Today, we turn to the Book of Esther. Esther is unique among books of the Bible, because the word “God” is not mentioned. Esther is the account of a young Jewish woman, who becomes queen of Persia. She must then decide whether to risk her life to save her people, or to say nothing and continue to enjoy the worldly blessing of her position. Esther is a classic account of how God has always protected His people, and how He has used history to carry out His purposes.
Esther 1 opens with King Ahasuerus throwing a party for his officials. King Ahasuerus is the Hebrew form of the Greek Xerxes. He was the son of King Darius I, and Cyrus the Great of Persia. We see how prideful Ahasuerus was in flaunting his wealth before his officials, throwing a drunken party for seven days, and then calling his wife, Queen Vashti, to come before him as if she were a pawn in his chess game to show off her beauty. While we’re told Ahasuerus didn’t force anyone to drink alcohol at the party, which is commendable, he set the example of drunkenness for others to follow. Those who see Ahasuerus’ banishment of Vashti and his command for all the men of Persia to be masters of their own households as proof that the Bible calls for wives to be subservient to their husbands must remember King Ahasuerus was a pagan king, whose behavior was not being lifted up to us as an example. He is an object lesson of how we do not want to live: We don’t want to be proud. We don’t want to be drunks. We don’t want to treat our wives as subservient to us.
Esther 2 recounts how Esther became King Ahasuerus’ queen. After the king sobered up and he realized he had banished his queen, some of his advisors suggested a plan for selecting a new queen. Beautiful virgins from throughout the nation would be brought, “prepared,” and then brought to him one-by-one for him to determine which one pleased him the most. This one would be the queen. We are introduced to Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah, as the niece of Mordecai. He had brought her up after her parents had died. We’re told Esther was a physically beautiful woman. She did not tell anyone of her background as a Jew when she was taken into the king’s harem. This was at Mordecai’s command. The preparation time for these women was a year. They ate the king’s food. They received beauty treatments, and then one-by-one they were taken to King Ahasuerus. He spent the night with each one, obviously having a sexual encounter with each one. After each woman had been with the king, they were sent to the second harem, and were not to return until called for by the king. When Esther’s turn came, she pleased the king more than any of the others, and he crowned her queen. She continued to maintain silence about her Jewish background, but maintained contact with her uncle Mordecai. As providence would have it, Mordecai was present when two of the king’s eunuch’s were plotting to assassinate him. Mordecai made this known to Esther, and she told the king in Mordecai’s name. When the accusation was proven true, the men were executed, and a record made of Mordecai’s revelation to the king.
Esther 3 introduces us to the “villain” of the Book of Esther, Haman. Haman was promoted by Ahasuerus to the second highest position in the empire. When Haman went out, he was to receive honor from all the people, by their bowing down before him. As a Jew, Mordecai would not bow before Haman. Haman became so outraged by this that he implored the king to issue an edict to destroy all the Jews. He offered to provide 10,000 talents of silver to see the edict carried out. Haman’s reasoning was the Jews did not obey the laws of the king and therefore ought to be eliminated. The king agreed, and issued the edict. He even offered to pay the cost of carrying it out throughout his kingdom. The laws of the Persians could not be altered, so this was a death sentence for the Jews. Chapter 3 ends with the statement that Haman sat down to drink (in other words, he was happy) but Susa, the city of Ahasuerus, and also Mordecai, was sent into confusion. (Undoubtedly, because of the Jews who lived there, and who realized they would soon be eliminated. The edict gave some time before it would be enforced, but the writing was on the wall.)
As we return to Matthew 10, remember Matthew 9 closed with Jesus telling the disciples to pray for “The Lord of the Harvest” to send workers into the harvest. Chapter 10 begins with Jesus calling the twelve disciples out of the many who were following Him. Then He sent them out to preach, teach, and cast out demons. (Be careful what you pray. God might use you to fulfill it!) Jesus gave clear and detailed instructions for their going out to the nation of Israel. He told them what to take and not to take. He told them to stay where they were received and leave where they weren’t. He told them they would be persecuted, and even their own family members would be part of that. He reminded them their allegiance to Him was to be above every other worldly allegiance, even family. He told them whoever saved their life would lose it, and whoever lost their life for His sake would find it. Jesus was always honest and straightforward with us. He offers great rewards, but also great costs to those who trust Him as Savior and Lord, and live in His name. As we go about this day, let’s remember to count the cost and remember the rewards of serving Jesus!