Character Studies in Esther: Esther

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”.  Ephesians 2:10

According to the Haggadah, a rabbinical text read during Passover, Esther was a descendant of King Saul. Her father died soon after her conception and her mother when she was born.  She was brought up by her cousin, Mordecai, as his daughter. Her given Hebrew name was Hadassah and like the myrtle (Hadassah) she was of ideal in stature and all who beheld her were struck by her beauty: she was more beautiful than either Median or Persian women and... everyone took her to be one of their own people. At any rate, we know, by Mordecai’s instruction, Esther declined to disclose her lineage to Ahasuerus though she claimed (according to the Haggadah) that, like him, she was of royal descent. She was called Esther by non-Jews...this being the Persian name for the goddess Ishtar, known as the “Queen of Heaven” and associated the Greek goddess Venus. So, we shouldn’t be surprised that legend says Esther was one of the four most beautiful women in the world and that the king found her irresistible. 

This brief biological sketch helps dissuade the septics who say Xerxes would never have married a foreign born woman without royal pedigree. Of course, none of this is what sets her apart for us...

On an ordinary day God chose Esther to do what He had planned before she was even born. We meet Esther...an adopted child of no repute... who becomes queen of the largest kingdom on earth as a result of Yahweh’s determination to protect his people. But God didn’t pick Esther because she was beautiful or noble. God chose her because she listened...and obeyed.

Upon the king's orders Esther was taken, from her home, to palace where she was prepared to meet the king...as a possible replacement for the deposed Queen Vashti. Even as she advanced to the highest position of the harem, perfumed and allocated servants, Mordecai managed to communicate with her and gave her strict instructions to conceal her Jewish origins. She listened...and obeyed.

The king fell in love with her and made her Queen...

Mordecai learned of an assassination plot against King Ahasuerus. He told Esther, who told the king in the name of Mordecai, and he was saved. This act of great service to the king was recorded in the Annals of the Kingdom.

Enter Haman, Ahasuerus' highest adviser. The king had ordered that everyone bow down to Haman But Mordechai refused.  Haman, in his fury, plots to kill Mordecai and all his people. When Mordecai learned of this, he told Esther to tell to the king she is Jewish and ask that he repeal the order. Esther hesitated, saying that she could be put to death if she goes to the king without being summoned; nevertheless, Mordecai urged her to try. He encouraged her with the famous challenge; “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” In other words, “this may all be part of God’s plan for your life”. Esther asked that the entire Jewish community fast and pray for three days before she goes to see the king.

She listened...and obeyed.

On the third day, Esther went to the royal court and the king welcomed her - stretching out his sceptre for her to touch. After offering her anything she wanted "up to half of the kingdom", Esther invited the king and Haman to a banquet told the king she would reveal her request at the banquet. During that banquet, the king repeated his offer...again. Esther demurred and told the king if he and Haman would return the following day she would surely reveal her request.  The next evening Ahasuerus repeated his offer of anything Esther wanted "up to half of the kingdom" and Esther said, while she appreciated the offer, there was a more pressing issue. Esther explained there was a person plotting to kill her and her entire people, and this person's intentions were to harm the king and the kingdom. When Ahasuerus asked who this was...Esther pointed to Haman. An enraged Ahasuerus ordered that Haman be hung on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.

Mordecai replaced Haman as the king’s prime minister and he, along with Esther devised a plan to rescue the Jewish people from destruction.

If God is sovereign...and He is...you and I are not so different from Esther. We are God’s children, created to fulfill a dream he has for us...planned long before we were even born. We can’t imagine what amazing things God intends to accomplish through us. What might make us remarkably different from Esther is the possibility that we may be so wrapped up in our own plans that we can’t hear God and are unable to obey. The greatest tragedy in our lives...as Christians...is the absence of God’s mighty acts...simply because we have been too self-absorbed.

We can change that...it’s never too late. You might be in the autumn of life and fear the opportunities for God to use you have passed. Not true! Every new day is an opportunity to listen and obey. Harry Emerson Fosdick once said “we only need look at the glorious colors of the autumn leaves to recognize God saves the best for last”.

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives.

Live boldly out there today...