CREDITS: With grateful thanks to Mrs Lynne Preston who wrote this in 2012 for a church fellowship’s women’s bible studies group, edited by Selah – with me. [Ed. There are so many lessons to be gleaned from the story of Esther. Lynne sets out some important ones with such rich depth in this discussion which may require more than one sitting to complete. I would however encourage you to take the time to go through the useful and edifying points in their entirety.]
Introduction
The events set out in the Book of Esther are said to take place between 483 BC and 471 BC in Babylon; that is 114 years after the exile from Jerusalem began under Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. The setting is that the Babylonian Empire has since been taken over by the Medo-Persians (following Belshazzar’s foolish misuse of the gold vessels taken from the temple of the house of God in Jerusalem (Daniel chapter 5). In Esther’s time the Medo-Persian Empire is ruled by King Ahasuerus. His centre of power is the Citadel of Shushan (located in what is today extreme south western Iran), from which he exercises power over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia. It was a huge empire.
The Jews living in the empire at this time had chosen to remain. Some fifty years earlier in 538 BC King Cyrus of Persia had issued a decree that the Jews may return to Israel to build Jerusalem (see the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah). Many however chose not to go, but to remain in Persia, outside the Land of Promise.
Overview of the Book of Esther
In the third year of his reign, King Ahasuerus made an extensive feast, both in terms of lavishness and duration – six months! It was quite a party and was used to show the riches of his kingdom and the splendour of his majesty. Towards the end of the party the King commanded his wife, Queen Vashti, to attend his party in order to show off her great beauty to his guests. Queen Vashti refused. The King was furious and sought legal advice. Because of concern that Vashti’s behaviour would be used by women throughout the Empire as an example to follow in undermining the man of the house, it was decreed that she should be banished from the court and replaced as Queen.
A search was made throughout the Empire for beautiful young virgins who were brought to the citadel of Shushan. Amongst them was Esther a young Jewess. She pleases the custodian of the virgins who promotes her within the system. Under instruction from her cousin Mordecai, she does not reveal her Jewish identity at this time. When her turn comes to go to the King, he loves her more than any of the other virgins and makes her Queen (Esther 2:2-18).
Mordecai was both Esther’s cousin and foster father and also an attendant in the king’s court. He overheard a plot to kill King Ahasuerus and told Queen Esther, who informed the King. The plotters were hanged and the matter recorded in the chronicles of the King. Unusually, no reward was given – but this would later work together for the good of the Jewish people (Esther 2:21-23).
The King, meanwhile, promotes an Agagite named Haman within the kingdom and all the King’s servants bow to Haman. All, that is, except Mordecai. This infuriates Haman who sought to destroy not only Mordecai but, once he had discovered that Mordecai was a Jew, all the Jews throughout the Empire. Pur were cast, that is lots, (hence Purim, being the plural) to establish when the destruction should take place. Haman received from the king approval for his plan to annihilate the Jews and an edict, bearing the king’s seal and therefore irrevocable law (note e.g. Daniel 6:8), was sent throughout the Empire setting the date for this event (Esther ch. 3).
On seeing the edict Mordecai mourns in sackcloth, as do many of the Jews. Queen Esther hears of it and, further, comes to hear Mordecai’s request that she plead for her people to the King. Esther is very troubled as, to go before the King un-summoned is to invite death. Mordecai, however, impresses on Esther that she should not assume that she will be safe from the edict herself, even though she is in the palace; and that this moment may contain her very purpose. At Esther 4:13-17 we read the well-known words of exchange between Mordecai and Esther revealing the dreadful plight of the Jewish people:
‘And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.’
We see that, agreeing to risk all to go uninvited to see the king she seeks the help of Mordecai and all the Jews in Shushan through their fasting for her and with her.
Esther appears before the King, who receives her and offers her anything she may request, up to half his kingdom. Esther replies with an invitation to the King and Haman to attend a banquet the very same day. The King assents and, at the banquet, asks again what she requests. She replies with a further invitation to the King and Haman to attend a banquet the following day. Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people, is delighted, until his self-important ego bubble is popped at sight of Mordecai who again refuses to bow to him. At home, Haman recounts to his wife and his advisers all his riches and promotions and yet his extreme displeasure, rendering all his gains worthless, at Mordecai’s refusal to bow. They suggest the building of a gallows on which to hang Mordecai.
Perhaps it is the hammer on nail sound of gallows construction that keeps the King awake, but in any event, he cannot sleep that night and so calls for the royal chronicles of his reign to be read to him. In this way he is reminded of Mordecai’s loyalty in exposing a treason plot, and it comes to his attention that no reward was given. The King seeks advice as to how to reward a man he wishes to honour, and who should be nearby but Haman, who has come early to court to suggest that the King hang Mordecai. Thinking that the King could wish to honour no-one more than himself, Haman suggests adornment in a royal robe, one the King has worn; placing on a horse, one the King has ridden; to be led around the city square by one of the King’s most noble princes declaring, ‘This is what is done to a man whom the King delights to honour!’ Haman is utterly mortified when the King commands him to honour Mordecai in the way he had dreamed up for himself, and returns home to be advised by his wife that if Mordecai is a Jew Haman will not prevail against him, but will surely fall before him.
At Queen Esther’s second banquet she reveals her Jewishness, making her request to the King for her life and that of her people contrary to the edict for their annihilation that has been published. Haman is identified as the wicked enemy and the King is extremely angry. He misconstrues Haman’s pleading for his life to Queen Esther as an assault on her and orders Haman hanged. By the close of the chapter, and of the day, Haman is indeed hung on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
The House of Haman is given to Esther who puts Mordecai in authority over it. But the threat to her people remains, and Esther pleads again. Again, she finds favour in the King’s sight and he instructs that she and Mordecai should prepare a countermand. This is done and the instruction is distributed throughout the empire that, on the day set by the edict, the Jews may defend themselves with deadly force against any assault.
In a grand reversal, on the day that the enemies of the Jews had expected to annihilate them, the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them; their mourning was turned to joy; they had rest from their enemies, feasting and gladness. Following these events Esther and Mordecai wrote to the Jews throughout the Empire to establish an annual celebration on the days that the Jews had rest from their enemies and that their sorrow was turned to joy; that it should be a holiday of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor. This is how the Feast of Purim was established and continues to be kept to this day by the Jewish people.
Esther’s Legacy.
God at work and in control
It is reasonably well known that God does not appear in print in the book of Esther; and yet, we can see Him at work throughout, the unseen director of history, arranging things for the good of His people.
To what extent was Esther in control of events?
- Esther was not in control of the place and circumstances of her birth. These included her birth as a Jew, heir to the promises of God to Abraham and all his descendants; birth in exile from the Land of Promise; becoming an orphan and so brought up by her cousin, Mordecai, a Jew who would be significant in the court of the king of Persia.
- Esther had no part in Queen Vashti’s response to the King’s command, and which led to the position of queen ‘becoming vacant’.
- Esther was not the author of her beauty – God created her beautiful (Esther 2 v7). She had no choice about being taken to the court of King Ahasuerus, nor in her selection for special promotion by Hegai, the custodian of the women.
- Esther not in control of her being selected by the king, who ‘loved her more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.’ (Esther 2 v17)
- Esther, in coming before the King to plead for her people, was not in control of the king’s response. He extends the sceptre, but Esther thought she had no guarantee of that. Surely it is because ‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.’ Proverbs 21 v1.
- Esther, moreover, has nothing at all to do with the events of chapter 6, in which the sleepless king calls for the book of the records to be read to him; he thereby discovers that Mordecai has not been rewarded for his act of loyalty which saved the king’s life. This leads to Mordecai’s honour and Haman’s mortification – at this point fortunes are changing. It was God who ensured that Mordecai’s reward was dispensed at exactly the most opportune moment.
So, Esther is not in control of a very great part of what happens. And yet I doubt that anyone else is particularly in control either – it is God who is working. The materials He chooses to work with are fallen individuals, some of whom are in the process of redemption.
Esther’s decision to act on behalf of her people would however seem to be within her control. What led to her decision? Initially, on learning of Mordecai’s appearance in sackcloth, Esther sends him replacement garments. Mordecai replies with all the information Esther is missing since it seems that the confusion, mourning and wailing in Shushan has not reached the splendid seclusion of the palace. Mordecai’s reply includes the request that Esther should go before the King. But her response shows great reluctance, naturally, as she believes it invites her death. What changes her response? Mordecai says, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” In response, Esther calls a fast and declares she will go to the king but, ‘if I perish, I perish.’
Some commentators find this to be a pessimistic response, that she goes because there is a chance of escaping death that way; some state that it is not despair but resignation, or even perfect submission to the providence of God. Esther seems to be obedient in nature; we have seen that she did not reveal her Jewish identity at court according to Mordecai’s instructions, just as she obeyed his command when she was brought up by him (Esther 2 v20). She is perhaps also compliant as we see her submit to 12 months of treatments before her presentation before the king. Along with her beauty, could it be that it is this obedient, compliant nature, in such sharp contrast to Vashti’s rebellious nature, which made Esther such an appropriate choice as Queen. We do not know which of Mordecai’s words weighed most heavily with Esther, but there is much appeal to duty in them – a duty to her father’s house and name; the duty of her purpose in the kingdom; duty to Mordecai’s wishes overall and a duty to the people of God, her people the Jews. This moment provides another opportunity to make clear that God will work His will regardless of our compliance. Note again the words: ‘relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place’ (Esther 4:14). God is the unexpressed pre-supposition of Mordecai’s thoughts and, very possibly, by his words Esther was reminded of her upbringing by him. Mordecai doubtless taught Esther how God had intervened throughout the history of their people to preserve them, and had made promises which were the basis of his absolute confidence that the Jewish nation cannot perish.
So, it would seem that Esther accepts the heavy responsibility according to her character trait of obedience: obedience to Mordecai and to God. However naturally compliant and tending towards obedience we may be by nature, we will still need to actively choose the obedient way – God’s way – despite almost overwhelming pressure from the self-life, and the world.
With her assent Esther takes a step of obedience in God’s plans and purposes; but I would suggest that at this stage it is not with full understanding – she did not have a full picture of what God was doing though maybe Mordecai had more. But as the story unfolds we see her grow in the things of God: although she initially goes before the king with great trepidation, by the time Haman is dealt with, knowing the heavy sentence still hanging over the heads of her people she boldly throws herself at the king’s feet, weeping for their lives. It is as though by then the Lord’s heart has taken over hers. This thought brought to mind the Scripture: ‘Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart’ (Psalm 37v4) understood as God putting His desire in our heart and it becoming our own desire.
God can use us – Let’s not overate our importance!
God uses us though we are not yet perfected (the Book of Esther shows that He also uses unbelievers for His purposes). We tend to think that because we are not perfect, or the situation we are in seems not quite perfect, that we will mess things up, but we thereby over rate our importance. God works with the material He has and takes into account our characters. He knows we are not perfect and expects our mistakes; He uses them, working all things to the best, ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.’ Romans 8 v28. Further, in this process God puts us with others for our mutual learning, changing and growing.
If you remain completely silent at this time – God will bring His plans and purposes to pass, help will come for the Jews, but from another source; and yet He wishes to use us. Though the decrees of the kings of Babylon and the Medo-Persian Empire could not be changed and so bound the king, our God is faithful according to His word, which does not change. He has made promises to the seed of Abraham and He will be eternally faithful to those promises, for the sake of His Name. We are not pawns or robots in His great plan; He wills to use us in His purposes, but we have a choice as to whether or not to participate and, whether we do so or not, His purposes will come to pass. The Book of Esther teaches us that there may well come a key time in our lives when we have to decide where we stand, with the empire (the world) or with the Kingdom of God. There is some relief in knowing that all is not dependent on us, with our failings and imperfections; and yet if we consistently choose not to be involved in God’s clear call to work, we surely must give account – and lose blessing.
Esther’s character and conduct
Esther displays respect, wisdom and a subtlety which can inform our conduct.
Respect: Esther speaks with respectful, courtly language in all her dealings with the king, and this is constructive; Jesus said, “therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and render to God the things which are God” (Mark 22 v21). In our dealings with the world it is right to respect the authorities that God has put in place.
Wisdom: Before going to the king on the first occasion she wisely takes the advice of the king’s eunuch regarding the thing she could choose to take with her (Esther 2 v13 & 15); after all, he would know far better than she what would please the king. There is wisdom in seeking that knowledge. We are wise if we seek the knowledge and wisdom that God offers.
Subtlety: Esther does not make a direct appeal to the king with her plea for her life and those of her people; she is tactful. To what extent she had a fully formulated plan before she went before the king, we do not know. I do not think she knew how the whole matter would play out; but in any event God is able to use her willingness to appeal to the king (however reluctant she was initially). Her subtle and gentle approach affords the timing and opportunity for the will of God to unfold in each being positioned exactly where they should be so that:-
- Mordecai would be honoured and Haman mortified;
- Haman would be hung on the gallows he had intended for Mordecai;
- the day of dread for the Jews would be turned to rejoicing; and
- Mordecai would be promoted to high position in the empire where his godly rule could benefit God’s people.
God’s work here is every bit as subtle as Esther’s – no fiery furnace, no lions’ den, no parting of the sea. It proceeds by gently nudging each of the characters to behave according to their own wishes and temperaments and thereby to do exactly as God decrees. It is the same for us, God’s plan for the world proceeds through shaping us to be the people we are. God is in control of all things and He works all things according to His holy will for His glory and our good. (Romans 8 v28). We are not, in this process, dolls to be played with (unlike King Ahasuerus’ harem), rather we do exactly according to our own desires and temperaments; our freedom and responsibility to act are not compromised, and yet the end result is exactly what God has purposed from the beginning. Consider the word of God to us: ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure’ (Philippians 2 v12-13).
Disobedience, Life in a Gilded Cage
Esther was living an assimilated life at the centre of power of the empire, effectively cut off from God’s people. Why was Esther caught up in this apparently meaningless life in a gilded cage? Partly because of the disobedience of her forebears; the exile from Jerusalem was allowed by God because of sin and disobedience. (2 Kings 24 v1-4). Disobedience kept Mordecai and Esther in exile; their families had not chosen to return to Jerusalem following Cyrus’ decree. And yet, God will use them for the salvation of His people when Mordecai and Esther are faithful and obedient.
The result of the family’s disobedient compromise was that Mordecai and Esther found themselves in a situation that was potentially disastrous spiritually. Esther ended up married to an uncircumcised pagan and all but cut off from the community of faith; she was in effect successfully pretending not to be a child of the living God. Was it possible to completely privatize one’s faith in exile, being a faithful believer in private, but never let it show outwardly in during the time of living in the king’s harem? Even if it is possible, there must surely be some detrimental effect on the quality and progress of one’s faith? While it is true that, like Daniel, Esther’s faith was undiminished her enviable progress in one world may have been at the cost of suppression of her identity as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. This is perhaps a temptation that we can identify with; Esther wasn’t instructed to deny her faith, only to conceal it. Is faith a very private thing?
For sure, there is a private place within us where we meet with our Heavenly Father and our Saviour by the work of the Holy Spirit. Our prayer closet, for example, is private and the time spent there is essential to our relationship with God – and it is essential that we are in relationship with Him. That relationship is a private thing. Nevertheless, it should have an outflow, and that will be public. We are to be salt and light – remember, no-one lights a lamp and then covers it, and a city on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5 v13ff). We cannot function as light without the divine life, imparted by the Holy Spirit – Oil for the lamp. Because we are only light for the world as He who is the Light of the world works in and through us. We must ask ourselves, have I received this divine life? Do I know Christ is dwelling in me? “If the salt loses its saltiness it is good for nothing but to be thrown out” (Matthew 5:13). These are Jesus’ words. And isn’t this essentially what Mordecai was saying to Esther – this is your purpose, if you don’t act now you will perish, but God will still do His work, just, without you.
The Japanese have a saying, that the nail that sticks out will get hammered. Christians who stand out for their faith may have to endure many persecutions. Nevertheless we should stand out. And we must depend absolutely on the encouragement we find in the Word, including Jesus’ words, “in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” John 16 v33. Those who have been through great suffering for God’s purposes witness that God will give us the grace, the strength and the courage for what He has for us to do, come the moment.
The other aspect of disobedience being dealt with in the Book of Esther goes a long way back, before the exile: the disobedience of Saul. It was only in the second or third month post exodus from Egypt that the Amalekites attacked Israel whilst they were walking through the desert. Therefore the Lord swore to wipe out Amalek (Exodus 17 v14). This was to be done by King Saul, whom God instructed via Samuel to utterly destroy them, sparing none (1 Samuel 15). However, Saul let King Agag of the Amalekites live. And Haman was a descendant. Just as Amalek did not fear God (Deuteronomy 25 v17-19) so Haman did not fear God. Both were destroyed ultimately. Even Haman’s pagan advisers and his wife knew that you do not take on the God of Israel and win (Esther 6 v13) . Haman and Agag both certainly came to know that God is very serious when He says to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you.” Genesis 12 v3.
Saul’s disobedience had consequences for Israel later as we see in the events of the Book of Esther. At the time the disobedience was very serious in God’s eyes and He took the kingdom from Saul. Not only did Saul spare Agag, contrary to God’s command, but he kept the best of the sheep and oxen, also contrary to the Lord’s word. When Samuel challenged him Saul was not straightforward in his response, blaming the people for keeping the livestock, saying it was for an offering to the Lord. We cannot fool God, He sees our hearts, and so Samuel stopped him, saying:-
‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifice
As in obeying the voice of the Lord.
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.’ (1 Samuel 15 v22 &23)
Here is a very serious word for us to be on the lookout in our own lives for any rebellion, which is ‘as witchcraft’ in the Lord’s sight; and stubbornness, which is as iniquity and idolatry (see blogpost Jezebel – A Wicked Woman: A Warning from History). The Scripture which comes to mind at this point is ‘[s]earch me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting’ (Psalm 139 v23 & 24).
Just as in God’s kingdom Saul’s rebellion saw him deposed as king, so in Ahasuerus’ court, Vashti’s rebellion saw her deposed as queen; rebellion is futile. Let Esther be our example and respond to the Lord’s commands with obedience, however fearful we may be, for surely God will work with us then.
Beauty Treatments
Esther was prepared to go through a lot to be successful in the empire, willing to be taken over, managed, fed, bathed, perfumed, prodded, altered over 12 months. We are prepared to undergo similar and often much longer periods of training for an opportunity to succeed in the world, for example, for a career. Pain is often the necessary precursor to beauty and success. But how unwilling we often are to undergo God’s beauty treatments designed to prepare us as the bride of Jesus, as members of the Church of Yeshua, His bride (note The Revelation of Jesus Christ ch. 19vs7-9). And yet, when we consider our Bride Groom and what He went through in order to become our husband – He loved us with an everlasting love, love that took on human form and bore rejection and death. For our beautification He underwent 33 years stripped of His eternal radiance – no comfortable beds or fattening foods for Him, and nowhere to lay His head. His pain was the pre-requisite for our beauty (see, e.g. Isaiah 53 and the Gospel accounts of the betrayal, arrest, “trial” and crucifixion of Lord Yeshua – Matthew chs. 26-27; Mark chs. 14-15; Luke chs. 22-23; John chs. 18-19). This self-sacrifice gives Him the right to call us to follow Him through the worst of trials. Does the path seem unbearable? Whatever He calls us to, He has walked that path before, and He promises to walk it with us, even through the valley of the shadow of death. When our eyes are fixed on our heavenly bridegroom we will see through the empty charade of the empire of Satan – this present world system. Taken up by the wonder of the love of God for us, evident in the gospel, we cannot despair.
Is Disobedience Terminal?
Though there may be sour fruit in our lives from our own disobedience, or that of our parents, God is able to turn that to His own glory and the good of His people. In the Book of Esther, step by step, God is putting things in place ‘for such a time as this’. Esther was compliant, obedient to those in authority, and therefore she was the right personality for this role. Hirsch’s commentary on Psalm 21 includes the idea that
“an object was set upon a certain base not by mere chance but because both base and object are suitable for one another…..The personality is adequate for the calling it must fulfil, and the calling, on the other hand, is suited to the personality chosen to fulfil it…..The reciprocal suitability assures the durability and efficacy of the combination.”
This can give us much rest from anxiety, knowing that God will work and that He knows His materials and how to use them absolutely. Here is hope for anyone who, for example:
- finds herself in difficult circumstances because of past sin or disobedience;
- married a non-believer, knowing it was wrong;
- pursued a career for all the wrong motivations;
- wasted a lifetime in pursuit of wrong goals.
We discover that God is sovereign even in those wrong choices. Perhaps He has brought us to where we are today so that we can serve Him in a unique way. This does not make those wrong/sinful choices right, but we can thank God that He is able to bring beauty out of our poor/smudged efforts; that past failures do not write us out of God’s script for the future. The parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates this (Luke 15 v11-31). In this book of great reversals, take encouragement that God can turn our disobedient past into joy and gladness and His glory.
‘If I Perish, I Perish’
Esther fears death. Is this because she loves the life she is living at court? Is it because she is very young and still has most of her life ahead? Perhaps, if we do not fear death, it is because we have not really faced it up close. But also, there is a challenge to us: how thoroughly have we engaged with the possibility of dying for our faith? If we are but pilgrims, travelling through this world, then would it bother us to leave it for our intended destination and true home? Is it true of us that we would only be regretful to leave if we felt we had unfinished business of unsaved loved ones or work for the Lord unfinished? Or is it just that we have a natural and basic, unavoidable, fear of the unknown, fear of disconnection from all we have ever known physically? Perhaps that alone should prompt us to spend more time knowing to whom and where we are going, dwelling on and working for the things of His kingdom, then this world and this body will not be all we have ever known.
Originally we were not created to die, but to live forever with God, and something of that remains in us; God encourages us to choose life and blessing (Deuteronomy 30 v19). To what purpose? In order to discover Him, to enjoy Him and His blessings and to give Him glory in this life. And He clearly intends us to do so through these bodies and minds – “that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5 v16) That happens filtered through our characters. He knows who He has created us to be, and places us where we are best suited.
We are not to fear, ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind’ (1 Timothy 1 v7). ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff they comfort me’ (Psalm 23 v4). Jesus has conquered death and so, since He is with us, we truly need not fear.
Take a moment to consider the attitude of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, fellow Israelites in exile, just a little earlier than Esther. Before the fiery furnace they stated that their God was able to save them, and yet even if He chose not to, the king’s gods and golden image were not worthy of worship. This is robust, outspoken faith. ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him’ (Job 13 v15).
Fasting
Esther called a fast to be kept for 3 days by all the Jews in Shushan. In biblical times fasting was a normal means of expressing contrition for sin and dependence on God in the face of difficulty, whether personal or national. It is still appropriate for us individually and as a church – it reminds us that our normal state of life in this world should not be fullness but hunger, appealing to God to grant us what we need. But we know that it is not going on hunger strike until God relents and gives us what we want, it’s not some form of bribery or manipulation. It should go alongside appealing to the King through humble and persistent prayer. If we forget to pray for a need fasting will remind us to pray by the alarm clock of our rumbly tummies. If we are short of time for prayer then fasting makes time to pray when we would otherwise have been preparing, cooking and eating.
Why do we not fast? Perhaps because we have comfortably isolated ourselves from the grim realities of the world around us, or are comfortable being in and of the world, we seek our comfort, and to avoid discomfort. Perhaps the Jewish community in exile wasn’t fasting either until the empire turned harshly against them and, in an instant, their world was turned upside down. Or, rather, their perception of the world was jolted into focus, the latent hostility revealed.
We need to consider:
- Am I still blind to the true nature of the world?
- Have I chosen where I belong, to whom I am affiliated?
- Has that been made public yet?
- Do I see where the harshness of the world bruises my brothers and sisters in Christ, God’s persecuted people, and do I care about them deeply enough to fast and pray?
Conclusion
God is hidden in Esther; Esther was hidden but had to reveal herself and her true identity in order to fulfil her purpose. Esther was everything she needed to be for God to get the job done: obedient in nature; beautiful; respectful; capable of wisdom; gentle and tactful; placed there by God. At the critical moment she did not remain hidden but stepped out obediently, and she saw God’s provision as a result. There came a day for Esther when she had to decide which of two worlds defined her, the empire of king Ahasuerus or God’s kingdom. We too should increasingly know which kingdom defines us and be prepared to be open and clear about our true allegiance.
In concluding may we remember this great “lesson” from the Book of Esther and the Feast of Purim – God’s irrepressible, unconquerable, insuperable and sovereign love for His people. The wicked may appear to have the upper hand presently, but we need not be anxious: ‘Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and whither as the green herb’ (Psalm 37 v1). God is in control and His love and purposes overrule the counsel of the wicked. Haman was wrong in thinking that the future lay in the stars – ‘the lot is cast into the lap but its every decision is from the Lord’ (Proverbs 16 v33). And King Ahasuerus was wrong when he said, ‘the people also are given to you to do with them as seems good to you’. The people were not the king’s to give. They were (and are) God’s people, and He will not give them up to the whim of the empire. ‘A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps’ (Proverbs 16 v9). At the nations and the rulers who take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed ‘He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure’ (Psalm 2).
God’s love for those who are trusting in Him will never fail. His love for His people – the remnant of Israel and those who are His through faith in His Son, Lord Yeshua the Messiah, will never fail. Therefore, if God should call you to a work – His work – however daunting, whatever the temporal risks and potential cost, may you ‘be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart’ (Psalm 27:14).
Amen.
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