Esther Risks All to Save Her People, the Jews

“Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, ‘Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.  For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house  will perish.  And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” –Esther 4:13-14.

                                         

The book of Esther presents Queen Esther, wife of Ahasuerus, King of Persia and Medea, also known by his Greek name of Xerxes I, as the leading character.  The account is set in the midst of world history of that day.  The time of Ahasuerus’ rule over the Persian Empire was from 486 to 465 B. C.  When the Persians captured the Babylonian Empire, they also had dominion over the dispersed Jews that had been exiled to the various provinces ruled by Babylon.  And now the Persians were at the helm and the Jews fell under King Ahasuerus’ dominion.

It is interesting that God’s name is not mentioned at all in the Book of Esther.  Yet in the action and the unfolding of the dramatic story, the theme of the book of Esther is very evident.  God’s providence was at work in protecting and preserving His people, the Jews.  The key verses of the whole book are 4:13-14.  We are familiar with Mordecai’s admonition to his young cousin, Esther, who by this time had been chosen from among the king’s concubines to replace his rebellious and deposed wife, Vashti (Amestris). In Esther’s story, not only do we see the providence of God working to save the dispersed Jews from death, but we see how he works in the lives of Mordecai and Esther to implement His plan.  Briefly, told, the scenario unfolds in this way.  The King, feasting and reveling, bade his wife, the Queen Vashti, to present herself before the guests.  She refused to do so, something that would certainly bring severe punishment in that day.  Vashti was deposed and the king began looking for another wife.  The king was advised to have his eunuchs who ordered the harem to find beautiful women and from among them one would be chosen to become his Queen.  For a year the women were groomed and trained.  Among them was beautiful, comely Esther, a Jewish maiden.  After the death of both her parents, she had been reared by her uncle’s son, Mordecai, her cousin, older than she.  He advised Esther on the important role she could have in helping to free her people.  The king was impressed with Esther’s beauty, and he made her his queen.  Mordecai, who often stayed near the King’s gate, overheard a plot against the life of the King planned by Bigthan and Teresh (2:21).  This plot was relayed to the king and his life saved.  The incident was recorded in the king’s chronicles, but Mordecai had never been rewarded for it.  In the meantime, Haman, the King’s chief advisor or prime minister, was very ambitious.  He wanted everyone to bow and applaud him.  The Jews refused to do so. He hated the Jews and wanted to find a way to eliminate them from the kingdom.  The king, on Haman’s urging, sent out a decree that all who would not bow down to Haman would be killed. It was at this point that Mordecai asvised his kinswoman, Queen Esther, that she must appeal to the king on their behalf.  To go into the king without his scepter being extended to her (his invitation) could mean her death, even if she was the queen.  She asked the Jews to fast, and she approached the King.  At a great banquet Esther arranged, she told of Haman’s plot to destroy her people.  Until this point, the King did not know that Esther was a Jewess.  The king, in anger, went out to consider the situation.  The man Haman whom he had empowered had set a trap that would include killing Queen Esther and the Jew, Mordecai, who had saved his life. In an ironic twist, Haman was ordered to be executed on the very gallows he had prepared for the hanging of Mordecai.  Brave action on the part of Esther had exposed the intrigue. 

A result was rejoicing of the Jews throughout the empire.  The festival of Purim which celebrates the Jews’ deliverance from death through the efforts of Queen Esther ensued, and has been a part of Jewish festivals through the years.  Esther fulfilled her mission.  She had come to the kingdom for such a time as that in which she lived. Paul’s statement is a good summary: “the God of hope fill you with all peace in believing, that you may abound in hope and peace in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

When Doubts Arise

“Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? –Psalm 77:7-9 (NKJV). “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered Him and said ‘Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”-Matthew 14:27-31 (NKJV).

When I talk to persons today, I sense an underlying pessimism, a near hopelessness, despondency, doubts bordering even on despair. I hear dissatisfaction about the state of our government and laments about the deep financial debts our country wavers under, the corruption in high places, the burdens of unemployment, loss of houses, high taxes. And these laments are based on truth: we live in “perilous times.” Just as the Psalmist stated in Psalm 77:2, “My soul refused to be comforted.” The Psalmist likewise remembered “the days of old, the years of ancient times,” (v. 5) as we are prone to do, remembering “better times,” when life was simpler and times (from our golden memories) were better. The Psalmist poses a series of questions in 77:7-9, much like our present laments about the conditions of our nation and the world. Where is God in all this trouble? I paired the questions of doubt from Psalms with the account of Peter trying to walk on the water. Symbolically, I think there is a striking parallel. Peter, confident, enthusiastic, unaware of his own weakness, started toward Jesus on the water. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, the water held no fears for him; amazingly, he was ‘walking on water’ (buoyant, unafraid). But then his attention shifted, and he became aware of the wind and the boisterous waves. When he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink. I thought how appropriately the questions of doubt posed by the Psalmist parallel our doubts, fears and loss of faith in our government and in the present social condition with all its ills. We should be aware of what is wrong, yes. But as Queen Esther of old was asked by her Uncle Mordecai: “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). Just as God prepared Esther and placed her in a prominent position in King Ahasuerus’ court in Persia (about 485 B. C.), just like Peter’s attempt to walk on water and nearly sinking, until Jesus rescued him, we should think that we Christians live in these turbulent times to dispel our own doubts and fears and to encourage and mentor those who hold such dark views of the times. Not that we should see through rose-colored glasses; we do, indeed live in a time of turning away from God, of injustice, sinfulness, and loss of hope. But above the troubled seas of our times, Jesus says, “Come!” And He holds out life, and hope and a way. “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Since the sad event of 9/11/2001 when planes rammed into Twin Towers in New York in a terrible act of terrorism, America has been beset by fears and doubts. I am reminded of what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the American people after we faced the attack on Pearl
Harbor on December 7, 1941: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It takes a deliberate act of the will and much prayer to overcome the strong doubts and pessimism that rob us of peace of mind and prevent us from standing in the gap and acting upon our faith. Jesus still holds out His hand, as He did to Peter on the Sea of Galilee, and His invitation is still “Come!” I like the hymn we sometimes still sing in our churches: “Higher Ground.” Its words have a clarion call to us to move forward with the Lord. In this time of doubt, down-sliding and depression, the only way to look is up to Jesus, the “author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Think on these words of “Higher Ground” by Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1856-1926): “My heart has no desire to stay/Where doubts arise and fears dismay; Though some may dwell where these abound/My prayer my aim is higher ground.” When doubts arise (and they will), leave them behind and soar on wings of faith!