Esther was taken to a foreign country along with captives of war. She was very young then. To add to the difficulty she lost her father and mother too. She became an orphan.
Her beginnings in life were not promising at all. Today, many girls find themselves in much more difficult situations is life. Can there be hope for them? Can it be that there is something worthwhile to live for? Read on; Esther’s story might answer some questions that are burning in your mind!
Meanwhile, her cousin Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter. She grew up under his care, and watchful eyes.
It so happened that at that time the King of Persia had a quarrel with his wife and dismissed her from her position as queen. On advice by his wise men he ordered all the beautiful girls to be brought to his palace. Esther too was one among them for she was lovely to look at. The purpose of bringing these girls together was to select a girl as queen.
Are you eager to know what happened next? You guessed it. The king liked Esther more than any other girl. She became queen.
There was one more fascinating thing about Esther. Even after she became queen, she obeyed the instructions of Mordecai. Now that is quite unusual, isn’t it? But that also tells volumes about her character. She had values in life. Was that the reason that the King was attracted to her? Even as you think about it, Esther’s life was taking a different turn.
She suddenly finds her new world violently disturbed. A villain named Haman comes to destroy their peace. He had powerful influence in the king’s court. And he got an order from the king which gave him authority to kill the entire Jewish community in all the provinces where the king ruled.
That was terrible. Consider the plight of those people. They had seen war in their homeland. They had seen their close relatives killed. They had seen their hometowns destroyed. They were taken as captives into exile. And now when life seemed to come back to normal, life was being threatened again.
Haman did not know that Esther was a Jewish girl. For Mordecai had given her strict orders not to reveal her nationality. But she did not know about this new threat until she was told that Mordecai was mourning outside the palace. And she sent people to inquire.
Mordecai asked her to speak to the king. But Esther replied that according to the rules of the court nobody could approach the king without being summoned. If somebody did so that person would be put to death. But Mordecai told her that just because she was in the king’s house she will not escape the disaster coming on all the Jews. He also told her that if she remained silent, relief and deliverance would come some other way. Then he asked her a significant question: “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
After fasting for three days Esther stood before the king. He extended the gold scepter to Esther. That indicated that he was pleased with her appearance. She invited the king and Haman for a banquet. Between this banquet and a second one she arranged the next day, all the evil plans of Haman gets disrupted dramatically. Finally, Esther points out to the king that it was Haman who had plotted against the Jews. He was hung on the gallows that he himself had erected to hang Mordecai. But Mordecai, whom he had planned to kill, was given his position in the court and great honor. More than that, at Esther’s pleading, the king allowed the Jews to kill off all their enemies on the same day that Haman had planned to destroy them. What a turnabout!
Life Lessons
1. The story of Esther in the Bible never mentions God. Yet God’s hand is visible throughout her life and the great deliverance God accomplished through her. The lesson is that the seeming absence of God’s presence should not make you think that God is absent. Even when you can’t feel His presence, He is still there with you.
2. Esther’s life is one of unpromising beginnings. Yet see how God worked through her circumstances and made her a vehicle of deliverance. Your life too can make a difference in the life of many others even though it looks unpromising now.
3. Finally, her life shows that God has a specific purpose in having put you in a position of influence. Even though at times you may have to risk taking a stand for God, know that it was for this higher purpose that God placed you there. Therefore trust God and act when the time comes!