Esther's Story
Esther 2-9
The book of Esther touches on the life of more than Esther. The other main characters in this story are:King Xerxes (also spelt Ahasuerus). He was the powerful King who ruled over 127 provinces.
Queen Vashti, she was the beautiful wife of Xerxes. She refused to show off her beauty to King Xerxes and unwittingly set in motion the rise of Esther.
Then we have Mordecai, Esther's cousin and guardian. He is another key figure in this story. And finally there is Haman the Agagite (Esther 3:1). Agag is a reference to the royal title of the Amalekites, long standing enemies of Israel (Exodus 17; 1 Samuel 15).
In this short study we will concentrate on the life of Esther.
In Chapter one of the book of Esther we are introduced to king Xerxes who decided to display his abundant wealth for 180 days. As if not enough, it is followed by a seven day feast.
A lavish display of his power indeed.
On the seventh day of the seven day feast, King Xerxes summons Queen Vashti in order to display her beauty to all the people. She refuses to come and is eventually banished from the kings presence as a punishment. A new Queen is sought.
In chapter two Esther is chosen to be Queen. She goes through the normal twelve months of beauty treatment before meeting the King.
Chapter two also records the good deed of Mordecai in saving the Kings life by alerting him of an assassination attempt on his life. This deed is recorded in the record books and later serves as a blessing for Mordecai in the future.
In Chapter three Haman is honoured by the King and given a high position in the kingdom. Haman is annoyed with Mordecai because Mordecai refused to kneel down to him. Haman's anger leads him to plot the execution of all the Jews in the kingdom.
In order to prevent the execution of all the Jews Mordecai calls on Esther to intercede to the King. The only problem here is that the King does not know that Esther is a Jew. Esther has no idea of how the King will respond to this news. Although God is never mentioned in the book of Esther we can see His acts in the background. Nothing takes God unaware.
Esther's reluctance to approach the King is met by stern words from Mordecai. In Chapter 4:14 he say:
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?
Esther eventually agrees to appeal to the King. Prior to this she asks Mordecai to organise a time of fasting for her. She is well aware that she needs God's favour if she is to succeed.Fasting, the abstinence from food for a pre-determined period, is a godly exercise which bring us closer to God.
In Chapter five Esther approaches the King and invites him and Haman to a banquet. This is an attempt to get the timing right before she informs the king about Haman's plot to kill the Jews of which she is one. Esther had hid the fact that she was a Jew from the King on Mordecai's advice.
God's timing is always best. We need to wait for God's timing in doing things. It is dangerous to jump out before time.
In an extraordinary twist of events the King asks Haman what should be done to a man who the king wants to honour. Haman, in his arrogance, thinks the king is referring to him and advises a lavish display of wealth and honour to be bestowed on the man publicly. The King orders Haman to do this for Mordecai. Can you imagine the shock, horror and humiliation Haman must have suffered! (You must read the book of Esther)
In chapter seven Esther reveals to the king that she is a Jew and that Haman has plotted to kill them all. Events now take a drastic turn for Haman who ends up getting hanged on the gallows he erected for the death of Mordecai. In Chapter eight, nine and ten all the Jews are saved and Haman's children are killed.
Persian Nowadays:
