Esther Ch. 1-10

The Book of Esther is covered in drama, romance, power and intrigue. Esther saw her God-given opportunity and seized it. A whole nation was saved because of Esther’s courageous act. “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 you who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this” (4:14). Perhaps the Lord is preparing you to act in “such a time as this”. Although we may question certain circumstances, we must have faith that God is in control of both success and failure so that we can serve him more effectively. With God in charge, we can take courage. We should be careful however, to not simply rest in the knowledge of God’s control; we should ACT in with self-sacrifice and courage to follow God’s guidance.

Persian King Xerxes made a rash decision in his drunken state to divorce his Queen because she did not follow his order. Mutual respect between men and women comes from appreciation of one another as those created in God’s image; forced obedience is a poor substitute for the love and respect wives and husbands should have for each other. Poor decisions are made when people don’t think clearly. How many people do you observe making rash choices in their drunken states? How many people use alcohol or other mood-altering drugs to numb their senses and excuse their behavior? Base your decisions on careful thinking; not on the emotions of the moment. Impulsive decisions lead to severe consequences. This made room, however, for Esther to become Queen when the King took a liking to her. Even as queen, Esther had few rights, especially because she had been chooses to replace a woman who had become too assertive for the King.

Mordecai was Esther’s cousin who looked after her as a father. He was a servant to God wherever he was. He refused to bow down to Haman, the king’s representative, which angered Haman to the point of issues a decree to have Mordecai and all the Jews to their death. Mordecai , during the same time, e heard of a conspiracy plot of the king’s men to assassinate King Xerxes, and he told Esther that one reason God had allowed her to be queen might well be to save her people from this threat by Haman. King Xerxes honored and greatly rewarded Mordecai when he knew of his courageous act to prevent his assassination and rewarded him at the anger and resentment of Haman. We can learn many lessons from the life of Mordecai; his example shows us that we can trust God to weave together the events of life for our best, even though we may not be able to see the overall pattern; and the rewards for doing right are sometimes delayed, but they are guaranteed by God Himself. Also, the opportunities we have are more important than the opportunities we want. Do you ever wish you had the opportunities others have? If God wanted us to all have the same opportunities and experiences, why would he create no two persons the exact same? We are created in His image to experience our own opportunities for the glory of God; this is why it’s important to remember that it’s not about us; it’s about Him.

Haman, a plotter of evil who planned to kill Mordecai and all the Jews in the kingdom, was punished an ultimately received the sentence he once plotted; death. Although Haman’s actions may be difficult to relate to for us; there are deep rooted character flaws in him that we must generate awareness to because even though we may not behave as radically as Haman; the state of his heart is where we need to draw our attention. Arrogance derives from those who must measure their self-worth by the power or influence they think they have over others; Haman couldn’t accept anyone as an equal. The desire to control others and receive honor was Haman’s highest goal. He was blinded by arrogance, self-importance and pride. How much of Haman is in you? Do you desire to control others at times? Are you threatened when others don’t appreciate you as you think they should? Do you seek revenge when your pride is attacked? Confess these attitudes to God and ask him to replace them with forgiveness and humility; otherwise, God’s justice will settle the matter. The contrast in Esther and Haman lie in their character; Esther risked everything for God and won; Haman risked everything for himself and evil purpose and lost.

Esther was a woman who broke through cultural norms; she stepped outside her expected role to risk her life to help God’s people. Whatever your place in life, God can use you; be open, available and ready because God may use you to do what others are afraid even to consider.
Esther’s beauty and character won the heart of Persia’s king; and this is of no coincidence, for God created Esther for his grand purpose and it is important to remember that her gift of beauty and character was not for her selfish use. She combined courage with careful planning. Common themes of great people who served the Lord are to pray, to plan, to trust and obey. Esther was open to advice and willing to act; she was more concerned for others than for her own security. “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”(Esther 4:16) Serving God often demands that we risk our own security. Esther’s risk confirmed that God was the source of her security. It is important to understand that God did not place us in our present positions for our own benefit. He put us there to serve him. What is security in this world anyway? Possessions can be lost or stolen, beauty fades, relationships can be broken, and death is inevitable. By logic then, real security must exist beyond this world and this life. God encompassed the only form of unchanging nature; Are you willing to let God be your ultimate security?

God placed both Esther and Mordecai in their positions for a purpose; so they bravely seized the moment and took action. Esther risked her life by coming before the king and pleading for her people in a strategic way. Her courageous act serves as a model to follow when approaching a difficult task: 1) Calculate the cost. Esther realized her life was at stake and trusted in God’s security. 2) Set Priorities: She believed that the safety of the Jewish race was more important than her life. 3) Prepare. She gathered support and fasted. 4) Determine a course of action and move ahead boldly. She didn’t think too long about it, allowing anything to remove her commitment from her God-given task. Esther and Mordecai believed in God’s great care. They acted at the right time, and God used them to save his people. God chooses to work through those willing to act for him. We should pray as if all depended on God and act as if all depended on us. We should avoid the two extremes: doing nothing and feeling like we must do everything.

There is an interesting description of how God works in the world described in this Book. The contrast between God’s will and Man’s will. What God wants done, He works through. God’s action is natural order, miracles and providence. He set into action through creation a normal working of his universe. He also revealed his expectations of man though his Word and man’s conscience. God can break into the natural order to respond to the expressed needs of his people. God overrules the natural order to accomplish an act that people may or may not have requested. That is why when we pray in Jesus name, this allows the Holy Spirit to pray on our behalf for things we may not know we need; but that are all in accordance with God’s plan. Examples of how God works in the world through Esther’s story: God gave Esther natural beauty; Esther planned a way to save her people. God allowed Esther to speak to the king; the people prayed and fasted for Esther’s success. God allowed Mordecai to overhear a plot; Mordecai trusted God to accomplish what was impossible in human terms. Man’s will by contrast involve actions we can take or mistakes we can make. We can choose the action to plan, pray, trust and obey. In doing so, we can make plans based on the order and dependability of God’s creation and obey his words. We can ask God to intervene in certain occasions, realizing we are limited in the full scope of knowledge. We can trust that God is in control. Or, we can choose to disobey, demand, and despair. We can violate the natural order and disobey God’s word. We can assume that we understand what is needed and expect God to agree and answer our prayers our way. We can assume God doesn’t answer when things don’t go our way and live as though there is nothing but the natural order of life. Which way will you choose? God’s way or your own?