In God's Eyes - Pt 10

And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 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 not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. (Esther 4:12-17 ESV). We have fast-forwarded through a great deal of history and many other wonderful examples of faithful, godly women to a young woman named Esther. According to the Old Testament, Esther was an Israelite queen of the Persian king, Ahasuerus. He is traditionally identified with Xerxes I during the time of the Achaemenid empire. Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition. Esther wasn’t used to thinking of others. Like many beautiful women, she was used to others thinking of her. When she had participated in the contest to become the new queen, she received an inside tip from Hegai, the king’s eunuch, regarding what she should take along for her one-night “audition” with the king. Esther did not disclose her race, knowing King Ahasuerus would not choose a Jewish girl to be his wife (cf. Esther 2). She was beautiful and clever; so Esther became the queen. But suddenly things changed. Haman, a leading advisor to the king, decided to wipe out the Jewish people because of his hatred for Mordecai, Esther’s cousin. A date for the pogrom had been set, and Mordecai knew the only hope to avert disaster for the Jews was for Esther to intercede with the king. But it was dangerous for Esther to do that. She had not seen the king for a month. Mordecai insisted, however, that God was involved here, that Esther had “come to royal dignity for just such a time as this” (cf. Esther 4:14). This was a time of spiritual growth for Esther: to start thinking of others besides herself. Esther's story shows the danger of giving absolute power to someone who might turn out to be a fool. Ahasuerus governed by whim rather than by wisdom, becoming the tool of anyone shrewd enough to exploit him. The lesson is clear: do not give too much power to any one person; in the long run God alone should rule us. The fate of the entire Jewish nation rested with her. So she called for prayer and fasting on her behalf and then boldly entered the king’s chamber at great personal risk. And the Lord rewarded her. Her people were saved. A question for all of us today is who really is our foundation? Who rules us?