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  • Chapter 9
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Esther,

The Forgotten Heroine

“and who knoweth whether thou art come into

 the Kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14 (NIV)

Mordecai’s Bravery

Up until this time, Mordecai had been in the shadows following his beloved daughter (raised by Mordecai after her parents had died, probably when Nebuchadnezzar had overrun Jerusalem).  Now Mordecai steps center stage in this drama.  Right after Queen Esther’s coronation, Mordecai overhears two of the king’s officials plotting to assassinate him.  (Assassination was probably the most common way to the throne during this time period, and still continues today.  Remember when King’s David’s son Absalom tried to kill his own father David.)

Mordecai reported it to Esther who in turn reported it to the king who in turn investigated it and “the two officials were hanged on the gallows” Esther 2:23.  Esther gives Mordecai the credit for this valuable information. 

Up until now Esther and Mordecai had kept their Jewish background a closely guarded secret because the Persians hated the Jews, even though there was not any physical difference between them.  But that was soon to change when Haman rose to power.

Somehow, the scripture is not clear how, after the plot against the king was revealed, Haman instead of Mordecai was elevated to the highest position under King Ahasuesus.  Apparently, Haman was able to seize upon this opportunity and thrust himself to the front as the king’s protector.  Immediately, Haman lets it known to all underneath him that he was the absolute boss.  He commanded that all the royal officials under him kneel before him.  But just as Shadrach. Meshach, and Abednego and Daniel before him refused to bow in homage of anyone except the Lord their God, Mordecai also refused to pay tribute to Haman.  This puts Mordecai at the top of Haman’s list of enemies; not a safe place to be.  Haman immediately targets Mordecai for removal i.e., death.

Did Mordecai know about the three Hebrew children and Daniel?  You bet he did!!!  Every Jewish family still held in captivity would have told the stories of their courage and God’s deliverance.  Mordecai was probably no more than 100 years removed from these heroes of the faith.  What they did undoubtedly inspired Mordecai to remain true to his God.  He would not bow before any self-assuming, illegitimate power.

Haman was infuriated at Mordecai’s defiance.  Haman pressures the court official to find out why Mordecai refused to bow in his presence.  Eventually he told them he was a Jew.  When Haman hears this he immediately set out to have all the Jews done away with.  (Of course Haman does not know that the Queen is a Jew as well.)  He plots a scheme to get the king to order the Jews killed.  He goes before King Ahasuesus with the accusation:  “There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples on all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are “different” (italics mine) from those of all other people and who do not obey the king’s law”  Esther 3:9.  The king agrees to Haman’s solution to the problem:  destroy all the Jews. 

King Ahasuerus even gave Haman his permission to oversee their extermination in every province of the kingdom “Dispatches were sent out unto the king’s provinces (from India to Ethiopia) with the order to destroy. Kill and annihilate all the Jews-young and old, women and little ones …and to plunder their goods” Esther 3:13.  The execution date was set, exactly six months from the date to the decree, the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.  Esther 3:12 tells us the decree was signed on the thirteenth day of the first month, which is Tishri.  Adar is the sixth month in the Jewish calendar.  Apparently, since the kingdom of Persia covered such a vast territory that six months was needed to get every thing in place in every province in the kingdom. 

When Mordecai heard this he was obviously overcome with grief and fear for himself, his family and for all his people.  As the news spread throughout the Jewish community, the word finally reached Esther of Mordecai’s distress.  They exchange messages until Esther is fully appraised of the situation. 

Esther Springs the Trap

Haman probably didn’t know what hit him when he walked into the Queen’s quarters that evening.  After the feast was finished, as King Ahaseus and Haman were relaxing and sipping on their wine, the King asks his beautiful wife, Queen Esther “What is your petition?”  (Esther 7:2)  Esther summons all the courage in her young life and asks the king “Spare my people” vs. 3.  She elaborates: “For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation” Esther 7:4. 

It was at that point that the king must realize the love of his life is a Jewish girl and that his love for her is so strong that it doesn’t matter.  Jew or Persian what was being done to her was wrong.  The king then demands, “Where is the man who has dared do such a thing” Esther 7:5.  Esther then surely must have pointed her finger at the man who had just hours before thought in his foolish

pride that he had finally arrived at the apex of his life  and says “The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman” Esther 7:6.

Now I am positive that both King Ahaserus and Haman are both speechless.  The king gets up and goes out for a walk in the royal gardens to think things through.  As he goes out, he must surely look at Haman who has guilt written all over his face and is at a loss for words to defend himself.  He had nothing to say to the king.  It has happened so fast, so unexpectedly that Haman has no time to hatch out another plan or to even scurry to cook up a good, convincing lie.

While the king is outside thinking about his betrayal at the hands of someone he has trusted, he must surely look back and remember the plot by the officials, his salvation at the hands of Mordecai, Mordecai’s dishonor from Haman, and Ahasarus realizes that he has been had by a very clever con artist. 

In the mean time Haman literally throws himself on the mercy of Queen Esther as she is reclining on her sofa and begs for mercy.  At the same time the King comes back into the Queens chamber and thinks that Haman is trying to force himself upon the queen, i.e., to rape her.  The Hebrew is very clear on the point.  The king thinks that Haman is trying to violate his wife.  “Will he even try to molest the queen while she is with me in the house,” Esther 7:8.  Haman was hung on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, Esther 7:10.

To tie this incredible true story together King Ahasarus gives the vast estate of Haman to Esther, elevates Mordecai, the Hebrew, to the top office in the land, Haman’s former position and retracted and issued a new order.  “The king’s edict granted the Hebrews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate any armed forces of any nationality or province that might attack them and their women and children and to plunder the property of their enemies.” Esther 8:11.  This was to take effect the twelfth day of the month of  Adar, the exact day of their supposed extermination. 

All this occurred because a simple Jewish young girl acted beyond her own self-interests, who trusted her life to the God of her faith, who obeyed the inner direction of the Spirit within her,  and who was willing to sacrifice her own life to save herself, her family and indeed her own race of people.

Implications From the Life of Esther

   After our close examination of the life of Esther there are several aspects of her life that pop right off the page.  They will lead to a life that will bring glory to God and a sound reputation to the anyone who has collected his or her eternal reward.

Peace Within Makes Beauty Without

   Yes, Esther “was lovely in form and features”, (Esther 2:7) but so were so many of the other young maidens rounded up in the search for a new queen.  Outer beauty, alone, was not enough to win the king’s heart.  But when Aharerus looked at Esther’s eyes he saw a type of inner beauty that captivated his soul.  All the beautiful young maidens who were brought before the king were virgins.  But when he looked into Esther’s eyes he saw an innocence and purity that was very rare then and is even rarer today.  She caught his eye with her outer attractiveness but won his heart with her inner purity.

What do people see when they look into your eyes?  Do they see a pure heart like Esther, or do they see hatred, anger, lust, greed, etc., etc., etc.  If most of us were truly honest with ourselves we would have to say that our eyes betray our inner lusts and appetites.  Are your eyes soft with the glow of humility, self-sacrifice and true brotherly love.  Or are they hard with the fire of anger, the pain of hatred or the hunger of lusts of varying kinds.  It is very hard for us to judge these things for ourselves.  But watch the reaction of others as you talk with them.  How do they respond to you?  If they are prone to back away, maybe it’s not your after shave or perfume after all.  This is a good place to do a little self-examination.  What do you eyes tell others?  I believe that the Lord has given your inner spirit, if you are a born again Christian, the sensitivity to sense evil in the hearts of those you talk too. 

When Esther stood before King Aharerus she was no older than fifteen year of age.  In today’s society, by age fifteen many, if not most, teens have a entered their period of rebellion, challenging the authority of their parents and driving them absolutely crazy.  I have raised two teenagers so I can speak from a small measure of experience here.  Yet, there is not one hint of rebellion in Esther’s life.  From her adopted father, Mordecai, to the king’s chief eunuch, Hegai, to the king, himself, Esther obeys their rules, respects their authority and is the model teenager.  This is just another of her character qualities that endeared her to the king’s heart.  These inner quality attributes doubtless came from her strict upbringing by her parents, then by Mordecai in the Law of Moses and the traditions of the Jewish faith.  She honored the boundaries set by the Lord her God and He, in turn, honored her.  This is why the king believed her instead of his “trusted” confidant and adviser, Haman.  When the king looked at her heart and the motivation in her actions and Haman’s heart full of deceit and dishonestly there was simply no comparison.

Esther was truly a beautiful young girl, without and within but it was her inner beauty that served to save her life and future on the children of the Most High God.   What do you look like on the inside?  Are you a self-serving user of people or are your motives pure in what you do day in and day out?  If you desire to die well, to leave a lasting legacy for your descendants, then you need to take a look at what is inside of your heart.  Does your heart look like Esther’s?  The Word of God nails it right on the head when it says in I Samuel 16:7, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”.  What does your heart look like to your Father?

True Humility

We get the sense from reading her life’s story that Esther did not enjoy the spotlight.  She did not seek the queen’s position; it was thrust upon her by royal decree.  She did not seek to adorn herself with all the beautiful clothes and jewelry at her disposal.  When Mordecai uncovered the plot against the king, Esther could have claimed the glory for herself and no one would have been the wiser.  But instead she gave Mordecai all the credit, gave him all the honor and was content to slide into the background once more.  Esther was indeed a truly humble girl. 

This is in stark contrast to today’s secular world that is characterized by it’s dog eat dog mentality.  All that seems to matter is who comes out on top in any situation; that the ends justify the means.  God’s ways are ALWAYS exactly opposite of the ways of the world.  The world says to get noticed you’ve got to “strut your stuff”, to draw attention to yourself, to put yourself in the spotlight.  Esther chose a different way in her road to immortality.  (Remember nearly 2,500 years after her death; her story is as fresh as tomorrow’s headlines.)  Esther eschewed the limelight, tried to stay out of the fray, and simply let the Lord guide her path.  And indeed, this was the path to greatness for Esther.  By keeping herself at a low, humble level, this allowed the Lord to use her life to a very high level.  James, the elder of the church at Jerusalem also Jesus half brother, and Peter the apostle of the Lord both echo the Words of Proverbs 3:34, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble”, (James 4:6, I Peter 5:5).  It seems that though the history of mankind, there have been those who knew the pathway to greatness.

If you and I desire to leave a lasting mark in this word we will have to allow the Lord to do that for us.  We are responsible for living out lives fully aware of who we are: nothing but a speck of dust in a HUGE universe, who’s time here on earth is but a split millisecond when compared with the awesomeness of God and the vastness of eternity.  If we do that we free God to do some truly incredible things with our lives just like he did with Esther, the reluctant queen.

Esther’s Moment in His Story (history)

When Esther had prayed to the Lord to give her courage and a plan she steps into history as one of the bravest young girls to ever live.  Her equal would not come again until Mary, the mother of Jesus.  I believe that this was the moment in time that Esther was born for.  Was she predestined to be Israel’s salvation?.  Yes and no.  No, in the sense that she had a choice.  She could have chosen to remain silent and let Haman have his way with these “different” people.  But yes in the sense that this was God’s perfect plan for his child, Esther. 

Mordecai reminded Esther of whose she was when he said “And who knows but that you have come into the kingdom for such a time as this” Esther 4:14b.  Esther began to open her eyes to the bigger picture.  Was she predestined to play the role in Israel’s future?  Had God placed her into the position as Queen of Persia for this particular moment in history?  Was she predestined from the foundation of the world to fulfill this unique role?

Predestination is so hard for our limited minds to understand.  If we could only see things through the eyes of God, and one day we will, we would see that it is all so simple to understand.  God is omniscient, he knows everything: past, present and future.  Right now he knows my history and yours.  He knows your heartache and mine.  He knows how this book will impact your life.  He knows the future outcome of my life and yours.  He knows the very second when we will check out of this life.  He knows it all.  Of course He does, He is God. 

God sees the past, present and future as one present reality.  When Esther chose to put her life in jeopardy for her people it was her destiny.  God, who sees the future at the same time that he sees the present and past, knew that she would choose the path of courage.  She was predestined, in our limited way of thinking, to save Israel because God knew she would.  I do not think that predestination is even a word in God’s vocabulary.  He only uses it four times in the whole Bible to help us get a glimpse of His plan for us.  Let’s look at those four usages.

In Romans 8:29-30 the Lord ties our past, present and future together (the way God sees us) when it says, “For whom He did foreknow, he did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son…Moreover whom he did predestine, them He also called, and whom he called, them He also justified, and whom he justified he also glorified” (KJV).  The tense of the all verbs in that statement is the same, the past tense.  How can our future be past tense to God?  How can our justification that is not yet complete; how can our glorification, which has yet to happen, be past to God?  It is because He sees our lives even now as one completed work.  It is as though we, who know the Lord as Savior, are at this very instant in the presence of the Lord reaping all the glory that has been promised to us.  In God’s eyes we are.  We are so limited in our thinking that we think it is us who can see what is reality to God.

In Ephesians chapter 1 the word predestinated is used twice.  “Having predestinated us unto adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to His good pleasure” Ephesians 1:5.  Yes, we have freedom of our will to do what ever we want.  But from God’s unique position as the Creator and Master of the universe, since He knows the choices that we will make, He did predestinate, again from God’s point of view, those who love his Son, Jesus Christ, to be His adopted sons and daughters.   And in Ephesians 1:11 He tells us “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will.”  It is not God’s will that “any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance” II Peter 3:9.  However, God does not super-impose His will on us.  But to all who obey the Father, He does predestinate to be one of His family, with all the rights and privileges of His only begotten Son.  In that verse, God simply reminds us that our inheritance is waiting for us in our Heavenly home.

Don’t get tripped up on predestination.  Right now the choices you make, just like Esther, are writing your destiny, your predestination.  Yes, God does know, even now, the choices that you will make.  He knows your “pre”destiny, because He can see right through time.  He lives right now in the past, the present and in the future.  Don’t let Satan trip you up by saying “What’s the use?  God knows who’s predestined for heaven and who’s not.  Why should I try?  If I’m going to be saved, I will be saved.  If I’m not, I won’t.”   Your choices, just like Esther’s, are shaping your own “pre”destiny.

If your desire is to die well, remember that your “pre”destiny is still ahead of you.  You cannot rest on the accomplishments of the past.  The   moment for which you were created may still be ahead of you.  The moment for which you have come into this life maybe the situation that you are facing at this very minute and God has brought Esther to your attention to give you courage to do the right thing.  Your moment in time will probably not be as big as Esther’s, but it is nonetheless important to your Heavenly Father.  Why would He have taken the trouble to create you and to place you in the situation that you are in, if not to have you serve a tremendous purpose in His “big picture”?

Your Smarts or Godly Wisdom

So often when faced with a problem we set off with our wild schemes which to use to solve it.  Our ideas may be sound, they may be reasonable and they may even solve the problem but they rob us of the blessing of seeing God solve the difficulty for us. 

As administrator of a small parent owned and operated Christian, money was ALWAYS a concern.  I began to keep a journal that I entitled “Miracles Great and Small”.  In that journal I recorded all the answers to prayer that I saw there.  As I think about it even now, eight years after problems resulting from my many physical difficulties due to having cancer, forced to me resign, I still stand in awe of the power of God in the way He met the needs of the school during my four+ years there.  Our approach to financial challenges as well as all the others was to simply trust the Lord and beseech him for our needs.  I can remember may times when there seemed NO way that we would have enough resources to pay the bills, but the Lord ALWAYS came through for the children of Pike Christian Academy.  There were many times of fasting and prayer and our awesome, almighty God came through EVERY single time.  For four years, we never missed a payroll, we had 23+ full and part-time employees, we never missed a tax payment, and we simply had to PRAISE the Lord, Jehovah Jireh, God is our provider, (Genesis 22:1-19).

When Esther faced a problem so BIG that there seemed no way out, it is curious the things that she did not do.  She did not call in all the king’s advisors for a strategy session and glean from them their “wisdom”.  She did not sit down and begin to calculate a plan, like I would be likely to do.  She did not call upon the elders of Israel to ask them their advice.  Instead Esther did something which to the world would seem foolish:  she did nothing the world would think appropriate.  Instead, she asked Mordecai to call all the Jews in her hometown to a three-day fast.  As the Jews of Susa fasted and prayed, Esther and all of her attendants did the same as well. 

 

When the fast was complete, Ether knew exactly what to do.  Did Esther talk to God like Moses did on Mt. Sinai?  No.  Did God reveal his plan for Esther in a dream like he did for Peter when he has at the home of Cornelius?  No.  Did the Lord show Esther the way in a pillar of fire as he did to His people in the wilderness?  No.  Well then, how did Esther know exactly what to do to rescue her people from certain death?  She did what you and I so often have to do.  She put her hands in the hands that formed her; she simply trusted God to lead her in what to say and do.  Step by step Esther watched as the Lord slowly set the trap for Haman.  Haman didn’t know what happened until he was on his way to the gallows.  I believe the Lord inspired her thought of the banquet.  How many of you men have been wined and dined before getting petitioned by your queen’s request?  Works for me.  I rather enjoy the process, and I think that Ahasarus did too. 

In retelling Esther’s incredible episode before the king, I used the term “it just so happened” a couple of times to point out that when God is directing your life you will see a lot of coincidences.  In fact, when coincidences become the norm, you will know that God is in the midst of your storm.  When you seek God’s wisdom instead of relying on your own, you will see His fingerprints ALL over your life.  

If you want to die then rely on wisdom that only comes after much seeking.  God’s wisdom will far out perform your puny smarts anyway.  In doing so you will be amazed, you will get glory bumps all over your body when you see the Lord demonstrate Himself strong on your behalf.      

And remember, that, like Esther, you have been born into this page in history for such a time as today.



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