Her
Name: May derive
from "Isthar," the
Babylonian goddess of love, or
from the Persian word for
"star." Her Hebrew
name, "Hadassah," means
"myrtle."
Her
Character: An orphan in a
foreign land, she displayed great
courage in the midst of a crisis.
Prior to risking her life for her
people, she humbled herself by
fasting, and then put her
considerable beauty, social
grace, and wisdom in the service
of God’s plan.
Her
Sorrow: The learn that
her husband, the king, had
unwittingly placed her life and
the life of her people in
jeopardy.
Her
Joy: To watch mourning
turn to celebration once the Jews
enjoyed relief from their
enemies.
Key
Scripture: Esther 1-10
Vasti,
queen of Persia, was the most
powerful woman in the Middle
East, yet her power was as
fragile as a candle in a storm.
Her husband, Xerxes, had just
summoned her to appear before a
festive gathering of his nobles.
Vasti, however, had no intention
of parading herself like a prized
cow in front of a herd of drunken
men and refused.
What
should be done to punish her
insolence? One of the king’s
counselors spoke for all: Queen
Vasti has done wrong, not only
against the king but also against
all the nobles and the peoples of
all the provinces of King Xerxes.
For the queen’s conduct will
become known to all women, and so
they will despise their husbands
and say, "King Xerxes
commanded Queen Vasti to be
brought before him , but she
would not come." There will
be no end of disrespect and
discord.
So poor
Vasti bore the brunt of every
man’s fears. She who had
refused the royal summons was
forever banished from the royal
presence, and a great domestic
uprising was squelched before it
began.
After a
while, a search was conducted for
a new queen to replace Vashti. It
so happened that many Jews were
living in Persia at the time.
Exiled from Judah a hundred years
earlier (after Jerusalem’s
fall in 587 B.C.), they had been
deported to Babylon, which in
turn was conquered by Persia.
Mordecai and his orphaned cousin
Esther were among those living in
exile, 650 miles northeast of
Jerusalem.
Like
many young virgins, the beautiful
Esther was gathered into the
king’s harem. To refuse the
privilege may well have meant her
death. Counseled by Mordacai to
keep her Jewish origins a secret,
she spent the next twelve months
awaiting her tryst with the king.
When the moment came, Esther so
pleases Xerxes that she became
queen in Vasti’s place.
Some
time later, an Amalekite named
Haman rose to power in Persia.
Haman was so highly placed that
other officials knelt before him
as a sign of respect. One man,
however, the Jew Mordecai,
refused to kneel. Haman became so
angry that he decided to
eliminate every Jew in the
kingdom.
To
ascertain the most favorable
moment for destroying them, Haman
piously consulted his gods by
casting lots (or pur). A date
eleven months into the future was
revealed. Haman immediately
persuaded Xerxes to issue a
decree that all Jews in his realm
were to be slaughtered on that
day. By way of incentive, the
decree proclaimed that anyone who
killed a Jew could plunder his
possessions.
Mordecai
reacted immediately by contacting
Esther and asking her to beg
Xerxes for mercy. But Esther was
afraid and replied, "For any
man or woman who approaches the
king in the inner court without
being summoned the king has but
one law: that he be put to death.
The only exception to this is for
the king to extend the gold
scepter to him and spare his
life. But thirty days have passed
since I was called to go to the
king."
Mordecai
replied, "Do not think that
because you are in the
king’s house you alone of
all the Jews will escape. For if
you remain silent at this time,
relief and deliverance for the
Jews will arise from another
place, but you and your
father’s family will perish.
And who knows but that you have
come to royal position for such a
time as this?"
So
Esther instructed Mordecai,
"Go, gather together all the
Jews who are in Susa, and fast
for me. Do not eat or drink for
three days, night or day. I and
my maids will fast as you do.
When this is done, I will go to
the king, even though it is
against the law. And if I perish,
I perish."
On the
third day, Esther approached the
king. As soon as Xerxes saw her,
he held out the golden scepter.
"What is it, Queen
Esther?" he asked.
"What is your request? Even
up to half the kingdom, it will
be given to you."
But
Esther merely invited the king
and Haman to join her that
evening for a banquet she had
prepared especially for them.
That evening the king again
pressed her to ask for whatever
she desired, but Esther simply
invited the king and Haman to
another banquet, to be held the
following night. That evening, on
his way home, Haman caught sight
of mordecai, sitting smugly
rather than kneeling as he passed
by. Haman was outraged, but his
wife consoled him by proposing an
evil scheme—he need merely
build a gallows and then ask the
king to hang Mordecai on it the
next morning.
While
Haman was happily constructing a
gallows for his enemy, the king
was pacing the royal bedroom.
Unable to sleep, he ordered one
of his servants to read from
annals of the kingdom. That
evening’s reading just
happened to be about how Mordecai
had once saved the king’s
life by warning of a plot against
him. It struck the king that
Mordecai had never been properly
rewarded for his loyalty.
So the
next morning the king asked
Haman, "What should be done
for the man the king delights to
honor?"
Assuming
the king intended to reward him
in some new and marvelous way,
the foolish Haman replied with a
grandiose suggestion: "For
the man the king delights to
honor, have them bring a royal
robe the king has worn and a
horse the king has ridden. Then
let one of the king’s most
noble princes robe the man and
lead him on the horse through the
city streets, proclaiming before
him, ‘This is what is done
for the man the king delights to
honor!’"
"Go
at once," the king commanded
him. "Get the robe and the
horse and do just as you have
suggested for Mordecai the
Jew."
The man
who had planned to bury his enemy
was suddenly forced to exalt him
that very day!
That
night, as the king and Haman were
once again drinking wine at the
queen’s banquet, the king
implored Esther to ask for
whatever her heart desired. This
time she spoke without
hesitation: "If I have found
favor with, O king, and if it
pleases your majesty, grant me my
life—this is my petition.
And spare my people—this is
my request. For I and my people
have been sold for destruction
and slaughter and
annihilation."
"Where
is the man who has dared to do
such a thing?" the king
demanded.
"The
adversary and enemy is this vile
Haman."
And so
Haman’s star, which had
risen to so great a height, fell
suddenly, like a bolt of
lightning crashing from the sky.
He was hanged on the very same
gallows he had built for the Jew
Mordecai, and all his property
was given to Esther. Futhermore,
the king, because he could not
revoke one of his own edicts,
issued another to counteract the
first one. It gave Jews
throughout the empire the right
to protect themselves, to destroy
and plunder every enemy who might
raise a hand against them.
As news
of the king’s edict spread,
many people from various
nationalities became so terrified
that they claimed to be Jews
themselves. The very day
Haman’s gods had revealed as
a day of reckoning for the Jews
became a day of reckoning for
their enemies. Ever after, the
Jews commemorated these events
with the Feast of Purim. As the
book of Esther says, these days
were celebrated "as the time
when the Jews got relief from
their enemies, and as the month
when their sorrow was turned into
joy and their mourning into a day
of celebration."
Subject
to foreign powers after the
Exile, God’s people must
have felt among the weakest
elements of society. But weaker
even than a Jewish man exiled to
a foreign land was a Jewish
woman. And weakest of all would
have been a young orphan girl of
Jewish descent. God had once
again employed one of His
favorite methods for
accomplishing His purposes: He
had raised the weakest of the
weak, placing her in a position
of immense strategic importance.
But it
had been up to Esther to decide
whether she would play the part
God offered. Like Moses, she
chose to identify with God’s
people even if it meant risking
her life to do so. And even
though exile was a punishment for
Israel’s long
unfaithfulness, God showed that
He was still with His people,
delivering and protecting them in
surprising ways, turning the
table on their enemies through a
series of stunning reversals.
Earthly powers were at work to
kill and destroy, but a heavenly
power, far greater in scope, was
at work to save and preserve.
Reflect
On: Esther 5-8
Praise
God: That He turns
the wisdom and the power of the
world on its head, often using
the most surprising tactics to
accomplish His plan.
Offer
Thanks: That God has
an important purpose for your
life.
Confess:
Any tendency to view your life in
isolation from God’s people,
to shrink back from some step of
faith God may be calling you to
take.
Ask
God: For the grace
to act courageously and wisely.
Lift
Your Heart
Many
Jewish girls celebrate the Feast
of Purim by dressing up as Queen
Esther. One way we can emulate
her today is by fasting. Before
Esther took action, she employed
a time—honored spiritual
discipline to expose her need
before God. Fasting was a visible
sign of her dependency and
weakness, an eloquent form of
begging God’s help. This
week, do a little eloquent
begging yourself by choosing a
day to fast from breakfast to
lunch—dinner, too, if
you’re brave! Drink only
water or fruit juice. Perhaps you
have a particular need or problem
you would like to surrender to
God. Tell God that you need Him
more than you need food.
Don’t try to manipulate Him
by your self-sacrifice, but
simply allow your weakness to
emerge in His presence.
Lord,
I need You so much more than food
or water. Without Your presence,
Your protection, Your wisdom,
Your gift of faith, I would be
lost. I’m hungry for You
alone. Hear my prayer and give me
everything I need to do Your
will. Use me in the church and
the world around me to accomplish
your purpose.
If you
are a Christian woman and would
enjoy fellowshipping with other
Christian women consider becoming
a member of Esther's Message
Board:
