The story of Esther is a captivating tale of courage, faith, and divine providence that took place in Persia during the reign of King Ahasuerus. Queen Esther was chosen out of many virgins to replace Queen Vashti because of her defiance of the King. Esther entered as queen but walked into a position of power that enabled her to save her people from mass murder.
Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah, was a Jewish girl who lived in Susa with her cousin Mordecai.
One day, King Ahasuerus, who was searching for a new queen, commanded that all the beautiful young virgins of the land be brought to the palace so that he could choose a new queen from among them. Esther was one of the many girls who were taken to the palace, and she found favor in the eyes of the king, who chose her to be his queen.
Meanwhile, Mordecai, who worked in the king's palace, overheard a plot to assassinate the king and reported it to Esther, who then informed the king. The conspirators were caught and executed, but Mordecai's service went unrecognized.
The villain of the story, Haman, was the king's chief advisor, and he despised Mordecai, who refused to bow down to him when he was elected chief. Once Haman found out that Mordecai was Jewish, he planned to destroy all Jews that were in the kingdom. Haman went to the king and told him there were a group of people scattered throughout the kingdom that do not honor the kings laws . He requested that Ahasuerus write a decree to have them all destroyed. Haman offered to pay rewards to people in the land who carry out the killings on behalf of the kingdom. The trusted Haman blindly and agreed to the decree of complete annihilation of the Jews.
Mordecai urged Esther to use her position as queen to appeal to the king on behalf of her people. Esther, however, was afraid to approach the king without being summoned, as it was punishable by death. But Mordecai reminded her that she, too, was a Jew, and that she might have been made queen for such a time as this.
Esther gathered all the Jews in Susa to fast and pray for three days and three nights. She organized a banquet and requested Haman be in attendance. The night before the banquet Haman ordered his staff to set up gallows for Mordecai to be hanged because he hated him so much. During the banquet Queen Esther informed the King of Haman's plans to kill the Jews which would include Esther as well.
The king was outraged and had Haman hanged on the same gallows he prepared for Mordecai. The King then issued a new decree allowing the Jews to defend themselves against their attackers. Esther's fast of abstaining from food and water for three days and three nights has been known to break spiritual strong holds in many lives of believers, even today.
On the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews fought against their enemies and emerged victorious. They celebrated their deliverance on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month, establishing the feast of Purim, which is still celebrated today as a reminder of God's faithfulness to His people.
The story of Esther reminds us that God is always at work behind the scenes, orchestrating events and using His people to fulfill His purposes. Esther's bravery and faithfulness to her people, even in the face of death, is an inspiration to us all.
Read the full story in the book of Esther Chapters 1-8 (The hyperlink leads to biblegateway.com)
