Beautiful Esther was the Queen of
Persia in the 5th century BC. She was the wife of the haughty King
Xerxes. However, when Xerxes chose Esther to be his wife, he did not know she
was a Jew. The Persians considered the Jews to be lowly although they treated
them slightly better than the surrounding ruling kingdoms. Had Xerxes known of
Esther’s heritage prior to his selection, she probably would have never been
queen. What we find interesting to Esther’s story are the parallels which can
be drawn and the lessons which can be learned from God’s dealing with His
people then and now. Of course, during Esther’s time, all believers were Jews
(followers of the God of Abraham) and today believers encompass all who call
upon the name of the Lord and believe in their hearts that Jesus is Lord. It is
Esther’s situation in life (where God placed her) that we find so fascinating
as well as prophetic to the time in which we are now living. Esther was meant
to be the Queen. She was in the right place at the right time to help save her
people from certain destruction.
Esther 4: 14, 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?” …For
such a time as this? How many of you have felt that we are living in
unprecedented, prophetic, perilous, Biblical times? We venture to guess that
most of our readers have felt this way in their lifetimes. We also suspect that
the perception of living in a special time is growing with each year, month and
even day. Now, before we continue, we
are going to confess we may get rather “political”. We have refrained from
doing so in the past because we aim to keep our focus on Jesus through the lens
of His words. That has not changed. However, it is no secret that the whole
world is watching the United States right now in anticipation of the upcoming
presidential election. This election may very well be the most important one
our country has ever seen. We are not being overdramatic in saying it will be
Biblical! That statement may rattle a few feathers and that is okay. We are
fully aware that in the very last days God will turn His focus to His chosen
people and their land, Israel. We are swiftly moving towards that time. But we
are still in the age of Grace or the Church Age and this era is culminating
into a time of decision for the followers of Jesus. There is a spiritual
battle raging right now over the whole earth. What is happening in the United
States sets the tone for the whole world. And no, it is not about human power,
it is about God. Let us look back to Esther now …
There are parallels between Esther
(Hadassah, a Jewish orphan) and believers in Jesus Christ today…
Esther was Mordecai’s uncle’s
daughter. When she was orphaned, he
adopted her as his own child. She grew
up in Shushan, the capital of Persia, under King Xerxes. Jesus, Himself, says in John 14:8 “I will not
leave your orphans, I will come to you.” Ephesians 1:4-5 (NKJV) “just as He
chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by
Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” Esther
was chosen by the Lord to intercede and help save her people, Israel. She
obtained favor in the court of Xerxes, when she was taken among the eligible
young women and was eventually chosen as the next queen. Ephesians 2:4-6 (MEV) “But God, being rich in
mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead
in sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved), and He raised us up and seated
us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We can rise up like Queen
Esther and boldly go before our King with our petitions. Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) “Let
us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.”
Haman, the Agagite, hated the Jewish
people. He convinced the King that they
were not following the King’s laws and that they should be destroyed. A lot was
cast (Pur) for the date of their destruction. Esther 3:13 (NIV) “Dispatches
were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy,
kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single
day…”
Esther had kept silent about her
Jewish heritage and faith in the palace.
The King knew nothing of her people or that Mordecai was her uncle. However, her uncle sent a message to Esther, asking
her to “go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for
her people.” (Esther 4:8) However, the King had not summoned Esther into the
court, and anyone who had not been called would be “put to death, except the
one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live.” (Esther
4:11)
Esther 4:13-16 (ESV) Then Mordecai
told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's
palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent
at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place,
but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not
come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to
Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my
behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young
women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is
against the law, and if I perish, I perish” [if I am destroyed, then I will be
destroyed].
Esther fasted and prayed for her
people, for wisdom and favor, in order to go before the King. She was willing
to perish on their behalf. What are we
willing to do to intercede for our loved ones, for righteous rulers, for
Christ’s followers? There is a time of decision today to pray and stand up for
TRUTH to prevail!
“For such a time as this….” is
today’s passionate prayer for Christians around the world. What should the followers of Jesus Christ be
doing today? How are we allowing ourselves to be influenced? Political
popularity contests? Law and order? Anarchy in the streets? Violence against
humanity? Global warming: environmental condemnation? Fear based living against
plagues (viruses)/ against all hope? Ephesians 4:14 (NKJV) “that we should no
longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful
plotting…” Yes! The story of Esther is
prophetic to the times we are in right now… What TRUTHS will we stand up for?
Live for? Vote for? Do all lives matter
or just certain ones? What does the Lord Jesus say about these very things? We
need to make a decision today: do we stand for and represent “light and all
that is good” or “darkness and all that is evil” according to the Word of God?
There
is a spiritual battle raging throughout the earth today, not just in the United
States during this presidential election season… What should we do? God knew each one of us would be living here now. It is time to ask the Lord how He wants each of us serve Him, for such a time as this.
What an excellent analogy. God has made us to be the lights of the world and the salt of the world. Let us use our faith in Jesus Christ for God's glory!
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