This blog post is an excerpt from the booklet entitled, "Women of the Bible" - Volume 1.
It is written as if Esther is sharing her heart directly with the reader.
Thank you for allowing the author to use poetic license throughout this article
while seeking to stay true to the Biblical account of Esther's life.
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall their enlargement
and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom
for such a time as this? - Esther 4:14
My name is Hadassah, which means “myrtle.” The myrtle tree is a symbol of my country. I am an Israeli. You might not recognize me by this given name, however. You see, my story has a beautiful ending which changed most but not everything about me. I will receive a new name and live in a new home. However, I still belong to the same people as I always have—I am one of God’s chosen people, the Jews. I would like to start from the beginning, so you will understand where I have come from and why God is so real to me. My story begins in a small village outside the palace of the king in the country of Shushan. I was born into a godly family. We lived in freedom, had a nice neighborhood, and an extended church family. We prayed together, and I learned of Jehovah God and of the coming Messiah Who would save His people from their sins. I had everything a little girl could want. Life was good. My father’s name was Abihail. We are descendants of the tribe of Benjamin. Sadly though, when I was just a small girl, both of my parents passed away. I did, however, have a wonderful cousin who took me in and raised me as his very own. The Bible says he had to protect me because I was fair and beautiful. I do not know about all that, but I do know I experienced God’s love in my childhood. This sense of belonging became not only my identity but my calling. God had a special plan for my life. Little did I know that He was going to take the pen of my future and write my story for me. He was going to use me to save my people, the Jews. But first, my entire life had to change. News came to my village of the king’s decree that his queen, Vashti, could no longer sit on a throne and was banished from the kingdom. This was all because she would not answer the king’s summons. He was a heathen man, so we girls were somewhat fearful when they told us the king was looking for a new queen. To my surprise, I was commanded to come to the palace and be among those whom this pagan king would choose to replace Queen Vashti. Unfortunately, I had no choice. The cousin I told you about who raised me was named Mordecai. He was a well-respected man who sat at the gates of our city. He warned me that I was not to tell others of my Jewish descent. This is because I would most likely be killed or be forced to become a slave in the palace. That is when my name was changed to Esther. This would be my Persian name meaning “star.” This is also a symbol of my country. We know it as the Star of David. My name changed but who I was before the Lord did not. God knew what He was doing and soon would reveal it to me. This was His choice for my life. When I arrived at the palace, Mordecai promised to visit every day to insure that I was well. Surprisingly, it was not at all as I thought it would be. God had given me favor and I quickly earned the kindness of Hegai, the keeper of the women. He gave me seven maidens to help me learn the ways of the palace, and he preferred me above the others. He even gave me the best room in the house among where the women stayed. All of us candidates were given anything we desired to make us feel beautiful enough to be chosen by the king. I never felt comfortable being anything but myself. I decided if the king desired for me to be his queen, he would have to choose me the way God had made me. I asked to be given nothing: no special garments, no jewels, no makeup. What I didn’t know was that God had put His favor upon my outward appearance. The Bible says I obtained favor in the sight of all who looked upon me. You know that had to be of God if even the other woman competing for this position were kind to me. God was orchestrating every detail of my life even though I may not have seen it at the time. He saw my parents had been taken from me but showed me I was “His” daughter. I relied on Him and His plan for my life, and it was quite a plan! I was never alone. The king immediately loved me above all the women. I was crowned the new queen: “Esther, Queen of Persia.” This title brought the most change for me. Immediately, I was faced with hard choices. One of the king’s most trusted men grew to hate and disdain the Jews. What was I to do? What was God doing? Here I was in the palace, a Jew. The previous queen had been banished just because she would not parade in front of the king’s drunken friends. What if he discovers I am one of the Jews? What will he have done to me? Just when I felt I was in the most danger, my cousin speaks faith to me by issuing this thought-provoking challenge. He believed I was placed here by God “for such a time as this.” He said that not only can God keep me safe but He can also use me to change the entire course of history for the Jews. God wanted me to take this opportunity. But how can I possibly save an entire race of people? Can I do this? The choice is mine...I choose to follow God. I will surrender to His call. When God reveals His plan for your life, He always sends peace to your heart. He also gives clear direction of what to do. For me, it meant I was to go before the king. You may think this was no big deal, but in fact it was. You see, in my day, only those who were summoned by the king were allowed to come before his throne. This applied to even his wife and children. As a matter of fact, the punishment was immediate death. My belief in God is what gave me strength. If I entered into his presence without being summoned, I could be put to death. But if I did not speak for the Jews and plead on their behalf, I would also be put to death along with every Jew in our region. The choice was clear. I would take the ultimate risk and go before my husband, the king. This is why God chose me. This was my destiny. Once I made up my mind, I am quoted in the Bible as saying, “If I perish, I perish.” It felt so good to let go and give God control of my life. Whether or not He chose to save me, I knew I had served my purpose. I would be obedient to God’s call. He would not have to choose some other way or another person to save His people. I was ready and willing to allow God to use me. So, through the doors I went. There must have been whispers throughout the chambers because everyone knew where I was going. As I entered into King Ahasuerus’ presence, I looked into his face. The guards immediately came towards me ready to enforce the law. Instantly, the king raised forth his golden scepter to me which was a sign of grace. I accepted this gesture and put my hand upon the top of his scepter. What would happen next? He gently spoke my name saying, “Queen Esther.” Then he asked, “What is thy request?” I requested for him to come to a banquet I had planned in his honor. He agreed. Now I could breathe again. I knew God was going to take care of everything that was to follow. There at the dinner, I made my plea humbly but boldly: “If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman which he wrote to destroy all the Jews in the king’s province.” Not only did he honor my request, but he sent Haman to the very gallows he had built for my cousin, Mordecai and the Jews. My story points to the Cross. We were sentenced to death for our sins. Yet we came before God’s throne of grace and He extended His gift of love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. But we must accept His gift to receive eternal life. Just as I put my hand upon the scepter, we too must say, “Yes!” to Jesus and trust that He is the only way to Heaven. Then we are saved and can bring our petitions before the Lord. You may not be a Jew like I am, but you are chosen of God just like I was. If you are saved, you are a “Daughter of the King.” You are loved beyond measure. You were made for a purpose. If you have never humbled yourself at the feet of the King, He is waiting with grace and love to accept you. Jesus offers His free gift of eternal life to you. He will forgive your sins and make you one of His own. Then you can dine one day in Heaven with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. - Romans 10:9-10
Once you are saved, I encourage you to allow the Lord to use your life to glorify God and bring people to Jesus.
What is God calling you to do “for such a time as this”?
Queen Esther’s Lessons and Attributes:
It is interesting that the book of Esther tells us her miraculous story began after she lost her parents and was taken from her home. We do not know all the details surrounding the death of her parents, but we do know that she was cared for by family. Mordecai has something to do with her attitude and how she chose to view the circumstances of her life. We learn from his example that we need to be strong for our family. When trials come, we need to remind them of God’s goodness. We need to dwell on what has been given and not what has been taken away. But what if Esther would have become bitter and questioned God for what had happened in her life? What if she would have chosen to marry this pagan king and turn her back on her faith and godly heritage because she felt God had failed her? Maybe she had been inspired by the many Jews who had gone before her like Joseph. He chose to live for God even when he was sold into slavery by his own brothers to serve under a heathen ruler. I am so glad that God included Joseph’s spirit and attitude concerning his trials in Scripture for Esther and for us. Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to save much people alive.” * Esther was not vain even though she was very beautiful. (Proverbs 31:30) * Esther never forgot where she came from. She was not ashamed of living out her faith even when she was forced to live among a lost world. She was a light that led the king to God and saved her people from death. * Esther was a strong woman who was determined to fulfill God’s plan for her life even if it meant she would have to die. She shows us that all women can do great things “for such a time as this.”
Comments