Esther Saves Her People

In the citadel of Susa, King Xerxes of Persia ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. When Queen Vashti refused to display her beauty at his banquet, the king deposed her and began searching for a new queen. Young women from across the empire were brought to the palace, including Esther, a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai. Esther had kept her Jewish identity secret as Mordecai had instructed. When she was presented to the king, he was attracted to her more than any of the other women, and he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen.

Mordecai discovered a plot to assassinate the king and reported it through Esther, saving the king's life. The event was recorded in the chronicles but Mordecai received no immediate recognition. Meanwhile, the king promoted Haman to the highest position among the nobles, and everyone was commanded to bow down to him. But Mordecai refused to bow because he was a Jew who bowed only to God. Enraged by Mordecai's defiance, Haman determined not just to destroy Mordecai but to annihilate all Jews throughout the kingdom.

Haman manipulated the king into issuing a decree that on a specific date—determined by casting lots (pur)—all Jews throughout the Persian Empire would be killed and their property seized. When Mordecai learned of the decree, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and wailed loudly in the streets. Jews throughout the provinces engaged in great mourning, fasting, weeping, and wailing when the decree reached them. Esther learned of Mordecai's distress and sent clothes for him, but he refused them. When she asked why, Mordecai sent word about the decree and urged her to go to the king to beg for mercy for her people.

Esther faced an impossible dilemma. Anyone who approached the king without being summoned could be executed unless the king extended his gold scepter. It had been thirty days since the king had called for her. She sent word to Mordecai explaining the danger, but he replied with words that have echoed through history: 'Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 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 responded with courage: '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 attendants 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.' After three days of prayer and fasting, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court. When the king saw Queen Esther, he was pleased and held out the gold scepter. He offered her up to half the kingdom. Esther invited the king and Haman to a banquet, and there to another banquet the following day.

At the second banquet, the king again asked what Esther wanted. Then Esther revealed her request: 'If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated.' The king demanded to know who would do such a thing. Esther answered, 'An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!' The king was furious. When he learned that Haman had built gallows to hang Mordecai, the king ordered Haman to be hanged on the very gallows he had prepared for the Jewish man.

The king gave Esther Haman's estate and elevated Mordecai to Haman's former position. But the decree to destroy the Jews still stood, and according to Persian law, it couldn't be revoked. So Esther again approached the king, weeping and begging him to put an end to the evil plan. The king authorized Mordecai and Esther to issue another decree in the king's name, allowing the Jews to defend themselves. On the day set for their destruction, the Jews instead defended themselves successfully against their enemies. The fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar became days of celebration—the festival of Purim—commemorating how the Jews were saved from their enemies and how their sorrow turned to joy.

Esther's courage transformed a death sentence into deliverance. She risked everything, and God used her royal position to save an entire people. Through Esther's line would come the Messiah, so her brave intervention preserved not just the Jews of Persia but God's entire redemptive plan for humanity. Her story reminds us that God sovereignly places His people in positions of influence for His purposes, and that sometimes courage means risking everything to do what's right.