The Book of Esther has always intrigued me. I like a good story of the good guys seeming to overcome all odds to be victorious in the end over evil! Esther is more than just a story, it is part of the inspired Word of God given to us for our “teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). What can we learn from Esther’s story, from approximately 479 BC that would apply to us now?
The first concept that stood out to me was the sovereignty of God; God is in control of ALL things. His Sovereignty is seen throughout the weaving of all the events of this story, from God’s hand in giving Esther favor at the palace all the way to the point of Esther becoming the Queen of Persia, to Mordecai’s intervention in a plot to kill the king to his being honored in front of his enemy.
Second, God’s care and deliverance of his people is undeniable in this period of history. An edict by the king, which could not be reversed, gave the Persians the right to eliminate all the Jews living in their land, and the right to take all their property if they killed them. In an impossible situation, God provided for not only the Jew’s deliverance, but for their blessing while living in this land of Persia. God Loves his people!
Third, God also calls his followers to action, in the case of Esther, action at great personal danger and sacrifice. My favorite line in this book is at the bottom of p. 149 after Mordecai has asked Esther to plead for the Jews to the king without being invited (and without the king showing mercy to her by extending his scepter to her, would mean her death). He says to her, “If you kept quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Mordecai had faith that God would rescue his people, one way or another, even though he did not know how. Esther trusts her uncle Mordecai and her God to risk everything to plead for the recue of the Jews. It makes me think we are all where God wants us to be, in this time and place. It is no accident He has placed us here; let us seek him, trust him, follow him, obey him for the glory of God!