake. Mfalme anamtolea chochote atakachoomba.Esther is greeted warmly by the mad king, setting off a chain of events showing she is exactly where she should be, in the hands of God, being used to save her people. The king offers her anything she requests.

Esta anawaalika Hamani na mfalme kwenye karamu ya kwanza, lakini anazuia ombi lake na badala yake anawaalika kwenye karamu ya pili — akianzisha mfululizo unaoonekana wa kawaida lakini ni wa kimiujiza ukitazamwa katika nuru ya maongozi ya Mungu: Hamani anakutana na Mordekai njiani akirudi nyumbani na anachemka kwa hasira; nyumbani anajisifu kwa utajiri wake, heshima zake, na wanawe lakini hafarijiki kwa sababu ya Mordekai Myahudi; mke wake na rafiki zake wanamwambia ajenge mti wa kunyongea naye analipenda wazo hilo; usiku ule mfalme anakosa usingizi; anaamuru Kumbukumbu zisomwe; watumishi wanatokea kusoma kifungu kilekile cha Mordekai kugundua njama ya kumuua mfalme; mfalme anajua kwamba hakuna kilichofanyika kumheshimu Mordekai — wakati uleule hasa Hamani anapofika kuomba ruhusa ya kumtundika.Esther invites Haman and the king to a first banquet, but withholds her request and instead invites them to a second — setting off a sequence common in appearance but miraculous in light of God's providence: Haman runs into Mordecai on the way home and seethes; at home he brags of his riches, honors, and sons yet is inconsolable over Mordecai the Jew; his wife and friends tell him to build a gallows and he likes the idea; that night the king has insomnia; he orders the Chronicles read; the servants happen to read the very passage of Mordecai uncovering the assassination plot; the king learns nothing was done to honor Mordecai — at the exact moment Haman arrives to ask to hang him.

Kama mfafanuzi mmoja alivyosema: Shetani alipotia moyoni mwa Hamani kumuua Mordekai, Mungu alitia moyoni mwa mfalme kumheshimu Mordekai. Ni ngoma ilioje kati ya Shetani na Mungu — pamoja na uhakika kwamba Mungu hushinda daima.As one commentator put it: when Satan put it into Haman's heart to murder Mordecai, God put it into the king's heart to honor Mordecai. What a dance between Satan and God — with the assurance that God always wins.

Majivuno ya Hamani yanakuwa anguko lake. Akiulizwa, bila kutajiwa jina, jinsi ya kumheshimu mtu, Hamani anadhani ni yeye mwenyewe na anaweka kila kitu wazi bila kubakiza: farasi wa mfalme, vazi la kifalme, taji kwa ajili ya farasi, msafara wa shangwe — kwa maneno mengine, kutendewa kama mfalme kwa siku moja.Haman's ego becomes his downfall. Asked, without a name, how to honor a man, Haman assumes it is himself and pulls out all the stops: a king's horse, a royal robe, a crown for the horse, a parade — in effect, to be treated like king for a day.

Fikiria jinsi koo lake lilivyokabwa mfalme aliposema, ‘Ukamtendee vivyo hivyo Mordekai, Myahudi, aketiye langoni pa mfalme.’ Angalia kwamba mfalme alijua Mordekai ni Myahudi, lakini hakuna dalili kwamba aliwahi kuuliza watu waliotajwa katika amri ni akina nani — alikuwa amempa Hamani ruhusa ya kufanya lolote alilotaka. Zilikuwa zimepita siku tatu tu tangu amri ile; yaelekea alidhani inalenga genge la wahuni, kwa mujibu wa maelezo ya Hamani.Imagine the lump in his throat when the king says, 'Do this for Mordecai the Jew sitting in the king's gate.' Note the king knew Mordecai was Jewish, yet there is no sign he ever asked who the people in the edict were — he had given Haman carte blanche. It had only been three days since the edict; he likely thought it targeted a gang of thugs, per Haman's description.

Hamani analazimika kujiaibisha kwa kumtembeza Mordekai kwa heshima, kisha anakimbia nyumbani akiwa amefunika kichwa chake kwa aibu.Haman must disgrace himself by parading Mordecai in honor, then runs home with his head covered in shame.

Rafiki zake na mke wake, waliokuwa wamependekeza mti wa kunyongea, sasa wanasema ameangamia: ameunyosha mkono wake dhidi ya Wayahudi naye ataanguka. Ni rafiki zake wapagani wanaosema kwamba hakuna awezaye kusimama dhidi ya watu wateule wa Mungu na kuishi.His friends and wife, who had suggested the gallows, now say he is doomed: he has set his hand against the Jews and will fall. It is his pagan friends who say no one can stand against God's chosen people and live.

Maneno hayo yakiwa bado yananing’inia hewani, matowashi wanafika kumsindikiza kwenye karamu ya pili — fimbo nyingine nzito iko karibu kumwangukia.While those words still hang in the air, the eunuchs arrive to escort him to the second banquet — another anvil about to fall.

Katika karamu Hamani anamsikia Esta akisihi kwa ajili ya maisha yake na watu wake: ‘Tumeuzwa, mimi na watu wangu, tuangamizwe, tuuawe, tupotee.’ Kila neno lazima lilipiga masikioni mwake kama nyundo.At the banquet Haman hears Esther plead for her life and her people: 'We have been sold to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated.' Each word must have pounded in his ears.

Mfalme anatoka kwa ghadhabu kwenda bustanini — labda akitambua kwamba amri yake mwenyewe itamchukua Esta wake mpendwa. Anarudi na kumkuta Hamani ameangukia kitanda alichoketi malkia, miguuni pake: ‘Je! Atamtendea malkia jeuri mbele yangu nyumbani mwangu?’ Kuwa ndani ya futi moja na nyumba ya wanawake ya mfalme kulimaanisha kifo papo hapo; Hamani amejitia muhuri wa hukumu yake mwenyewe.The king storms to the garden in fury — perhaps realizing his own edict will take his beloved Esther. He returns to find Haman fallen on the couch at the queen's feet: 'Will he even assault the queen while I am in the house?' To be within a foot of the king's harem meant instant death; Haman has sealed his fate.

Watumishi wanafunika uso wa Hamani — hastahili hata kumtazama mfalme. Harbona towashi, aliyewahi kumwita Vashti, anakuwa mtetezi wa Esta, akimwambia mfalme juu ya mti wa kunyongea ambao Hamani alikuwa amemjengea Mordekai; mfalme anaamuru Hamani atundikwe juu yake.The servants cover Haman's head — he is not even worthy to look upon the king. Harbonah the eunuch, who once summoned Vashti, becomes Esther's champion, telling the king of the gallows Haman built for Mordecai; the king orders Haman hanged on it.

TafsiriInterpretations

Kiburi hutangulia anguko (Mithali 16:18): mtu atafaidiwa nini akiupata ulimwengu wote, akapata hasara ya nafsi yake (Mathayo 16:26)?Pride goes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18): what good is it to gain the whole world yet forfeit your soul (Matthew 16:26)?

Mungu huwaheshimu wanyenyekevu (Yakobo 4:10): jinyenyekezeni mbele za Bwana, naye atawakweza.God honors the humble (James 4:10): humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Daima ni bora kuuitikia mwito wa Mungu hata kama huenda ukakugharimu maisha yako (Mathayo 16:25): mtu atakaye kuiokoa nafsi yake, ataiangamiza; na mtu atakayeiangamiza nafsi yake kwa ajili ya Kristo, ataiona.It is always best to answer God's call even if it may cost your life (Matthew 16:25): whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses it for Christ will find it.

Ni bora kukumbuka sisi ni nani kwa kuzingatia Mungu ni nani — kujitathmini ipasavyo. Kama farasi wa vita aliyetiwa lijamu (picha ya Kiyunani ya upole, Mathayo 5:5), kufunga na kuitesa nafsi hutukumbusha kwamba bila kazi ya Kristo sisi si kitu; tukiwa tumenyenyekea mbele za Mungu, tuko mahali hasa anapoweza kututumia, kwa maana katika udhaifu wetu yeye ni hodari.It is best to remember who we are in light of who God is — a right estimation of ourselves. Like a bridled war horse (the Greek picture of meekness, Matthew 5:5), fasting and affliction of soul remind us that apart from Christ's work we are nothing; humbled before God, we are right where He can use us, for in our weakness He is strong.

Esta alikikaribia kiti cha enzi akitetemeka lakini akiwa na ufahamu sahihi wa nafsi yake mbele za Mungu. Sisi tunaweza kukikaribia kiti cha neema kwa ujasiri (Waebrania 4:16), tukiwa tumevikwa haki ya Kristo na kusaidiwa na Roho anayetuombea.Esther approached the throne trembling but with a proper understanding of herself before God. We may draw near the throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16), clothed in Christ's righteousness and helped by the interceding Spirit.

Subira ni fadhila. Esta alisubiri wakati unaofaa katika karamu ya pili, akimwachia Mungu apange matukio kwa faida yake na ya watu wake.Patience is a virtue. Esther waited for the right moment at the second banquet, letting God orchestrate events in her favor and her people's.

Tafuta shauri la wenye hekima, si shauri la wapumbavu. Mke wa Hamani anageuka kutoka kuhimiza mti wa kunyongea hadi kutabiri maangamizi yake.Seek wise counsel, not the counsel of fools. Haman's wife flips from urging the gallows to predicting his doom.

Itafute miujiza hata katika mambo madogo — kukosa usingizi, usomaji unaochosha, heshima iliyosahauliwa.Look for the miracles even in small things — sleeplessness, dull reading, an overlooked honor.

Kisasi ni cha Mungu. Chuki ya aina yoyote — ubaguzi wa rangi, chuki dhidi ya Wayahudi, kumfanya mtu yeyote aliyebeba sura ya Mungu kuwa adui yako — si njia ya kuishi; Mungu anataka watu wote waokolewe.Vengeance belongs to God. Hatred of any kind — racism, anti-Semitism, making any image-bearer your enemy — is no way to live; God desires all to be saved.

MatumiziApplications

Kufunga pamoja na kuomba — tunapaswa kufanya hivyo lini? Je, ni jambo la kawaida vya kutosha katika maisha yetu tunapotafuta majibu kutoka kwa Mungu?Fasting with prayer — when should we do it? Is it common enough in our lives when we seek answers from God?

Je, kuna mtu ninayehitaji kumsamehe?Is there someone I need to forgive?

Je, tunaitafuta miujiza hata katika mambo madogo kabisa?Are we looking for miracles even in the smallest things?

Je, tuna watu maishani mwetu ambao tunaweza kutafuta kwao shauri la kimungu?Do we have people in our lives with whom we can seek godly counsel?

Je, tunasubiri kwa subira na kwa matarajio uongozi kutoka kwa Mungu?Do we wait patiently and expectantly for guidance from God?