Esther: From unlikely to epic heroine

Recently, in Sunday School, we studied the story of Esther. As a once-orphaned Jewish girl held in captivity within Persia, Esther initially held about as little power as possible in this period of time. However, once marrying King Xerxes, she had the opportunity to provide influence into the ear of one of the most powerful leaders in Old Testament history. Allow me to elaborate…

Understanding the impact of her identity as a young Jewish women, Esther’s uncle Mordecai – who was a Jew in hiding as a leader in Xerxes’ government – urged Esther not to reveal her true identity to the King once she was selected to meet him. Mordecai knew in doing so, she would surely be excluded from the search for queen. Once Esther met Xerxes and won his favor and that of most everyone around her, she was quickly named Queen, given a crown, and a banquet was thrown in celebration of the newly wedded union.

Fast forward a little bit in the story, when Esther’s uncle Mordecai caught the attention of the royal officials at the King’s gate. Long story short, Mordecai would not bow down in honor of one of the King’s esteemed officials known as Haman. Haman became so enraged at this lack of what he considered to be respect, that he not only vowed to destroy Mordecai, but all of his people.

When Mordecai learns of Haman’s plot, he falls into a state of extreme despair. The Biblical text says he wailed loudly and bitterly out in the open within his city, while fellow Jews also entered a state of anticipatory mourning. The grief must have been so thick it could be felt in the air.

Enter one of the most well-known pieces of scripture, and one that fills my heart with hope. In Esther Chapter 4, Mordecai summons his courage and pleads with Esther to save the Jewish people from destruction. He petitions her with great fervor, stating in Esther 4:14a (NIV): “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 your royal position for such a time as this?”

For such a time as this for Esther meant using her God-ordained station to persuade her husband to spare the lives of many innocent people. For us, what might “our time” look like? Even the youngest among us, our children, have the ability to speak up for a classmate that may be treated unkindly by another student. For us as adults, the stakes might be a little higher. What if doing the right thing and standing up for a cause we believe to be God-ordained has ramifications? Often, sacrifice does cost us something. But I believe that while we may lose out on things in life that are attached to earthly value, one of the most blessed responsibilities we have is acting in accordance to God’s word – and that decision can have eternal value.

Mordecai noted that Esther had a choice to step up and save her people. Mordecai was not going to force Esther to act, nor was God. Even God, who is all powerful and does not report to anyone in the hierarchy – does not control us. He allows us to choose our decisions day in and day out – benefits, consequences, and all. And, if Esther had declined to step out in faith, God would have turned to someone else more willing to act in an effort to save the Jewish people. As the Bible reveals, Esther notably and historically rose to the occasion.

As we love God, He calls us to a higher order of living. He calls us not only to obedience, but sometimes He calls us to sacrifice. It is my prayer that when God calls upon us, we will listen to our calling as Esther did so many years ago. May it cost us something? Yes. But I pray we have the courage to act as God leads us to do so, with a spirit of love and courage that we learned from the unlikely, but epic heroism found in Esther.