Today in God's Word—May 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
May 5, Esther 5
On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. - Esther 5:1
Heroes and heroic acts come in different shapes and sizes. Some heroes defeat threatening giants, others lead armies to victory on the battlefield. Some turn a nation back to God by bold preaching and others rescue people from burning buildings. Many heroes risk their lives to save the lives of others, sometimes even strangers in danger.
Esther was a hero. In our text verse for this chapter, she courageously started a process that would lead to the heroic outcome of her actions. The moment Mordecai had spoken of had come. It was time to put off the garments of fasting, put on her royal robes and go to the king. She did not know if he would welcome her or if she would be killed for daring to enter the king's presence unbidden. But the fate of her people was at stake. She was in a position to use her influence with the king to stop a plan that would destroy all the Jews in Persia.
Can you imagine the potent combination of the emotions that must have swirled inside her? Don’t you suppose she had some fearful apprehension as well as a spark of hope in such a situation? The king raised his scepter; he was glad to see her. Ahasuerus welcomed her into his presence and asked what had brought her there. I suspect everyone involved knew it had to be important if she was risking her life by coming to court without being summoned by the king. He promised to grant her request, and even offered her half his kingdom. This kind of boastful extravagance was not uncommon among powerful ancient kings. I recall another king who made such an offer to a dancing girl who pleased him. That one got John the Baptist killed to satisfy a hateful woman's gruesome demand. The generous offer was little more
than courteous hyperbole to say, “Whatever you want." Esther did not blurt out the problem and what she wanted the king to do about it. Instead, she bought more time to draw the king into her favor by inviting him and Haman to be her guests at a feast the next day. They came and her next request was to come back the next day when she would finally reveal her real request. The king agreed to come again, and Haman left, delighted with his good fortune to be a guest with the king himself at not one, but two feasts hosted by the queen.
On his way home, Haman passed through the square where he saw Mordecai, who once again did not bow or cower in fear before Haman. That ruined Haman's day. He went home and boasted about how great he was to all his friends and family. And then he showed how self-centered and egotistical he was when he said, "None of all that honor means anything as long as I see Mordecai sitting at the king's gate." His wife suggested a really tall gallows for a public hanging of that nuisance Mordecai. Haman liked the idea and ordered his servants to build the hanging apparatus.
God could have rescued the Jews another way, as Mordecai told Esther before the fast and her brave actions. But Esther would have missed the opportunity to glorify God and bless and save her people. God can do what he wants to do and does not need anyone's help or permission. But when God chooses and enables us to serve him and bless others, all the glory for any good we do is his.
The fasting and praying was good. They acknowledged their dependence on God. But the time came for action, and Esther answered the challenge with courage. She embraced the moment Mordecai had mentioned and risked her life. God would use Esther to save his people from a hateful deadly threat.
You and I may never be in such a situation. I suppose the question for us today is not whether or not we would do what Esther did.
We should probably ask and honestly answer if we are willing to take lesser self-denying risks to do what God calls us to do and be a blessing to others. We might be fooling ourselves to imagine we would do what Esther did, if we won't do far simpler and less dangerous things God gives us opportunities to do.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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