Esther has never been my favorite story in the bible, mainly because as a woman whenever you are asked to speak this is the first passage that comes to the mind of the person asking (usually a man).
In my early days as a Christian I only saw this story as a tale of a beautiful woman whose good looks got her into the right place at the right time.Now after a few years have passed I see a story of a woman who was an orphan brought up by her cousin and then chosen by the King’s representatives to be a concubine (A concubine is generally a woman in an ongoing, marriage-like relationship with a man whom she cannot marry for a specific reason. It may be because she is of lower social rank than the man (including slave status) or because the man is already married. Wikipedia) This lifestyle wasn’t a choice she made it was made for her because of economic reasons. Like all of us she most probably wanted to marry someone she loved.
She was instrumental in rescuing her people, the Jews, from wholesale destruction at the hands of Haman by daring to enter into the King’s presence without permission. You know how nerve racking it is asking your boss for time off, imagine if there was a 50/50 chance of being killed for your request.
So let’s look on Esther as a courageous woman of faith not a privileged beauty queen. A woman, who instead of wallowing in self pity because of the misfortune in her life decided to take up the challenge given by God to save a people from death. She was brought to that place for such a time as this.
We may feel bitter about things that have happened to us in the past but God is able to comfort and heal us and use us to help others. What is He requiring of us at such a time as this?
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