10/18/2024
When I was younger, my mom would often read me children’s Bible stories before bedtime. I loved it so much that I begged her to read to me nearly every night. One of my absolute favorites was the story of Esther. Her story was particularly encouraging to me because Esther was beautiful, faithful, and courageous. This made me wonder: Why don’t we talk about Queen Esther more often? Is the Book of Esther only meant for young girls? Is Esther just another rags to riches, Cinderella story? Or is there more to this story than meets the eye? There’s a lot we can learn from the Book of Esther. So, let’s dive in.
Now imagine yourself—a young man or woman of God—blending into a culture that doesn’t honor or follow God, and being told to hide your true identity and faith. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? That’s a challenge many of us Christians face today, with pressures from society, popular culture, politicians, and even our peers it’s hard to not conform to the patterns of this world. We are called to be set apart, but in this story Hadassah is told to change her identity to keep her safe. She’s ripped from her home and everything she’s known to compete as if she’s on an episode of The Bachelor for King Xerxes’ rose. When she wins the king’s heart she becomes Queen Esther.
The story doesn’t end there. (Spoiler) Mordecai is given the dreadful news that there was an edict out for a mass genocide for their people. He tells Queen Esther she’s their only hope. There’s only one problem. The Queen cannot enter the king’s presence unless summoned. Such an act can get herself killed and she hadn’t been summoned for 30 days. Mordecai encouraged Queen Esther the famous line, “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?””Esther 4:14 NIV
This powerful and convicting statement led Queen Esther to reply with instructions to go pray and fast and in three days she would go to the king and said, “If I perish, I perish.”
I won’t spoil the rest of the story. Go read Esther 🤍
