Most fairy tales have a similar trajectory: A prince discovers a beautiful girl living in obscurity and rescues her. Then the story usually ends with, “And they lived happily ever after.” The problem is that life isn’t a fairy tale. Life is full of pain and unexpected twists and turns.
However, in the Old Testament book of Esther, we find a story that, at least in its early stages, is like a fairy tale. There are no fairies or princes, but there is a beautiful orphan girl named Esther who wins a beauty contest and becomes a queen.
A unique feature of the book of Esther is that the name of God is never mentioned. For that matter, God is never referenced in an overt way. Yet clearly he is present throughout the book, from beginning to end. He is present in every scene and in the movement of every event.
In his excellent commentary on the book of Esther, Charles Swindoll wrote, “God’s presence is not as intriguing as His absence. His voice is not as eloquent as His silence.”
The story of Esther begins with the powerful King Xerxes, who ruled over a vast Persian Empire, from India to Ethiopia. One day he held a massive banquet, and he decided to bring out his beautiful queen, Vashti, to parade before his lords and subjects. But Vashti flat out refused, because she didn’t want to be humiliated.
The king was in a quandary. And after consulting with his advisers, he decided to relieve Vashti of her duty and remove her from the throne.
Then the search was on for the next great beauty of Persia. Whoever won the contest would become the next queen. I don’t think Esther, in her wildest dreams, ever thought she would save an entire nation. She was just living her life.
But not only was Esther beautiful on the outside, she also was beautiful on the inside. She had inner character to match her outer beauty.
According to the Jewish historian Josephus, there were as many as 400 women involved in this competition. But Esther stood out from all the rest, and Xerxes chose her to be the new queen.
If this were a fairy tale, the story would have ended there. But it was just getting started.
God was setting things in place for a bigger event. But he needed to get his person, Esther, into the palace to do his work.
It’s a good reminder that big doors swing on small hinges. When we look back on our lives, often we’ll find that what seemed like a small event turned out to be very significant in the larger scheme of things. And this certainly was the case with Esther.
Esther was a Jewish girl living among people who didn’t believe in the God of Israel—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She hadn’t told anyone in the palace about her nationality, because her cousin Mordecai, who had raised her, specifically told her not to.
Some commentators have criticized Esther, saying that she compromised her faith. Maybe. But we also must understand that sometimes there’s a time to be quiet. Esther was playing it cool. She was waiting for the right moment to do the right thing.
Meanwhile, the prime minister, Haman, was plotting the destruction of her people. The power-hungry official was angry because Mordecai wouldn’t bow to him whenever he walked by. Thus, Haman wanted to kill Mordecai. And when he realized that Mordecai was a Jew, he not only wanted to execute him, but he also wanted to eliminate all the Jewish people.
But Haman couldn’t do this on his own. He had to get the king’s permission first. And when King Xerxes agreed to the plan, he unwittingly sealed his own queen’s death. Even Haman didn’t realize that Esther was Jewish. Then the king issued a decree throughout the empire that the following year, all the Jews would be killed.
Esther was about to discover why she had become queen. It wasn’t a coincidence; it was providence. The Bible says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives” (Psalm 37:23 NLT).
Even when it seems as though God is not present, indeed he is.
The problem was that Esther was disconnected. She didn’t know about the plight of her people right outside the doors of the palace. So, Mordecai sent word that Haman had called for the execution of all the Jewish people.
Esther faced a dilemma. If she approached the king without permission, she could be executed. She could be put to death on the spot for this act of disrespect.
So, she sent this message to Mordecai: “All the king’s officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter” (Esther 4:11 NLT).
In his reply, Mordecai put it plainly: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” (verses 13–14 NLT).
And through Esther’s courage and bravery, God saved her people.
Sometimes in life we don’t like where we are. We complain about where God has placed us. But is it possible that you are where you are for such a time as this? There is only one you. There is only one person walking this earth with your exact heritage who has experienced the events you’ve experienced. It has brought you to this hour.
God has been preparing you for this moment. He wants to use all that you have gone through. The question is, are you willing to be the person that God wants you to be? Seize the moment.
Check out Greg Laurie’s books and movies in the WND Superstore
