Esther was a young orphaned Israelite girl from the tribe of Benjamin (Esther 2:5-7) rose from being a former prisoner-exile to Queen of Persia. Originally named Hadassah, meaning myrtle, she later became known as Esther, which is a form of the Persian word satarah, which means a star.
Esther's family had been among those of the southern kingdom of Judah, composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (1 Kings 12:21) who had been conquered by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar After the Babylonian empire was itself conquered by the Persians under Cyrus the Great, the Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem - their descendants form the Jewish people today.
When orphaned at a young age, Esther was raised by her older cousin, Mordecai, who worked in the household of the Persian king (Esther 2:5-7). They apparently did not make use of the permission granted by Cyrus for the exiles to return to Jerusalem
In a twist of events, Queen Vashti was summoned to appear before her husband and his ministers at a banquet. The Bible says that she disobeyed her husband because he was drunk and wanted to parade her around inappropriately in front of everyone. Xerxes grew angry over her refusal to obey him and embarrassing him in front of his court. He turns the matter over to his advisors and they fall back on the laws of Persia
Beautiful young virgins are gathered up from all over the land and brought to the palace. Esther is one of these girls. They are trained and prepared for months before they are ready to appear for their one night with the king. Xerxes is supposed to make a choice who his next queen will be.
The Bible’s Esther is faced with difficult choices but never looses her trust in the Lord God of Israel. She is put into a position where she can save her own people from the evil plans of Haman, the minister to King Xerxes, who hates the Jews. Most of all he detests Mordecai because he won’t bow down to Haman.
Haman manipulates the King and the laws to call for total annihilation of the Jews still living in the empire. Mordecai appeals to Esther to use her power and position to save her people. She must decide and begins three days of fasting and praying for guidance. Esther realizes that all that has happened in her life has prepared her for this moment in history.
Appearing before the King without being summoned could mean certain death for her. She will have to reveal her heritage and appeal for deliverance for her people in a hostile court. Trusting in God, she asks her husband, King Xerxes, and Haman to a series of three private banquets and then petitions Xerxes. She reveals the truth about Haman and is successful in her plea
1. God has sometimes used armies and sometimes flashy miracles in order to rescue His People. But He is not limited to those strategies. He can just as easily use one obscure person - male, such as Joseph, or female, such as Esther - and manipulate the circumstances around them to allow them to be the agent of His salvation.
2. Most western nations appreciate living in basically democratic societies. And rightly so. Christians can thereby be unusually free to worship according to their consciences, and free to obey God without much fear that such obedience will run afoul of the government in most circumstances. But God never in the Bible destroys kingdoms specifically because the form of government is a dictatorship so his servants could have the kind of freedoms we enjoy. Instead, He enables His people to function right within whatever system they find themselves in. Even the apostle Paul notes this:
"Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. " (1Corinthians 7:20-21, NKJV).
Paul is not thereby telling us to give up the freedom we have. He is indicating that God can use us, just as He used the Jewish Queen, wherever we find ourselves, no matter the nature of the government.
3. Serving God and fulfilling the role He called you to is possible even in an environment where almost everyone around you is a heathen. And it can be done without attempting to change everyone around you. Joseph, Esther and Daniel all served totally pagan kings and won favor with them by their exemplary conduct and example. And they were thereby able to accomplish great deeds.
4. God can use young women, like Esther, just as easily as young warriors, like David, to accomplish His plans for His people.
5. It is comforting to know that God can redeem people with unpleasant pasts and use them to advance His plans for His people - witness Rahab the harlot and Paul, the persecutor of Christians. But in some cases His plans particularly call for those who have kept themselves undefiled physically and / or spiritually. Certainly in the case of Esther, it would have been impossible for her to fulfill God's plan if she had not been a chaste young woman.
(approximate dates)
536 BC - the return from Babylon to Jerusalem
536-516 BC - the rebuilding of The Temple
478 BC - Esther became queen of Persia
473 BC - Esther saved the Jews from massacre
457 BC - Ezra went from Babylon to Jerusalem
444 BC - Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem
The lessons that we can learn from Esther are faithfulness, trust in God, and a willingness to follow His will whether we are afraid or not. Esther’s act on behalf of the Jews is a picture of sacrifice. Her story is a partial illustration of what the Savior, Jesus Christ, would do 500 years later. Esther – Hadassah – was willing to sacrifice herself to save her people
There is virtually no doubt that Esther was directly chosen by God to avert the destruction of The Chosen People - from whom came the ancestors of Jesus Christ. To commemorate that deliverance, the Jews began the festival of Purim (Esther 9:18-32), which is still observed to this day.
