Scripture: (Est 7:1-2 NKJV) So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. {2} And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!"
Observation: Esther was made aware of Haman’s plan to destroy the Jewish people, and after a period of fasting and prayer she invited the king, her husband to a banquet. After that banquet, she invited him to a second banquet the following night. It was at that banquet, when he was very pleased with the food, and with Esther, that she made her request on behalf of her people.
Application: It’s been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. One of the things I appreciate about my wife is that since we were young and dating, she made efforts to learn from my mother how to cook those things that I like best. I have to say that she not only learned how to fix some very typical Colombian food, but learned to made them very well. Pretty regularly she will fix for me one of those special dishes which not only take care of my appetite but also warm my heart.
At the same time, if a woman thinks that just by feeding her husband he will love her, she’s going to find herself with a very overweight man that simply likes to have a cook living with him. It is not that men like to eat and want to have a woman to cook for them. What men like is to have a woman who loves them enough to cook for and take care of them. Statistics show that married people enjoy better health. Single men are notorious for poor health habits. Married men enjoy the benefit of a wife who cares about them, fixes healthy meals for them, encourages them to take good care of themselves by exercising, going to the doctors for regular physical, eye, and dental exams. So really, a way to a man’s heart is not through his stomach, rather, the way to a man’s heart is through her heart.
A Prayer You May Say: Father, thank you for the love of a wife, expressed through good food, but also expressed through loving, caring actions for her husband.
Used by permission of Adventist Family Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
