May 31
Esther
3:3–Esther 8:17
A
MISSION TO FULFILL
Esther 4:16b
". . . I will go
in unto the king . . and if I perish, I perish."
What do you remember
when you think of Queen Esther? I suppose the first
thing we remember is that she was beautiful. She was
more than beautiful. She had a special personality that
made her more accepted by KING AHASUERUS than any of the
other women in the king’s harem. Her given name was
HADASSAH, but we know her as ESTHER. Then we remember
that she was an orphan who was raised by an older
cousin named MORDECAI, whom she looked upon as an
"UNCLE." She was a Jewess–but the King did not know.
After ESTHER became
the favorite queen, she had a special status in the
royal line-up of those closest to the king; yet, she
could not barge into his presence without being called
upon to do so. AHASUERUS was a powerful potentate. When
he wrote a law or decree, nothing could change it. Even
though Esther was his "favorite," she could not
step into his presence without being asked to, and then,
not without proper recognition.
Great tragedy was
coming upon her people. The wicked, scheming HAMAN hated
the Jews. HAMAN was high up in the cabinet of the King.
This hatred was fed to fiery jealousy because of
MORDECAI, the JEW, who recently saved the life of the
king. MORDECAI had reported a death plot against the
ruler. The king was grateful. This infuriated HAMAN.
Because of his hatred of MORDECAI and THE JEWS, HAMAN
influenced the KING. Because of this, the Jews were to
killed.
Esther learned of this
plight from her cousin. She was frightened. What could
she do? What should she do? UNCLE MORDECAI reminded her
that she had an influence with the King that others did
not have. She had to speak up! Esther was not used to
doing this. She had been raised to be a quiet,
submissive woman. Also, she had never revealed her
Jewishness to the King. She was afraid! If she told him,
what would he say? What would he do? She knew that he
had not called her to his side for over a month. She
remembered VASHTI. She knew that no one ever crossed the
king and survived. MORDECAI reminded his "child"
that she may have come to her position as the
favorite wife of their MIGHTY MAJESTY for "such a
time as this."
After a period of
"fasting" with her ladies-in-waiting, and with great
dedication and determination, she dressed herself in
proper attire to appear before her husband, the KING of
one hundred and twenty seven provinces. With every step
towards his Throne Room, she knew that those
steps might be her very last. In her head, she kept
saying, "If I perish, I
perish!"
As I write those
words, I can’t help thinking of you and me. What would
we have done in such a crisis? If we had risen up from
an ordinary lifestyle, an orphan raised by an older
cousin, to become the favorite QUEEN of THE LAND, what
would we have done? If we had been noticed among all the
woman of the kingdom to be a part of the King’s harem,
what emotions would that have engendered in our souls?
What if the KING had loved me more than any woman in the
land? Would I have wanted to destroy that love? She
remembered VASHTI! Would I have "chanced" death
for the sake of my country-men. Would you?
I am sure ESTHER had
many such thoughts. She knew the danger of approaching
the king without first being called upon to do so. She
knew of his recent decree to have the Jews slaughtered.
Would he kill her on the spot? He had not called for her
for thirty days. All of these fears ran rampant in the
heart of the queen. Nevertheless, ESTHER stood in the
outer court–waiting. She had a mission to fulfill. Do
you? (ysw)
"WE
DON’T HAVE TO STAY ALIVE!"
We only have to
be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It seems, all
our life, we endeavor to stay alive.
This is to no
avail unless we yearn to live for Him!
(GGS)
